On today's episode, we discuss Facebook and Apple's next virtual and augmented reality moves, Netflix cracking down on password sharing, whether Google and Facebook killed the concept of "free," what Americans will do with their stimulus checks, how ESPN+ will do on Hulu, where in the world there is a giant plughole in the ocean, and more. Tune in to listen to the discussion with eMarketer forecasting analyst Rini Mukhopadhyay, senior analyst Sara M. Watson, analyst Blake Droesch, and principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Jeremy Goldman.

As more viewers leave traditional TV packages for streaming alternatives, there is a heightened interest in how much money is being spent on video subscriptions and which companies are benefiting from changes in consumer viewing patterns.

On today's episode, we discuss free, ad-supported video: Who are the major players, how do these services fit into people’s media diets, and how do they attract advertisers? Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer senior forecasting analyst Eric Haggstrom and forecasting analyst at Insider Intelligence Nazmul Islam.

Overall subscription video revenues keep increasing, driven by gains in OTT viewing.

In 2021, the biggest US beneficiary of the streaming bonanza will be Disney. After a plethora of streaming competitors launched in 2020, Netflix still added a substantial number of subscribers. Equally as impressive as Netflix’s sustained dominance was Disney+’s ability to quickly gain viewers. These developments show there’s room for multiple services to thrive in this fast-growing market.

For the first time this year, we broke out CTV ad revenues for YouTube, Roku, and Hulu.

Increased political ad spending contributed to a banner year for connected TV.

Following a strong launch in November 2019, Disney+ is on track to surpass $4 billion in US subscription revenues by 2022. In its first full year, Disney+ has grown rapidly, spurred by in-demand content and stay-at-home orders. In fact, the service will help The Walt Disney Co. reach Netflix’s share of the market by 2022, according to the inaugural eMarketer OTT subscription revenue forecast by Insider Intelligence.

In this year’s “Key Digital Trends” report, we examine changes coming to the digital media and technology landscape in 2021—including legislation, privacy, entertainment, social media, and more—and why they matter to marketers.

Today marks a big milestone at Insider Intelligence: We launched our new platform, unifying our two brands (eMarketer and Business Insider Intelligence) into a single online experience and expanded our Financial Services coverage. We also just published a report that’s been long in the making--and it happens to be our very first under the new brand.

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.

Most advertisers have pulled back their spending, but streaming services are marketing themselves as heavily as ever.

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.

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

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

According to our latest estimates for over-the-top (OTT) video services in the US, Disney+ will have 72.4 million users this year, representing 32.1% of OTT viewers.

Ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) platforms saw strong growth in ad revenues last quarter, a bright spot in the overall ad market during the pandemic.

eMarketer principal analyst Mark Dolliver, junior analyst Blake Droesch and vice president of content studio at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna discuss what it might be like to work from home forever, Hulu's new transactional ads, Google paying select publishers, America's diversity, switching brand loyalty, YouTube's short videos, an eerie fact about corn and more.