This report reviews our final 2020 numbers and new 2021 forecast for US time spent with media, highlighting pre- and post-pandemic estimates and expectations. Special attention is paid to TV, connected TV, OTT, digital audio, and social media.

Our new forecast for global mobile messaging app users shows that the pandemic has accelerated adoption of OTT messaging services, though not in every country nor to the same degree for every app.

On today's episode, we discuss how and why companies are offering cheaper subscription options, the effects of the delta variant, how ready folks are for a post-cookie future, the importance of reacquainting yourself with your customers, the cost of cord-cutting, how the pandemic changed the rhythm of our workdays, if it's possible to travel to every country, and more. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst Suzy Davidkhanian, senior forecasting analyst Peter Vahle, and analyst at Insider Intelligence Blake Droesch.

eMarketer forecasts that retail media and connected TV (CTV) will be among the fastest-growing digital ad channels this year. Jed Dederick, senior vice president of global client and agency development at demand-side platform The Trade Desk, joins eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Nicole Perrin to discuss what the firm has learned over the course of the pandemic, what buyers want from CTV and retail media, and why resolving the identity crisis is so important.

The pandemic led to lower TV ad spend and increased connected TV viewing this year. The shift in TV viewing means TV audience measurement gaps must be addressed to keep pace with how, what, and where consumers are watching TV.

Connected TV (CTV) advertising was a beneficiary of pandemic trends and remains one of digital advertising’s fastest-growing channels. Last year, linear TV decreased in importance to advertisers, as cord-cutting accelerated and more programmatic CTV inventory became available than ever before.

The pandemic has brought an influx of new users for subscription OTT, live videos, and video games in 2020, but other activities such as social networking, mobile messaging, and digital video haven’t seen the same bump.

The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated cord-cutting and boosted streaming video viewing.

Digital video viewership in the UK will continue to rise this year. The pandemic has provided a particularly significant impetus for subscription video-on-demand services, while connected TVs have become the consumption device of choice.

The fall TV blitz may not be enough to undo new viewing habits: Broadcasters may not be able to reverse pandemic-era trends, and the number of new streaming services is putting a strain on viewers' wallets.

Growth in programmatic display ad spending was resilient in 2020, thanks in large part to the shift from brick-and-mortar to digital retail. Rajeev Goel, co-founder and CEO at supply-side platform PubMatic, joins eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Nicole Perrin for the last episode of The Ad Platform to discuss which industries are increasing ad spending fastest, how advertisers are reacting to less Identifier for Advertisers availability, and why momentum in connected TV is exciting.

Digital video viewership passed 3 billion people worldwide in 2020 as growth outpaced pre-pandemic expectations. By year-end 2021, that number will hit 3.26 billion, but growth is expected to slow.

The pandemic accelerated the increase in time spent with mobile activities in the US. Most of these gains will stick as people return to a more normal life in 2021.

A semblance of normalcy will return in 2021 after a media-saturated 2020, fueled by the pandemic. But while media time will reset somewhat this year, digital’s influence will continue to grow.

The TV upfronts look to bounce back in 2021 after a tough year resulting from disruptions wrought by the pandemic.

This report explores the impact the pandemic has had on our latest regional estimates and trends for total media, traditional media, digital, and mobile ad spending in six markets in Latin America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru.

US advertisers increased their investments on digital media by almost 15% last year despite a pandemic and recession, looking for flexibility and accountability.

Digital gaming and viewership of gaming video content (GVC) has become more popular amid the pandemic. In 2021, some of this activity will see modest growth, while interest in other forms of gaming will taper off.

US programmatic digital display ad spending continued growing at double-digit rates during the pandemic, and we expect it to reach a milestone next year when more than 9 in 10 digital display ad dollars are transacted using some form of automation.

The pandemic led to many upward revisions of our UK digital user forecasts. Some changes (podcast listeners) will be permanent, while others will be temporary (digital gamers). Our social network user numbers, meanwhile, didn’t change much at all.

“As more inventory opened up on OTT, political advertisers jumped into the space,” Digilant’s Addonizio said. “What we saw was that the cheaper inventory, combined with restrictions on social, made dollars shift between the two.”. Overall, SSP SpotX reported more than a 900% increase in CTV and OTT political ad spending between April and September 2020. Part of that is, of course, due to the pandemic.