The news: Sports-centric streaming service Fubo has agreed to pay $3.4 million to settle a lawsuit claiming it illegally distributed customers’ personal data to advertisers without consent. The lawsuit alleged that Fubo went against the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA) in 2023 by collecting personally identifiable information (PII), including data on consumers’ viewing history and location, and sharing this information with third party advertisers. Our take: Fubo’s lawsuit echoes growing concerns over how platforms approach data privacy and questions over the legality of using sensitive information to serve personalized ads—requiring that advertisers shift their strategies.

A new Adalytics investigation reveals that YouTube served ads from major brands like Disney, HBO Max, and Hulu alongside thousands of pirated films, live TV broadcasts, and exclusive streaming content—racking up over 250 million views. The report highlights systemic failures in YouTube’s content moderation and ad placement transparency, leaving advertisers with little visibility and minimal recourse for refunds. Worse, some studios may have inadvertently paid to retarget users who pirated their own content. As copyright enforcement lags and automation is gamed, brands and rights holders face financial, reputational, and legal risks in one of digital media’s biggest ecosystems.

The news: US ad employment continued its downward trend in June, with jobs in advertising, public relations, and related fields decreasing by 700 jobs, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ monthly employment report. The decrease marks the seventh consecutive month of ad industry job losses, per Ad Age. Our take: Rather than a temporary slump, declining ad employment is marking a structural shift that risks prioritizing cost-cutting and short-term efficiency over human insight and brand-building expertise.

The news: Streaming has officially surpassed pay TV in the US, with 50.4% of households no longer subscribing to cable or satellite, per our forecast. But streaming’s ad experience still has work to do. Hub Research finds two-thirds of viewers prefer live TV ad breaks over those in on-demand streaming, and Gen Z remains the least likely to adopt ad-supported tiers. Our take: Streaming isn’t a free pass to interrupt. Gen Z demands relevance, brevity, and control—meaning streaming platforms must reengineer how, when, and where they serve ads. The format must evolve if AVOD is to survive the next wave of viewer expectations.

The news: Retail media infrastructure firm Topsort is helping major retailers like Woolworths, Kohl’s, and Magalu grow ad revenues by 60% in a single month, per CEO Regina Ye. Topsort’s Data Genie tool converts billions of data points into instant insights and replaces legacy analytics systems that delay campaign execution. Our take: With budget exhaustion, measurement complexity, and system fragmentation among top buyer complaints, retailers are eager to modernize. Topsort’s AI-powered tools offer transparency, speed, and flexibility—values that align closely with where the market is heading. The bigger question: Will fall product updates bring true interoperability or further entrench silos?

The news: TikTok is reportedly exploring a US-only version of the app amid ongoing discussions of a US ban and selloff, per The Information. The new app is said to align with the requirements of the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act. Our take: A US-specific app would allow TikTok to potentially regain advertiser confidence in a critical market—but the new app’s success depends on how a new algorithm would impact the user experience.

The news: Faceless creators and VTubers are gaining momentum as brands look for cost-effective, scalable influencer marketing options. Networks like AffiliateNetwork are growing rapidly, with top earners bringing in $30K–$40K monthly using AI-powered tactics. Creators run multiple accounts, post hundreds of videos, and rely on formats like AI-generated texting stories to deliver results. Our take: This shift marks a new phase in creator marketing—one defined less by personality and more by production speed and performance. As AI tools improve and creator skepticism fades, brands will increasingly work with digital personas that deliver value at scale—regardless of whether there’s a human on camera.

The news: Anime is gaining popularity across the globe, per a recent Dentsu report highlighting anime viewership trends, proving that marketers who haven’t yet paid attention to the medium need to tap in. 50% of Gen Z watches anime weekly, with 14% watching daily. Millennials also tune in frequently, with nearly half (48%) watching daily or weekly. Our take: Savvy marketers will pay attention to anime as a prime chance to reach the demographics driving the future—but going beyond a surface-level understanding of the medium will determine which marketers succeed and which fall behind.

The news: Google is launching Offerwall, a new Ad Manager tool that lets users unlock publisher content through ads, surveys, or payments—part of a broader effort to mend relationships with publishers facing traffic loss from AI Overviews and eroding ad share. Publishers say Google pays less than rivals like PubMatic and Magnite, and AI-driven zero-click searches have dropped site traffic significantly. Our take: With a DOJ remedies trial looming and ChatGPT traffic rising fast, Google’s publisher outreach isn’t just damage control—it’s existential. If AI is to remain useful and ethical, supporting the content it’s trained on is a must.

The news: Netflix is deepening its investment in unscripted TV as it aims to expand its user base and gain ad-supported subscribers, per The Wall Street Journal. The streamer reportedly spoke with Spotify about partnering on live events, including live concerts and music awards shows. Our take: Netflix’s unscripted push is a strategic move that will solidify it as a destination for high-quality originals and reality programming alike, where ad inventory is ripe, costs are low, and audiences come from all walks of life.

The news: AMC Entertainment’s stock plummeted 7.4% on Tuesday, per TipRanks, after the chain started running additional ads before screenings—building on AMC’s 27.8% YTD loss. AMC simultaneously announced a debt and financing agreement that included $223 million in new financing for debt maturing in 2026 and converting at least $143 million worth of existing debt into equity. Our take: Higher ad revenues for AMC could offset the chain’s financial difficulties, but its refinancing plan shows ads alone aren’t enough. Investors are seeking a clear path to consistent profitability.

The news: Baidu has launched MuseSteamer, an enterprise-only AI tool that converts images into 10-second videos using three output modes—Turbo, Pro, and Lite—while upgrading its core search engine to support multimodal inputs. The tool targets businesses looking for scalable, automated creative output. Our take: With nearly half of marketers and creators now using AI for video daily, Baidu is doubling down on the enterprise market. MuseSteamer distinguishes itself from consumer-facing tools by offering speed, reliability, and tight workflow integration. As video becomes the default for content, the winners will be platforms that deliver pro-grade output without creative friction.

The news: Paramount has settled a lawsuit with Donald Trump after the president sued the company following a “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris that he argued contained “deceptive doctoring,” the company announced Tuesday. Sources cited by The Hollywood Reporter claim the lawsuit posed a threat to Paramount’s pending merger with Skydance, which will require the Trump administration’s approval. Our take: While the settlement could pave the way for Paramount and Skydance’s merger, it raises questions about the future of media companies who are perceived as holding a liberal bias—and concerns about increasing censorship in the current political environment.

The news: Meta announced numerous updates to its messaging ad options, with a heavy focus on WhatsApp. Meta is expanding Ads Manager to include WhatsApp campaigns, centralizing multi-campaign management across its platforms. The feature allows businesses to upload subscriber lists to use Advantage+ to optimize ad budgets or manually choose messages for additional placements. Our take: The ongoing potential for divestiture could have significant implications for advertisers that rely on Meta’s ecosystem—but the new features will still make WhatsApp a more appealing option for those that haven’t considered it as a key ad channel.

The news: Nexxen has launched an AI-powered Discovery platform that delivers audience insight decks in minutes, merging first-party data with sentiment, search, and competitive signals. Brands like LG Ad Solutions are using the tool to shape campaign strategy, validate ROI, and uncover untapped behaviors. Our take: In an era demanding speed and accountability, Nexxen offers a hybrid model: automation without sacrificing human analysis. With pressure rising on publishers to justify CPMs and on marketers to prove performance, tools like Discovery promise faster insight, smarter storytelling, and deeper advertiser confidence—positioning Nexxen as a data partner in a post-cookie world.

The news: Podcast ad spending intention will reach an 11-year high in 2025, and more advertisers are investing in the medium than ever, per a Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights report. Podcast ad spend intention reached 69% among agencies and advertisers surveyed, the highest in the eleven years tracked by Cumulus and Signal Hill. 78% are already investing in podcast advertising, five times higher than the amount investing in 2015. Our take: As listenership spikes, podcasts will continue being a key investment for savvy advertisers—and those who know how to maximize the medium’s potential will come out on top.

Snap’s attention metric shows the measurement maturing: The platform aims to capitalize on advertiser demand for new ad effectiveness signals.

The news: Despite its massive reach, gaming still accounts for less than 5% of worldwide media investment, per Dentsu’s 2025 Gaming Trends report—indicating a disparity between where audiences spend their time and where advertisers invest. Our take: Concerns about brand safety with in-game advertising linger, but brands that are willing to take the risk stand to gain through an approach that considers that simply investing in the format isn’t enough to drive results.

The trend: Gen Z is opting out of both traditional pay TV and ad-supported streaming tiers, signaling deeper changes in viewing behavior. Just 42% of Gen Z subscribers use ad-supported SVOD, while less than half of all US households now maintain a pay TV subscription. Our take: Streaming’s future depends on reaching the next generation, but current models—especially ad-supported tiers—aren’t meeting Gen Z where they are. With only 1.3 hours of streaming and 0.8 hours of traditional TV per day, Gen Z prefers social video, gaming, and music. To stay relevant, platforms must prioritize native formats, interactivity, and creator integration over legacy ad models.

Showing commitment to Pride pays off: LGBTQ+ consumers, representing large portions of key demographics, are willing to reward brands who stay the course.