Traditional TV ad spending will plunge 15.0% in 2027, even as its audience declines only minimally. Sports and political advertising increasingly dictate TV’s fortunes, while broadcast, cable, and local TV face different challenges.

Live TV remains a powerful media habit across Central and Eastern Europe even as streaming and mobile entertainment expand. The result is a media landscape where established formats and newer digital behaviors thrive side by side.

Digital media adoption is broad across East Asia and Oceania, but attention is fragmented. Streaming, traditional TV, gaming, creator content, and AI reveal sharp differences in how connected audiences spend their time.

Western Europe pairs widespread digital access with unusually durable traditional media habits. Streaming is mainstream, but TV and radio remain strong as mature device markets and selective digital behaviors set the region apart.

Media habits remain decidedly regional even as short video, connected TV (CTV), and AI gain ground worldwide. Global media plans need to account for local differences in how audiences watch, play, search, and spend their time.

Free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services are attracting more viewers, but advertising growth isn't keeping pace. Low ad prices appeal to brands, but heavy ad loads and inconsistent reporting raise questions about performance.

The World Cup and presidential elections have lifted ad spending growth across all major media in 2026, but digital’s momentum will extend beyond the event-driven boost.

Nielsen's math gets challenged: TVB questions Nielsen’s ad-supported TV figures, saying flawed inputs overstate streaming and undercount linear viewing.

Cyclical political ad spending is surging again, and midterms are no longer much of a step down from presidential cycles. Broadcast TV still dominates campaigns, but CTV is reshaping political advertising faster than any other channel.

A new DOJ probe could simplify NFL ad buys—or hand fewer partners tighter pricing control.

90% of sports fans want games on local TV, keeping linear central despite streaming’s rise.

Disney's Oscars ad inventory cleared early at higher rates, proving live TV still commands premium demand.

News consolidation raises advertiser exposure risk, as a Paramount-controlled CNN and CBS might reduce independent national news options.

Streaming consolidation takes a surprise turn: Netflix’s deal exit hands WBD to Paramount, preserving a more diversified studio and ad model.

Milano Cortina delivered the strongest Winter Olympics viewership in over a decade across streaming and linear TV, proving the value of live sports.

For the Winter Olympics, NBCUniversal paired broadcast scale with streaming, CTV, and creator integrations to drive monetization in a major way.

The future of streaming is back in play, as WBD’s reopened talks with Paramount revive consolidation questions.

NFL viewership favors broadcast as traditional TV draws the biggest audiences, but streaming’s ad effectiveness is unmatched.

Broadcast TV’s share of viewing declined YoY in October despite inching up slightly from the prior month thanks to the NFL season, per Nielsen’s total TV/streaming estimates. Meanwhile, streaming continued to increase its viewership share—highlighting how live sports viewers are increasingly shifting to digital. Those who thrive in the shift to digital will steadily increase budgets for sports streaming while still maintaining some investment in cable and broadcast to reach the many live sports viewers who continue to watch through traditional channels.

Nexstar is acquiring Tegna in a $6.2 billion deal that would expand its reach to 265 stations and 39% of US TV households, pending FCC approval. CEO Perry Sook says the merger is essential for competing with Big Tech, while critics warn it could weaken local journalism. The timing comes as regulators signal openness to loosening ownership caps. Local TV ad spending is projected at $17.27 billion in 2025, with broadcast accounting for most of it, but growth lags digital channels. Nexstar is betting that consolidation and scale will help protect broadcast revenue against mounting digital competition.