Media Buying

This year, US entertainment industry mobile ad spend will surpass $11 billion, growing 19.4% from 2021. Growth will slow but remain in the double digits through 2024, when spend will top $15 billion.

When it comes to premium subscribers, YouTube and Twitter clearly have different strategies: the former is testing putting standard features behind a paywall, while the latter opts to put new functionality in front of it.

On today's episode, we discuss the details of Netflix's advertising push, which video streaming service has the most impressive content strategy, and how many Americans still have cable. "In Other News," we talk about what to make of Netflix's plans to launch its own video game studio and which is the dark-horse video streaming platform. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Ross Benes.

Tencent’s stock value crumbles: The gaming giant loses its leadership position as regulators clamp down on new game releases and advertising revenues plummet. The outlook remains bleak for China’s Big Tech sector.

Podcast listener growth ebbs as pandemic fades: Our new forecast finds Spotify’s fortunes to be increasingly linked to that of podcasting in general.

On today's episode, we discuss how the digital ad duopoly is evolving, the most interesting dark horse digital ad giant, and whether Netflix, not TikTok, is a bigger threat to Facebook and Instagram. "In Other News," we talk about ad industry practices coming under fire as privacy lawsuits surge and who the winners and losers will be when the third-party cookie says goodbye. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Paul Verna.

Google courts younger cohort with search updates: New features put bigger emphasis on visual elements to address user preferences.

More businesses engage with creators: $5 billion will be spent on influencer marketing this year, up more than $1 billion from 2021, in part driven by the return of travel and travel marketing.

On today's episode, we discuss the significance of Super Bowl LVII ads already selling out, why personalization is so difficult, ad views in the metaverse, why folks are livestreaming in the wrong place, what to make of Oprah's content deal with Apple TV+ ending, an explanation of the most important sustainability features for retailers to offer, where tailgating came from, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our analysts Blake Droesch, Dave Frankland, and Max Willens.

Retail media is following in the footsteps of search and social as digital advertising's third big wave, and has already established itself as a force. Built on a foundation of valuable first-party purchase data, contextually relevant ad experiences, and closed-loop reporting, retail media is seeing advertiser budgets quickly migrating in its direction. This fall, Amazon’s exclusive rights to NFL Thursday Night Football will “kick off” the first of retail media’s next three phases of growth and prove why digital advertising’s third big wave is destined to be the biggest.

Advertisers are flocking to clean room solutions: Where there's opportunity, there's hype—and confusion about security remain.

There are a few ways to view the decline of the pay TV bundle. In our pay TV figures, we exclude vMVPDs, which deliver live TV over the internet. When viewed this way, pay TV will decline 7.2% this year to 66.4 million households. That figure will drop to 54.3 million households by the end of 2026.

Expect to hear quite a bit more about retail media networks in the coming years: The trend is far from over, according to our new visual report, “The Great Realignment.”

Fitbit’s last days: Google is requiring Fitbit customers to transition to Google accounts starting next year. This could solidify Google’s wearables ecosystem and increase market share but risks alienating Fitbit fans.

The ad industry is slowing down, but political spending isn’t: Advertising ahead of the elections is skyrocketing, despite 2022 not being a presidential election year.

For the marketing and retail sectors, it’s not all bad news: despite inflation and uncertainty, a number of positive signs suggest marketers would be wise to not overcorrect.

Meta and Google are laying off staff in a curious manner: It’s not en masse, and it’s quieter than usual—but it’s still happening.

Major advertising categories are pulling ad spending: August saw ad spend decrease for the third month in a row as the industry struggles to adapt to new standards.