Agency & Consulting
Prediction markets drive sports betting’s TV ad surge
Betting brands spent $269.8 million on national linear TV through August 31, up 40% year over year, per iSpot data shared with AdAge.
The Ankler’s Wakeup: ESPN locks up Joe Buck, Roku bulks up bundles
ESPN signed Joe Buck to a six-year, $108 million extension that bumps his annual pay from $15 million to $18 million and keeps him on ABC/ESPN’s Super Bowl calls through 2031.
EMarketer: AI disruption is speeding advertisers’ shift to CTV
EMarketer reports that advertisers are flooding into connected TV as linear TV continues its decline, and generative AI tools are accelerating that migration by reshaping planning and buying.
Versant’s playbook: use linear cash flow to buy time for digital pivot
Spun out of Comcast in January 2026, Versant now has freedom to invest its cable cash flow into sports rights, digital platforms and tangential assets like golf-simulator maker Full Swing.
Ankler: insiders skeptical of Ellison’s threat to move studios out of L.A.
The Ankler reports growing chatter that David Ellison could relocate Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio operations out of Los Angeles, but sources inside both companies say they aren’t taking the threat at face value.
Paramount, states near deal with CNN monitor, film-release floor
Paramount and states seeking to block its $110 billion Warner Bros. deal could settle as soon as this weekend. Terms under discussion include independent content monitoring of CNN and a commitment on the number of theatrical releases per year.
Creators start pitching AEO metrics, not just view counts
Digiday reports that creator pitches are shifting toward proving citation in AI-generated answers, not just audience reach.
Forrester: “Recommendation share” will replace impressions as top media KPI
Forrester’s “Predictions 2027: Media And Advertising” report argues that as consumers delegate research to AI engines, marketers will care less about ad views and more about whether engines recommend their brand.
NPR signs Newton and Roose for new AI video podcast
NPR is launching “Machine Gods,” a twice-weekly video podcast on AI hosted by Casey Newton and Kevin Roose, debuting in October.
IAB study: young shoppers want AI to cite creators, but it rarely sways purchases
IAB’s Creator Signal survey of 2,200 AI shoppers found 65% of Gen Z and millennials prefer chatbot recommendations that cite creators, while just 29% said creator citations actually increased their likelihood to buy.
Spotify triples podcast partner program reach to 35 countries
Spotify is expanding its ad and Premium revenue-sharing program for podcasters beyond the U.S., Europe and Australia into 35 total regions, including Brazil, Mexico, Spain and Italy. Podcasters keep sponsorship revenue and can distribute shows elsewhere.
NFL opening week viewership falls 13% to 19.5 million despite extra games
NFL opening week averaged 19.5 million viewers per Nielsen, down 13% from last year’s 22.3 million even with two extra games added. Stripping out four early Sunday afternoon windows, the week actually rose 2% to 21.9 million.
PeakMetrics launches GEO tool tying AI brand answers to news and social narratives
PeakMetrics debuted AI Perceptions, a platform letting comms teams track how brands appear across ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Grok, and Perplexity.
Libsyn signs All Chewed Up network for hosting and ad sales
Libsyn struck a hosting and advertising partnership with All Chewed Up, the lifestyle network from Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly, and Michael Symon built around shows like Chewed Up and Why’d They Wear That?!?.
Puck podcast: Paramount’s red-state gambit, ESPN’s talent math
Julia Alexander and Dylan Byers unpack Paramount’s Nashville-or-Texas relocation brinksmanship with Rob Bonta, the Bari Weiss ratings debate and Nielsen’s shifting methodology. They close by weighing ESPN’s talent-pay math on Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, and Tom Brady.
Study: 5% of CTV ad impressions are mislabeled, costing buyers $2 billion
51Degrees analyzed 11.03 million OpenRTB impressions from May 15-20, 2026, finding 4.92% labeled as CTV were actually lower-value, non-CTV inventory, versus 0.18% mislabeled in reverse. The firm ties the mismatch to roughly $2 billion in global overpayment by advertisers.
Nielsen speeds up streaming charts as Reacher, Outer Banks lead summer
Nielsen sped up its top-10 streaming reports from a four-week to a two-week delay, releasing three weeks of data at once covering Aug. 17 through Sept. 6.
Design Anthology built a luxury media brand by refusing to scale
Design Anthology, founded in 2014 to cover Asia-Pacific design, has grown into print, digital subscriptions, advertising, events, and a YouTube channel with more than half a million subscribers.
Disney signs development deal with YouTube kids giant Like Nastya
Disney inked a content and development pact with Like Nastya, its first such deal with a major kids creator, covering an animated preschool series for Disney Jr. and Disney+ plus new live-action content for kids, tweens and teens.
Emmys ratings sink 10%, but Apple TV dominates with 29 wins
This year’s Emmys drew just 6.7 million viewers, down 10% from last year, even as NBCU touted 133 million social video views.
Disney unwinds DTC co-presidency, hands Adam Smith sole control
Six months after naming Adam Smith and Joe Earley co-presidents of direct-to-consumer, Disney has made Smith sole leader as Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer. Earley moves to Disney Entertainment Television to run franchise and content strategy under Debra O’Connell.
Automotive TV spending falls 15.4% in August, sports still dominant
Automakers spent $72.5 million on national linear TV in August, down from $85.7 million a year ago, per iSpot.tv. Household impressions fell 20.2%, while NFL preseason alone drew over 22% of auto industry outlay.