“We’re confident that AI is going to help us and help our creative partners tell stories better, faster and in new ways — we’re all in on that,” said Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos. “We’re not worried about AI replacing creativity.”
The TL;DR
Netflix All in on Leveraging AI as Tech Creeps into the Industry [CNBC]
- TL;DR: In an earnings call last week Netflix says that generative AI presents a “significant opportunity” across its streaming platform, including improving its recommendations, ads business, and movies and TV content. “We’re empowering creators with a broad set of GenAI tools to help them achieve their visions and deliver even more impactful titles for members,” the company said.
Walmart pushes retail media full-funnel with CTV, influencers and in-store screens [The Drum]
- TL;DR: Walmart Connect’s Ryan Mayward unveiled the company’s shift from lower-funnel sponsored search to a truly full-funnel retail media strategy spanning CTV, in-store screens, off-site display, and influencer programs. Walmart’s CTV footprint—fueled by its Vizio partnership—is now its fastest-growing channel, offering brands measurable reach on the biggest screen in the home. The broader message: retail media is evolving into a holistic marketing platform driving awareness, consideration, and conversion through unified data and attribution.
Amazon brings shoppable ads to Twitch in livestream commerce push [EMarketer]
- TL;DR: Twitch is launching native, in-stream shopping ads powered by Amazon’s ad platform, letting users purchase products (like e.l.f. Cosmetics) during streams without leaving the viewing experience.
Recommended Reading:
- Magnite Pushes CTV Forward With AI, Pause Ads, And SMB Accessibility - Marisa Jones [eMarketer]
- Amazon’s Next Frontier In Advertising: The Cloud Infrastructure It Runs On - Seb Joseph [Digiday]
- T-Mobile Brings Its Network Power To Fox Weather Coverage - Mark Mwachiro [AdWeek]
- Teads Launches CTV Performance: A New Way to Optimize and Measure Real Outcomes from Connected TV - [GlobeNewswire]
- IAB Addresses Changing Market Dynamics, Reinvents Its Marketplace Event Schedule - [IAB]
- What New Advertising Rules May Mean For Pharma Companies - Maia Anderson and Kristina Monllos [Healthcare Brew]
- Bari Weiss’ First Weeks at CBS News: ‘60 Minutes’ Miss, Hunt for New Talent, Concerns Over Union Status at Free Press - Brian Steinberg [Variety]
Hanlon’s Local Links:
- The Attention Economy Moved On, Local News Didn’t - Dak Dillon [NCS|NewscastStudio]
- The State Of Local News: The 2025 Report - Zach Metzger, et al. [Northwestern|Medill Local News Institute]
- They Took Big Pay Cuts To Run A Little Paper - Steven Kurutz, Cig Harvey [New York Times]
- Nexstar Accused Of Using Customer Blackout As ‘Deal Leverage’ Ahead Of Verizon Contract Deadline - Jacob Bryant [The Wrap]
- Carr Warns Broadcasters He's ‘Open To Idea’ Of License Revocation - Ted Hearn [Policyband]
- How Funding Cuts Are Changing Public Radio - Brooke Gladstone [On The Media]
- ATSC 3.0 May Be Closer Than Ever. How Will It Reshape Broadcasters’ Business Models? - Tom Sly [TVNewsCheck]
- New Mexico PBS Brings ATSC 3.0 Multilingual Service To Viewers With HVS, Ateme, LingoPal - Phil Kurz [TVTech]
