“The [Paramount] deal, or another one like it, was inevitable. People hate when I say that, but they also know it’s the truth.” -Alan Wolk
This week on the Hot List round up of originals across TVREV and The Measure we share two perspectives on the new Paramountain, talk to a leader in pause ad production, share new viewing trends on YouTube, and give updates on the state of measurement coming out of the CIMM conference, where agencies admitted AI agents are now in the negotiating room. Plus, we cover The CW’s clever moves, trends in ad production migration and more.
Shop N’ Slop
People doubted Ellison’s Larry/David could get it done. But after making threats to leave L.A., as Alan Wolk covers this week: alliances were formed and concessions were made. And the conglomeration consolidation of mega media continues.
People often forget, the Ellisons’ have a big stake in TikTok, which is not just the fastest growing social network in history, but the fastest growing retail platform - with live shopping now sitting on manipulatable algorithms where content can drive commerce.
And while TV may not ever become a big inescapable home shopping network: with Amazon + Roku, Walmart | VIZIO, Ellison’s Island connecting TV to TikTok and YouTube now TV + GOOG; the TV and video ad has never been closer to the shopping cart.
It’s not if, it’s not when. AI is reshaping TV. From transforming the content discovery, targeting, buying, measurement and to the rest of TV’s back end, it’s fair to wonder just how much robot slop and juiced up commerce-incentivized content will make it’s way into a living room near you.
Five years from now, we may not know any different.
The CW’s Strange Next Act Is Starting To Make Sense - Tim Hanlon
Paramount Prevails, Netflix Keeps Looking In The Rear-View Mirror - Alan Wolk
Welcome To Feudal Advertising: What The WBD-Paramount Merger Teaches Brands - Emanuele Landi
Tube Trends: Why 2-To-5 Minute Videos Are Media’s Sweet Spot - John Cassillo
6 Takeaways From CIMM - Jason Damata
JIC Gives Renewed Thumbs Up to iSpot, Comscore, VideoAmp - Jon Lafayette
Rebuilding TV Advertising Around the Audience: Q&A With Adam Gendelman, WunderKIND Ads - Mike Gasbara
Commercial Production Is Moving Beyond the Coasts - Eleanor Semeraro
SAGE Says: How Corona Is Winning With Sensory Storytelling - Eleanor Semeraro
Pre Pre-Order Alan’s New Book
New Podcast: How FAST, Free Sports And New Formats Are Remaking Local TV
SPECIAL REPORT: The TV OS Wars: The Battle For The Living Room
“We have the opportunity to use AI to usher in a golden age of measurement, but only if we choose it.” - Ben Hovaness, executive VP, Global Specialized Capabilities, Omnicom Media
Paramount Merger Settlement Further Diminishes The State Of Cable TV [Forbes]
- TL;DR: Paramount Skydance and 12 state attorneys general settled antitrust litigation, clearing the path for the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
Best Buy puts CTV at the center of its retail media pitch [Modern Retail]
- TL;DR: Best Buy is increasingly putting its electronics roots at the heart of its retail media pitch. On Wednesday, Best Buy introduced a new part of its advertising business that the company is branding as Best Buy CTV.
PubMatic Jumps On The Show-Level CTV Targeting Bandwagon [AdExchanger]
- TL;DR: PubMatic now lets media buyers on its platform target CTV inventory at the episode level, via a new integration with AI contextual-data company Silverpush that centralizes TV/video metadata.
Hot Links
- White House ordered to restore access to banned news outlets [Axios]
- A Year After Jousting With Character.AI, Disney Names Its CEO As Its First Chief Technology Officer [Deadline]
- Survey: Advertisers plan to increase holiday budgets on these channels... [Chain Store Age]
- Disney+ and Hulu Raise Prices Again, the Fourth Hike in Four Years [Variety]
- Xbox plans to interrupt video games with ads according to new patent [Metro]
- Startup Vuer aims to measure the elusive CTV co-viewing factor using mobile [StreamTV Insider]
- Amazon's TNF Opener Averages 18.6 Million Viewers, Up 5% [Front Office Sports]
- CTV dominates the sports fandom ‘life cycle,’ but podcasts and news are also in the mix [The Current]
- Free Streamer Pluto TV Gets a Lifeline in Paramount-Warner Bros. Consent Decree [The Hollywood Reporter]
- Study: Renewals for Streaming Shows Continue to Decline [TV Tech]
- For some ad campaigns, brands are borrowing from classic TV [Marketing Brew]
- Letterboxd Considers a Sequel Under New Ownership [The New York Times]
- Luke Bryan to Perform Exclusive Concert in Roku City [Variety]
- Political Podcast Ad Spending Has Nearly Doubled. Is It Eating TV’s Lunch? [TheWrap]
Hanlon’s Local Links
- Here's Your Future — Scott Jones [FTV Live]
- Leadership In Uncertain Times: Tegna’s Paolini Faces His Moment - Hank Price [TVNewsCheck]
- Sacramento Kings End 32-Year Radio Partnership With Sactown Sports 1140 - Jason Anderson [Sacramento Bee]
- Sinclair Adds Another ‘National’ Newscast To Local Stations In 12 DMAs - Adam Jacobson [Radio+Television Business Report]
- Cox Media Group To Rebrand WRDQ As “Magic TV 27” - Matthew Keys [TheDesk.net]
- Charlotte Hornets, Gray Media Team Up To Bring Hornets Games To More Fans Across The Carolinas - [WECT.com]
- Mobile Overtakes Radio As Primary In-Car Device For 13-34 Demo, Edison Research Data Shows - Garrett Searight [Barrett Media]
- FCC Filing: Tests Show Offline NextGen TV Boxes Fail to Deliver EAS Messaging - Jim Kimble [Antenna Land]
