MediaPost.com: tv

Roku Surpasses 100M Global Households

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 11:17:24 -0400

In the U.S, industry estimates for Roku streaming devices (set-top box and smart TV OS) are at a 55% market share with Amazon Fire TV, next best at 35%.

Netflix Q1 Ad Buys +16%, Expected To Double This Year

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:51:21 -0400

Sixty percent of all Netflix's subscriber gains in Q1 came from its ad-supported option, now priced at $8.99 in the U.S.

Cartoon Cat Is a Real Butt-Head In Amazon's 'Kevin'

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

The health of a cat's rear end is a recurring theme of the new animated series "Kevin," created by Aubrey Plaza.

Apple TV: When Will Ad Revenue Be Part Of The Plan?

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

Apple is moving to bring advertising to Apple Maps. The largest source of ad revenue now comes from app developers buying advertising on the App Store.

Genesis House Supports Film Fellowship

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 19:46:57 -0400

The automaker's NYC cultural hub is partnering with Gotham Film and Media Institute to provide support for three New York City-shot narrative short films.

Predictable Irrationality In TV And Streaming Ad-Buying

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:59:37 -0400

Not cool: spending the majority of a TV budget on streaming, certain that no one who matters anymore is watching linear TV.

YouTube Lets Users Remove Shorts From Its Home Feed Via Timer Setting

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 15:56:32 -0400

YouTube now allows users to cut out its most popular media format - Shorts - from their app feed.

Paramount-WBD Merger? Theater Owners Expect Even Tougher Times

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 09:31:42 -0400

One persistent issue for movie theater owners since the dawn of the premium streaming age is movies moving too quickly from theaters to streaming.

Nielsen Top-Rated 2025-26 Programs: Netflix, CBS Score Big

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 08:44:27 -0400

Netflix has five of the top ten shows and CBS has two of the top ten and six of the top 20 shows. Disney's ABC/Hulu has four of the top 20 programs.

Snooki Waves Good-Bye As 'Jersey Shore' Has Final Season

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

The news that "Jersey Shore" is about to have its final farewell season raised a question: Wait a minute - "Jersey Shore" is still around?

Brands Blur Lines Between Ads, Entertainment

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 16:02:29 -0400

Peloton has tapped "Heated Rivalry" actor Hudson Williams for a campaign that "Glamour " says borders on NSFW, due to his "very short shorts."

No Attention, No Outcomes

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 14:38:50 -0400

I'm writing this for those not fortunate enough to attend the Advertising Research Foundation's recent Audience X Science conference in New York City. You will want to pay attention, because one session in particular -- the ARF's Tracy Adams' and Paul Donato's review of Phase 3 of its attention measurement validation initiative -- is all about it.

You can read my previous commentaries on Phase 1 and Phase 2, but this year's session, dubbed "Attention As Signal, Or Beyond," demonstrated how many in the industry are now using attention metrics to judge relative media audience delivery, quality and ad campaign effectiveness via the many research vendors available. However, these vendors use different approaches, definitions and techniques.

So, what are best practices and the most meaningful application of these resulting attention data indicators across media that advance media planning and possibly buying well beyond commonly used “viewable impressions, sometimes referred to as “raw impressions”?

Of strategic note to advertisers is that the Media Rating Council's and the Interactive Advertising Bureau's so-called "viewable impressions" are solely device-based measures and therefor represent no real opportunity-to-see. Moreover, they are often self-reported by digital platforms, unaudited and with ad creative and placement rarely independently verified.

Brand campaign case studies have proven use of attention metrics consistently delivers more cost-effective outcomes for campaigns for any given media budget.

Phase 3 of the initiative used a complex neutral design examining media channels, platforms and placement. It involved eight research vendor attention measurement methods and resulting metrics evaluated against campaign brand lift results across four different campaigns using three different media platforms.

From a big picture perspective the ARF's Donato highlighted, “At the channel-level, the clearest point of agreement across research vendors was that television -- including CTV, linear TV, and YouTube/online video -- consistently drew more attention than social media. This is likely because most measurement methods employ -- directly or indirectly -- some measure of time.”

In the platform-level analysis -- Facebook vs. TikTok -- there was consistent attention within a measurement methodology, but not necessarily across methods.

In the placement-level analysis – feed, reels and stories -- there also was consistency within a measurement methodology but not necessarily across methods. Prime-time and late night tend to earn the highest attention scores.

As would be anticipated, the research found attention alone does not predict brand lift, and media weight plays an important role. Amost certainly along with many other media and campaign execution variables.

The top line implications for advertisers and their agencies are naturally broad but underline the significant value and the complexities of paying special attention to "attention" and its pragmatic application in media planning, brand campaign by brand campaign.

Based on the limitations of the research design, Donato and Adams offered evidence-based guidance on attention’s role in media planning, together with how to use attention metrics alongside outcomes measures.

Understand what is actually being measured (definitions and derivations)
Use attention to evaluate media channels
Compare to company norms.
Stick with the same measurement company over time.
Consider the interaction of attention, media weight and outcomes

As Adams emphasized, “The more important distinction may be between attention and inattention. Advertising can work across a range of attention levels, so long as the content is not ignored.”

To which context of the medium and its editorial environment might be added to ensure brand safety protection whatever the lift especially on social media.

While the ARF must be highly commended for the scope and depth of its three-phased evaluation, perhaps the best prologue in the use of attention metrics comes from Havas Media Network's Jonathan Waite, which should surely be embraced by all CMOs and brand managers:

“If you are still counting raw impressions today, you aren’t a media planner. You are a passenger in a machine that doesn’t care about your brand’s health.”

Viant DSP Buys TVision For $40M

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 11:07:16 -0400

Viant will incorporate TVision technology into its AI demand-side platform, where it says it will produce a "first of its kind attention-adjusted CPM [cost per thousand viewers] measure."

PBS 'Nova' Scoops Discovery In Artemis Space Race

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

Two different documentaries on the Artemis II moon mission are coming this week, but one will touch down on TV one day earlier than the other one.

Amazon, Roku Maintain Strong Streaming Positions

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

Hub Entertainment Research notes that some of the strongest aggregators are led by Amazon Prime Video, where 54% of respondents say they use it to get one or many streaming services.

Can Hollywood Talent, Creative Impact Paramount-WBD Deal?

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

An open letter in "The New York Times" cast major concern on what the merger means for the business. What comes next?

YouTube To Pause Ads During Peak Livestream Engagement

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 18:14:45 -0400

YouTube is making changes to the way it delivers ads during popular livestream sessions, declining to rely on AI to pause ads entirely when a creators' viewers are engaging with the video most.

Popeyes Sets Sail With First-Ever Anime Collab

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 16:54:08 -0400

Popeyes' limited-time menu and merch drop celebrates veteran Netflix series "One Piece."

Streaming Program Price: Thousands Of Shows, Few To Watch?

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 13:45:24 -0400

The main issue is whether consumers are paying too much for content they will never watch in return for a few shows they cannot do without.

Algorithmic Targeting Is Messing With Our Zeitgeist

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 12:56:47 -0400

We need a reliable zeitgeist to set our personal compass to. Instead, we're seeing an algorithmically defined slice of zeitgeist, served exclusively to us.

As In Days Of Old, TV Took Us To The Moon And Back

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

For those old enough to remember the Golden Age of the space program in the 1960s and early '70s, Artemis II seemed like old times.

Nielsen February Gauge Report Shows Little Change

Tue, 14 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

Nielsen initially delayed the February release of the Gauge and Media Distributor Index to make methodological adjustments.

Deeper Influencer Messaging For Linear's Old-School Ad Ecosystem?

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

The premise is that consumers are tired of hearing direct, "corporate"-sounding ads and increasingly prefer "influencer" messages offering a more personal approach with real or perceived "trust."

'DMV,' 'Watson' On Short List Of Network Cancellations This Season

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

It is rarer than it used to be, but some network TV shows still get canceled after one or two seasons.

TiVo Builds Performance Data Play From Home To Car

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 08:00:00 -0400

TiVo Ads President Matt Milne believes the scale and engagement of the company's footprint remains largely unreachable via traditional CTV media buys, and that deterministic viewership data across screens helps brands find audiences they were not currently reaching.