CTV

To some degree, the digitization of TV marketing is inevitable. But there’s a limit to how much TV ad buying should digitize, according to Needham’s Laura Martin.

Telemundo wants to score bigger ad budgets by proving it can target ads to a multicultural audience in ways that drive real results. It’s also trying to reach more Gen Z by investing more in streaming distribution.

Remember back when Netflix insisted it would never run ads on its platform? Well, not only does it now have 40 million MAUs for its AVOD tier, it’s also launching an ad tech platform.

Warner Bros. Discovery had the most to prove during this week’s upfronts. So, the company used its upfront stage on Wednesday to showcase a new suite of ad products.

During Disney’s upfront event on Tuesday, just hours after Amazon’s, the Mouse House couldn’t hold back on pitching its content and advertising prowess. Sports was a big highlight.

Amazon kicked off its first-ever upfront event with advertising right out of the gate, including pitches about its scale, shopper data and content, particularly its sports programming.

TelevisaUnivision used its upfront stage to remind agencies and advertisers that Hispanic audiences drive business results. It shared ways buyers can work directly with it for targeting and measurement, plus new video currency options for media transactions.

Actors, musicians, dancers and comedians vouched for the value of NBCU media in between flashy performances and trailers during the programmer’s TV upfront. But about advertising, NBCU execs barely made a mention.

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) broke the trend of streaming publishers reporting positive gains last quarter. But it’s slowly gaining subscribers, and expects bundling and global expansion to help speed up traction for its streaming service, Max.

For Magnite, the biggest growth opportunity lies in supply-path optimization. The trade-off is the pressure to differentiate itself from other supply-side platforms competing for agency deals.