Fewer US Ads Shot, but Celebrity Pay Hits $1.3bn
Fewer commercials are being shot in America, but the famous faces in them are earning more than ever.
Celebrity payments for US commercials will reach $1.3 billion in 2026, according to an XR Extreme Reach study reported by Deadline. Total payments to all on-camera and voice talent are expected to hit $2.06 billion this year, up nearly 70% from 2020.
The research is called Where Ads Are Made. It is built on XR's payroll, delivery and rights-management data, meaning records of who was paid, where spots were sent for broadcast and streaming, and how long they were cleared to run.
The volume trend runs the other way. Commercial production, meaning the number of advertising shoots, fell 25% between 2019 and 2025. It slipped a further 2% in the first six months of 2026.
California is still the home of the TV spot. The state accounted for 42% of US advertising shoots. New York, long the second hub, has dropped 10 percentage points since 2019 to 14%.
Texas now ranks third with 6.5% of commercial production after a 16% jump in volume in the past year. Florida, Illinois and Georgia each hold between 3% and 6% of the national total.
The money keeps growing because global advertising spending keeps growing. It rose nearly 9% to $1.14 trillion in 2025, according to a WPP Media estimate cited in the report. Brands are making fewer spots, but paying more for the people in them.
One surprise is sound. Voiceover work in New Jersey has nearly quintupled since 2019, according to XR. That suggests more narration is now recorded away from the shoot itself, in a separate studio session.
XR, which organises payments and delivery for advertisers, launched XR ONE on 15 July 2026 as an AI-powered platform to connect every stage of advertising operations, according to the company in its announcement. The company also published research on 22 June 2026 finding creative differences between in-house and agency workflows, meaning ads made by a brand's own team compared with those made by outside ad firms.
What makes this stand out for viewers is the split. You will see fewer new ads. The ones you do see are more likely to be made in California or Texas, and more likely to be fronted by a celebrity earning a premium fee. For crews, fewer shoots mean fewer jobs on set, even as spending on talent climbs.
