YouTube tops global media with $62 billion in revenues and over $40 billion in ads, putting it ahead of Disney and legacy TV combined.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss advertising around the 2026 Winter Olympics: how marketers tackled fragmentation across media channels, how creators were used by Olympic broadcaster NBCUniversal, and which campaign was the best — and why. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Senior Analyst and Editor Peter Allen Clark and Senior Director of Content Jeremy Goldman. Listen everywhere, and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

AWS' new AI tool reformats live broadcasts for TikTok and Reels in seconds, unlocking scalable ad inventory.

Milano Cortina delivered the strongest Winter Olympics viewership in over a decade across streaming and linear TV, proving the value of live sports.

For the Winter Olympics, NBCUniversal paired broadcast scale with streaming, CTV, and creator integrations to drive monetization in a major way.

On Jan. 25, Netflix livestreamed climber Alex Honnold scaling Taipei 101, one of the world's tallest buildings, without ropes or safety gear. The event brought in over 6 million viewers, and continued the streaming giant's investment into live, tentpole events that could change how marketers approach streaming campaigns.

Live football still concentrates attention at scale: Super Bowl LX delivered historic reach across platforms despite a modest YoY decline.

Streaming video growth is shifting. Price hikes are slowing subscription revenue gains while ad-supported tiers take on a bigger role. Services must balance consumer fatigue with funding content and unlocking new ad revenues.

Live sports command major leverage; NBCUniversal is using scale and bundling to defend pricing power as sports rights costs surge and distribution fragments.

The Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games will begin on February 6 with an opening ceremony that will also kick off advertisers looking to make the most of the global event.

This FAQ covers the fundamentals of programmatic advertising and the trends shaping the market in 2026.

AI was everywhere at CES 2026, from robots to toilets and toys. The race to define the next computing interface is on, agentic ad tech is emerging, and health wearables are pushing further into physiological data. Best in show: Lego’s Smart Brick.

Agentic AI is expanding across ad platforms; CES reveals acceleration in autonomous planning and optimization, even as many marketers hesitate to trust full automation.

AI will reshape premium video buying—and NBCUniversal’s proof-of-concept shows agentic systems can unify planning and optimization across linear and streaming in seconds.

In 2026, commerce will thread itself even more tightly into the platforms consumers already use, whether they're watching TV, scrolling TikTok, or browsing a retailer’s site. Streamers will hunt for new revenues beyond subscriptions and ads, fashion shoppers will polarize toward luxury or low-cost, and TikTok Shop will transition from experiment to expectation. Meanwhile, creators will embed more directly into retail environments as brands seek safer, more strategic partnerships.

At CES, Amazon is repositioning Amazon Ads as a full advertising ecosystem rather than a commerce-adjacent channel, emphasizing unified reach across TV, streaming, live sports, audio, and programmatic partners.

NBCUniversal (NBCU) debuted AI-powered ad features ahead of the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show in 2026, giving advertisers the opportunity to leverage AI for better results in live TV and video-on-demand properties. Campaigns running on NBCU properties now gain access to the massive benefits of utilizing AI for TV, CTV, and VOD advertising.

WunderKIND Ads announced an integration with Yahoo DSP Thursday that will unlock scalable access to Wunderkind’s connected TV (CTV) pause ad inventory through private marketplace (PMP) deals. Wunderkind’s and Yahoo DSP’s integration delivered a 12.6% lift in purchase intent for what the announcement refers to as a “leading luxury retailer”; an almost 10% lift in brand favorability; and a 28% more cost-effective CPC than the retailer’s holiday average. Those using Yahoo DSP can now take advantage of Wunderkind’s high-performing pause ads, unlocking scalable access to formats proven to lift purchase intent, strengthen brand perception, and drive more efficient results.