AI-optimized non-skip ads promise full views, but success hinges on premium creative, not forced frequency.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss more ‘very specific, but highly unlikely’ predictions for the end of 2025 and start of 2026. If a major US news organization like CNN or CNBC will soon get acquired by a billionaire, why Pepsi could split into separate snack and beverage businesses, and the road to full funnel, hyper relevant connected car ads. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson, Senior Director of Forecasting, Oscar Orozco, and Vice Presidents of Content, Suzy Davidkhanian and Paul Verna. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the biggest discrepancy by device with regards to where we spend our time versus how many ad dollars are aimed there, why social players want to take a page from YouTube’s CTV playbook, and why sub OTT’s unusual path to advertising has created major misalignments. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson, Principal Forecasting Writer, Ethan Cramer-Flood, and Senior Analyst, Minda Smiley. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

Capturing 88% of search traffic and 65.8% of browser use, Google shapes digital activity, though rising AI competitors and regulatory risks may challenge its supremacy.

By 2026, nine streaming services will generate over $1 billion in ad revenue, up from just two in 2020, according to EMARKETER’s forecast. To build that revenue, players across the connected TV (CTV) space are eyeing more ad dollars, which will have a significant effect on marketing budgets and consumer experiences.

There will be 180.9 million connected car drivers in the US by 2028, reaching over 70% of licensed drivers, according to a September 2024 EMARKETER forecast.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is helping transform connected TV (CTV) into a performance marketing channel, giving paid search and social media a run for their money. CTV ad spend will reach $32.57 billion in the US next year, and AI is helping to boost its potential for advertisers. Here are three ways AI is doing that.

Even premium TV brands like LG are now showing ads on screensavers, joining other video platforms in monetizing this idle screen real estate. But will these ads actually move the needle for advertisers?

Live sports programming accounted for nearly 40% of US national TV ad spend in both Q4 2022 and Q4 2023, according to September 2024 data from iSpot.tv.

The number of companies with more than $1 billion in annual US connected TV (CTV) ad sales jumped from two in 2020 to five this year. In a recent EMARKETER webinar "CTV Watch: How Streamers Compare in Time Spent and Ad Revenues,” our analyst Ross Bones explained the top trends in CTV viewership and ad spend.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss whether search, social, connected TV, or retail media has been driving growth the most this year, how much non-cyclical ad growth has been fueling this year's numbers, and what to expect from ad spend in 2025. Tune in to the discussion with host Marcus Johnson and our analyst Ross Benes.

“Fragmentation creates a headache in determining meaningful performance. That puts a lot of weight in the trust of the attribution models across all of your CTV ad buys,” Erik Gray, director of product analytics at MNTN, said at our recent EMARKETER Summit. But with a growing market, with more streaming channels and viewers, comes more opportunity to reach the right audience. Here are three ways to boost the success of your CTV ad campaigns amid fragmentation.

US digital ad spend will cross $300 billion for the first time this year, per our March 2024 forecast. That’s good news for advertisers, but it also means it’s harder to stand out. While exposing consumers to a brand multiple times across channels is vital to brand awareness, hitting consumers with the same creative over and over again or bombarding them with emails and text messages can hurt marketing impact. Here are five key stats on marketing fatigue across connected TV (CTV), email, and messaging.

Consumers are more ready for shoppable TV than ever. “The opportunity around shoppable TV is changing due to significant advancements in technology and shifts in consumer behavior,” said David Cohen, CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), in its recent Retail Media Goes to the Movies report.

Around $84 billion in digital ad spend was lost to fraud last year, according to Juniper Research. That number will more than double by 2028, reaching $172 billion. Some 22% of US digital media experts consider digital video to be one of the media types most vulnerable to fraud, per a study from Integral Ad Science and YouGov. But connected TV (CTV) has an advantage over other digital ad publishers.

“[Cookie deprecation] is a monumental change. It has also been a long time coming,” our analyst Evelyn Mitchell-Wolf said on a recent “Meet the Analyst” webinar. The signal loss will force advertisers to shift targeting strategies, campaign measurement, and identity solutions. But other trends—programmatic transaction methods and connected TV (CTV)’s growing share of ad spend—will stay their course.

Political ad spend will hit $12.32 billion this year, according to our December 2023 forecast. That’s nearly three times what it was in 2016.

Media planners should be paying attention to both digital and linear TV, but attention is obviously moving toward the former. When preparing for upfronts, keep in mind that ads are almost everywhere now, which means an expanding menu of options.

Amazon Prime Video ads launched today, defaulting Amazon’s 163.3 million US viewers into its ad-supported tier unless they pay a premium to opt out. This is good news for Amazon’s $44.26 billion dollar retail US media business. But who could this move hurt?

25% of US TV/video ad buyers want to have three currencies for impression measurement, according to March 2023 data from the Interactive Advertising Bureau, Standard Media Index, and Advertiser Perceptions. Another 45% opt for four or more currencies.