Ad spending will surge in 2026 as AI-driven gains and a packed events calendar offset mounting economic strain. Social will lead the way as Meta overtakes Google in net revenues and the wider ad industry closes in on the half-trillion-dollar milestone.

Charter sheds 51,000 pay TV subscribers in Q1: Cord-cutting accelerates as streaming and digital redraw viewing habits, necessitating marketers adapt.

YouTube leans on SiriusXM’s ad infrastructure: The radio company is now the exclusive ad partner for YouTube audio, including video podcasts.

YouTube is the top platform for watching creators across every demographic of US children, according to a February report from Precisify.

In today’s podcast episode, we discuss whether AI slop is becoming a problem on YouTube, the ways AI is helping—and hindering—brand safety efforts for advertisers, and what marketers can do about AI’s influence on how their ads appear. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Analyst Jacob Bourne and Principal Analyst Bill Fisher. Listen anywhere, or watch on YouTube or Spotify.

Betting on Gen Z-oriented rewards, brands, and celebrity endorsements may carry Venmo’s success.

Snapchat’s young audience and distinct ad products keep it relevant, even as usage slips and regulatory pressure builds. Marketers should use it with strategies built for messaging, creators, and commerce.

Online ads near $1.5 trillion as social outpaces all channels and Meta proves its scale.

Younger consumers respond to GLP-1 ads, but increasing ad spend risks fatigue, making sharper creative and more point-of-care marketing increasingly important.

A recent Pfizer warning shows that regulators are leaning into policing Facebook ads as closely as TV commercials.

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.

Only 7% of consumers rate social health information as highly accurate, raising the stakes for healthcare and pharma marketing content credibility.

AI is reshaping brand safety by amplifying risks around placement, accuracy, and authenticity while offering new tools to control them. As automation scales, marketers face a growing tradeoff between performance gains and trust.

Sports content is one of the last bastions of live, appointment viewing. Key data shows who’s watching, which platforms they use, and how they engage with content between events.

New YouTube Stations blend influencer pull with always-on streams, adding premium CTV inventory for brands.

Australia's social media ban is struggling to take hold as users easily circumvent restrictions.