To counter complaints about its proposed Warner Bros. purchase, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos has pointed to what he says is the company’s biggest competitor: YouTube. Netflix’s contention that YouTube is its biggest competitor is defensible, but key differences exist between the platforms that opponents could use to swing back. Ultimately, it may come down to a court ruling—and recent antitrust cases suggest judges may side with Netflix.

Streaming CPMs are flattening as swelling CTV inventory reshapes pricing power and forces advertisers to rethink how they balance cost, ad clutter, and reach.

Paramount has taken its $30-per-share WBD offer directly to shareholders, launching a $108.4 billion hostile tender backed by sovereign funds and major banks. The move intensifies its battle with Netflix, whose smaller bid would spin off WBD’s cable networks and merge HBO Max with Netflix’s global platform. Paramount argues that its fully consolidated approach preserves ecosystem value, avoids heavy antitrust scrutiny, and protects theatrical output, while Netflix’s deal would concentrate subscription and premium-video power. For marketers, the stakes are substantial: a Netflix acquisition could limit ad-supported supply and raise prices, while a Paramount deal maintains competition, inventory diversity, and greater planning clarity.

Canada’s digital economy is entering a faster, more competitive phase in 2026 as ad spending accelerates, short video surges, ecommerce climbs, and AI-driven search reshapes how audiences discover content.

Netflix will officially acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s (WBD) streaming and studio assets in an $82.7 billion deal, the company announced Friday morning. Netflix stated it has secured $59 billion in financing from a collection of banks to finalize the deal. This is a coup for Netflix. Acquiring Warner Bros. will provide exclusive control over intellectual property such as DC, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and HBO Originals. Ted Sarandos agreed, framing the acquisition as a rare but necessary shift for Netflix to maintain its leadership.

After Netflix announced its plans to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) Friday, advertisers were left questioning the future of streaming advertising across two of the industry’s strongest ad-supported platforms. Even amid uncertainty on the deal’s future, the current strategy for advertisers is to prepare for a consolidated streaming market where a select few players command audience attention.

Shifts in what consumers watch, how they search, and where they shop are reshaping Latin America’s digital economy—and how brands will reach audiences in 2026. Explore the five trends to watch in the year ahead.

Warner Bros. Discovery has entered a pivotal stage in its takeover fight, with Netflix, Comcast, and Paramount Skydance submitting second-round bids and political forces shaping the odds. Comcast is preparing an offer near $27–$28 per share for WBD’s studio and streaming divisions—topping Paramount’s $25-per-share bid—while WBD CEO David Zaslav reportedly wants something closer to $30. Netflix faces new White House antitrust concerns, Comcast faces political hostility, and Paramount Skydance holds the most favorable political backing. The stakes are massive: whichever buyer prevails will redefine the balance of power across premium streaming, theatrical franchises, and high-value CTV inventory.

The Trade Desk heads into Q4 facing simultaneous pressure from Amazon’s fast-expanding DSP and agency frustration over its forced migration from Solimar to Kokai. Amazon’s 0–1% fees, new offsite inventory, and closer ties to Omnicom have sparked reports of meaningful budget shifts away from TTD—an inflection point that challenges its premium pricing. At the same time, agencies describe Kokai as unstable and harder to use, with bugs affecting campaign launches during the most execution-heavy quarter of the year. The convergence raises a key question for marketers: Is TTD’s longstanding grip on open-web programmatic still durable, or beginning to loosen?

Netflix, Comcast, and Paramount have all submitted acquisition bids for some or all of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), sources told Deadline, starting a bidding war that would fundamentally reshape the media landscape. Regardless of the outcome, a restructuring of WBD will impact marketers by unlocking the ability to increase audience reach, run integrated campaigns across premium properties, and simplify media buying.

Sports rights continue to fragment in the digital-first era with Major League Baseball’s (MLB) new media rights deals across Netflix, NBC, and ESPN. The MLB spreading game rights across platforms exacerbates the fragmentation issue advertisers are already facing. With fragmentation only likely to increase, brands that thrive will invest in strategic cross-platform campaigns and keep budgets flexible to follow viewers where they’re watching.

YouTube’s established dominance faces new competition from TikTok, long-held digital habits are maturing, and digital video is universal. Our latest forecast data reveals where each age group overindexes, how their time spent is shifting across platforms, and what marketers should prioritize next to stay relevant.

Live sports is drifting from linear TV to fragmented streaming. That’s raising costs, confusing viewers, and forcing leagues and advertisers to navigate new tradeoffs between reach, revenues, and shifting time spent.

Broadcast TV’s share of viewing declined YoY in October despite inching up slightly from the prior month thanks to the NFL season, per Nielsen’s total TV/streaming estimates. Meanwhile, streaming continued to increase its viewership share—highlighting how live sports viewers are increasingly shifting to digital. Those who thrive in the shift to digital will steadily increase budgets for sports streaming while still maintaining some investment in cable and broadcast to reach the many live sports viewers who continue to watch through traditional channels.

Future-proofing against—and capitalizing on—advances in consumer-facing AI will be the overarching theme for retailers in 2026.

Latin America’s digital ad market is transforming as new formats, channels, and players emerge. Understanding the market forces, challenges, and opportunities driving these shifts is key to staying competitive in this fast-evolving landscape.

Automation, new commerce models, and a fresh generation of consumers are transforming the rules of connection and creativity. Explore the 11 trends shaping the digital future.

Netflix advertising chief Amy Reinhard claimed the streaming service has 190 million monthly active viewers (MAV) worldwide—a new advertising metric the company shared after it stopped reporting subscription numbers earlier this year. Netflix wants to help advertisers more clearly understand an ad’s potential reach and ROI. Low churn, high-value content, and maturing ad offerings means Netflix will be an attractive option for brands for years to come—but the picture is about to get more complicated.