The COVID-19 outbreak undermined many of our pre-pandemic US forecasts. Insight can now be gleaned by examining the difference between what we thought would happen as of February 2020 vs. what our forecasts now show.

A little over a year since its debut in the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands, Disney+ is now officially available to consumers in Latin America. Subscribers to the platform will be able to enjoy unlimited access to the company’s vast array of content from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, Fox, and more.

A major challenge in measuring connected TV (CTV) audiences is that most of the time people spend streaming happens devoid of advertising.

Western Europe showed a strong increase in SVOD platform adoption in recent years, a trend that is driven by US players such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, as well as newer streaming services and local players entering the market. The streaming wars are about to hit Western Europe, driving exponential growth in both subscription OTT and Netflix adoption.

eMarketer principal analysts Mark Dolliver and Nicole Perrin join junior analyst Blake Droesch, and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna to discuss the "minimigration" from major social networks to self-proclaimed "free speech" app Parler, targeted ads on network TV, the popularity of Starbucks mobile ordering, Netflix linear TV offering, The New York Times' digital milestone, how to travel to work at the speed of sound, and more.

Today’s sociopolitical events have lit a fire under brands to address social injustice and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in deeper ways than they have in the past. Companies are using marketing and advertising to respond to and support discussions about systemic racism and the Black Lives Matter protests, the fight for LGBTQ rights, the #MeToo movement, the COVID-19 pandemic, and issues of immigration reform, to name a few.

During a year where investments in most advertising channels shrunk or stalled, connected TV ad spending is poised to keep growing.

As the coronavirus spread in the first half of 2020, we might have expected radical changes in the media behavior of consumers around the world. But for the most part, that didn’t happen. That’s just one insight to emerge from eMarketer’s newly released 2020 Global Media Intelligence (GMI) Report, a detailed look at internet users’ engagement with digital and traditional media in 42 major markets, produced in collaboration with Starcom Worldwide and GlobalWebIndex.

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.

With citywide lockdowns and ongoing social distancing measures in place, people throughout the Asia-Pacific region are spending more time at home consuming all forms of media—especially digital video.

What has been dubbed the “streaming wars” in many markets—especially in the US—is more like a skirmish in Canada. Despite the influx of US-based services like Disney+ and Apple TV+ in the past year, and the presence of homegrown services like Bell Media’s Crave nationally and Vidéotron’s Club Illico in Quebec, Netflix is still by far the most popular subscription OTT service in Canada.

TV ad spending takes a hit as marketers adjust their budgets amid a recession.

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.

Our forecast for digital video viewers in Canada highlights greater consumption of the medium during the pandemic.

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

In Spain, streaming platforms are increasingly vying for projects, talent, and viewers. Netflix began producing originals in Spain in 2016 and opened its first European production hub in Madrid in the Spring of 2019. However, as a result of this competition, HBO Spain has doubled down on producing series in Spain in 2019, increasing investment from Amazon Studios, as well as continued investment from Viacom, ATRESMEDIA, and telecom behemoths like Orange & Movistar.

Business Insider Intelligence senior analyst Audrey Schomer, eMarketer senior analyst Ross Benes, forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom, and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna discuss the streaming wars. How long can Netflix maintain its lead? What does the future hold for premium video-on-demand? What's the ceiling for Disney+? And what do we think of the new Apple TV+ bundle strategy?

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver, junior analyst Blake Droesch and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna discuss the main takeaways from the recent big-tech antitrust hearing; how CBS All Access is beefing up; how much sports can help advertisers this year; the effectiveness of ads during a pandemic; what a Twitter subscription service might look like; how high one could jump on Mars and more.

During its recent earnings call, Comcast said that NBCUniversal's new streaming service Peacock reached 10 million sign-ups since its soft launch in April this year.

eMarketer analyst Ross Benes, forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom and senior analyst at Insider Intelligence Audrey Schomer discuss why Netflix's second act matters more than its first. They then talk about accessing live content on connected TV, the strategy of Apple TV+ and how many people will want NBCUniversal's Peacock now that it's available to everyone.