Screens have multiplied. The TV in the living room, the smartphone in the pocket, plus tablet and laptop. For advertising, the interesting question is not which screen wins, but in which situation people use which screen, and how you reach them there with your message.
How screen time is distributed
A look at usage shows two truths side by side. The TV remains the single largest place for video. According to the ARD/ZDF Media Study 2025, classic television accounts for around 58 percent of total video consumption, while the online share from media libraries, YouTube, social media and streaming has risen to about 43 percent. In terms of device access, the TV leads with 97 percent, closely followed by the smartphone with 87 percent, as the Statista Video Trends analysis shows.
The second truth is the shift. Mobile consumption is growing, and among under-30s classic television now accounts for only around 14 percent of their video consumption. Both screens are therefore almost everywhere, they just come into play in different moments. How media usage has changed recently is shown in the article Media Usage 2025 vs. 2024.
Bring your brand to the big screen!
Book a demoThe big screen: the moment in the living room
The TV is the screen of shared, calm moments. People sit down for it deliberately, often together, and engage with the programme. The picture is large and runs in the foreground. For brands, this is the moment when a message lands in peace. This relaxed posture in the living room is explained in the article on the lean-back effect, and why the shared TV evening has its own dynamic is shown in the article on co-viewing.
The small screen: the moment on the go
The smartphone is the most personal device, almost always within reach and with you all day. It accompanies people on the go, in breaks and in moments when no TV is nearby. This means the small screen reaches people even when they are not sitting in the living room, and it reaches audiences who barely watch classic TV anymore, above all the younger ones. Across scattered moments it gathers many contacts and keeps a message present.
Where onescreen comes in
With onescreen your advertising runs as an in-stream spot in high-quality streaming environments, for example on Netflix, and the big screen is at the centre. You decide yourself how far you go: either your spot runs only on the big screen, that is on connected TV, or you deliver the same spot in the same environments additionally on laptop, smartphone and tablet. That is multiscreen, but it always remains the same spot, just on more devices.
That way you keep the choice between the full impact of the big screen and the additional reach across all devices. In both cases you reach the right people through targeted digital targeting by region and postal code, age, gender and interests, with the precision you know from online marketing.
Conclusion
Big screen or small screen is not an either-or question, but a question of the moment. The big screen stands for the calm, shared situation in the living room, the small screen for the personal moments on the go. With onescreen you bring your message to the big screen first and decide yourself whether to also play it out as multiscreen on laptop, smartphone and tablet.
Want to bring your brand to the big screen? Book a demo and we will show you the options in 30 minutes. Or get started in the Ad Manager.
FAQ
Which is better, the big or the small screen? Neither is fundamentally better, they suit different moments. The big screen stands for the calm situation in the living room, the small screen for personal moments on the go. With onescreen, the same in-stream spot runs in both cases.
What does multiscreen mean at onescreen? That the same spot running on the big screen in streaming is additionally delivered in the same environments on laptop, smartphone and tablet. It is not a different ad format, but the same in-stream spot on more devices.
Can I also advertise only on the big screen? Yes. You can run your spot exclusively on connected TV. Multiscreen is an additional option, not a requirement.
How do I reach the right audience with onescreen? Through digital, data-based targeting by region and postal code, age, gender and interests, on the big screen as well as with multiscreen.