eMarketer forecasting analyst Peter Vahle and vice president of content studio Paul Verna discuss the different platforms that people use to consume music and podcasts, and how the major platforms maintain their leads. Then, Paul talks about ESPN and ABC TV ad revenue declines, Pinterest's earnings and a potential new streaming service from ViacomCBS.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver and vice president of content studio Paul Verna talk about a new subscription ad-avoiding service, data privacy in 2020, TV show companion podcasts, Pinterest's new AR tool, giving up on newspapers, Atari-branded hotels and more.

Every week on eMarketer’s “Behind the Numbers” podcast, we take a few minutes to discuss some of the most intriguing headlines of the past seven days. This week, we're chatting about misinformation and how digital platforms are seeking to slow it, Pinterest's plan to go public, and landmark shift in ad spending.

According to May 2018 data from StatCounter, Facebook led Canada with 47.90% referral share, followed closely by Pinterest at 40.58%. YouTube was down in the rankings at 1.35%, in part due to the stickiness of the platform, where pre-roll ads are more awareness oriented than direct response.

In the UK, for example, West Elm customers can use the company’s Pinterest Style Finder. This AI-based software scans a shopper’s Pinterest boards or photos to create a list of recommended furniture and interior decor items based on similar styles. Across Europe, eBay customers already encounter AI, too.

“Weibo has evolved into an entertainment platform that encompasses the features of Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, reddit and YouTube rolled into one,” eMarketer forecasting analyst Shelleen Shum said. While user growth is slowing, Weibo will surpass 400 million users in China by 2021. This strong demand is propelling Weibo’s ad revenue.

eMarketer principal analysts Nicole Perrin and Andrew Lipsman discuss what makes for a good loyalty scheme. They also break down Pinterest’s Q2 results, the impact of a negative review and lessons learned from Amazon Prime Day 2019.

eMarketer senior forecasting analyst Oscar Orozco explains our latest projections for Pinterest’s ad business post-IPO.

eMarketer vice president of forecasting Monica Peart walks through our latest ad spend numbers for Google, Facebook and Amazon.

Compared with other social platforms, LinkedIn’s US adult user base in 2020 will be larger than that of Twitter (47.2 million), but it will be smaller than those of Facebook (162.7 million), Instagram (98.2 million) and Pinterest (78.3 million). Snapchat is only slightly ahead of LinkedIn, at 64.9 million US adult users.

Consumers turn to platforms like Instagram and Pinterest for shopping inspiration and discovery, but TikTok is primarily for entertainment. Zoe Galindo, a strategic planner at Swift, believes brands can create worthwhile content to click through on TikTok, but she advises that working with creators can help brands ease into performance-based measures while still providing entertainment value.