Ad tech rebuilt itself around identity resolution and clean rooms once third-party cookies disappeared. Coverage here spans SSAI, programmatic CTV, ad-supported tier economics, frequency capping, and the measurement approaches replacing the old playbook.
Bleecker Street’s filmed version of Hadestown: The Musical has grossed $20.7 million, setting a record for live theater captures. The success of the Crosswalk division's event cinema model demonstrates a strategy of using limited theatrical windows to drive subsequent premium VOD and physical media sales.
YouTube is offering exclusivity payments to top creators to prevent cross-posting to Netflix, while Walmart announced plans to integrate Sam’s Club data into its Scintilla analytics platform by 2027. These developments reflect ongoing efforts by major platforms to secure exclusive content and consolidate retail media data networks.
Discord has launched Play Quest+, an event-based ad format that utilizes its Social SDK and Events API to track in-game actions for performance-based marketing. The feature debuts with Electronic Arts' Battlefield 6, marking a strategic shift for the platform toward lower-funnel advertising as it prepares for a potential IPO.
Xbox is testing an ad-supported game streaming model that utilizes pre-roll advertisements to lower entry costs for users. This experiment reflects a broader industry shift toward hybrid monetization models within premium gaming and streaming ecosystems.
eMarketer forecasts that US connected TV (CTV) ad spend will reach $36.95 billion by 2026, maintaining its position as the largest global market. While the US leads in total volume, emerging markets including India, Brazil, and Spain are projected to experience significantly faster year-over-year growth rates.
Vantage Chief Strategy Officer Drew Cashmore discusses the necessity of composable architecture and standardized APIs for retail media networks. He argues that retailers must prioritize connective infrastructure over simple media sales to overcome system fragmentation.
Group-IB research has identified two sophisticated fraud networks, GoldBull and CoinLure, that utilize deepfake advertisements and coordinated WhatsApp groups to execute pump-and-dump investment scams. The report highlights how these networks leverage industrialised infrastructure and synthetic media to target retail investors, contributing to billions in annual losses.
Netflix announced a 2026-2027 roadmap for its Mexican market, introducing AI-powered ad formats like Pause Ads and new in-house measurement APIs. The platform also confirmed exclusive streaming rights for the Concacaf Nations League Finals and Gold Cup in Mexico.
Nielsen is implementing seven methodological updates to its Big Data + Panel currency on August 31, 2026, including new wearable-based co-viewing measurement and adjustments to universe estimates. The changes aim to improve accuracy across linear and streaming platforms, though the company has explicitly stated that these updates do not guarantee higher ratings for media sellers.
Amazon DSP is partnering with iHeartMedia to integrate U.S. broadcast radio into its omnichannel advertising and measurement platform by 2027. The initiative aims to provide granular attribution for broadcast radio exposure alongside digital audio, podcasts, and connected TV to enable full-funnel performance tracking.
Nielsen is updating its Big Data + Panel TV currency methodology on August 31, incorporating wearable device data for co-viewing and refined machine-learning models. These adjustments aim to improve measurement accuracy for Hispanic households and ACR data sources ahead of the new broadcast season.
Researchers from IIT Gandhinagar and IIT BHU have introduced GenR, a three-stage AI framework that utilizes StyleGAN3 for blind face restoration without requiring paired training data. The system is capable of reconstructing degraded facial images in approximately 30 seconds, with potential applications in forensic analysis and media preservation.
The linear TV advertising industry is shifting toward 'DDL 2.0,' a model that uses APIs and agentic transaction architectures to automate planning and execution. This transition aims to bring digital-style performance targeting and optimization to traditional linear television audiences.
Media agency Butler/Till and iHeartMedia have executed the first agentic AI-powered media buying campaign for streaming audio and podcasts. The campaign achieved a 42% increase in efficiency compared to traditional benchmarks while shifting more inventory into high-value mid-roll placements.
The article argues that the disparity between social media's ad spend and its actual media consumption time is driven by superior, platform-owned attribution infrastructure rather than true performance. It highlights the need for independent, cross-platform measurement to accurately assess the incremental value of advertising across fragmented CTV and social environments.
Justin Jefferson, an analyst covering media spend, reports that marketing investment as a percentage of revenue declines from 20% to 2% as brands scale past $1 billion. The analysis suggests that shifting budgets toward CTV, linear, and audio channels provides better long-term growth compared to over-reliance on bottom-of-funnel digital search channels.
A new market report projects the global hybrid OTT monetization sector will grow to $22.39 billion by 2031, driven by the expansion of ad-supported tiers and FAST services. The analysis identifies fragmented ad-tech stacks and cross-platform measurement gaps as primary operational challenges for streaming operators.
Flightpath has launched 'Automation Playbooks' to help publishers manage ad delivery issues and undocumented bugs within Spotify's Megaphone platform. The report also highlights YouTube's recent changes to view metrics and growth in the Irish podcast advertising market.
Google has updated its IMA DAI SDK for iOS to include native support for skippable ads when using HLS Interstitials. The update allows developers to manage skip button rendering, user interactions, and event tracking directly through the SDK.
A report from iSpot.tv and Tubular Labs highlights that pharmaceutical brands are heavily concentrating ad spend on CTV and news programming, while telehealth brands are increasingly leveraging YouTube Shorts for high-volume engagement. The data indicates a shift in media strategy as pharma advertisers balance traditional linear reach with digital-first social video platforms.
FutureSports has partnered with CME Group to launch team-specific indices that allow stakeholders to trade futures contracts based on on-field performance metrics. The platform aims to provide broadcasters, sponsors, and other industry participants with a financial tool to hedge against risks associated with team performance and viewership fluctuations.
Samsung Ads and Playtika reported that a three-month CTV campaign for the mobile game Bingo Blitz achieved a 4x return on ad spend and a 60% reduction in cost per install. The campaign utilized Samsung's AI-powered performance buying tools and audience targeting across its CTV ecosystem to drive lower-funnel results.
Streams Charts has launched Brand Radar, a tool designed to track brand and keyword mentions across Twitch, Kick, and YouTube Gaming chats and bios. The service provides marketers and agencies with automated monitoring and data export capabilities to replace manual stream observation.
Truthset has integrated its Data Rated Audiences with the FreeWheel Identity Network to allow advertisers to apply accuracy grades to demographic segments before activation. The partnership aims to reduce wasted impressions in premium CTV inventory by validating identity records at the resolution stage within FreeWheel's Advertiser Suite.
Nexxen has introduced new standardization tools and a universal creative specification to streamline programmatic ad buying on Smart TV home screens. The platform utilizes AI-assisted resizing to reduce onboarding time for OEM partners like TCL and TiVo by 50%, facilitating easier campaign scaling for advertisers.
A NewsGuard analysis identified programmatic advertisements for Google, Amazon, Yahoo, and Adobe appearing on websites that host healthcare hoaxes and disinformation. The findings highlight ongoing brand safety and transparency challenges within the automated ad-tech ecosystem despite existing quality control assurances.
GrowthLoop has expanded its composable commerce media platform with new integrations for The Trade Desk, Moloco, and Audience Acuity. The solution aims to help retailers manage onsite and offsite ad campaigns and measurement directly within their existing data cloud environments.
The EU AI Act, effective as of August 2, 2026, mandates that advertisers label AI-generated or manipulated content that resembles real entities. This regulation impacts streaming and online video providers by requiring visible disclosures for deepfakes to avoid penalties of up to 3% of global turnover.
A report from Appcharge and the GDC Festival of Gaming indicates that direct-to-consumer payment models provide a 35% median revenue uplift for leading mobile app publishers. The research highlights that while the mobile gaming DTC market has reached $17 billion, many non-gaming subscription apps are currently under-prepared to transition away from traditional app store billing.
Hoppr has entered a commercial partnership with Australian platform Fetch TV to integrate its audience and behavioral intelligence into Fetch's advertising proposition. The collaboration aims to improve campaign ROI and targeting confidence for brands across Fetch's 650,000 subscribing households.
A report from Insightrackr and Mintegral indicates that global non-gaming app downloads grew 16.6% in H1 2026, with short drama apps surging 95.5% year-over-year. The data highlights a shift toward hybrid monetization models and high-density video advertising, particularly within emerging markets.
Billo data indicates that Meta ad competition increases by 40% and CPMs rise by 18% between August and the November holiday peak. The company recommends that brands test creator-led social video variants in August to optimize ad performance and avoid high auction costs during Q4.
Uber Advertising head Corey Rados discusses the company's strategy to leverage real-world intent signals from 40 million daily trips to create commerce media opportunities. The approach focuses on integrating in-app advertising with physical experiences to drive measurable brand impact across the funnel.
Nielsen is updating its Big Data + Panel measurement currency by integrating new demographic data for Spanish-language audiences and expanding the use of wearable device inputs to improve co-viewing accuracy. The company is also accelerating the integration of ARF DASH TV Universe Study data to address publisher concerns regarding data lag and streaming viewership discrepancies.
Horizon Media President Bob Lord discusses the shift toward performance-based compensation models and the role of AI in increasing transparency within media supply chains. Lord advocates for open-source technology and data transparency to move agencies from cost-efficiency models to growth-partnership roles.
Shinka CEO Kieran Greene argues that programmatic CTV publishers lose 20% to 40% of potential revenue due to inefficient bid request formatting and missing signal enrichment. The company offers an agnostic mediation layer designed to standardize and enrich bid requests across various ad servers and demand sources to improve bid density and CPMs.
Executives from Sinclair and Fox Television Stations will participate in a panel at the upcoming NAB Show New York to discuss strategies for aligning business protocols and technologies to improve programmatic and addressable advertising workflows. The session aims to address how local broadcasters can capture revenue from CTV and digital platforms while maintaining rate integrity.
IAB Tech Lab EVP Shailley Singh has issued a clarification regarding the scope of the Agentic Ad Management Protocols (AAMP), emphasizing that the framework covers the entire advertising transaction lifecycle rather than just the impression layer. The article addresses common misconceptions by detailing how AAMP integrates with existing standards like OpenRTB 2.6 and OpenDirect to support diverse ad-buying workflows.
OpenAI is expanding its ChatGPT Ads platform to 31 European markets, following a U.S. pilot. The platform, which is limited to free and low-cost subscription tiers, now includes conversion optimization, geo-targeting, and third-party measurement integrations.
CTV platforms like Roku and Viant are actively targeting advertising budgets traditionally allocated to search and social media. Industry analysts and platform executives are debating the efficacy of this shift, citing CTV's potential as a brand-safe environment compared to generative AI-impacted digital channels.
Cineverse has launched Vaudio, a technology platform that converts podcast and streaming audio advertisements into visual creative for connected TV (CTV) inventory. The product, which leverages technology from Cineverse's $40 million acquisition of IndiCue, aims to capture a portion of the podcast ad market by enabling audio-first campaigns to run on CTV screens.
YouTube currently captures 28% of streaming TV viewing time but only 12% of TV advertising share, highlighting a significant gap in monetization compared to traditional linear television. Analysts attribute this discrepancy to institutional resistance from advertisers who do not yet classify user-generated content as premium TV inventory.
Several advertising software companies, including DoubleVerify, PubMatic, The Trade Desk, AppLovin, and LiveRamp, reported mixed Q2 financial results. While PubMatic outperformed revenue expectations, other firms in the sector faced challenges with guidance or missed analyst estimates, reflecting broader market volatility in digital advertising technology.
A report from tvScientific and Pinterest indicates that 54% of U.S. marketers plan to invest in performance-based connected TV (CTV) for the upcoming holiday season. The findings highlight a shift toward earlier campaign launches and the integration of AI for creative optimization and audience targeting to drive measurable business outcomes.
Law firm Keller Postman has launched a mass arbitration campaign against Google, representing thousands of advertisers seeking damages for alleged overcharges following federal antitrust rulings. The firm estimates total advertiser overpayments at approximately $218 billion across Google's search and display ad tech stack.
Mutinex President Mike Finnerty discusses the need for advertisers to shift from platform-reported metrics to incrementality-focused measurement. The company advocates for using agentic AI to provide independent, P&L-aligned data that connects automated media buying to actual business outcomes.
Covatic has launched Smart Campaigns, an AI-driven engine designed to allow publishers to optimize live ad targeting in real-time based on attribution data. The tool integrates with major ad servers including Google Ad Manager and FreeWheel to provide actionable audience segment recommendations for manual review by operations teams.
Teads has secured a multi-year exclusive agreement with smart TV OS V (formerly VIDAA) for a 10-day home screen advertising takeover during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday period through 2028. The deal introduces new hardware-level targeting capabilities based on screen size and room placement across approximately 30 global markets.
ITN has expanded its NXTv programmatic hub by integrating Comscore audience data, with Dentsu and Magnite ClearLine serving as launch partners. The development highlights the industry's shift toward agentic AI buying agents and the increasing pressure on local linear TV to structure relationship-based value for automated procurement.
A report from the Video Advertising Bureau indicates that digital creator content now accounts for 26% of daily U.S. video viewing time. The findings highlight a shift in media company strategy, with major platforms like Roku, NBCUniversal, and FOX launching dedicated creator-facing infrastructure to capture growing influencer marketing budgets.
James Varndell · Bitmovin
