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Over the next few years, automated transactions, like programmatic guaranteed and private marketplaces, could account for at least half of upfront deals by agency holding companies, according to Nicole Scaglione, global vice president of CTV/OTT and online video at PubMatic. Overall upfront spending will likely increase this year. Digital’s upfront gains will more than make up for linear TV’s losses.

The digital landscape in Europe is slowing, but opportunities for advertisers, brands, and retailers still exist. Knowing where to look to achieve the best outcomes will be paramount.

The OTT landscape has gained a raft of new competitors in recent years. We don’t forecast viewership for Disney+ and AppleTV+ in Canada, but their later arrival in the country than the mainstays like Netflix doesn’t mean they haven’t captured sizable audiences. Advertisers are benefiting from a massive expansion of video ad opportunities.

HBO Max is back after a lengthy branding misstep: The pivot reflects the enduring power of HBO’s cultural and commercial identity.

The loss of TikTok in the US would cause a ripple effect across the media, marketing, and commerce landscape. Meta and YouTube stand to gain the most, but there is a long list of other winners—and losers.

NBCU highlights sports, streaming at Upfront event: The presentation outlined NBCU’s plan to offset declining traditional TV revenues.

Disney’s streaming bundle is driving subscriber gains and lower churn: But fiscal caution and ad headwinds may limit future momentum.

Last week, Best Buy Ads launched Social+, an offering that allows brands and agencies to leverage Best Buy’s first-party data for social media campaigns. The tool is currently only available for Meta campaigns on Facebook and Instagram, but will expand to other social media networks in the future, per a press release.

The news: The FTC has conditionally approved Omnicom’s $13.5 billion acquisition of IPG, but with a historic behavioral restriction: the merged ad giant is barred from coordinating ad placements based on political or ideological content. This addresses rising concerns over informal industry efforts to blacklist partisan publishers, especially those on the right. Our take: The ruling sends a clear warning that media buying behavior is under federal scrutiny. While brands can still control where their ads appear, holding companies must now walk a tighter line. The age of unregulated middlemen in ad placement may be ending.

The trend: Healthcare advertising motivates consumers to go online to do more research, or talk to a medical professional—but the majority of people have privacy concerns about personalized ads. Our take: Healthcare marketers are eager to use AI and targeting technology to make one-to-one connections with consumers. And it’s true that personalized ads can be more useful for people. However, marketers need to use transparent labeling, use conspicuous ad tags on social media, and preface targeted emails with explanations about why they’re being sent.

US retail media ad spending will increase 88.5% from 2024 to 2028, reaching $97.9 billion, according to a November 2024 Ä¢¹½AV forecast.

Amazon will get a growth boost from its OTT video service. Amazon will benefit from a new kind of growth model in 2024, thanks to its ad-supported video-on-demand initiative with Prime Video. By the end of the year, Amazon will have transitioned most of its OTT viewers to an ad-supported subscription tier in the US, Canada, Germany, the UK, France, Mexico, and several other major markets.

AppLovin beat Q1 expectations and exited gaming: The company is now all-in on adtech, led by AXON’s rapid growth.

Roku delivered strong Q1 results and acquired Frndly TV: The deal boosts live content and supports subscription growth without overspending.

To keep pace in a complex landscape and meet increasing demands from advertisers, commerce media players need to invest in fresh channels, tools, and innovation.

The traditional TV bundle will further decay as more live sports embrace streaming.

In this report, CMOs share how they’re transforming influencer strategies to deliver business impact—and what solution providers can do to help.

Strong Q1 ad results show resilience: But AI, tariffs, and antitrust pressures will reshape how and where marketers spend in 2025.

FAST trend grows globally: New channels from Free Live Sports, CBC, and Pluto TV showcase demand for free, ad-supported streaming options.