Media & Entertainment

The pandemic has caused reduced advertiser spending overall, leading to lower growth of in-app ad spending despite significantly higher numbers of ad placements. While in-app purchases (IAPs) never stopped growing amid the pandemic, publisher revenues have recently been shifting from in-app advertising to purchases.

eMarketer vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna steps in as host of this week's "The Weekly Listen," where he and eMarketer principal analysts Mark Dolliver and Debra Aho Williamson, and junior analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch discuss the latest updates on the TikTok saga, Quibi's unique predicament, Roku and NBCUniversal's buried hatchet, new game consoles from Sony and Microsoft, the Emmys' declining viewership, and how a home-field advantage influences soccer (or football, if you're European) referees.

Programmatic podcast ad spending, which we are forecasting for the first time this year, is growing at a fast rate from a small base.

With the shuttering of amusement parks and cancellation of live events, the entertainment industry will see some of the biggest declines in digital ad spending this year, eclipsed only by the travel, auto, and media industries.

eMarketer forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom, junior forecasting analyst Zachary Goldner, and principal analyst Nicole Perrin discuss the evolving landscape of advertising through connected TV devices and how Roku stands out from the competition. They then talk about when we may see a return to pre-pandemic advertising budgets, the importance of earning consumer trust during data collection, and what happened to ad blocking.

Many US adults said they plan to keep their music subscriptions (72%), exercise/fitness/wellness subscriptions (64%), and digital learning subscriptions (54%) post-pandemic.

eMarketer forecasting analysts Eric Haggstrom and Peter Vahle and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna discuss the future of the movie theater. Will movies make a comeback and what will they look like? They then talk about HBO Max with ads, AT&T's possible wireless phone plans subsidized by ads, and Apple One subscription bundles.

While pandemic-driven lockdowns may have benefited certain forms of media, the traditional pay TV industry is not one of them. In fact, cable, satellite, and telecom TV providers will lose the most subscribers ever.

Amazon Music will increase its user base by 18.5% to 45.8 million this year, which represents 21.3% of digital audio listeners, according to our latest estimates. As it continues to invest and grow its audio strategy, we expect Amazon Music will surpass Pandora in monthly listeners by 2023.

During the pandemic and ensuing lockdowns, fewer people commuted to work daily, and many local businesses cut their marketing budgets as they fought to stay open. These conditions have strained the radio advertising market.

eMarketer principal analysts Debra Aho Williamson and Mark Dolliver, and forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Eric Haggstrom discuss Facebook's recent decision on political ads and how brands can reach social users over the coming months. They then talk about Facebook's plans to limit ads on pages, how this year's events have changed Gen Z's relationship with brands, and why Americans still pay for live TV.

Augmented reality (AR) has become more common on social networks. This year, there will be 43.7 million US social network AR users, according to our March 2020 forecast.

Budget cuts and advertising pullbacks are giving companies in industries like retail, accessories and entertainment new reasons to explore the benefits of these technologies.

eMarketer principal analysts Mark Dolliver and Debra Aho Williamson, senior forecasting analyst Oscar Orozco and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna discuss the latest TikTok news, how much current events should be referenced in ads, Peacock's new voice ads, a local TV station streaming service, Amazon getting really close to drone deliveries, how far we are from actual flying cars, and more.

Digital radio spending has declined during the pandemic, which is in line with reduced advertiser demand. We do, however, expect growth to rebound by 26.8% next year.

Video viewing platform Twitch is benefiting from coronavirus lockdowns in a big way in the US. Usage will jump 26.2% this year to 41.5 million, higher than the 37.5 million predicted in February.

Ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) platforms saw strong growth in ad revenues last quarter, a bright spot in the overall ad market during the pandemic.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver, junior analyst Blake Droesch and forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Peter Vahle discuss the implications of TikTok suing the US government, smartphone use while watching TV, a potential new tech agency, Instagram's new "Suggested Posts," the status of cord-cutting, how you can tell the temperature by counting cricket chirps and more.

eMarketer senior corporate account director Michael Civins, forecasting analyst Peter Vahle and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna discuss which music platforms Americans use and the growing significance of podcast listening. They then talk about whether TV networks are being too optimistic about H2, how many more voice assistants there are and movies going from theaters to digital platforms much faster.