The trend: Gen Z is opting out of both traditional pay TV and ad-supported streaming tiers, signaling deeper changes in viewing behavior. Just 42% of Gen Z subscribers use ad-supported SVOD, while less than half of all US households now maintain a pay TV subscription. Our take: Streaming’s future depends on reaching the next generation, but current models—especially ad-supported tiers—aren’t meeting Gen Z where they are. With only 1.3 hours of streaming and 0.8 hours of traditional TV per day, Gen Z prefers social video, gaming, and music. To stay relevant, platforms must prioritize native formats, interactivity, and creator integration over legacy ad models.
The news: News publishers are investing in social media presence that may not be creating meaningful referral traffic. Although publishers are working to meet audiences where they are—on social and video platforms—their content is being watched, not clicked, per Digiday. Our take: Despite social media not converting engagement into referral traffic, news publishers have little option but to remain—leaving social platforms means losing user attention. Publishers may need to boost their efforts in community-driven channels like Substack and podcasts to foster engagement and reader loyalty.
The news: Connected TV (CTV) commands higher attention metrics (AU) than online video (OLV) and display advertising thanks in part to its wide variety of interactive ad formats, per industry KPI data provided by Adelaide. Our take: CTV's growing attention metrics reflects its shift toward becoming a performance marketing channel
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss our ‘very specific, but highly unlikely’ predictions for 2025. What would happen to the social media world if OpenAI bought Snap, what if Starbucks launched a Stablecoin, and why some companies might still want to buy linear networks. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Vice Presidents of Content Suzy Davidkhanian and Paul Verna, and Principal Analyst Yory Wurmser. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the battle between linear TV and CTV, one mobile device metric that is going down, and a surprising finding about which age group uses YouTube the most. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, Principal Forecasting Writer Ethan Cramer-Flood, and Senior Director of Forecasting Oscar Orozco. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
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The news: Advertisers are prioritizing interactive video ads to capture users and boost engagement as social media and YouTube consume ad spend. 52% of advertisers expect to use interactive features in at least 26% of their ads this year, per Digiday and PadSquad’s 2025 State of the Industry survey. Only 7% neither use and nor plan to use interactive video features in their ads. Our take: In a saturated media market, getting and keeping consumers’ attention is a difficult endeavor. Integrating gamified features and personalized media elements can help ensure that marketing campaigns are seen and not just scrolled past.
Over 260 million people in the US—more than 77% of the population—will watch over-the-top (OTT) video this year, according to a March Ä¢¹½AV forecast. Of these, nearly all will be watching YouTube.
The news: US adults are increasingly dependent on digital platforms for news, with social media and video overtaking traditional news outlets for the first time. 54% of US adults get their news from social media, per the Reuters Institute’s 2025 Digital News Report, compared with 50% from TV news and 48% from news websites and apps. Our take: Linear platforms could offer personalized news digests and mobile- and social- friendly content to reengage younger users, while advertisers should diversify their campaigns across social media platforms to follow fragmented user engagement.
The news: Podcasts are becoming a popular way for brands to reach engaged audiences, with viewership mounting and new platforms throwing their hats in the ring. Podcast viewership is thriving, reaching over 140 million US listeners in 2025, according to our forecast. Listeners will surpass 150 million by 2027. Our take: Podcasts are shaping up to become a strong contender in media consumption, with nearly 70% of US adults ages 18 to 24 listening at least one per month, per our forecast. As platforms battle to be the leading home for podcasts, advertisers need to pay attention and tailor strategies.
Almost a third (32%) of US and UK game players actively ignore in-game ads, while the same number finds them helpful, according to May data from Attest.
The news: Ad quality has a big impact on whether gamers will stay in the game or walk away from a session. Over half (52%) of gamers in the US, the UK, Germany, and Japan would quit playing if they encountered multiple disruptive ad features, per Deloitte’s Quality Drives Value: A Look into Mobile Gaming Ads survey. Our take: Prioritizing features like rewards and skip options can help players feel in control and properly compensated for their time, helping mobile gamers to stay engaged, click through, and return. Poorly timed or deceptive ads, on the other hand, risk alienating gamers and increasing churn.
Connected TV (CTV) is booming in households and becoming significantly more important for advertisers.
The news: The gaming industry is doubling down on handheld consoles. Nintendo’s Switch 2 shattered single-day sales records with an estimated 3 million units sold at launch, outpacing the Sony PS4’s historic numbers. Meanwhile, Microsoft announced its first handhelds—the ROG Xbox Ally and the ROG Xbox Ally X—partnering with Asus to blend Xbox and PC gaming in a portable format. They’re expected to launch during the holidays. Our take: As cloud and console experiences merge into portable form, game design and ad models are set to evolve fast—opening up fresh real estate for marketers, game studios, and tech platforms alike.
Streaming now grabs nearly 44% of US TV time—mostly ad-supported—and more than half of marketers expect to raise connected TV (CTV) budgets in 2025, new research from Nielsen shows. As dollars flow from linear to streaming, unified cross-channel measurement is becoming the new must-have.
Apple’s appeal against DMA rules frames interoperability as a privacy risk, testing how far regulators can go in dismantling its tightly guarded ecosystem.
e at last: Microsoft’s update kills default Edge and Bing prompts, giving rivals room to breathe—and forcing marketers to rethink how they reach EU users.
Publishers are shifting from ad-driven models to licensing and subscriptions: AI is accelerating the end of traffic-chasing media economics.
Most consumers divide their time across gaming, music, podcasts, and social, but streaming remains on top—even as mobile becomes the default for short- and long-form video.