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NBCUniversal is eyeing a dedicated sports cable network to showcase sports content available on Peacock, like NBA games, to a linear audience鈥攃ombining the growing reach of digital with the enduring relevance of cable. NBCU is already seeing major success from its sports investments like the Olympics, driving record-breaking Upfront sales.

Broadcast TV networks鈥� primetime ad sales fell 2.5% to $9.1 billion, and cable channel ad sales slipped 4.3% to $8.7 billion. Streaming surged 17.9% to $13.2 billion by comparison.

Local TV ad spending is forecast to hit $17.27 billion in 2025, with $13.32 billion coming from broadcast and $3.94 billion from cable. Nexstar argues that consolidation will allow broadcasters to protect this revenue pool by offering greater scale to advertisers and leverage against distributors.

Prediction: Paramount will divest from some cable assets. Following in the footsteps of Comcast/NBCUniversal and Warner Brothers Discovery spinning off cable assets, Paramount could divest from networks like BET and Nickelodeon. For media companies, these divestitures represent a focus on digital growth areas rather than maintaining declining legacy businesses.

Paramount Global and Skydance: Shari Redstone, chairwoman of Paramount Global, has agreed to sell control of the company (which includes CBS and cable networks like MTV) to a consortium led by Skydance Media. The sale is pending. Comcast and Warner Bros. Discovery: Both companies are restructuring, with Comcast spinning off its cable networks and Warner Bros.

Fox鈥檚 top properties鈥擭FL, MLB, and cable news鈥攄rive real-time appointment viewing. If those channels vanish from YouTube TV, advertisers lose a key slice of their target audience. Fragmented campaigns. Marketers relying on YouTube TV鈥檚 unified ad buys would need to chase audiences across multiple platforms (e.g., Fox One, cable, other streamers), increasing cost and complexity. Reduced ROI.

Older audiences, who remain the backbone of cable news, strongly associate trust with legacy names like NBC鈥攎eaning the loss of that equity could prove costly. Communications experts also note that the 鈥淢S鈥� acronym already carries associations ranging from Microsoft to multiple sclerosis, clouding the clarity of the new brand.

Linear still generates significantly more ad inventory than streaming, with cable and broadcast linear TV accounting for nearly 90% of time viewers spent watching ads on TV screens in Q2 2024. This is due to higher ad loads, as linear averages about 15 minutes of ads per hour, while streaming ad loads range from nine minutes to as low as one minute per hour.

Note: Traditional distribution includes IPTV, cable, satellite, wireless carriers and fiber operators, multiple system operators (MSOs), multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), and major TV broadcast and cable networks.

Southwest terminated its rewards categories for local transit, commuting, ride-hailing, internet, cable, and phone services for most of its portfolio. New categories include dining, groceries, and gas divisions. Behind the strategy: Southwest is following the formula from Chase鈥檚 recent Sapphire Reserve refresh鈥攈iking annual fees and deepening the bench of perks.

Streaming ads for sports events like NFL games are 66% more effective than the cable and broadcast average, and Amazon is reaping the benefits. Ads on Prime Video鈥檚 Black Friday matchup game were 51% more effective than the average Thanksgiving NFL ad, per EDO.

By contrast, cable and broadcast fell to 63% and 66%, respectively. Ipsos data shows 58% of sports fans in February 2025 supported bundled sports streaming packages, up from 52% a year earlier, reflecting appetite for simplified, legal access. Our take: Streameast鈥檚 takedown is a symbolic win for rights holders and broadcasters, but piracy is resilient.

Investing in advertising across providers like NBCUniversal for their balanced approach combining the growth of streaming with the enduring relevance of cable will reduce risks. Investing in second-screen engagement will boost results.

With streaming surpassing broadcast and cable combined, advertisers are under pressure to make CTV campaigns more relevant, measurable, and commerce-enabled. CTV鈥檚 growth is undeniable, but its fragmentation has long frustrated advertisers. Acxiom Contextual CTV addresses three core issues at once: accuracy of targeting, publisher monetization, and compliance with tightening privacy rules.

Cable TV and local broadcast ad revenues will also decline significantly after last year鈥檚 election, falling 27.2% to $17.3 billion. Zooming out: TV ad spending is expected to decline steadily, per our forecast, coinciding with shrinking ad revenues as CTV gains dominance.

With Meta and Google building private subsea cables, they鈥檙e bypassing telecom giants, ensuring faster services and reshaping how the internet reaches developing regions.

The news: Charter Communications Inc. will merge with rival Cox Communications, bringing together two major cable providers, the companies announced Friday. The transaction, which 鈥渨ill create an industry leader in mobile and broadband communications services, seamless video entertainment, and high-quality customer service,鈥� values Cox Communications at about $34.5 billion.

And with only 33% of agency professionals still considering local broadcast/cable TV a 鈥渕ust-buy,鈥� Nextdoor has a chance to capture dollars migrating from traditional local media.

Comcast looks to free streaming biz from linear鈥檚 decline: The company is separating cable and digital assets in a move that others will mimic.

I think there are many other tipping points that we've seen coming for a long time," Verna said, noting that cable households have been below 50% for some time now. Late-night TV struggles signal deeper issues. The recent cancellation of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" has sparked debate about whether it represents another canary in the coal mine for linear television.

Fox will debut its own subscription service, Fox One, this fall鈥攂undling content from its broadcast network, cable channels, and live sports like the NFL. Fox One targets cord-cutters but intentionally avoids cannibalizing cable subscribers, who will receive access for free. Pricing hasn鈥檛 been revealed but is expected to match or exceed cable rates.