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.
WARC Media reports that YouTube's advertising revenue reached $40.4 billion in 2025, though year-on-year growth is decelerating due to competition from TikTok and Netflix. The platform is increasingly focusing on connected TV and podcast inventory to capture larger advertising budgets despite the shifting competitive landscape.
Electronic Arts has launched EA Advertising, a proprietary platform designed to monetize in-game placements across its sports franchises using a Frostbite-engine-integrated ad server. The platform offers tiered buying models for brands and utilizes Integral Ad Science for measurement, aligning with IAB gaming measurement frameworks.
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is developing a new Attribution API within its Private Advertising Technology Working Group to standardize browser-based ad measurement. The proposed standard aims to enable cross-site performance tracking while limiting the collection and exposure of individual user-level data.
Wunderkind Ads is expanding its programmatic CTV ad business by centralizing fragmented OEM requirements into a single deal ID for pause and home screen ad formats. The company aims to provide advertisers with non-interruptive, high-impact placements as demand grows beyond traditional in-stream inventory.
One Touch Intelligence reports that the U.S. FAST sector is maturing, with channel counts growing by 6% year-over-year to 2,027 while ad load frequency has stabilized at approximately five breaks per hour. Data shows a shift toward increased content differentiation, with nearly 42% of channels exclusive to a single platform and improved ad uniqueness metrics across leading providers.
A report from the VAB analyzed Meta's transparency data, revealing that the platform banned 3.5 billion fake accounts in 2025. The analysis suggests that the persistent presence of scam advertisements and the current account-ban threshold system continue to present significant brand safety risks for advertisers utilizing the platform's ad infrastructure.
This article outlines methodologies for conducting CTV incrementality tests, emphasizing the move toward account-based rather than individual-based measurement. It details the necessity of control groups, statistical significance, and proper data suppression to accurately attribute B2B sales pipeline impact to streaming ad spend.
FIFA's strategic broadcasting partnerships with TikTok and YouTube for the 2026 World Cup allowed rights holders to distribute short-form content and live match snippets to drive audience traffic to their primary OTT services. These social media integrations generated significant engagement, including 465 million views for broadcaster live streams on TikTok.
The article details a strategic shift for publishers moving away from pageview-based metrics toward monetizing verified first-party audience data. It argues that publishers must build activation infrastructure to compete with walled gardens by offering targeted segments to advertisers across diverse environments including CTV.
Perion CEO Tal Jacobson argues that current industry layoffs are deliberate financial restructurings to fund AI infrastructure rather than immediate workforce replacement. Jacobson also outlines Perion's multi-channel ad tech strategy, noting that human oversight remains central to their AI-driven investment recommendation platform.
Apple has updated its advertising terms of service, signaling a potential expansion into third-party websites and applications beyond its own ecosystem. This shift could require significant infrastructure changes to Apple's existing AdAttributionKit and proprietary Ads Attribution API to facilitate cross-platform measurement.
Broadcasters including NBC, ABC, and CBS are adopting shoppable QR code segments within morning news programs to offset declining ad revenues by capturing a percentage of sales. These integrations leverage direct-to-consumer commerce platforms to provide a new revenue stream as traditional broadcast and cable ad spending has decreased 23% since 2022.
Kargo has been named the designated programmatic supply-side platform for HP Spotlight, shifting the desktop-native ad format from a direct-sales model to an automated programmatic one. The integration enables international advertisers to purchase inventory across HP’s hardware-based advertising network using Kargo's ad-tech stack.
Glance has integrated National Media Onderzoek's (NMO) Total Video measurement dataset into its services to provide cross-platform audience analysis for the Dutch market. This partnership allows clients to track linear, time-shifted, and on-demand viewing behaviors across multiple devices and platforms.
Nielsen is implementing seven methodological updates to its National Big Data + Panel measurement product by August 31, 2026, to maintain Media Rating Council accreditation. These technical revisions to data modeling and weighting will recalibrate audience estimates for multi-screen advertising transactions ahead of the fall television season.
A study conducted by identity resolution firm Adstra and agency InterMedia Advertising reports that only 23% of IP-based CTV ads effectively reach their intended geographic household. The research suggests this targeting failure causes roughly $7.4 billion in annual wasted programmatic spend, prompting industry calls for improved data validation and deterministic identifiers.
DoubleVerify's 2026 Global Insights report analyzes consumer receptivity to ad frequency and repetition during live sports streaming. The findings suggest that targeted ad repetition during major events like the World Cup can enhance brand awareness without significantly increasing viewer fatigue.
Netflix reports that its advertising-supported tier is expanding but still trails standard subscription revenue, prompting a strategic shift toward programmatic advertising and AI-driven ad tools. The company is simultaneously integrating publisher partnerships and live event content to improve yield and inventory access.
The author examines the negative consumer perception surrounding highly targeted programmatic advertisements on CTV platforms like Roku, noting that hyper-precision in intent tracking can feel invasive. The article advocates for a shift in ad strategy that prioritizes brand awareness over intrusive performance-based targeting to improve user experience.
A report from Xsolla highlights a 26% year-over-year growth in direct-to-consumer (D2C) gaming revenue for 2025 in the US, contrasting with near-flat growth in the broader mobile market. The industry shift is driven by publishers seeking to bypass platform commissions and establish direct player relationships through owned commerce channels as regulatory landscapes evolve.
GumGum has launched the Mindset Agent, an AI-powered tool within its Mindset Portal that enables advertisers to turn campaign briefs into custom targeting segments. The launch features an exclusive partnership with The Trade Desk, allowing these AI-generated segments to be directly activated across the open internet.
Parallel's Customer Suitability Report, based on digital twin simulations of 200,000 viewer responses, suggests that optimizing ad placement based on customer resonance outperforms traditional context-based category targeting. The study demonstrates that aligning ads with specific 'need-states' rather than contextual categories like sports content can increase ad resonance by nearly 50%.
Streaming and ad-tech platforms are increasingly facing direct consumer pushback against intrusive ad formats and non-consensual AI data training. Consumer-driven signals such as opt-outs, support queries, and platform migrations serve as more reliable indicators of user sentiment than traditional behavioral modeling for product and policy teams.
TV News Check is hosting a webinar on August 6 featuring advertising leaders from Dentsu, Hearst Television, Viamedia, and SureWaves to discuss the adoption of AI in media planning, ratings estimation, and advertising workflows. The session will address industry anxieties regarding job displacement and the practical application of AI in local television ad ecosystems.
Data from Edison Research reveals that YouTube has surpassed Spotify to become the most-used podcast platform in the UK, with 29% of weekly listeners. This trend aligns with broader shifts toward video-led podcasts and increased smart TV consumption, prompting media agencies to categorize YouTube as a key Connected TV (CTV) advertising platform.
Stagwell has launched Stagwell Curate, an AI-powered platform designed to bring ad-inventory curation in-house for its media agencies. The tool aims to reduce reliance on third-party DSP and SSP marketplaces by using AI to vet CTV and video supply, potentially lowering tech fees and increasing transparency.
WARC Media reports that while YouTube's annual ad revenue reached $40.4 billion in 2025, year-on-year growth is decelerating due to increased competition from platforms like TikTok and Netflix. The industry data highlights a strategic shift toward connected TV and long-form content to capture traditional TV ad budgets as the platform matures.
Beehiiv has launched programmatic advertising and community-building features for its newsletter-focused platform, with plans to expand these capabilities to video and podcasts later this year. The platform serves as a B2B infrastructure tool for multichannel creators and is positioning itself as an all-in-one content business suite.
Research from Gen's Scam Ad Machine reveals that over 300 million fraudulent ad impressions occurred across the EU and UK within a 23-day period in mid-2026. The findings illustrate a shift toward short-lived, disposable advertiser accounts that exploit existing platform moderation gaps to deliver malicious content.
Roku is promoting its Action Ads format and AI-driven home screen features to attract bottom-of-funnel performance marketing budgets. By enabling remote-control interactivity and signaling, the company aims to divert spend from traditional search and social platforms toward its connected TV ecosystem.
Nielsen and VideoAmp have withdrawn their respective omnichannel measurement solutions from the Media Rating Council accreditation process to reassess methodologies. Separately, TikTok Shop is facing brand pushback over the prevalence of AI-generated affiliate videos, with brands like SharkNinja threatening to withhold commissions for such content.
Georgia-Pacific has shifted its programmatic and social media buying in-house, moving away from a traditional agency-only model to increase transparency and data control. The company utilizes Yahoo as its primary DSP for national campaigns while maintaining partnerships with OMD for linear TV and certain CTV buying requirements.
tvScientific by Pinterest has launched a Certified Measurement Partner Program featuring initial partners INCRMNTAL, Measured, Singular, and WorkMagic. The program provides advertisers with third-party tools for attribution, incrementality, and media mix modeling to enhance campaign performance verification on connected TV.
PubMatic has selected Playwire as its recommended partner for publishers transitioning away from its OpenWrap Web service. This move allows PubMatic to focus on its omnichannel monetization strategy while Playwire assumes responsibility for the header bidding technology and ad operations formerly handled by OpenWrap.
Executives from Paramount and Tatari are tempering expectations for automated 'programmatic TV' within premium media environments like live sports. The commentary highlights that major streamers are prioritizing direct transactional models over open auctions to prevent channel conflict and preserve the value of marquee advertising inventory.
INVIDI Technologies has announced a collaboration with Google to integrate Google Ad Manager and Display & Video 360 to support addressable advertising on unconnected set-top boxes. The initiative aims to enable programmatic ad delivery in linear TV environments, starting with a focus on the Indian market.
Adobe Advertising reports that training DSP models on a full base of organic converter data, rather than just ad-exposed users, yields higher campaign conversion rates. By moving beyond traditional retargeting and suppression, marketers can improve audience targeting accuracy and optimize spend toward high-propensity users.
Google has formally requested that the Court of Justice of the European Union uphold a 2024 ruling that overturned a 1.49 billion EUR antitrust fine related to its AdSense business. The case explores whether the company's historical contractual clauses unfairly restricted rival advertising providers' access to search-based monetization.
As U.S. digital video ad spending reaches $80 billion, media buyers are reporting declining confidence in inventory quality across programmatic marketplaces. Agencies are increasingly shifting toward direct supply-path optimization and tighter relationships with supply-side platforms (SSPs) to address fragmentation and improve measurement transparency.
An IAB and Guideline report finds that 39% of ad buyers view current CTV interactive capabilities as a barrier to channel effectiveness. While overall digital video investment is projected to rise, buyer confidence in CTV as a 'must-buy' has declined to 61% due to concerns surrounding costs, fraud, and transparency.
Spotify has integrated its Megaphone podcast platform into the Spotify Ad Server, mandating new technical specifications and shifting to first-party data for audience targeting. The article also highlights industry-wide concerns regarding CTV ad supply quality and notes ongoing viewer criticism of Netflix's live sports production and ad-insertion strategies.
Adobe Advertising reports that training predictive models on full-funnel organic conversion data, rather than ad-exposed impressions alone, resulted in a 24% increase in converters. The analysis suggests that streaming and digital advertisers can optimize spend and reduce waste by shifting focus from basic retargeting toward broader first-party customer intelligence.
Idea Peddler CEO Cimin Ahmadi Cohen and partners released a research paper detailing how privacy regulations and evolving consumer habits are negatively impacting ad attribution and match rates. The paper advises marketers to shift from programmatic display toward contextual targeting and first-party data strategies to mitigate declining data accuracy.
Locality is promoting a transition from national-first advertising strategies to local-market planning by leveraging return-path and ACR data to integrate broadcast and streaming inventory. This approach aims to provide advertisers with more precision by optimizing media mix and frequency at the designated market area (DMA) level.
The Trade Desk has integrated Seven-Eleven Japan's retail purchase data from 22,000 stores into its platform for programmatic advertising. The integration allows advertisers to target audience segments based on the purchase history of 28 million app members across digital channels, including CTV and OTT.
Samsung Ads is expanding its programmatic advertising capabilities with the planned Q3 launch of programmatic native advertising on its TV home screens. This move aims to standardize home screen inventory as a programmatic-first format, leveraging the company's TotalView dataset across its 70 million European devices.
AppLovin's stock dropped 11.04% following concerns about mobile advertising market slowdowns, intensifying competition, and the efficacy of its AXON 2.0 AI recommendation engine within more restrictive data environments. Investors are weighing the impact of OS-level privacy protocols and potential margin compression against the company's previous high-growth trajectory.
Google and Meta are promoting open-source marketing mix modeling (MMM) tools, specifically Meridian and Robyn, to address ad measurement challenges following privacy-driven tracking restrictions. While Google continues to integrate Meridian into its analytics ecosystem and incentivize adoption, reports suggest Meta is scaling back its development of Robyn.
WPP and Index Exchange are partnering to integrate WPP's Open Intelligence data solution with Index Marketplaces. The collaboration aims to enable sell-side programmatic decisioning and the use of agentic AI to improve supply path optimization and campaign performance.
Agentio has announced a strategic partnership with Meta to extend its AI-powered creator advertising platform to Facebook and Instagram. The expansion enables brands to automate creator matching and partnership ad campaigns across Meta-owned properties, building on the company's existing YouTube-focused ad tech suite.
