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Big TV’s shift to programmatic brings in the performance brands; Meta rolls out premium subscriptions for Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp; and Yahoo enters the crowded AI search market.

Inside Coca-Cola’s pivot from TV advertising to influencer marketing; Netflix inks another exclusive video podcast deal with iHeartMedia; and Madison & Wall predicts slow US ad spend growth in 2026.

On Tuesday, TV advertising company Cadent announced the acquisition of VuePlanner, which specializes in contextual advertising and media planning for YouTube.

CTV spending is flattening, performance is plateauing and buyers are hesitant to push budgets further. The reason is not complicated. When buyers cannot see what they are buying, they cannot commit their spend with conviction.

YouTube backpedals on banning COVID and political misinfo; Tylenol pushes back against Trump’s claims that it causes autism; and Disney doubles down on linear TV and raises Disney+ prices after its Kimmel boycott threat.

The old approach to media and measurement is no longer sustainable. AI is now embedded across every step of the media value chain, and AI is only as good as the data it’s fed.

CTV, like digital display before it, is facing fraud and mislabeled information. The prevailing advice for advertisers is to go directly to the networks and streaming platforms. However, buying direct comes with a fraud risk itself.

Concrete findings on how effective QR codes are at driving ad interactions are now available, and some industry best practices are emerging.

Television advertising has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years, with connected TV (CTV) emerging as a powerful channel for marketers seeking the impact of traditional television with the precision of digital targeting.

Häagen-Dazs launched its new “Slow” campaign earlier this year, hoping to strike a chord with a diverse array of consumers across platforms.

In the next two years, linear TV will be deprioritized so much that holding companies will begin outsourcing their linear buying.

The alternative currency bucket could use a rebrand. That referential and somewhat deferential phraseology – a reference to Nielsen – drives Peter Liguori, VideoAmp’s executive chairman, a little nuts. It stems, he argues, from the “absurd notion” that the TV industry “has almost 100% of its eggs in one basket.”

Even with the amazing storylines, this NBA season brought a steep decline in local TV viewership. While it’s tempting to frame this as waning fan interest, these drops are symptoms of a media ecosystem in transition.

Emarketer is predicting tariffs could lead to a $2.78 billion to $4 billion decline in linear TV upfront spending, but CTV spending will be flat to up. Emarketer analyst Ross Benes unpacks these findings. Plus: At the Possible conference, optimism reins.

Agentic AI aims to take the work out of campaign targeting; marketers are increasingly using retail media data in non-retail channels; and Puma drives sales by re-embracing its branding.

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.

What happens if the TikTok ban comes to pass; Netflix’s live sports Hail Mary play; and Channel Factory surfs for buyers.

The odds of RFK Jr. implementing a ban on TV drug ads are slim, says our guest this week, BranchLab’s Josh Walsh. Still, pharma advertisers could face other regulatory changes over the next four years. Plus: We break down Forrester’s picks for the top 10 SSPs.

A significant amount of the ad inventory distributed to CTV audiences is actually sold via linear. This is especially prevalent with FAST networks, which currently account for 20%-25% of ad-supported streaming.

GoGo squeeZ CMO Mark Anthony Edmonson shares the key insight that helped his brand expand its audience beyond its traditional target.

Woe is linear. Paramount is writing down its cable TV business by $6 billion and laying off 15% of its US workforce in advance of the Skydance merger.

In today’s newsletter: Netflix drops its ad prices to slightly less outrageous levels; X sues GARM, alleging it led an ad boycott for ideological reasons, not brand safety concerns; and how TV manufacturers have laid the groundwork to take ad dollars from streamers and cable.

In today’s newsletter: What the surge in political ad spend on CTV looks like for the end user; Mars Wrigley tries to make gum stick online; and Google neglects Fitbit after mining it for data.

In today’s newsletter: How changes in streaming ad inventory could impact upfront CPMs; video cracks 50% of engagement on Meta’s platform for the first time; and Apple is in talks to launch Apple TV+ in China.

The TV market’s vanishing impression problem is even more concerning than the numbers indicate. But maybe a little impression scarcity is a good thing.

Despite forceful calls for a shakeup of the digital ad business from the main stage at the Possible conference in Miami this week, the online ad industry remains locked in a harmful holding pattern.

The US ad market is set to grow this year, according to a Magna forecast released Thursday. Streaming and political advertising play outsized roles in that growth.

Enjoy this weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem …     

Aiming for one thing and being measured against another is absurd. But this is how the multibillion-dollar TV industry has operated for decades.