Meta's new genAI tools speed production and improve performance, but consumer trust still challenges payoff.

New shoppable placements, unified logins, and strong results tie streaming ads to measurable sales impact.

New Snapchat ad formats and strong engagement aim to sway marketers despite a modest ad revenue share.

Comcast unveils Outcomes+ to streamline TV ads; AI-driven targeting and attribution aim to unify streaming and linear buys in one measurable platform.

Samsung's Amazon Ads integration and AI targeting bring shoppable, full-funnel capabilities to Samsung TV Plus.

YouTube is building an influencer engine through new discovery and paid tools that add Gemini search, bulk outreach, and channel takeovers.

YouTube introduces creator marketing updates: The changes aim to position YouTube as an influencer marketing hub amid social media uncertainty.

Social platforms vie for attention at NewFronts: Meta, TikTok, and Snap all debuted ad updates designed to remain competitive amid a backdrop of uncertainty.

Insights from IAB NewFronts: Streaming and AI innovation are transforming marketing—but in a period of rapid change and economic unrest, adaptation is key.

Samsung Ads launches Creative Canvas to streamline interactive CTV ads: It aims to capture midmarket brands focused on speed and engagement.

Total upfront ad spending will grow this year, even though upfront TV commitments will decline.

New AI advertising tools introduced by Meta: Updates are designed to boost Reels campaign performance with advanced creator filtering and dynamic product ads.

The 2024–2025 upfronts and NewFronts promise to be interesting. This year’s planning season will showcase the interplay between consumer preferences and TV viewing habits, underscoring the urgency for industry-wide innovation and flexibility.

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.

On today's episode, we discuss how much advertisers spend on traditional TV, whether connected TV (CTV) is stealing all of its dollars, and how much time Americans spend watching both. "In Other News," we talk about the one big takeaway from this year's upfronts and NewFronts and whether Peacock's new pricing strategy will work. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Paul Verna.

Consumers’ appetite for quality, on-demand content has contributed to connected TV’s (CTV’s) stronghold as the fastest-growing major ad format in the US. “There’s a lot more for [advertisers] to weed through in terms of the opportunities and options of where to place our clients’ ad dollars,” Jennifer Kohl, executive director and head of US media at VMLY&R, said of CTV during our virtual “Attention!” summit last week.

Linear upfront spending is expected to remain flat for the foreseeable future, but marketers are increasingly turning to connected TV (CTV), with advertisers projected to spend more than $8 billion on CTV ads at this year’s upfronts and NewFronts.

It’s been an upfronts season like none other as digital creeps into linear’s territory and the Writers Guild of America writers’ strike rages on. “We’re kind of at an inflection point,” said our analyst Paul Verna. From a buyer’s market to tumult at NBCUniversal, here are five trends Verna noted from upfronts so far.