Amid an ongoing YouTube TV blackout and linear declines, Disney missed analyst estimates in fiscal year Q4. Despite Disney’s streaming growth, the loss of YouTube TV presents a meaningful risk to advertisers because it fractures access to millions of viewers who relied on YouTube TV to watch Disney-owned networks.

NFL RedZone will bring ads to the current NFL season, stepping away from its commercial-free roots for the first time. Ads will initially only account for 1 minute of RedZone’s seven hours of content but could expand to 2 minutes during the season, per AP News. With attention shifting to digital live sports and RedZone’s availability on ESPN’s new DTC streaming service, advertisers have the opportunity to tap into broad audiences in a format that is likely to be more tolerable to viewers than traditional TV ads.

The news: As the NFL season approaches and digital video becomes a sports destination, fans are looking to new streaming services to stay caught up—and 35% are planning to subscribe to a new service to watch fall and winter sports, per CivicScience data. Our take: Sports will remain a key opportunity for brands to reach engaged and passionate audiences—but as fragmentation worsens, advertisers must prioritize cross-platform strategies that unlock consistent exposure.

The news: Disney announced that it will merge Disney+ and Hulu in 2026, a move that could save it $3 billion. The news came after a mixed Q3 FY25 that beat expectations thanks to high spending at Disney theme parks and growth in streaming, but saw advertising revenues fall short of analyst estimates. Our take: Disney’s future success depends on whether merging its core streaming offerings boosts advertiser appeal and a successful sports push that can compete on a similar level as rivals with access to tentpole live events like the Super Bowl.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how to get folks to buy something they can’t go and see in a store, how D2Cs should be thinking about generative AI, and how one DTC is negotiating the tariff minefield. Listen to the conversation with our Senior Analyst Sara Lebow as she hosts Principal Analyst Sky Canaves and CEO and president of Eyebuydirect Sunny Jiang.

Warby Parker joins forces with Target: The D2C eyewear brand will open five shop-in-shops as it doubles down on physical retail.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss the unofficial list of the most interesting retailers for the month of January. Each month, our analysts Arielle Feger, Becky Schilling, and Sara Lebow (aka The Committee) put together a very unofficial list of the top eight retailers they're watching based on which are making the most interesting moves: Who's launching new initiatives? Which partnerships are moving the needle? Which standout marketing campaigns are being created? In this month's episode, Committee members Analyst Arielle Feger and Senior Analyst Sara Lebow will defend their list against Senior Analyst Zak Stambor and Analyst Rachel Wolff, who will dispute the power rankings by attempting to move retailers up, down, on, or off the list.

RFK Jr.’s pharmaceutical ad ban could affect $22 billion in ad spending: A business-friendly Trump administration could hamper RFK’s plans to cut D2C advertising.

This is the first installment of our “Retail and Ecommerce Sales Benchmarks” series, which helps retailers calibrate their sales mix against the market.

This is the first installment of our “Retail and Ecommerce Sales Benchmarks” series, which helps retailers calibrate their sales mix against the market.

This is the first installment of our “Retail and Ecommerce Sales Benchmarks” series, which helps retailers calibrate their sales mix against the market.

This is the first installment of our “Retail and Ecommerce Sales Benchmarks” series, which helps retailers calibrate their sales mix against the market.

This is the first installment of our “Retail and Ecommerce Sales Benchmarks” series, which helps retailers calibrate their sales mix against the market.

This is the first installment of our “Retail and Ecommerce Sales Benchmarks” series, which helps retailers calibrate their sales mix against the market.

This is the first installment of our “Retail and Ecommerce Sales Benchmarks” series, which helps retailers calibrate their sales mix against the market.

This is the first installment of our “Retail and Ecommerce Sales Benchmarks” series, which helps retailers calibrate their sales mix against the market.

Established brands pivot to reembrace wholesale, while digital natives—facing rising ad costs—struggle to find their second act.

Established brands are beating digital natives at their own D2C game. As marketplace and wholesale opportunities obfuscate what it means to sell D2C, brands need to keep up with both their retail and marketing playbooks—or risk falling behind.

Digital D2C disruptors, like Peloton and Casper, will bring in about $100 billion less in US ecommerce sales than the $134.55 billion of their established counterparts this year, according to our forecast.