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.
Warner Bros. Discovery has entered a pivotal stage in its takeover fight, with Netflix, Comcast, and Paramount Skydance submitting second-round bids and political forces shaping the odds. Comcast is preparing an offer near $27–$28 per share for WBD’s studio and streaming divisions—topping Paramount’s $25-per-share bid—while WBD CEO David Zaslav reportedly wants something closer to $30. Netflix faces new White House antitrust concerns, Comcast faces political hostility, and Paramount Skydance holds the most favorable political backing. The stakes are massive: whichever buyer prevails will redefine the balance of power across premium streaming, theatrical franchises, and high-value CTV inventory.
Baidu posted its sharpest revenue decline on record, with ad revenues falling 18% as AI-generated answers replace traditional search clicks. Ernie Bot now powers responses on most Baidu queries, improving user experience but suppressing monetizable activity—a trend management says will weigh on results into Q4. Competitors like Tencent, ByteDance, and PDD are still growing 20% to 30% YoY, suggesting Baidu’s weakness is structural. While the US market is more diversified, Baidu offers a stress test: AI can reshape search faster than monetization evolves. For advertisers, it’s a reminder that even Google and Microsoft must balance innovation with economic stability.
Nielsen and Lionsgate are broadening their partnership to incorporate measurement of MovieSphere, Lionsgate’s free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel, and its digital network MovieSphere Gold. Understanding the overlap and unique reach of FAST and OTA helps advertisers optimize media strategies and gain a more complete view of campaign performance.
Nine in 10 US consumers are open to watching TikTok-style vertical clips on publisher sites, according to a new survey from Media.net, pointing the way to how audiences consume content and where brands can meet them. Clips shorter than 60 seconds deliver roughly 2.5x higher engagement, per Media.net. By offering targeted vertical video on their websites and mobile apps, publishers can ramp up engagement and time spent. Brands integrating in-stream ads and links on these websites and apps could open up a new funnel for engagement.
As more brands build retail media networks (RMNs) to connect advertisers with shoppers, the once experimental channel has grown pivotal to marketers. US retail media search ad spending alone is projected to rake in $38.42 billion this year, according to our March 2025 forecast.
New Apple research points to the iPhone company pairing large language models (LLMs) with traditional sensors to build a more precise understanding of what a user is doing in real time. It’s likely to show up in sensor-enabled smartphones, computers, and smart home hubs hinged on ambient intelligence. Brands should explore how to design for moments, not messages. Build content and promotions that surface organically depending on a user’s activity, be it cooking, commuting, or exercising—so brands show up when it matters most.
The New York Times is posting advertising momentum as its proprietary AI stack reshapes how marketers reach premium audiences. Q3 ad revenues climbed 11.8%, with digital ads rising more than 20% and generative AI tool BrandMatch now powering more than 150 campaigns. NYT’s first-party data engine interprets emotional cues, reading patterns, and topic affinities to deliver precise contextual placements—fueling strong campaign lift for partners such as Crown Publishing and Belmond. With 11.76 million digital subscribers and a diversified product suite, NYT’s fully owned ecosystem gives it targeting capabilities most publishers cannot replicate.
The IAB’s 2025 Creator Economy report shows creator marketing has become a full-fledged media channel—one projected to reach $37.1 billion in spend next year, growing 26% YoY and outpacing the broader ad market by a factor of four. Nearly half of advertisers now call creators a must-buy, yet workflows remain fragmented across budgets, discovery tools, and measurement systems. With AI accelerating both production and complexity, the report lays out the emerging mandate: treat creator marketing as its own discipline with centralized budgets, standardized vetting, unified measurement, and formal AI governance. For marketers, real performance now requires real structure.