AI is reshaping contextual advertising across CTV, audio, retail media, and the open web. It’s advancing semantic understanding, agentic planning, and real-time targeting while exposing persistent measurement and infrastructure gaps.

Spotify expands podcast buying: Amazon DSP now reaches Spotify podcasts, making it easier to add high-attention audio to broader media plans.

Entertainment apps hold attention: App sessions hit a period high while music apps lost engagement, reflecting consumers' preference for active media.

Last week, Ace Hardware held its annual Ace Rewards Day sales event, designed to capture the surge in shopping activity that Amazon's Prime Day helps create each summer. The preparation behind the event offers a playbook retail media leaders can apply to major retail moments throughout the rest of the year, including the holiday season.

Why every streamer wants podcast deals: A flurry of exclusive video deals offers streamers a low-cost way to drive viewership.

Music streaming apps hit saturation: As downloads stall, platforms bulk up bundles to justify higher fees and retain paying fans.

Digital media dominates daily consumption, but legacy formats still hold key moments. As streaming, audio, and social media surge, advertisers face a fragmented landscape where attention is growing—but harder to capture.

Spotify is expanding to visual ads with carousel units and playlist takeovers that aim to prove it can rival YouTube on performance.

What began as an audio-only medium now spans video formats, connected TV screens, and creator-driven content that rivals traditional television.

This report explores how newcomers and multigeneration Canadians of Chinese, Filipino, and South Asian descent differ from total Canada in streaming, social media, audio, and ad engagement.

67% of top sports podcast shows are for niche sports, where high engagement, loyal fans, and off-season spikes lift ROI.

AI is already disrupting programmatic. Generative search is reshaping web traffic, while agentic buying and curated deals redraw how ads are bought and sold. Expect more automation and more premium pipes, but tougher transparency tradeoffs.

48% of worldwide B2B marketers say interactive experiences, live/virtual events, and video content make thought leadership more impactful, according to July 2025 data from Ascend2 and TopRank Marketing.

Our analysts (or “bakers”) will compete in a Great British Bake Off–style episode, discussing how new standards will unlock agentic ad buying and selling, and how (and why) YouTube will benefit most from the surge in video podcasts. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Senior Analyst Ross Benes and Principal Analyst Yory Wurmser. Listen everywhere, and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

56% of weekly podcast listeners say podcast hosts are the type of influencer that matters most to them, nearly triple the share who say the same about social media influencers, according to an October survey from Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights.

This report presents five of the most intriguing and/or under-the-radar forecasts for 2026 that businesses should be aware of, as compiled by our forecasting team.

Podcast engagement and streaming variety are fueling rapid digital audio growth in Canada as listeners spend far more time with these digital platforms than with traditional radio.

Podcasts are emerging as the most credible, persuasive arm of the creator economy. According to Acast, 84% of listeners have changed their mind because of a podcaster, yet 75% don’t view them as influencers—proof that credibility, not celebrity, fuels podcast influence. Two-thirds of listeners say they’ve purchased something a host recommended. Despite the rise of video, most podcast engagement remains audio-first, underscoring the medium’s intimacy and staying power. For advertisers, podcasts offer a rare trifecta—attention, authenticity, and conversion—at a time when influencer fatigue and algorithmic feeds erode audience trust elsewhere.