New forecasts for US Amazon CTV ad revenues and ad-supported viewers for select streaming services.

The Walt Disney Co.’s recent moves, including the full acquisition of Hulu and adjustments in its content investment strategies, underscore a pivotal phase for the growth of the entertainment giant’s streaming business.

Ad spending growth is tapering off, but major changes are coming to the market, including the deprecation of third-party identifiers, a new era in TV ad measurement, and growing use of AI in advertising.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss what a completely Walt Disney Co.-owned Hulu will look like, if the entertainment giant has a Marvel problem, and whether Disney+ can ever rival Netflix for the subscriber crown. "In Other News," we talk about why Roku's revenues and streaming hours are doing particularly well and why Warner Bros. Discovery's ad revenues and subscriber growth are not. Tune in to the discussion with our vice president of content Paul Verna.

It’s been a year since Netflix launched its “Basic With Ads” tier, joining an increasingly cluttered landscape of ad-supported streaming platforms. Netflix leveraged a year of solid connected TV (CTV) ad spend growth, cost-conscious consumers, and Hollywood strikes that emphasized the value of a deep existing catalog to grow its ad supported plan to 15 million global monthly active users, according to a company post. Here’s a look at what’s new, what’s working, and what needs more attention at Netflix.

Max canceled 26.9% of its shows between January 2020 and August 2023, ahead of streaming’s overall cancellation rate of 12.2%, according to Variety Intelligence Platform and Luminate.

Among major streaming services, Netflix’s time spent share exceeds ad revenues the most, indicating it has the most room to expand.

The gap in ad cost per thousand (CPM) between Netflix’s high and Hulu’s low decreased over the last year, resulting in a projected difference of $21.73, according to our forecast.

The range of costs per thousand on major US streaming services is narrowing as new entrants Netflix and Disney+ come down from their initial ad-tier launch highs in late 2022.

As streaming prices ascend, focus shifts to ad-supported tiers: All eyes on maximizing ARPU versus user growth.

Streaming services were busy increasing subscription prices. It has become more expensive to avoid advertising, which is swaying more viewers to put up with ads.

Netflix’s advertising strategy is evolving as streaming services raise subscription prices to sway users to ad-supported tiers.

Disney and Charter’s carriage fee clash is a landmark moment: A new deal includes Disney+ and ESPN subscriptions for the linear TV service’s customers.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss the largest discrepancies in terms of where folks spend their media time versus where advertisers spend their money, and how advertisers should adjust accordingly. "In Other News," we talk about the Comcast-Walt Disney Co. negotiations centered around Hulu's ownership and whether YouTube's new NFL Sunday Ticket features will be enough to attract viewers and advertisers. Tune in to the discussion with our forecasting writer Ethan Cramer-Flood.

Retail media has been buoyed by consumer packaged goods companies and grocery brands looking to get their products in front of shoppers closer to the point of purchase. But now, other categories are looking to join the party: nonendemic advertisers.

The majority of subscription video-on-demand sign-ups on Peacock and Hulu are ad-supported, according to Antenna, accounting for 69% and 58% of overall subscription plans, respectively.

Over one-third (37.7%) of US consumers’ time spent with TV is with streaming services, per Nielsen. Cable is not far behind, with a 30.6% share of consumers’ TV time.

Following three consecutive quarters of ad revenue losses, YouTube faces an urgent need to restore growth. This could present marketers using YouTube with opportunities to target audiences on both connected TVs and smartphones.

This first-of-its-kind report compares and contrasts our US ad spending forecast with our US time spent with media forecast. It identifies unexpected incongruities between how marketers are spending ad dollars and where consumers are spending their time.

Ad spend across digital channels has been mixed so far this year, with spend on social networks slowing and connected TV spend boosted by new ad-supported subscription tiers. Meanwhile, retail media is diversifying at a rapid rate as nonendemic retailers get in the game