Video

Disney sees straight-to-streaming success: "Black Widow" made $60 million from Disney+ rentals despite theaters being mostly reopened, a success story that could have lasting effects on future movie release plans.

Netgames: Netflix has made its long-teased push into video games official with its latest executive hire. Gaming could help revitalize the platform, which is starting to see stagnating growth.

NBCU's upfronts: The company said this year's upfront market was its biggest ever, driven by inventory for the Olympics and Super Bowl, plus unprecedented digital upfront commitments.

Price hike: Disney has raised the cost of ESPN+ as its new sports rights deals prioritize the streaming service.

On today's episode, we discuss what to make of YouTube ad impressions moving over to TV screens, our connected TV ad spending estimates, and how to make TV ads more actionable. We then talk about what's driving Amazon's ad business, whether NBCUniversal can get primetime TV ad rates for slots on Peacock, and what impact Nielsen's new Podcast Ad Effectiveness+ solution will have. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer senior forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Eric Haggstrom.

Creator economy crescendo: Amazon is quickly building out areas of its business that center on influencers, as the walls between social media and ecommerce erode and creators' roles in those spaces start to blend together.

On today's episode, we discuss what the most interesting areas of Amazon's business are, what longer videos mean for TikTok, why marketers should focus on Clubhouse and/or podcasts, why one company is bringing TV ads to console games, where Walmart beats Amazon, when we can expect to enjoy space tourism, and more. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer director of forecasting Cindy Liu, forecasting analyst Peter Vahle and analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch.

Disney+ approaches domestic saturation: But it's not alone in seeing slowing growth, as all major US streamers will struggle domestically in the coming years.

On today's episode, we discuss what Facebook's new virtual reality (VR) ads look like, the ad formats that will be unique to VR, and what's driving VR headset growth. We then talk about the breakdown of what Americans are watching on TV, whether we will ever see ads on Disney+ and Netflix, and whether YouTube TV has the answer for sports fans. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analysts at Insider Intelligence Victoria Petrock and Paul Verna.

Bringing them home: Comcast’s Universal Pictures will send its 2022 film slate directly to Peacock after appearing in cinemas, replacing HBO as its traditional distributor.

On today's episode, we discuss how many Americans watch sports on streaming platforms, how TV companies are tackling the digital sports rights balance, and what this year’s Tokyo Olympics can do to help boost NBCUniversal's streaming platform Peacock. We then talk about the key takeaways from the 2021 Upfronts, the potential impact of Univision's Spanish language streaming service, and how the entertainment industry is balancing box-office releases and streaming. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna.

Attack of the clones: Now that most major social platforms have a TikTok-like feature, each is exploring different ways to use short-form video to further their longer-term goals.

Hi-fi YouTube TV: The $20 add-on to YouTube's skinny bundle includes 4K resolution and offline playback, which YouTube hopes can capture sports fans who have already cut the cord on traditional cable.

NTWRK pushes live shopping in the US: The livestream-centric mobile marketplace is competing with giants like Amazon and Facebook as US companies emulate China and struggle to succeed in the fledgeling livestreaming ecommerce space.

For the first time, we have broken out the portion of US upfront digital video ad spending that goes to connected TV (CTV). This year, advertisers will increase their upfront CTV video ad spending by almost 50% year over year to $4.51 billion.

Consumers are loving ad-supported video: Time spent with AVOD surged 200% between May 2020 and May 2021 as viewers increased content consumption amid a crowded landscape of pay-to-play streaming platforms.

The medium screen: New data on ad impressions shows that more YouTube viewing is happening on TVs, suggesting the platform will soon become an increasingly popular place to reallocate TV ad dollars.

Univision plans broader streaming launch: Its upcoming streamer will feature both free and paid tiers and be available in the US and Latin America as the media company aims to take on competitors like regional leader Netflix.

New Nielsen numbers: The company is releasing a new monthly measurement of US time spent watching TV, with its first report showing streaming accounting for just over a quarter of time spent.