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

Advertisers are increasing their upfront commitments, particularly for connected TV.

Roku soars at the upfronts: Advertisers’ upfront spending commitments with the platform doubled from last year, as interest in CTV continues to rise.

For the first time, we have broken out the portion of US upfront digital video ad spending that goes to connected TV (CTV). This year, advertisers will increase their upfront CTV video ad spending by almost 50% year over year to $4.51 billion.

On today's episode, we discuss how many Americans watch sports on streaming platforms, how TV companies are tackling the digital sports rights balance, and what this year’s Tokyo Olympics can do to help boost NBCUniversal's streaming platform Peacock. We then talk about the key takeaways from the 2021 Upfronts, the potential impact of Univision's Spanish language streaming service, and how the entertainment industry is balancing box-office releases and streaming. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna.

For the 2021–2022 TV season, US upfront ad spending will bounce back to nearly pre-pandemic levels, if not to its 2018–2019 peak, according to our latest estimates.

With the upfront season in full swing, how can advertisers reach streaming audiences? Natalie Bastian, vice president of marketing at Tubi, and Rimma Kats, editorial director at eMarketer, discuss how incrementality in streaming can help bolster linear investments.

What to look out for at the NewFronts: CTV and social video will shine at this week's digital upfront presentations, as both formats have grown rapidly over the past year.

On today's episode, we discuss some digital audio developments from Spotify and iHeartMedia, how podcast advertising can add value, in-car audio entertainment, and what the first flavor of advertising on social audio platforms will look like. We then talk about what to expect from this years' Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Podcast Upfronts, how people are approaching podcast moderation, and the market for podcasts created for children. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Peter Vahle.

On today's episode, we discuss whether sports are the key to moving viewers from TVs to streaming platforms, if online audiences can ever rival TV viewership, and whether people will want to watch user-generated or professionally made content online. We then talk about the most interesting part of The Walt Disney Co.'s streaming endeavors, how HBO Max stacks up so far, and how this second year of virtual upfronts might be different. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer senior analyst at Insider Intelligence Ross Benes.

With the over-the-top (OTT) portion of the upfronts continuing to expand, marketers are increasingly realizing the benefits of using a unified platform to activate TV.

NewFronts recap: Exclusive content on ad-supported platforms, shoppable shows, and creator-driven video content on social media were three major trends we saw at the NewFronts this past week.

“For long-term planning, and for reserving inventory in the upfront marketplace, a stable, broad-based, ‘blunt instrument’ like Nielsen age-and-gender targets will continue to play an important role,” said Beth Rockwood, senior vice president of ad sales research at WarnerMedia.