Streaming Monetization, CTV Advertising & Ad Tech News

A study by MediaScience found that four different AI labeling approaches did not negatively impact video ad performance. This research comes as governments and platforms are beginning to implement disclosure requirements for AI-generated content. The study's findings suggest that AI labeling does not deter consumers from engaging with video advertisements.

Fuse Media has selected iSpot as its official measurement provider for FAST and CTV inventory. This agreement will enable the Latino-owned media company to offer advertisers outcomes-based campaign measurement at scale.

A survey conducted by CTV advertising platform JamLoop found a shift in marketing budget allocation towards premium live event CTV. The survey of 120 brand and agency marketing leaders indicated an increased focus on the performance capabilities and measurable outcomes of live event CTV advertising.

The article suggests that media companies are failing to fully monetize their premium content through integrated commerce, urging them to build commerce directly into their content to gain a competitive advantage. It posits that if media companies do not act, other entities will monetize their content on their behalf.

The article discusses the critical importance of addressing 'last-mile' ad compliance challenges in streaming, where errors often occur just as an ad reaches the viewer. It highlights that tackling these issues is essential for brands, agencies, and platforms to maximize streaming advertising value and revenue. The focus is on the vulnerable final stage of ad delivery impacting compliance and monetization.

Dr. Augustine Fou, an ad fraud measurement expert, explains the complexities of ad fraud within the digital advertising ecosystem, highlighting how fake websites and bot traffic generate fraudulent ad revenue, particularly in programmatic advertising. He details that AI's impact on ad fraud is incremental, primarily aiding in faster content generation for 'made for advertising' (MFA) sites rather than fundamentally altering the nature of fraud. Fou advises marketers to maintain independent measurement tools and not rely solely on platform reports to detect discrepancies and minimize losses to ad fraud.

Google announced several AI-powered advertising updates at its I/O 2026 conference, focusing on integrating AI into ad insights, campaign optimization, and new ad types. Key updates include tools to track brand mentions in AI responses, integrate Meridian insights into Google Analytics 360, and new ad formats for AI-generated search results, alongside enhancements for YouTube promotions. These changes aim to leverage AI to provide marketers with better targeting and optimization capabilities across Google's platforms.

VAUNET, the German Media Association, forecasts a 4.3% growth in advertising revenues from TV, video streaming, and audio media in Germany for 2026. This growth prediction highlights the increasing importance of these digital platforms in the German advertising market.

Brands are advised to move away from direct, high-pressure sales tactics on TikTok in favor of native, user-generated content (UGC) style storytelling to achieve better engagement and return on investment. TikTok's own creative guidance and data suggest that authentic, creator-led content, amplified through paid distribution, outperforms hard-sell approaches by retaining audience attention and trust.

PwC's Global Entertainment & Media Outlook 2025-2029 forecasts the US OTT market will grow at a 5.9% CAGR from US$61.9 billion in 2024 to US$112.7 billion by 2029, maintaining its position as the world's largest OTT market. The report also projects strong growth for the US internet advertising market at an 8.5% CAGR to reach US$389.1 billion by 2029, with connected TV (CTV) advertising outpacing overall growth, and highlights AI's increasing impact on various E&M sectors.

OpenAI has begun testing ads in ChatGPT for users on the Free and Go plans in the US, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. Ads, which will not influence ChatGPT's answers and appear below responses, are contextually matched to chat threads and can be personalized based on user settings, with paid tiers remaining ad-free.

Transmit.Live highlights its platform for live media monetization, leveraging AI (MomentAI) to detect high-impact moments in live content and automate ad insertion. The platform offers proprietary in-stream ad formats, an agentic marketplace for real-time ad negotiations, and tools to extend ad inventory beyond original stream viewers, aiming to increase revenue for live publishers, particularly in sports.

Hotstar has launched a self-serve advertising platform for the Indian market, enabling advertisers to plan, buy, and measure campaigns on its streaming service. The platform offers capabilities like audience targeting with over 1000 cohorts, campaign creation tools, budget control starting at ₹50,000, and comprehensive reporting.

Dr. Augustine Fou explains how Artificial Intelligence is contributing to the industrial-scale expansion of ad fraud, detailing practices like fabricated performance metrics and spoofed supply paths. The discussion highlights how current ad systems allow significant 'take rates' and markups, resulting in publishers receiving a fraction of the advertiser's bid. Fou suggests that increasing bids often benefits intermediaries rather than improving inventory quality.

Looper Insights published an article detailing its 'Who Holds The Power in Sports Rights in 2026' report, based on a survey of 52 senior executives from leagues, broadcasters, streaming services, and distribution partners. The report analyzes how negotiating leverage, deal architecture, and direct-to-consumer ambitions are expected to evolve in the upcoming sports rights cycle. Key questions addressed include the future of negotiating power, market fragmentation, rights fee growth, and the extent of direct-to-consumer strategies by rights holders.

Chalice AI, an AI media decisioning company, announced a partnership with Equativ, an independent media platform, to integrate Chalice AI's containerized AI technology into Equativ's programmatic advertising stack. This collaboration aims to provide enhanced AI-driven ad curation and activation capabilities across the open internet, including CTV and video.

MINT Square, a programmatic advertising specialist, has partnered with the Alliance of Media Independents (AMI) to make programmatic advertising more accessible to independent agencies in the UK. This collaboration aims to provide AMI's member agencies with greater access to MINT Square's programmatic capabilities and expertise.

Publicis Groupe's acquisition of data software company LiveRamp is anticipated to revitalize mergers and acquisitions activity within the ad tech sector, following a slow first quarter. This deal is specifically noted for its potential impact on the competitive landscape.

Media agencies are adapting their ad tech strategies by moving closer to supply-side platforms, a shift driven by the potential of AI to alter traditional business models. This change is reshaping how programmatic advertising operates within the industry, as agencies seek more direct access and control over ad inventory.

This article discusses three distinct trends: PubMatic's analysis on the impact of small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) budgets, the increasing share of digital video in US TV and video ad spend, and the growing adoption of AI video tools by brands.

ITV has officially launched its live broadcast addressable advertising product, Live Addressable+, following an announcement. The new product is currently undergoing a beta trial in partnership with Omnicom.

DSPolitical and FreeWheel have formed a partnership to enable political campaigns to target voters with more precision via connected TV (CTV) advertisements. This alliance aims to provide campaigns with enhanced targeting capabilities for their political messaging.

Omdia projects that global Connected TV (CTV) ad revenue will reach $81 billion by 2030. The research firm also forecasts that Amazon, Netflix, and Google will collectively capture half of this CTV ad market.

Netflix's 2026 Upfront focused on the growth of its advertising business, announcing expansion of its ad-supported plan to 15 new countries starting in 2027 and reaching over 250 million global monthly active viewers. The company detailed enhancements to its Netflix Ads Suite, including new planning tools, expanded programmatic capabilities for pause ads and live content, and broader adoption of AI for media planning, ad optimization, and personalized ad loads. Netflix also unveiled its content slate for 2026 and beyond, including new series, films, and expanded live sports offerings like the NFL.

Hershey's Reese's brand executed an interactive advertising campaign on Roku, leveraging Instacart targeting to drive new buyers and snack purchases. This initiative highlights innovative consumer packaged goods (CPG) marketing in the streaming video advertising space.

Global, a media and entertainment group, announced its plan to directly sell premium advertising across its YouTube content network. This move aims to monetize its expanding presence on the platform.

Publicis Groupe acquired LiveRamp for $2.5 billion in an all-cash deal, paying a 29.8% premium. This acquisition integrates LiveRamp's RampID and clean room network into Publicis's existing ad tech ecosystem, affecting the identity and activation infrastructure for programmatic advertising, and prompting other holding companies to re-evaluate their identity strategies.

The article discusses that many brands undervalue YouTube creator partnerships despite the platform's ability to drive trust and conversions. It identifies brands' difficulty in benchmarking success on YouTube as a key factor.

Netflix has announced that its ad-supported streaming tier has reached 250 million viewers. This figure highlights the growth of its hybrid monetization strategy and expands its advertising reach.

Netflix will introduce advertising in Ireland starting next year as part of an expansion into 15 new countries. The streaming service stated its intention to bring ads to these new markets.

Brand spending on social video is growing, with a significant factor being the amplification of influencer video content on platforms. This practice contributes to accelerated social video spending.

TikTok Shop has established a US joint venture with Oracle and Silver Lake, holding 80% American ownership, and rolled out five new seller tools in the US and a Local Feed in the UK. The platform also replaced its Violation Points model with a Creator Health Rating system, integrated AI Dubbing for shoppable videos, and identified Beauty & Personal Care, Womenswear & Underwear, Sports & Outdoor, and Health & Wellness as dominating or fast-growing product categories.

CMI Media Group's Jon Miller stated that pharmaceutical brands are not fully leveraging the "halo effect" of CTV advertising. He emphasized that CTV provides an environment similar to traditional TV while offering advanced targeting and measurement capabilities, urging pharma to integrate CTV into their media mix more strategically.

YouTube's Upfronts event featured creators such as MrBeast and Alix Earle presenting to advertisers. This indicates YouTube's ongoing integration of creator-led content into traditional advertising frameworks.

Smart TV manufacturers are integrating advertising directly into home screens, streaming apps, and recommendation interfaces. This strategy leverages viewer data to increase advertising revenue, boosting profits for TV makers.

Netflix announced its 2026 Upfront, detailing the expansion of its ad-supported plan to 15 new countries starting in 2027 and revealing that its ad-supported tier now reaches over 250 million global monthly active viewers. The company also highlighted new ad inventory and brand partnership opportunities, advanced AI-driven advertising tools, expanded programmatic capabilities, and a robust content slate for 2026 and beyond, including new series, films, and live events like additional NFL games and the Westminster Dog Show.

Index Exchange announced programmatic support for pause ads across streaming platforms including DIRECTV Advertising, Foxtel, Philo, and Plex. This new capability allows marketers to programmatically access non-intrusive ad inventory that appears when viewers pause content, aiming for greater standardization and efficiency in streaming ad formats.

Retail media, spearheaded by Amazon and Walmart, is increasingly capturing TV advertising spend by leveraging smart TV infrastructure. Amazon utilizes AI-powered intelligence and new ad inventory in its pitches to TV ad buyers, while Walmart has partnered with Vizio to make joint offerings.

Amazon held its 2026 Upfront event, showcasing new advertising capabilities like "Dynamic TV Creative" for interactive video ads on Prime Video, which personalizes ad elements based on viewer shopping behavior and journey stage. The event also highlighted Amazon's broad entertainment offerings, including live sports, new Amazon MGM Studios content, Twitch, and "The Oprah Podcast" joining the platform, all integrated with its authenticated audience graph for advertisers.

Nexxen announced the expansion of its TV Home Screen platform, integrating with TCL FFALCON and TiVo Ads. This expansion will make native Smart TV ad inventory from TCL (globally) and TiVo (North America and UK) programmatically accessible to advertisers through the Nexxen DSP, with some U.S. and Canada TCL placements being exclusive to Nexxen.

Netflix's ad-supported tier now reaches over 250 million global monthly active viewers, a figure the company presented at its fourth Upfront presentation. While advertising revenue grew more than 2.5 times to over $1.5 billion in 2025, representing about 3.3% of total revenue, membership fees continue to be the primary revenue driver. Netflix plans to expand its ad plan to 15 additional countries and introduce new ad inventory across podcasts and vertical video in 2027.

OpenAI has expanded its ChatGPT advertising program by introducing new ways for advertisers to buy and manage campaigns, including a beta self-serve Ads Manager for US advertisers and the launch of cost-per-click (CPC) bidding. The company is also working with agency partners like Dentsu and Omnicom, and technology partners such as Adobe and Criteo, to facilitate ad purchases, while rolling out enhanced measurement tools like Conversions API and pixel-based tracking for performance insights.

DataCops distinguishes between two types of GDPR compliance platforms: Privacy GRC suites for legal teams and Marketing-Data Trust platforms for CMOs and ad ops, arguing that the latter is crucial for managing Google Consent Mode v2 and avoiding significant conversion losses by June 2026. The article details offerings from various vendors in both categories, citing shifting enforcement actions and OneTrust's market turbulence.

Marketecture Live discussions indicate that the advertising business is primarily in 'Stage 1' of AI adoption, focusing on AI-assisted user interaction within single systems like DSPs. Major ad tech vendors such as Freewheel Buyer Cloud, The Trade Desk, and Zeta are rolling out AI integrations to automate campaign setup and data entry. The article also highlights continued skepticism about the AdCP protocol fundamentally changing media buying by enabling AI-driven transactions between different customers.

The article discusses the evolution of the television upfronts, highlighting how major broadcasters and streaming platforms are adapting their offerings to meet advertisers' demands for precision, flexibility, and accountability in a fragmented media landscape. It details initiatives from NBCUniversal, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox, Paramount, and Roku to provide advanced audience targeting, unified measurement, and programmatic buying options.

Santa Clara County Counsel has filed a civil prosecution against Meta Platforms, Inc., alleging that Meta knowingly facilitates and profits from billions of scam advertisements on Facebook and Instagram, generating an estimated $7 billion annually. The lawsuit claims Meta’s internal systems identify scam ads but the company charges premiums for them to run, and its AI tools actively target vulnerable consumers with deceptive ads. The county seeks injunctive relief, restitution, and civil penalties, including enhanced penalties for affecting senior citizens.

An advertorial from The CS Company argues that unmanaged Connected TV (CTV) advertising campaigns, particularly those run on self-serve platforms, often lead to negative brand sentiment due to excessive ad frequency across fragmented platforms. The article highlights that a small percentage of overexposed households can consume a significant portion of ad budgets, leading to diminishing returns and actively hurting brands. Effective CTV management requires cross-publisher frequency unification, creative rotation, and outcome-linked frequency analysis to prevent this.