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Total time spent with media per day in the US is no longer growing meaningfully, but there will still be significant churn between devices, activities, and platforms as consumers choose how to spend their time.

This is the first installment of our biannual 鈥淯K Ad Spending Benchmarks鈥� series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.

The news: Roblox鈥檚 lack of third-party measurement tools is becoming a hurdle for advertisers. The platform has minimal independent insights into standard metrics like reach and performance outcomes, per Digiday. As a result, potential customers are hesitant to start investing in ads on Roblox, which could dampen company growth. Our take: Roblox commands enormous engagement, especially with younger users, and it has a wealth of assets to attract advertisers and bolster its revenue. However, without accessible measurement offerings that meet industry standards, Roblox鈥檚 growth as a major ad channel may remain limited.

Epic Games forced Apple to unwind App Store rules, setting a precedent that weakens Apple鈥檚 payment monopoly and threatens its fastest-growing services revenue stream.

Why 鈥淢inecraft鈥� is succeeding: The movie is based on the best-selling video game of all time, meaning it has a larger鈥攁nd more family-friendly鈥攁udience than other video game adaptations. However, a significant reason behind the success of 鈥淎 Minecraft Movie鈥� is the film鈥檚 massive marketing push, studded by an array of high-profile collaborations and immersive brand tie-ins.

This is the second installment of our quarterly 鈥淎d Spending Benchmarks鈥� series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.

How can in-game ad buyers calibrate their ad spending and budget allocations against the market, and how can publishers and solution providers assess whether their ad revenues are in line with industry trends?

Meanwhile, in Q4, FanDuel reclaimed its top spot in US gross gaming revenues (GGR) with 35%, according to Eilers & Krejcik Gaming. DraftKings had briefly taken the lead during Q3. Gambling ad spend seeks out live sports coverage. US ad spend in the gambling and casino sector reached $734.8 million for the period of January 2023 to November 2023, per MediaRadar.

Consumer tech spending expected to reach record $537 billion in 2025鈥攗nless tariffs get in the way: The need to replace pandemic-era purchases and interest in AI-powered features will spur demand, assuming prices stay steady.

The average US adult will spend more than 8 hours per day on digital media this year, with about half of that time spent on mobile devices and more than a quarter on CTV.鈥�

Despite financial troubles among some esports and gaming video platforms, ad revenues will continue to grow for both media.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss why gaming is a digital advertising hotbed, how consumers are embracing shoppable media, and what happens now that the ride-sharing industry has bounced back. Tune in to the discussion with our forecasting writer Ethan Cramer-Flood.

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鈥檚 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.

US adults will spend 10.6% of their mobile time playing games this year, per our forecast. But we expect just 3.9% of US mobile ad spend will go to the category in 2023.

The platform generated $8.9 billion in ad revenues in Q3, its second-best quarter ever. From Q4 2023 to Q3 2024, YouTube's revenues from advertising and subscriptions exceeded $50 billion for the first time; for context, Netflix might be growing faster, but its own annual revenues for that timeframe were a 鈥渕ere鈥� $37.6 billion.

The average US adult spends just over an hour playing video games per day, according to our estimates. Such a sizable share of attention offers a prime opportunity for brands to advertise in games鈥攅specially since traditional barriers to brand advertising have been lowered. Big changes have opened opportunities for brands across platforms.