US ad spend growth will grow a total of 11% in 2025, excluding political spending, per an updated Madison & Wall forecast cited by Mediapost. The figure is well above Madison & Wall’s previous estimate of 3.6% growth and follows 13% YoY growth in Q3. Even as total media ad spending continues to grow, growth doesn’t entirely negate the overall climate of uncertainty that will undoubtedly affect the ad industry in the year ahead. Slowing growth expected from Madison & Wall in 2026 and ongoing economic headwinds indicate that advertisers are still operating in an era of caution.
After Netflix announced its plans to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Friday, advertisers were left questioning the future of streaming advertising across two of the industry’s strongest ad-supported platforms. Even amid uncertainty on the deal’s future, the current strategy for advertisers is to prepare for a consolidated streaming market where a select few players command audience attention.
Marketers are feeling less optimistic about business conditions for 2026 than they were a year ago, per a new WARC report. 54% of marketers believe that conditions will improve next year, down from 65% who felt this way about 2025. WARC’s forecast indicates that economic instability will continue causing marketers to adopt more conservative budgeting strategies and sharpen their focus on measurable, performance-driven advertising.
Streaming TV advertising is moving toward transparency and accountability as DoubleVerify (DV) brings Open Measurement (OM SDK), a standard in desktop and mobile advertising, to streaming environments. Expanding access to OM SDK and providing standards for transparency in streaming will enable advertisers to plan and measure streaming ad campaigns effectively—marking a major industry shift.
LG Ad Solutions and Taboola are attacking connected TV (CTV) advertising’s biggest pain point: proving what premium TV exposure actually does. Their new Performance Enhancer tool connects LG’s audience data with Taboola’s Realize performance engine and open-web inventory, giving advertisers a single, global view of ROI from first impression to conversion, per Yahoo. Advertisers should pilot unified CTV-to-digital measurement now to boost ad inventory opportunities. Use automatic content recognition (ACR) segments to retarget high-intent viewers, and push partners for cross-channel reconciliation, tying ad spend to outcomes—not impressions.
Publicis Groupe’s 100th-anniversary film, “A Lion Never Gives Up,” blends live action with 4,500 AI-generated images to retell the company’s evolution and project its future. With more than half its workforce now in data, engineering, and AI, leadership says the next era will reward companies that fuse creativity with machine-driven operational scale. The film lands as Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG reshapes the competitive field, and Publicis argues its AI maturity gives it an edge in a more concentrated market.
Dentsu forecasts the global advertising market will surpass $1 trillion for the first time in 2026, growing 5.1% and powered by digital channels that will capture nearly 69% of total spend. Retail media leads with projected 14%–16% growth, while online video and social also expand double digits. Major global events—including the Winter Olympics, FIFA World Cup, and a packed political calendar—will drive attention and pricing pressure across markets. APAC remains the fastest-growing region, led by India and China, while the US will represent about 40% of worldwide spend. For marketers, algorithm-first planning, advanced measurement, and early tentpole buying will be critical.
Agencies tell Digiday that The Trade Desk (TTD) is softening its long-held stance on pricing, opening the door to fee negotiations as Amazon DSP gains traction with lower costs and competitive performance. Advertisers should revisit programmatic fee structures, elevate competitive benchmarking in annual planning, and negotiate for joint business plans that tie costs to incremental spend or measurable outcomes.
Despite recent rumors and leaks, ChatGPT doesn’t run any ads today, not even for free users—but a viral Peloton “recommendation” sparked confusion and backlash while offering a possible preview of how OpenAI could eventually weave advertising into ChatGPT. The incident coincided with reports that OpenAI has been testing ad placements in its Android beta. The recent leaks, rumors, and glitches give advertisers—and competitors—insights on how ads are likely to appear in ChatGPT’s interface and competing AI chatbots. Understanding the context of AI chats and finding non-intrusive placements could require an entirely different toolset than existing ad models.
Podcast advertisers are shifting toward brand awareness campaigns, which grew from 52% to 56% of total US podcast ad spending between Q3 2024 and Q3 2025, according to a November 2025 report from Magellan AI. Meanwhile, direct response campaigns dropped 4 percentage points to 41%.
NBC News is introducing an ad-free, subscription-based streaming platform that consolidates its full lineup of content, spanning linear broadcasts, podcasts, live channels from NBC-owned stations, and original exclusive reports, into a single application, per Variety. Multiple platforms appeal to user preferences but cause more difficulties for advertisers who are struggling with an increasingly fragmented TV ecosystem.
Out-of-home (OOH) ad revenues reached an all-time Q3 high, according to the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA). OOH ad revenues grew 4.5% YoY in Q3, reaching $2.13 billion—the 18th consecutive quarter of growth reported by OAAA. Sustaining investment in OOH will remain critical because the format offers reach unmatched by other channels by leveraging high-traffic locations and providing unavoidable exposure.
Acast has launched the UK’s biggest integrated podcast marketplace, combining audio and YouTube video inventory through a partnership with Little Dot Studios. The deal gives podcasters access to Little Dot’s 11 billion monthly YouTube views and enables advertisers to buy premium CPM audio alongside dynamic YouTube video ads and sponsorships within one system. This aligns with shifting listener habits: nearly half of UK consumers now prefer watching podcasts, and YouTube will reach over three-quarters of the country by 2029. As podcast video growth steadies, Acast’s unified analytics across audio, YouTube, and social offer marketers a more efficient, accountable way to scale creator-led campaigns.
On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how advertisers are faring amid the current economic backdrop of tariffs, inflation, and a government shutdown; how the digital ad triopoly is changing; and the biggest ad spending milestones this year and in 2026. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Senior Director of Forecasting Oscar Orozco and Principal Analyst Yory Wurmser. Listen everywhere, and watch on YouTube and Spotify.
As commerce media buyers face more choices, Dollar General is pitching its large store footprint as an opportunity to reach shoppers in rural and underserved markets, particularly with its retail media offering, DG Media Network.
An OpenAI leak indicates that ads are coming to ChatGPT in the near future, according to computer engineer Tibor Blaho. Advertisers should anticipate a future where ads become a core part of the ChatGPT experience and act quickly to test and learn before competitors, but should remain agile in their strategies and remain informed about developments in consumer behavior.
The share of time spent with streaming continues to eat away at time spent with linear, per Samba’s Q4 2025 State of Streaming report. 60.7% of time spent with TV in August was with streaming platforms. Omnichannel strategies that incorporate both traditional and digital media will offer the best results in a highly fragmented market.