Payments companies are investing in sport marketing to capture volume at lucrative stadiums and live events, per multiple press releases. Standard arena deals have big value, but there’s another area of sports with even less penetration: Women’s sports leagues. Viewership and attendance for professional women’s basketball is exploding thanks in part to standout rookies like Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese. Ads during women’s sports events have a 40% greater impact on consumer engagement than average primetime TV ad airings—meaning the opportunity to seize on rising attendance at women’s sporting events and TV viewership is ripe for payment providers trying to snag in-arena volumes and new customers.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss how WNBA viewership did the year after the ‘Caitlin Clark Effect’ hit the league, what social media will do to full-game viewership growth, and what advertisers should be paying attention to most amidst this surge in women’s sports. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson, and Analysts Marisa Jones and Paola Flores-Marquez. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

The NFL is challenging Nielsen’s ratings accuracy, with chief data and analytics officer Paul Ballew telling the Wall Street Journal the firm is “systematically undercounting” millions of viewers. Nielsen countered that its new “Big Data + Panel” product—combining set-top box data with digital signals from 45 million homes—makes this season the most accurate yet. The dispute highlights mounting pressure on Nielsen as streaming reshapes sports viewership. While rivals gain traction, Nielsen remains the dominant measurement firm, but slow integration of first-party data from streaming services leaves major partners like the NFL frustrated. The debate underscores urgency in modernizing TV ratings.

The news: Comscore, iSpot, and VideoAmp passed the Joint Industry Committee’s (JIC) midterm audit to maintain certification for the 2025-2026 broadcast season. Our take: The JIC’s certification and sports-heavy audit process could help iSpot, Comscore, and VideoAmp gain ground on Nielsen.

Charter Communications and Cox will merge: Though the deal could face regulatory scrutiny, it promises to revitalize the ad landscape, if successful.

The number of companies with more than $1 billion in annual US connected TV (CTV) ad sales jumped from two in 2020 to five this year. In a recent EMARKETER webinar "CTV Watch: How Streamers Compare in Time Spent and Ad Revenues,” our analyst Ross Bones explained the top trends in CTV viewership and ad spend.

On today's podcast episode, we discuss how the new NBA media rights deal will affect all the different players, the concept of consumer modes, how much Google’s ‘AI Overviews’ will affect publishers, what will happen to X’s user base next year, the state of America’s vacation culture, and more. Tune in to the discussion with host Marcus Johnson, forecasting writer Ethan Cramer-Flood, forecasting analyst Zach Goldner, and director of forecasting Oscar Orozco.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss the interesting ways folks watch the Olympics, the best (and not so best) ads from the Games, the impact of X suing advertisers, how much in-store chatbots can move the needle, how to view Disney’s streaming profitability milestone, which national park most of America could drive to in a day, and more. Tune in to the discussion with our vice president of content Suzy Davidkhanian and analysts Sara Marzano and Carina Perkins.

Paris Olympics drives record viewership: NBCU sees 82% increase, highlighting value for advertisers in live sports events.

Disney has a youth problem: YouTube is increasingly the destination for children's content, which doesn't bode well for the House of Mouse.

Connected TV (CTV) is revolutionizing television advertising by combining engaging content with targeted, data-driven strategies. With 75% of the US population watching OTT video, according to EMARKETER, advertisers have a golden opportunity to reach their ideal audiences.

Roku in talks for exclusive MLB Sunday broadcasts: A shift from NBC to Roku could reshape sports streaming landscape.

They’re trying to woo women and Gen Z consumers away from competitors.

Dramatic shifts are in the works for 2024, as genAI, changing media norms, and innovative commerce redefine the business landscape. Our top nine trends explore what’s in store.

This year’s upfronts have been unusual, with the haze of the Writers Guild of America strike and a decisive shift toward streaming. From YouTube’s mixed messages to Netflix’s ad-supported tier’s less-than-impressive beginning, here are five trends pinpointed by our analyst.

Paid sharing will cost Netflix viewership in 2023: The streamer must avoid losing the long-term loyalty of Gen Z.

YouTube is carving into social commerce and TV measurement: The platform is leveraging both its deep pool of creators and large TV-based audience to get a leg up on competitors.

Streaming services hit highs and lows at this year’s Emmy Awards: While Netflix and Apple TV+ swept categories and broke records, Paramount+ users struggled to simply watch the event.