ESPN

Is it just me, or do third-quarter earnings always seem especially strange?

Disney’s Q4 earnings double down on the success of sports streaming content, but the YouTube TV blackout continues.

Ever open the Disney+ app and experience cognitive dissonance when shows like “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” appear in the recommendations? Well, expect more of that in the future.

Agencies around the globe weigh in on principal-based buying; live sports are king, but new sports like F1 are having trouble gaining traction; and Adobe gets roasted by Bluesky’s artist community.

NBC, Fubo, Disney-owned ESPN and ad agency Mindshare weigh in on the creative flexibility offered on CTV and whether sports streamers really reach incremental audiences.

Disney’s revenue rose 5% to $24.7 billion last quarter, up from $23.5 billion this time last year. But subscriber growth at The Mouse House looks less promising.

During its earnings call on Thursday morning, Disney announced plans to bring ESPN+ content to Disney+ starting on December 4,

Roku could start running ads every time you pause a blu-ray. Plus, the kickbacks required to play in the retail media market might eventually shut out all but the biggest brands.

In today’s newsletter: The DOJ sues TikTok alleging COPPA violations; Disney wraps a competitive upfronts season as it faces stiller competition for streaming ad budgets; and more than $107 million was spent on ads for AI products in the first half of this year.

The average CTV platform now authorizes 30 SSPs to sell its inventory. And one of the most noticeable effects of increased SSP saturation in CTV has been higher costs due to SSP reselling.