Streaming Monetization, CTV Advertising & Ad Tech News

Viaccess-Orca will exhibit its advertising, analytics, and retention solutions at BroadcastAsia 2026. These offerings are aimed at assisting operators in the APAC region.

Compete Everywhere has launched Version 1.0 of its Media Buying Tool, an integrated planning platform for linear TV, streaming TV, and digital media. The updated tool includes features like a Campaign Manager, refined budget controls with custom frequency and budget setter modes, and multi-track and multi-DMA planning capabilities, building upon its Beta version released last September. The platform aims to help campaigns create more efficient media programs, especially for the 2026 general election cycle.

The article explains Upfronts Week 2026 as a crucial period where media companies secure advertising commitments for upcoming programming across broadcast and streaming. It highlights the continued convergence of traditional TV, streaming platforms, and creator-driven media, alongside trends in automated buying, measurement debates, and technical advancements like addressable ads and virtual product placement. The piece serves as a guide for understanding the business side of content financing and advertising in the evolving media landscape.

The IAB has released its Campaign Data Standards 1.0 for public comment as part of Project Eidos, aiming to standardize campaign data to improve measurement, comparison, and optimization across the digital advertising ecosystem. These proposed standards provide consistent classifications for placements, formats, and media types, along with required data fields to reduce reconciliation efforts and foster a common language for the industry.

Nine major media companies, including Warner Bros. Discovery and NBCUniversal, have partnered through OpenAP to launch an initiative standardizing cross-TV campaign measurement. This initiative introduces a standardized Conversion API (CAPI) and new campaign workflows to link advertiser first-party data to TV exposure, aiming to improve performance measurement and increase advertiser spend confidently. Netflix also expanded its NFL deal to include four exclusive games and became the exclusive streaming home for the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in a "massive live-sports acquisition."

Netflix's Standard With Ads plan now has over 250 million monthly active users, an increase from 190 million in November 2025. The company expects its ad business to double this year, reaching $3 billion in revenue, and will expand the ad-supported plan to 15 more countries next year.

DIRECTV Advertising launched a multi-channel out-of-home and digital campaign during Upfront Week to promote its converged TV advertising platform. The campaign, which included DOOH, experiential activations, and digital video, aimed to demonstrate DIRECTV's capability to unify live TV, streaming, and OOH advertising for brands and media buyers. Developed with TBWA\Chiat\Day LA and Starcom US, the initiative sought to position Upfront Week itself as a metaphor for DIRECTV's value proposition of bringing diverse TV content together in one place.

FreeWheel's Viewer Experience Lab research indicates that disruptive ad breaks in streaming content lead to negative viewer experiences, with 71% of viewers bothered by unnatural ad breaks and 39% significantly so. The study also found that brands appearing in disruptive ad breaks experienced 14% lower unaided recall and 15% lower aided recall, along with a 5% decrease in perceived brand quality. FreeWheel suggests AI and machine learning can help identify optimal cue points for ad breaks to mitigate these issues.

Microsoft Xandr has announced the deprecation of its public Prebid Cache, formerly AppNexus, effective April 30, 2026. This change requires implementers using this cache for video creatives with Prebid.js and Prebid Server to migrate to alternative local client-side or server-side caching solutions. Microsoft recommends local caching for improved customer experience and reduced bandwidth, and will continue to support the Prebid.js community.

Most active Netflix subscribers in Japan and South Korea are now using ad-supported plans, according to Digital i's research. Between December 2024 and December 2025, the percentage of Netflix subscribers on ad-supported tiers increased from 47.6% to 64.3% in South Korea and from 44.3% to 57.6% in Japan, indicating a growing consumer acceptance of lower-cost, ad-supported streaming options in these markets.

FreeWheel's Viewer Experience Lab, in collaboration with MediaScience, released research indicating that while ads themselves do not reduce program enjoyment, poor ad experiences such as latency, unnatural ad breaks, and slate negatively impact viewer perception of content, ads, and brands. The study, which is the third report from the Viewer Experience Lab, highlights that nearly 80% of viewers are bothered by ad latency and 71% by unnatural ad breaks. FreeWheel plans to announce new tools to address these issues, including enhancing creative approval, managing ad frequency, and reducing blank ads.

Amagi has launched an In-Content Ads Marketplace within its ADS PLUS platform, enabling programmatic access for advertisers to place unique ad formats like overlays, squeezebacks, and picture-in-picture (PIP) ads directly into live linear video content. This expansion, powered by Amagi's THUNDERSTORM SSAI platform, aims to boost campaign performance and ad revenue for content owners on hundreds of streaming channels, including partners like Plex and TCL.

Samsung Ads has launched "Performance TV," a full-funnel performance platform with AI-powered ad products, at IAB NewFronts 2026. This includes a partnership with Amazon Ads to integrate Amazon's interactive video ad technology into Samsung TV Plus, allowing for shoppable ads with "Add to Cart" functionality for Amazon sellers and other calls to action. The platform also utilizes AI for contextual targeting and audience collectives to enhance ad performance on the Samsung connected TV ecosystem.

This article analyzes the current state of digital advertising in 2025-2026, highlighting the dominance of walled gardens (Google, Meta, Amazon) and the persistence of guaranteed deals (upfronts, programmatic guaranteed) even as new CTV and AI platforms emerge. It argues that the 'open internet' is a half-truth due to consolidated ad revenue among a few players and the lack of independent, verifiable measurement across the ecosystem. The piece concludes with five recommendations to improve transparency and accountability in ad tech.

Julie Selman, SVP, Head of EMEA at Magnite, discussed the evolution of digital advertising, streaming, and CTV at Advertising Week Europe. She highlighted how the new TV ecosystem and programmatic trading are creating new opportunities for brands, broadcasters, and publishers, with a focus on data and automation.

A critical Prebid Cache endpoint located at prebid.adnxs.com/pbc, historically used for video ad delivery, is scheduled to be switched off on April 30, 2026. The change, originating from AppNexus (later Xandr and Microsoft), is expected to cause a silent drop in video ad revenue for many publishers using header bidding, as the cache will no longer provide ad creatives, despite auctions continuing to function normally.

Wurl launched BrandDiscovery, a GenAI-powered CTV advertising solution designed to precisely match ad creatives with the emotional sentiment and context of programming in real-time. This solution offers scene-level contextual targeting across over 300 premium CTV publishers, including FAST channels and streamers, with 60 billion monthly available ad impressions. Early campaign results with Media.Monks, activated through FreeWheel, showed significant lifts in aided brand awareness and purchase intent for a financial services client.

Amazon Ads launched a new capability enabling dynamic changes to CTV commercials running across Connected TV (CTV) to personalize content based on viewer data. This 'Dynamic TV creative' utilizes shopping and browsing history, Prime Video activity, product availability, and geography to adjust ad details and interactive options. The initial rollout targets select U.S. advertisers on Prime Video, with plans for broader inventory access including live sports and Prime Video Channels in Q3.

OpenAI has introduced a cost-per-click advertising format within ChatGPT, allowing advertisers to promote their products and services directly to users. This new ad product marks OpenAI's initial foray into monetizing its chatbot platform through direct advertising.

LinkedIn has expanded its advertising reach to Connected TV (CTV), allowing B2B brands to utilize its professional targeting data (job roles, industries) within OTT and smart TV environments through adtech integrations. This move aims to combine precise targeting with high-attention large-screen formats, with validation and challenges noted by industry experts regarding execution, measurability, and consumer experience in fragmented markets like India.

At its 2026 Upfront presentation, NBCUniversal announced several new advertising technology initiatives, including the full-scale rollout of its Performance Insights Hub in Q4, which provides unified campaign delivery and audience insights across linear and streaming. The company also added Instacart as its exclusive CPG outcomes partner for the platform, reported on the results of its LIVE Total Impact capability, and detailed new AI-powered Live Contextual advertising tools and an Agentic AI strategy to automate and optimize TV ad buying.

Nexxen's 2026 FIFA World Cup Australian Outlook report finds that Australian audiences for live sports are growing and increasingly fragmented across multiple platforms, including linear TV, BVOD, streaming, and digital devices. The report advises advertisers to adapt multi-platform strategies, as viewers' engagement is less dependent on the Australian national team's performance, indicating a broader entertainment appeal for the event.

Streaming platforms are significantly capturing the TV advertising market, with projected advertiser spending on streaming reaching $20 billion by 2029, nearing linear TV ad spending. This shift is driven by increasing consumer adoption of cheaper ad-supported streaming plans, which now account for nearly 50% of premium SVOD sign-ups in the U.S. and 78% of net subscriber additions over the past nine quarters across major streamers.

YouTube announced several new advertising features at Brandcast 2026 aimed at connecting brands with audiences across various screens. Key updates include AI-powered custom sponsorships, an enhanced masthead with a custom content shelf, two-click CTV purchasing via Google Pay, affiliate partnerships to boost shoppable content, and multimodal AI for video ad creation using Gemini, Nano Banana, and Veo.

IAB Australia's Video Summit 2026 highlighted that Australian video ad spend grew 19.8% in 2025 to $5.4 billion, with programmatic CTV adoption at 60%, significantly higher than the US. Marketers expressed a desire for greater consolidation for frequency capping and harmonized cross-channel measurement, while economic uncertainty is identified as the primary concern. The event also noted the growing importance of the creator economy for ad strategies and ongoing technical infrastructure needs for live sports and frequency management.

Disney has sold some Super Bowl commercial slots for $9 million each, but still encounters resistance from large ad buyers. This indicates a high valuation for premier advertising access despite challenges in securing broader advertising commitments.

Streaming platforms are absorbing an increasing share of television advertising expenditure, with advertiser spending on streaming projected to reach nearly $20 billion by 2029. This trend, driven by expanding streaming audiences and the popularity of ad-supported streaming models, is expected to be a major focus at upcoming upfront ad-selling events. Advertiser spending on streaming is nearing parity with traditional linear TV ad spending.

iHeartMedia is focusing on programmatic advertising as a core strategy to drive continued revenue growth, aiming for $200 million in programmatic revenue by 2026. The company is integrating its broadcast inventory into programmatic buying systems through partnerships with Amazon DSP, Yahoo DSP, and Google DV360. This move is intended to modernize ad sales for radio and unlock new growth by enabling advertisers to achieve reach through combined digital and broadcast campaigns.

PubMatic released new research, "How Co-Viewing Redefines Attention: Unlocking Shared Screens with Programmatic," highlighting that 78% of co-viewing in APAC occurs on CTV and 42% of consumers pay more attention to ads during shared viewing. The report, based on 3,500 respondents across seven APAC countries, positions programmatic CTV as a high-performing advertising environment due to increased ad attention, recall, and action rates during co-viewing moments.

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is incorporating programmatic ad buying into its upfront sales process for advertisers, allowing agencies to test ad-supported streaming content programmatically across its Max and Discovery+ platforms. This initiative for the 2024-2025 upfront season aims to provide greater flexibility and data-driven insights for advertisers.

Advertisers are encountering significant challenges in adopting AI for ad campaigns due to existing workflow issues. Despite the perceived benefits of generative and agentic AI in advertising, marketers are struggling with implementation roadblocks.

Ad Age provided a recap of the first day of the 2026 TV upfronts, highlighting presentations from NBCUniversal, Fox, and Amazon. The recap identifies key takeaways and initial reactions from media buyers regarding the advertising strategies and inventory offered by these major streaming and broadcast entities.

TikTok is launching an ad-free subscription option in the UK for £3.99 per month. This new tier will affect users, creators, and advertisers by altering their engagement with the platform and monetizing content.

Amazon has introduced "Dynamic TV Creative" for Prime Video ads, leveraging shopping data to tailor repeat advertisements programmatically. This feature aims to convert CTV ad reach into retail actions for advertisers.

Microsoft is reportedly planning to introduce an ad-supported tier for its Xbox Cloud Gaming service, expanding access beyond current Game Pass subscribers. This initiative would allow non-subscribers to play games on the cloud, leveraging advertising for monetization. The move signals a shift towards broadening the accessibility and revenue streams for Xbox Cloud Gaming.

This article details Day 2 of the Upfronts, highlighting content and advertising strategies from Amazon, Fox, TelevisaUnivision, and Telemundo. Amazon focused on premium content, live sports, and AI-powered ad tech for measurable outcomes. Fox emphasized live sports, news, and ad-supported streaming with Tubi, while TelevisaUnivision and Telemundo focused on Spanish-language sports content, novellas, and cultural programming, alongside new advertising solutions.

Omdia forecasts that social media advertising will account for nearly half of global online ad revenue by 2030, reaching a market value of $640 billion. The research highlights video formats as a key driver for this growth within the social media advertising sector.

TikTok has launched an ad-free subscription tier in the UK for £4 per month, targeting users 18 and older, marking its first formal ad-free offering in an English-speaking market. This move positions TikTok alongside Meta, which previously introduced a similar ad-free option for Facebook and Instagram in the UK for £3 per month, indicating a broader industry shift towards paid social media models.

Sanrovax, a performance marketing agency, published a guide detailing how Indian businesses in 2026 can effectively run YouTube advertising campaigns, emphasizing YouTube's high ROI in the Indian market, specific ad formats, targeting capabilities, and best practices. The guide highlights YouTube's over 500 million active users in India and its projected 109% higher ROI than linear TV, along with AI dubbing for regional languages.

Shudder, owned by AMC Global Media, has introduced an ad-supported streaming tier priced at $7.99/month. Concurrently, the ad-free tier, now called 'Premium', has increased to $9.99/month or $99.99/year, with existing subscribers facing higher rates starting May 15, 2026.

TikTok has launched an ad-free subscription plan in the UK for £3.99 per month. This offering allows users aged 18 and over to browse the platform without advertisements or personalized ad tracking, and their personal data will not be used for advertising purposes. The initiative is viewed as a response to the UK's General Data Protection Regulation framework, with TikTok having tested ad-free models since 2023.

Nine AUNZ and Magnite discussed programmatic transparency and live streaming advertising. The conversation highlighted the importance of direct publisher partnerships in advancing programmatic capabilities.

David Porter, head of advertising research at Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), indicated that TV advertising is moving beyond traditional gross rating points (GRPs) to more advanced metrics. The shift signifies a change in how WBD measures campaigns and attributes value in advertising.

Truthset has integrated with Unified ID 2.0 (UID2), an open-source identifier designed by The Trade Desk. This collaboration aims to enhance audience targeting in advertising while upholding privacy standards, particularly within walled garden environments.

CTV ad fraud has increased by 140% due to the proliferation of AI schemes globally, with advertisers risking premium prices for bot traffic. The article indicates that both protected and direct-buy CTV campaigns are vulnerable to this rising fraud.

PwC's Global Sport Survey predicts that media rights value will decline and cease to drive growth in the sports industry over the next three to five years, despite overall market growth. The report attributes this to pressure on media markets and shifting fan expectations, highlighting a generational divide in content consumption habits. Rights holders are advised to adopt multi-platform strategies to cater to differing audience segments.

Telemundo reports "unprecedented advertiser demand" for its coverage of the FIFA World Cup 2026, with 30 days remaining until the event. The network is expanding its roster of expert commentators from various international football legends.

TikTok has launched an ad-free subscription plan in the UK, allowing users to avoid advertisements and prevent their data from being used for advertising purposes. This move introduces a new monetization model for the platform in the region.