CTV consolidates around three giants: Google, Amazon, and Netflix will near 50% of global ad dollars by 2030.

Iran war rattles ad market: A prolonged conflict could erase $50 billion in global 2026 revenues and upend 2030 forecasts.

LG and Teads data show higher recall, clicks, and conversions without disrupting viewers.

Marketers are following audiences to streaming, yet linear remains vital for scale and outcomes.

Paramount+ rose 17%, but TV ads fell 10% as cord-cutting eroded linear’s base.

Netflix is reshaping CTV economics as sports, live events, podcasts, and a potential WBD acquisition push its ad tier toward 10% of spend, with $3 billion in sight this year.

US ad spend growth will grow a total of 11% in 2025, excluding political spending, per an updated Madison & Wall forecast cited by Mediapost. The figure is well above Madison & Wall’s previous estimate of 3.6% growth and follows 13% YoY growth in Q3. Even as total media ad spending continues to grow, growth doesn’t entirely negate the overall climate of uncertainty that will undoubtedly affect the ad industry in the year ahead. Slowing growth expected from Madison & Wall in 2026 and ongoing economic headwinds indicate that advertisers are still operating in an era of caution.

This is the Q4 2025 installment of our quarterly “Ad Spending Benchmarks” series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.

Spanish-language media company TelevisaUnivision reported a rocky Q3, with notable downturns in net income, ad revenues, and overall revenues. TelevisaUnivsion and ViX still offer a compelling value proposition for brands seeking smaller, but influential Spanish-language audiences.

Linear TV ad spending grew in Q3 despite total TV ad impressions declining, per iSpot data. Ad spend increased 4% YoY, reaching $8.77 billion—but total impressions fell 2.7% to 1.67 trillion. Total ad minutes rose 2.4% YoY to 5.3 million, driven by the rise of sports inventory. Marketers must understand that a successful ad strategy requires a balance— investing in linear to drive outcomes while slowly shifting toward CTV for better targeting and to align with audience viewing habits.

MNTN debuts as a public company with a $1.6 billion valuation: Its performance-focused CTV adtech aims to bring small businesses into streaming.

Amazon debuts three new CTV ad formats: The updates are part of Amazon’s Prime Video ads push and promise to help brands reach highly engaged audiences.

CTV ad spending to grow 16.8% in 2025: While economic uncertainty and an increasingly fragmented ecosystem remain concerns, CTV promises success.

Video ad spending continues to outpace overall digital ad spending and will power the fastest-growing ad-supported media.

This is the first installment of our quarterly “Ad Spending Benchmarks” series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.

CTV's rapid growth brings brand risks: Rigorous vetting and monitoring are essential to maintain trust in the new advertising landscape.

In 2024, a perfect storm of technology, business, and consumer behavior trends will conspire to intensify the challenges of protecting brands on digital media.

Amazon debuts at Upfront Week, showcasing its ad-supported streaming services and more: It’s a strategic move to expand its digital advertising reach.