On today's podcast episode, we discuss whether people will ever buy items they see in TV shows, if online ratings are broken, a relaunched Amazon Shipping trying to compete with UPS and FedEx, if CNN and sports can move the needle for streaming service Max, whether the continuing partnership between Target and Starbucks is boosting curbside pickup, where we got gas before gas stations, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our vice president of content Suzy Davidkhanian and analysts Blake Droesch and Paul Verna.

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.

Streaming makes ad spending gains, Netflix experiences growing pains, and advertisers encounter a soft upfront market.

This report is a guideline to help marketers understand connected TV through market size estimates, growth projections, and analysis of the complex landscape of ad buyers and sellers.

Netflix’s enhancements to its ad-supported tier has helped it amass 5 million monthly active users worldwide, though its password crackdown could slow momentum. Meanwhile, Max, the combined streaming service of HBO Max and Discovery+, debuted to “early positive feedback,” and Paramount+ hopes partnering with Showtime will prevent it from losing subscribers.

On today's episode, we discuss the significance of Netflix saying it has 5 million monthly active users on its ad tier, the biggest impacts of the new streaming service Max, and how much noise a combined Paramount+ and Showtime offering can make. "In Other News," we talk about the current state of esports and what the best connected TV (CTV) ad formats are. Tune in to the discussion with our director of Briefings Jeremy Goldman.

HBO and Discovery+ going to the “Max”: Combined streaming service kicking off in May will bring new business leads for advertisers. Read online.

As brands seek ways to stretch their marketing budgets, advertisers may lean on automation to help them create more cost-efficient campaigns. Here are some best practices on creating and measuring Google Performance Max campaigns, including how to choose the right budget and bid strategy and the right variety of creative assets.

There were 559 original scripted TV series made in the US in 2021, according to FX Networks. That’s more than twice the number made a decade prior.

US linear TV ad spending will hit $68.35 billion this year and fall to $64.94 billion in 2026. Despite that decline, ad spending on linear and connected TV (CTV) combined will increase from $87.24 billion this year to more than $100 billion in 2026 due to the surge in CTV viewing.

HBO Max was the most downloaded US mobile entertainment app in 2021, with 46.0 million downloads and a monster growth rate of 101%. Second-place Netflix saw downloads drop by 15% year over year to 38.0 million.

Four of the top US streaming services spent a record-smashing total of $11.15 billion on original content in 2021 as each platform vied to draw—and keep—subscribers. Netflix laid out $6.08 billion, more than the other three services combined. Amazon Prime Video grew its spending the fastest, by 105%, in a play for Netflix’s title as the leading subscription video streamer.