Roku wants to transform TV advertising with generative AI (genAI). Instead of cycling the same few commercials, the company is opening its platform to hundreds of thousands of advertisers—mirroring the endless churn of ads on social feeds. It's betting that genAI can keep its ad ecosystem fresh and accessible. Marketers should experiment with fast, inexpensive video iterations. Focus on quick turnarounds, tight targeting, and scroll-stopping creativity. The objective is to separate winners from background noise.
Hispanic audiences are leading shifts in digital behaviors, streaming at high levels, adopting AI tools, and using creator apps that position them as both content producers and consumers. That demographic is embracing streaming more than the general population, per Nielsen’s Curating the Narrative report, with a cord-cutting rate about 35% higher. Hispanic audiences aren’t just passive consumers—they’re actively crafting and customizing their media experiences and leading early tech adoption. Brands should diversify media outreach—instead of leaning solely on traditional TV or linear content—to avoid missing engagement opportunities.
Amazon is developing two models of AR glasses to compete with Meta and Qualcomm in a bet that smart glasses could power the next wave of mainstream consumer devices. The company is planning a consumer version, internally named Jayhawk, and a model designed for delivery drivers, called Amelia, per The Information. The push in AR glasses reflects Amazon’s long-standing strategy of building hardware as a gateway to services and subscriptions. If successful, the device could lock consumers even more tightly into Amazon’s marketplace, collect constant user data for AI model and product improvement, and encourage daily engagement with Amazon platforms.
The news: Spotify will bring high-fidelity, “lossless” audio to premium subscribers over the next two months across 50 markets, putting an end to years of speculation that it might gate the feature behind a more expensive subscription tier. Our take: Lossless audio certainly won’t be a detractor for Spotify and could help make it an even stickier service with low churn—something the company already excels at. While it is unlikely to drive subscriptions and doesn’t address the company’s advertising pains, it doesn’t hurt to add features that will keep users from cancelling or drifting to competitors.
Warner Bros. Discovery shares spiked more than 30% after reports that Paramount Skydance is preparing a majority-cash takeover bid backed by Larry and David Ellison. The deal would fold WBD’s studios, HBO, DC, and streaming business into Paramount Skydance’s assets, which already include CBS, Paramount Pictures, and Paramount+. A merger would unite some of the world’s most valuable IP, creating a rival to Disney and Netflix. Investors cheered the news, lifting both companies’ stocks, though regulators are expected to scrutinize the transaction. If approved, the deal could reshape Hollywood’s power structure amid linear TV’s decline and streaming’s consolidation race.
The digital ad market is shifting fast. In court, Google admitted the “open web is already in rapid decline,” contradicting its public claims, as AI Overviews erode publisher traffic. The Trade Desk’s stock plunged 12% after Netflix’s Amazon DSP deal, with Morgan Stanley citing CTV headwinds and higher fees. Meanwhile, Reddit is positioning itself as a publisher ally, rolling out Reddit Pro to help offset traffic losses from search. Together, these moves underscore a fractured open web ecosystem: Google under pressure, The Trade Desk undercut by Amazon, and Reddit stepping up as publishers seek new discovery sources.
Connected TV (CTV) is nearing a third of overall TV ad spending as audiences shift attention to streaming platforms, per Madison and Wall. Linear TV still accounts for around two-thirds of overall US TV ad spending, but CTV increased its share by three percentage points YoY (excluding political ads). The path forward for advertisers depends on balance, not an either-or approach. Audience attention will continue shifting to CTV, making it a critical touchpoint—but with ad reach still low on streaming, linear will remain relevant.
“We have a rule at Liquid Death that if you expect us to do it, we should not do it,” said the brand's chief media officer Benoit Vatere at EMARKETER’s Future of Digital Summit yesterday. Vatere outlined the brand’s paid social challenges, why it’s doubling down on connected TV (CTV), and how it plans to build standout creative as it expands into the crowded energy drink space. Here are a few takeaways from the session.
Major web publishers, including Reddit, Yahoo, Medium, and Quora, are joining forces to push for a new content licensing system for AI publishers. The group is backing Really Simple Licensing (RSL), an open standard that lets publishers dictate how AI bots scrape their content and includes payment and royalty requirements. If publishers’ collective action can successfully enforce licensing terms for content scraping, regulators may follow with broader mandates. Visibility inside generative engines could change, pushing marketers to further prioritize generative engine optimization (GEO) strategies and comprehension of how AI responses source, cite, and surface branded content.
Advertisers are missing opportunities to capitalize on strong connected TV (CTV) engagement from diverse audiences, per LG Ad Solutions’ “The Inclusive Screen 2025” series. Targeting ads to diverse audiences stands to benefit brands by tapping into consumers who are likely to take action when they feel represented—but a tailored strategy over a one-size-fits-all approach is critical.
YouTube’s NFL Brazil broadcast was a massive success, breaking livestream records in the country with over 17.3 million average-minute-audience (AMA) members, including more than one million non-US viewers. YouTube’s record-breaking NFL success proves that, for advertisers, the marketing playbook is moving to platforms where reach, relevance, and results converge.
As the number of podcast listeners grow, giving them options for both listening to or watching the latest episodes has become key to maintaining audiences. More than half of US podcast consumers (53%) prefer watching podcasts over just listening on YouTube, per the Podcast Landscape 2025 report from Sounds Profitable and Signal Hill. YouTube’s connected TV (CTV) and podcast dominance presents a unique opportunity for brands to advertise in a variety of formats, whether that’s sponsored episodes, partnerships, digital video ads, or pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll audio spots.
Roblox is expanding with TikTok-style videos, bigger creator payouts, and new AI tools—while scaling its ad business. Users can now scroll gameplay clips, react with emojis, and jump directly into experiences, per TechCrunch. The platform is morphing from a gaming hub into a short-form media platform—challenging TikTok, YouTube, and Twitch. For advertisers, Moments offers a new layer where branded clips can sit alongside gameplay. Brands should balance paid ads with creator collaborations to preserve authenticity. For example, they could integrate brands and products into game content while sponsoring individual gamers creating short-form content on Roblox.
Social media (27%) and streaming video (25%) have the highest percentage of time spent on gaming-related content, per May 2025 data from Bain & Company.
A federal judge rejected Anthropic’s agreement to pay at least $1.5 billion to settle a landmark lawsuit brought by a group of authors. Judge William Alsup expressed concerns that the ruling would be forced “down the throat of authors,” per Bloomberg Law. The case could set a legal precedent for future copyright battles between creators and AI firms. If approved, the settlement could set a legal precedent for future copyright battles between creators and AI firms. It could also push regulators to be more stringent in requirements for content licensing deals and cause AI companies to move more carefully when scraping data, considering the costs of legal proceedings.
For podcasts that run under 15 minutes, an average of 21.8% of the play time is ads, according to an August 2025 report from Magellan AI.
The news: Microsoft will avoid a major EU antitrust fine by agreeing to sell its Teams app separately from Office 365 and Microsoft 365. Brussels is set to approve the deal after a positive market test, with no strong objections from rivals or customers, per Bloomberg. As part of the settlement, Microsoft must not only unbundle Teams but also lower prices on Office packages without it and improve interoperability with rival apps such as Zoom, Slack, and similar productivity tools. Our take: Microsoft sidesteps a fine but loses its bundling edge. The move levels the playing field for Slack, Zoom, and others—while showing the EU’s playbook is evolving from punishing fines to behavioral change.
The news: The EU fined Google $3.5 billion for abusing its dominance in digital advertising. Regulators say Google used its control of the ad tech supply chain to shut out rivals, squeeze publishers, and limit advertiser choice, per The New York Times. Our take: Google can still cut deals to soften compliance terms, but the trend points toward tougher oversight and fewer compromises. For advertisers, that means preparing for a future where Google’s ad stack may be pried open—whether by negotiation or by mandate.
Linear TV ad spending will drop more than 11% in 2026, reaching $139.1 billion, per a World Advertising Research Center study cited by MediaPost. Linear has dropped 28% in absolute dollars in a 12-year period. The format’s share of global media has plummeted: Spending now accounts for 12.4% overall, compared with 41.3% in 2013. Ad spending shifting away from linear might align with consumers’ shift to digital, but linear’s potential to generate action remains stronger than CTV, which means brands need to use a diversified channel strategy.