蘑菇AV

US adults will spend 1 minute less with media this year than in 2022, although the longer-term topline trend is stable. Among formats and platforms, CTV is grabbing share, mobile is approaching a plateau, and Netflix and TikTok reign supreme.

Streaming makes ad spending gains, Netflix experiences growing pains, and advertisers encounter a soft upfront market.

As Bing makes inroads into Google鈥檚 lead, it experiments with AI ads: Disney and Roku layoffs and pivots by Twitter and ByteDance dominated headlines this past week.

The over-the-top (OTT) streaming landscape is rapidly becoming as crowded as the early days of cable TV. It is vital that marketers understand the scale, reach, and prospects of the various players in the industry.

Ad-supported video gains viewership, time spent on digital video surpasses TV, and streaming services pivot from audience growth to profitability.

Spotify keeps Bill Simmons on board: The Ringer founder extends his contract as Spotify pivots toward video podcasting and sustainable ad-driven content.

Seventy-six percent of the age group spends more than an hour per day watching video-on-demand services, including SVOD, compared with 74% who spend the same amount of time on YouTube, the same report found. Time spent with YouTube excludes time with YouTube Shorts, where 61% of kids spend more than an hour per day.

Many notable data points emerged from this busy week, including Google's search usage, resounding global trust in influencer recommendations, and most Americans don't know they're using AI-enabled products (even though 99% recently have).

Netflix dominates in consumer attention however you slice the data.

Influencer marketing spend will grow15% YoY, outpacing digital and social ad spending, and will reach $10.52 billion in 2025, 蘑菇AV forecasts. Despite its growth, influencer marketing has maintained a core communication issue鈥攏o one knows what to call the people who are doing the work.

Social, search, and CTV ad spend trends in Q2: Meta, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Google, and Microsoft show strong performance overall, driven by AI, innovative ad formats, and global expansion鈥攈ighlighting the increasing importance of digital advertising across various platforms.

Amazon scores a win with 鈥淏east Games鈥�: The reality series from controversial YouTuber MrBeast attracted 50 million viewers.

Disney will attract major attention at Upfronts: Ad-supported subscribers surpassed 157 million, giving it a leg up over the competition.

Walmart鈥檚 ad business fuels operating income growth: Retail media revenues jumped 29% driven by marketplace expansion.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss why Netflix was able to grow subscribers and revenue by such an unexpected amount, the biggest question surrounding its ads business, and the most significant threat facing Netflix at the moment. Tune in to the discussion with host Marcus Johnson and analyst Daniel Konstantinovic.

Netflix CFO Spencer Neumann is optimistic about the future of ads on Netflix. 鈥淲hen you get into 鈥�26 and beyond, [advertising] can be even more meaningful and, hopefully, it becomes to the point where it is a primary [revenue] contributor, given all of that engagement and reach that we鈥檙e building,鈥� he said on the company鈥檚 earnings call last week.

Amazon takes full creative control of James Bond: The $1 billion deal signals a new era of more frequent and potentially experimental Bond content.

Netflix phases out Basic plan amid ad-supported regrets: The company鈥檚 approach to lifting ad-tier subs puts it far behind Amazon.

How streaming services are adapting to Amazon鈥檚 shakeup: The launch of ads on Prime Video in January has forced Netflix and others to lower CPMs to compete.

Netflix with ads is trailing streaming rivals: The service is struggling to compete with recent entrant Amazon and has lowered CPMs.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss what was behind the streaming giants staggering subscriber growth, how Prime Video's new ad-tier will affect Netflix, and how a deal with the WWE changes its sports strategy. "In Other News," we talk about an important milestone for ad-supported video streaming. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Daniel Konstantinovic.

The degree to which streaming services seek out and rely on ads as a main revenue driver varies widely.