Media & Entertainment

Meta to combine VR apps: Folding Horizon Venues into the larger Horizon Worlds app may be the only way to maintain user traffic and waning engagement.

Affordability and exclusivity give Disney+ an edge: The relative streaming newcomer is enjoying success thanks to bundling and blockbuster content.

Advertisers are eyeing movie theaters’ record box office sales: Recent films have brought millions to theaters, and marketers are eager for their attention.

In analyzing the media landscape, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is reimagining the future of digital viewership. In this Q&A, the IAB's Eric John, vice president, media center, discussed continuous growth in video advertising and connected TV, why the old model of a million-dollar TV commercial playing once everywhere is gone, and how to make creative work better.

Netflix speeds up its ad rollout, but uncertainty still swirls: An internal note shows Netflix preempting concerns that rushed ads could harm its brand.

Google forges closer ties with publishers as Meta pushes them in a new direction: Search giant to pay European publications for content as Meta pivots to video.

Roblox disappoints, but there’s reason to be bullish: As brands flock to gaming and metaverse-adjacent advertising opportunities, the platform stands to benefit.

This year’s highly anticipated Google I/O developer’s conference kicked off yesterday and all eyes were on the announcement of the new Pixel 6a, Pixel Watch, and Android 13, which were all covered along with updates to various Google Search, Maps, and Translate services.

Whether it’s fluctuating viewership or leveraging data-driven technologies to identify the right time and place for brand awareness, there's power in being flexible. In this Q&A, Mediahub's Carrie Drinkwater, chief investment officer, shares where marketing attention is shifting, what clients are looking for, and where new obstacles are rising.

Gamers want to see creative ads that are seamlessly integrated into gameplay. Some 41% of US gamers ages 18 to 34 would like rewards for devoting time and attention to in-game ads. Meanwhile, 32% believe ads should never interrupt a hardcore gamer’s flow.

About two-thirds of the US population ages 12 and older listens to digital audio at least once per week, up 5 percentage points from 2021. Over the past decade, that share has grown by 38 percentage points, making the weekly listenership now 192 million strong.

As the US streaming market matures, the companies that make TV are expanding their purview. This can mean a lot of things, including moving into the hardware space, moving away from the hardware space, taking ownership of ad platforms, and extending coverage locally and internationally.

On today's episode, we discuss how Spotify performed in Q1, what's driving its subscriber engine, and whether its expected hi-fi streaming tier can help move the needle. "In Other News," we talk about whether gaming is critical to brand objectives and what to make of Pinterest's mixed signals. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Daniel Konstantinovic.

XBox Live goes down globally: The game streaming service and games on devices were inaccessible as its cloud service went down. The trend of outages for high-bandwidth, high-traffic services continues.

Franchise films carried AMC through the first quarter: A slew of superhero films boosted AMC ticket sales despite a COVID-19 surge

Agencies spy an opportunity in the metaverse: WPP is partnering with Epic Games on a new initiative for that very reason.

Gaming’s labor problem could affect its brand opportunities: The industry is experiencing rapid consolidation, but workers are pushing back.

On today's episode, we discuss whether augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) will rival the smartphone as the next big platform, the impact of 3D advertising, how in-store shopping habits have changed, whether there really is an attention economy slowdown, what to do about inflation, an unpopular opinion about video chats, which way people fold their arms, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our senior director of Briefings Stephanie Taglianetti, director of forecasting Oscar Orozco, and analyst Dave Frankland.

Meta freezes hiring and reduces metaverse investment: Months after an audacious pivot into its VR future, Meta is contending with declining ad sales growth. Will the future wait for Meta to sort itself out?

While TV investments have remained resilient, YouTube is looking to drive viewership in a unique, consumer-first way. In this Q&A, Google's Brian Albert, managing director, shares why linear TV is largely going to revolve around live sports and news and connected TV is going to be the main topic in every Upfronts negotiation this year.