Google and Meta landed slightly below expectations in Q3, allowing a collection of hungry competitors to inch ahead. But overall, the ad industry remains healthy. Sports events drove streaming and CTV to record gains, and retail media continues to be the sector’s fastest-growing ad channel.

Two-thirds of US TV viewers (66%) would rather watch ads and save $4 to $5 a month than spend the money to ditch ads, according to June 2024 data from Hub Research. That’s up five percentage points from June 2023. Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and Max all have ad-supported tiers now, and consumers benefit by saving a few dollars along the way. Advertisers can capitalize on these cost-saving behaviors by reaching consumers with messaging that emphasizes discounts and deals.

People worldwide spent less time with media across all categories except mobile (which remained the same) in H1 2024 as compared with H1 2023, per GWI data.

Digital live sports viewers have surpassed traditional pay TV live sports viewers in the US, per EMARKETER forecast. This trend will continue next year, when 114.1 million people will watch sports via digital while 82.0 million will watch via TV.

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.

Commerce media networks are expanding beyond retail into new verticals like travel and financial services, creating opportunities for targeted advertising using first-party purchase data. The key to growth will be achieving a delicate balance, and engaging—rather than alienating—consumers.

67.5 million US households use smart TVs, making it the No. 1 device among connected TV (CTV) households across the country, according to July 2024 data from Comscore.

CMOs are often the first people facing pressure to cut spend in a challenging economy. Marketers need to be able to trim budgets in a way that doesn’t thin out the brand. “A common approach we see during these economic downturns is to cut those upper-funnel tactics…but I really believe this is very shortsighted,” said Laura Brooks, fractional CMO at Made by Nacho, during our recent EMARKETER Summit.

30-second TV ad spot costs are falling: Football remains the costliest ad inventory, but viewer pivots to digital are bringing down costs.

The US ad industry is at a crossroads. Which path it takes will depend heavily on which candidate is elected.

105.3 million people in the US will watch live sports via digital this year, up from 95.5 million last year, per our September 2024 forecast.

Healthcare and pharma marketers will continue to devote more of their ad spending budgets to digital media channels. Still, advertising strategies for traditional media will remain a priority, particularly compared with other industries.

Out-of-home (OOH) advertising is offering more opportunities for advertisers to take advantage of context, measurement, and experiential innovations to drive conversions. “Try it more. Use it not just for that one stunt,” said Anna Bager, president and CEO at the Out of Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA). Instead of focusing on one tentpole stunt, marketers should be using multiple OOH formats to supplement digital campaigns, Bager said.

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 election brings more ad spending to Spanish-language media: TelevisaUnivision garnered record US political ad revenues as candidates fight for Hispanic voters.

2024 has been a disruptive year for generative AI (genAI), which transformed from a buzzword into a practical part of marketing workflows, and commerce media as more platforms launch. Meanwhile, advertisers are still figuring out the lifespan of third-party cookies. And connected TV (CTV) advertising got a big boost from Prime Video.

Meta and Google enjoy political ad spend boom: The ad duopoly is effective for reaching consumers en masse, but TV spending shifts hint at big changes.

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.

Brands can maximize efficiency by targeting Hispanic consumers: The highly diverse demographic reports high brand recall and positive association with sports.