On today's episode, we discuss what an out-of-home (OOH) advertising comeback will look like and which areas are driving growth. We also examine how OOH movie theater advertising could recover, the significance of March Madness's return, when people will want to attend sporting events again, and replacing "primetime" with something more personal. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer forecasting analyst Nazmul Islam and senior analyst at Insider Intelligence Ross Benes.

eMarketer forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom and principal analysts at Insider Intelligence Jeremy Goldman, Andrew Lipsman, and Nicole Perrin discuss some very specific predictions for 2021: new leadership at Facebook, Amazon shops for a TV network and movie theaters, streaming services team up, and more.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver, junior analyst Blake Droesch, and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna discuss whether WarnerMedia just killed movie theaters, why Salesforce is buying Slack, why Facebook's buying Kustomer, the first few cases of Facebook's Oversight Board, Nielsen readies to change its TV ratings, shopping carts on WhatsApp, how much cash can fit in your pocket at once, and more.

Disney delays its theatrical return: Straight-to-streaming releases and shorter theatrical windows are dimming hopes of a full movie industry recovery this year. Worse, some changes may be permanent, further hurting the entertainment industry’s ad spending growth.

A March 2020 survey from GlobalWebIndex found that 34% of US internet users would livestream music concerts or sports events at home, while 28% expressed interest in livestreaming a theater show. In May 2020, GlobalWebIndex asked UK and US consumers in the Gen Z and millennial generations about the platforms they used to watch a virtual event in the past two months.

eMarketer forecasting analysts Eric Haggstrom and Peter Vahle and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna discuss the future of the movie theater. Will movies make a comeback and what will they look like? They then talk about HBO Max with ads, AT&T's possible wireless phone plans subsidized by ads, and Apple One subscription bundles.

Between February and November 2020, entertainment venues and movie theaters saw the worst annual declines in outdoor ad revenues, according to GroupM, as a result of social distancing and mandates against large gatherings. But OOH investments grew for train stations over the same period, by 52% YoY, thanks to increased demand for domestic travel.

eMarketer senior corporate account director Michael Civins, forecasting analyst Peter Vahle and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna discuss which music platforms Americans use and the growing significance of podcast listening. They then talk about whether TV networks are being too optimistic about H2, how many more voice assistants there are and movies going from theaters to digital platforms much faster.

Uber Eats reunited Wayne and Garth from “Wayne’s World”; the duo last hit movie theaters 28 years ago. Notice a pattern? It’s not just advertising that has been bitten by the nostalgia bug.

It’s awards season in Hollywood, but one of the frontrunners for best picture almost didn’t get a theatrical run at all. In the latest episode of eMarketer’s “Behind the Numbers” podcast, we talk with Principal Analyst Paul Verna about how movies will be watched in the future.

These new options—along with movie theater closures and out-of-home activity cancellations—led to a major uptick in users and time spent for OTT, as well as the proliferation of a new term, “subscription fatigue.” So far, however, “subscription fatigue” is just a theory, as subscription OTT powers forward unabated.

As a result, economic pain accrued overwhelmingly to restaurants, bars, entertainment venues, hotels, airlines, travel companies, educational institutions, theme parks, movie theaters, salons, and the like.

Out-of-home (OOH) advertising saw the steepest fall, in the context of stay-at-home orders, movie theater closures, and lower levels of travel on roads, as well as by rail and other public transport. Leading OOH firm JCDecaux reported a 28.4% YoY drop in revenues in France during 2020, for example.

eMarketer principal analyst Nicole Perrin discusses how the coronavirus will impact tourism. How will it change airlines, accommodation and travel-related ad spending? She then discusses what will happen to movie theaters and ride-hailing services as the pandemic takes hold.

While there have been signs of recovery—including limited attendance at certain NFL games and the reopening of some movie theaters—there is still no timetable for the return of live events at full capacity. One bright spot for entertainment, however, has been the increase in time spent with streaming services and gaming while consumers stay at home amid the pandemic.

Bank’s Cash Plus Card, for example, enables customers to select their 5% and 2% categories quarterly from a predetermined list including categories ranging from apparel and movie theaters to telecom and utility bills.

Apple scored a victory when it bought the rights for “Greyhound,” a WWII movie starring Tom Hanks, which was originally intended for movie theaters but went into a streaming bidding war after theaters shutdown during the pandemic. Apple will look for other opportunities like this as it adds more shows and movies to its streaming service.

As brick-and-mortar stores, airlines, hotels, movie theaters, and sporting venues were temporarily shuttered, these industries cut back spending dramatically. Ad budgets normally geared toward generating customer traffic could not be justified given the vacuum of live consumer activity amid social distancing measures.

It also tends to avoid subways, malls and movie theaters, where traffic has remained low. Areas where it runs outdoor ads include billboards near busy roads and street signage near restaurants with outside seating.