Netflix’s 2026 ad plans revolve around WBD: The mega-merger would give the burgeoning ad business a major boost for years to come.

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.

MrBeast’s Feastables brand is under fire after the Children’s Advertising Review Unit (CARU) flagged multiple practices that may have misled children or mishandled their data. Concerns included undisclosed promotions in videos, a misleading “blind taste test” against European chocolates, sweepstakes that encouraged bulk purchases, and collection of under-13 data via pop-ups. The case signals a broader shift: influencer-led brands are now being held to the same advertising and disclosure standards as traditional advertisers, with potential regulatory and reputational risks for creators and partners alike.

The news: Instagram added new limitations to its livestream feature, now requiring creators to have a public account with over 1,000 followers to go live, per TechCrunch. Our take: While it could benefit Meta’s competitive position in the livestream space, Instagram’s latest restrictions will harm creators looking to break into the influencer space—necessitating rapid adaptation. Smaller creators could shift attention to other platforms with less restrictive livestream requirements—think YouTube, which only requires 50 subscribers to go live, and Twitch, which has no livestream minimum.

Netflix's ad tier reaches 94 million as it looks to genAI to continue its trajectory: The data suggests Netflix is positioned for sustained streaming market leadership.

Variable notification frequency comes to YouTube: The test could help brands reach audiences and drive purchase decisions—but will require them to adapt.

Amazon’s ad launch will define streaming for years to come: In less than a year, Prime Video became a top dog in streaming advertising.

Max adds 7.2 million global subscribers in Q3: International expansion and ad revenue gains boost WBD’s position in the streaming race.

Netflix reports strong Q2 growth: Subscribers surged to 8.05 million, with ad-supported tier driving revenues and engagement.

Netflix tallies its ad-supported subscriber count ahead of Upfronts: A survey shows it could have 22 million US subscribers as it enters an Upfront period rife with competition.

On today's episode, we discuss why Disney+ lost around 3 million subscribers, how much its new ad-supported tier can move the needle, and whether The Walt Disney Co. is more likely to buy the rest of—or sell—Hulu. "In Other News," we talk about how connected TV (CTV) viewers feel about "enhanced" ad formats and what a new category of video called "accompanying in-stream" is all about. Tune in to the discussion with our analyst Paul Verna.

Apple’s sports ambitions take a hit: YouTube TV has won NFL Sunday Ticket rights over the consumer tech giant.

Subscriber flight costs Netflix $50 billion in value: Streaming giant suffers worst loss in over a decade and risks losing more users by spending less on original content, charging more for shared passwords, and introducing ad-supported tiers.

On today's episode, we discuss the main takeaways (and the best/worst ads) from this year's Super Bowl, the power of bad customer experiences, what repeating ads can do, how hard it is to hold on to subscribers, whether people will pay more for news, an unpopular opinion about Valentine's Day, what the Scottish are best known for, and more. Tune in to the discussion with director of reports editing Rahul Chadha and our analysts Paul Verna and Dave Frankland.

Amazon is boosting its Prime membership fee: As subscriber growth slows and ecommerce costs rise, the retail behemoth banks on loyalty and a wide array of services to keep users from canceling.

On today's episode, we discuss whether ride-sharing and delivery services can survive, the "choosing to live with less" movement, buying with purpose, whether Disney+ subscribers will overtake Netflix, Facebook's (Meta's) new glove, the "great big Thanksgiving quiz," what doesn't exist in California, and more. Tune in to the discussion with eMarketer senior forecasting analyst Peter Vahle, analyst Blake Droesch, and principal analyst at Insider Intelligence Paul Verna.

While pandemic-driven lockdowns may have benefited certain forms of media, the traditional pay TV industry is not one of them. In fact, cable, satellite, and telecom TV providers will lose the most subscribers ever.

Last month, Amazon held its fifth annual Prime Day event to honor its Prime members with steep discounts and deals across a range of products and categories. This year’s midsummer shopping event—extended to 48 hours and held on July 15 and 16—racked up record sales, further cementing Amazon’s ecommerce leadership position, while creating incremental opportunities for sellers and competing retailers.

Despite protests, technical concerns and stiff competition from ecommerce rivals, Amazon managed to hold its most successful Prime Day yet. Though the company did not disclose its sales figures—or how many new Prime members were added—Amazon announced that it sold 175 million items during the two-day event and surpassed its combined sales total from Black Friday and Cyber Monday in 2018.

Subscriptions like Netflix and Spotify have successfully transformed the way people engage with media, but retail subscriptions are yet to transform the way people shop. So far, retail subscription boxes have seen momentum within the fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) category—think companies like Blue Apron, Dollar Shave Club and Birchbox. Despite the waves these companies have made, are consumers actually ready to automate their purchases of everyday goods?