 IN THE NEWS |
| The US Department of Justice, which accused Google of operating as a monopoly in the advertising technology industry, has won its antitrust case. “Plaintiffs have proven that Google has willfully engaged in a series of anticompetitive acts to acquire and maintain monopoly power in the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets for open-web display advertising,” wrote US District Judge Leonie Brinkema in his 115-page ruling. “For over a decade, Google has tied its publisher ad server and ad exchange together through contractual policies and technological integration, which enabled the company to establish and protect its monopoly power in these two markets.” The court decision follows another in August, when a federal judge ruled that Google acted to maintain a monopoly over the search business.
Meanwhile, X Corp was ordered to fork over $105 million to a patent owner for violating technology rights for recording and distributing video through social networks. That ruling comes from a Dallas federal jury, which determined that former X subsidiaries Vine and Periscope mimicked VidStream LLC’s video technology. VidStream had been embroiled in a patent dispute with the-company-once-known-as-Twitter for almost a decade.
Global consumer media usage increased 2.4% in 2024, to an average of 57.2 hours per week, following a sharp deceleration in time spent with media growth in 2023, according to a new market intelligence report from PQ Media. Among other key findings:
– The average global consumer spent 8.17 hours per day with media in 2024, up from 7.36 hours in 2019 (in some markets, like Japan and the Netherlands, daily media usage exceeded 12 hours per day).
– Ad-supported media accounted for 52.7% of time spent in 2024, down from a 55.5% share in 2019.
– Men used media more than women globally, 58.29 hours per week vs. 57.02, respectively.
– Mobile video posted the highest gain of the 22 digital channels that PQ Media monitors, up 16.7% in 2024.
However, growth is expected to fall 0.3% in 2025, as it is expected to each odd year during the forecast period, when there are fewer federal elections and international sporting events. “Also contributing to the media consumption decline in 2025 is expected deceleration in discretionary spending on media devices and content, as consumers worldwide tighten their overall budgets due to an expected rise in inflation and possible recession due to the tariff wars instigated by the new Trump administration,” said to PQ Media CEO Patrick Quinn. “However, the decline will be short lived, as gains are expected in 2026, when more than a dozen major countries hold federal elections, the Winter Olympics are held in Italy and the FIFA World Cup is tri-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.” |
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CTV ads drive meaningful real-world action, according to LG Ads’ “Big Shift 2025” report: After viewing a relevant ad, 39% of CTV viewers searched for a product online, 38% visited a website, 21% made a purchase, and 19% visited a physical store. Additional findings include:
– FAST is gaining ground: With 36% of CTV viewers canceling at least one paid streaming subscription in the past year, 67% now say they prefer free ad-supported content and 24% plan to add a FAST service in the next 12 months.
– Multitasking continues to extend the TV viewing experience: While 95% of CTV viewers multitask as they watch TV, 26% are always multitasking, up 8% from last year.
“CTV has officially moved beyond passive viewing. Today’s TV home screen is a launchpad for immersive entertainment, interactive experiences, and increasingly for retail experiences,” said Tony Marlow, CMO at LG Ad Solutions. “As the biggest screen in the home becomes the center of attention and action, it presents an unparalleled opportunity for advertisers to connect with people across both their entertainment and purchase journeys.”
Internet advertising revenues increased 14.9% year-over-year in 2024. In a study conducted by PwC, the “IAB Internet Advertising Revenue Report: Full Year 2024” found internet advertising revenue hit $258.6 billion in 2024, its highest since 2021. According to the report, the top trends for 2025 include:
– AI-driven advertising has evolved from automation to transformation.
– Creator partnerships are shifting from one-off to long-term.
– Privacy laws are accelerating first-party data strategies.
– CTV monetization is expanding with skinny bundles and sports.
– Brands are doubling down on multi-platform, commerce-first models.
Market share of the top 10 companies has increased (+1.0% since 2023), with market share the highest it’s been since 2020 (80.8%). However, the biggest movement in revenue concentration has come from the top 11-25 companies, now at 11.0% in 2024 (+3.1% since 2023). These companies consist primarily of evolving social media platforms, streaming and interactive media services, and e-commerce businesses. |
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| CYNOPSIS SPORTS WEBINAR
Want Your Brand in the Game?
Power Plays is coming on June 3rd, and it’s where the sports media playmakers will be.
This fast-paced virtual event unites top execs from networks, platforms, agencies, and brands to tackle how sports are being bought, sold, and experienced in 2025. From the surge in women’s sports to smarter ad targeting and streaming-first strategy, this is where the conversation happens—and where your brand should be.
Sponsorship opportunities include: custom content, thought leadership, lead gen opportunities, and premium visibility with a highly engaged media and marketing audience.
Contact Amy Abbey to secure your spot and shape the conversation. |
| THINK FAST |
| Nuvyyo USA has launched 45 Warner Bros. Discovery-branded FAST channels on its Tablo platform, allowing Tablo customers to stream programming from WBD via any fourth-generation Tablo app. “We’re excited to bring recent hits and nostalgic favorites from the Warner Bros. Discovery catalog to Tablo users,” said Bo Schuerman, VP of Enterprise Strategy at Scripps, Nuvyyo’s parent company. “Whether you’re a fan of ‘The Bachelor,’ British mysteries, bake-offs or boxing, our new WBD-branded FAST channels offer something for everyone with no subscriptions and no fees.”
European streaming platform Rakuten TV struck a deal with Mattel to bring a lineup of Mattel’s children’s series and movies across Europe. The content will be available on Rakuten TV’s Family channel, one of the Owned & Operated FAST channels offered by the platform. |
| PRODUCTION & DEVELOPMENT |
| For those who can’t get enough of reality series “Love Island,” Peacock has greenlit a spinoff. “Love Island: Beyond the Villa” (w/t) will follow season six Islanders around LA as they navigate new careers, evolving friendships, and newfound fame. The show is slated to premiere this summer.
Alicia Silverstone is attached to star in and executive produce a TV series follow-up to the 1995 hit film “Clueless,” in development at Peacock. Silverstone will star in and executive produced the project, written and executive produced by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage (“Gossip Girl”) of Fake Empire and Jordan Weiss (“Dollface”), with the movie’s writer-director Amy Heckerling and producer Robert Lawrence also executive producing. It’s not the first small screen version of the film – Rachel Blanchard starred as Cher in a 1996-99 series that launched on ABC, then moved to UPN.
Netflix has renewed “Temptation Island” for a second season, with Mark L. Walberg returning as host. The dating series premiered on Fox in 2001 and ran for three seasons.
CBS has ordered cooking competition “America’s Culinary Cup” (w/t), from Padma Lakshmi (“Top Chef”), to series for the 2025-2026 broadcast season. Lakshmi serves as creator and host and will executive produce alongside Susan Rovner. |
| NEW & RETURNING SERIES |
| True crime docuseries “The Furry Detectives: Unmasking A Monster” premieres Thursday, July 17 at 10p on SundanceTV. The four-parter unpacks the 2018 event known as the “Furry Zoosadist Leaks,” which exposed a conspiracy of animal abuse lurking beneath the Fandom’s playful exterior.
Netflix’s “The Sandman” is back for its second and final season on Thursday, July 3. All three episodes of the series, based on the DC comic, will drop at once.
“Not Her First Rodeo,” following champion bull rider Jorden Halvorsen and her women’s bull-riding league, kicks off Thursday, May 22 on Freeform.
Season three of HBO docuseries “100 Foot Wave” debuts Thursday, May 1 at 9p, chronicling the adventures of big wave surfer Garrett McNamara, his family, and fellow surfers.
The season four premiere of Canadian medical drama “Transplant” will air as a two-hour event on Thursday, May 22 starting at 8p on NBC.
“Twisted Metal” returns to Peacock for a second season on Thursday, July 31. This time around, the post-apocalyptic action/comedy centers on a demolition derby tournament.
The History Channel’s two-part doc “Sitting Bull” is set to air Tuesday, May 27 and Wednesday, May 28 at 9p. The show is part of the network’s multiplatform initiative leading up to the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US in July 2026.
“Bugs That Rule the World,” a four-part series revealing the unseen lives of insects, premieres Wednesday, May 7 at 10p on PBS (check local listings).
Added to the season four cast of STARZ’s “BMF” are Myles Truitt (“Stranger Things”), hip-hop artist Saweetie (“Grownish”), Sydney Mitchell (“The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey”), Roberto Sanchez (“Palm Royale”) and Jordan Alexander (“Gossip Girl”). The crime drama returns Friday, June 6. |
Today’ Premieres
Apple TV: Jane
Disney+: Light & Magic
Prime Video: The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Saturday’s Premieres
Netflix: Heavenly Ever After
Nick: Super Duper Bunny League at 9a
Sunday’s Premieres
HBO: The Rehearsal at 10:30p
Nat Geo: Secrets of the Penguins at 8p
TOC: Sister Wives at 10p |
The Cablefax 100
Presented by Cablefax, Cynopsis’ sister brand
This is The 100: The best of the best. The visionaries. The power players. The leaders defining what’s next.
The 2025 Cablefax 100 honors the most influential executives across media, cable, and broadband—those driving innovation, shaping strategy, and setting the industry standard. Cablefax’s biggest and most respected issue of the year is now live, now fully mobile-friendly and packed with insights, impact, and inspiration.
VIEW THE 100 |
| TECH |
| Netflix beat analysts’ expectations for 1Q25 with total revenue of $10.543 billion, versus a forecast of $10.5 billion. In its quarterly letter to shareholders, Netflix pointed to a slowdown in the US and Canada versus the fourth quarter of 2024 – revenue grew 9% in the region, down from a 15% in the prior quarter. The letter noted “only a partial quarter impact from our price change,” and the absence of advertising revenue from the Christmas Day NFL games.
AI is almost at full industry adoption in ad agencies, with 98% leveraging the technology in their workflows, according to a new survey from Basis Technologies. Nearly 40% of respondents said they use generative AI every day as part of their workflows – a far cry from a 2023 Basis survey, which indicated that less than 10% of advertising professionals used AI daily and 33% said that they didn’t use it at all. “In the early days of AI, we knew it was going to be a transformative technology, but the speed of scale from experimental usage to full agency adoption is astounding,” said Katie McAdams, Basis Technologies CMO. But there’s more to come, added McAdams: “There are numerous areas within agencies where it has not yet taken full root, like data optimization, ad iteration or media buying — all of which AI is naturally suited to help streamline. I believe the full impact of AI on our industry has yet to be realized or understood.”
Samsung has expanded Optimal Reach, a suite of solutions that provides insights into audience reach across both linear and in-app streaming, for advertisers across all verticals. The portfolio’s first offering measuring incrementality is designed to help brands end duplication and extend their messaging beyond the audiences they already reach with AVOD and traditional linear campaigns.
Roku announced a partnership with Adobe to help brands create more personalized and performant advertising using Roku’s proprietary data and insights. The partnership includes a new integration of the Roku Data Cloud and Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform Collaboration, allowing advertisers and publishers to jointly discover, activate, and measure high-value audiences while prioritizing privacy. “Our partnership with Adobe is another step forward for the Roku Data Cloud. Advertisers can now better understand their audience, make use of valuable proprietary Roku data, and ultimately maximize their TV investment,” said Miles Fisher, Senior Director of Strategic Advertising Partnerships at Roku. “This integration will unlock the opportunity for traditional performance marketers – like search and social buyers – to plan, activate, and measure campaigns on Roku.”
YouTube is expanding its Hype program, which enables viewers to allocate “hype points” to videos from emerging channels to more creators in Taiwan, Brazil and Turkey. Creators in the YouTube Partner Program with 500 to 500,000 subs are eligible for the Hype limited beta. YouTube also reminded creators that it is changing the way that mid-roll advertising works by updating its ad placement options in order to drive responsive ad exposure within clips.
TCLtv+ has dropped AI film short “Memory Maker,” produced by TCL Studios in partnership with creative agency Native Foreign. It’s the first AI film short to premiere as a follow to the launch of the AI romance title “Next Stop Paris.” |
| COMING UP |
| Telemundo Station Group will observe Earth Day with the multiplatform content initiative Nuestro Planeta, presented across Telemundo-owned stations’ TV, streaming and digital platforms beginning April 20. Included are a six-hour environmental programming marathon and original half-hour special premiering April 22 at 11a, exploring the growing impact of climate change and the conservation efforts taking place. |
 AXS TV is celebrating Mother’s Day with a marathon of “Nashville,” airing Saturday, May 10 and Sunday, May 11. |
| SPORTS REPORT |
 Lee Corso’s final day as a football analyst for ESPN’s “College GameDay” will be August 30. The 90-year-old has been with the show for 38 years, a tenure that will be celebrated with special programming in the leadup to his final broadcast.
The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs Presented by Geico begin Sunday, April 20 on ESPN and ESPN2 with a tripleheader. Sixteen first round games will air over six days beginning Sunday, April 20 at 3p. ESPN’s NHL studio show, “The Point,” is airing as a lead-in to games throughout the playoffs with rotating hosts Steve Levy, John Buccigross and Arda Öcal and NHL analysts Mark Messier and P.K. Subban.
TNT Sports launches its coverage of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs featuring up to 28 First Round games, starting tomorrow, April 19. John Forslund will call the game, along with commentary from Jennifer Botterill.
Monumental Sports Network will air the Washington Capitals series in the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, beginning with Game 1 on Monday at 7p against the Montreal Canadiens. MNMT’s First Round coverage includes live broadcasts of all games and hour-long pre- and postgame programs.
FuboTV announced it is remaining as exclusive home of the Premier League, England’s soccer league, in Canada. Fubo will stream all 380 Premier League matches and shoulder programming through a multi-year distribution agreement beginning with the 2025/2026 season.
EuroLeague Basketball and the Sports Channel announced the extension of their long-standing media rights partnership, securing exclusive broadcasting rights for the EuroLeague in Israel for an additional six years, through the 2030–31 season. |
| RATINGS |
| Newsmax has over 33 million viewers tuning in regularly, reports the cable news network, citing stats from Nielsen. Newsmax is in almost 60 million cable homes, while Newsmax2 streams free in 80 million homes. |
| EXECUTIVE MOVES |
| Reed Hastings, co-founder and former CEO of Netflix, is transitioning from Executive Chairman to Chairman of the Board. The move is “part of the natural evolution of our leadership structure and succession planning,” said the company in a letter to shareholders.
Campfire Studios (“The Menendez Brothers”) has hired documentary producer Andrew Bank as SVP of Post-Production. Bank joins from Boardwalk Pictures, where he most recently served as VP of Post-Production. |
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This Day in History
1906 – The San Francisco earthquake and fire destroyed 75% of the city.
Friday Fun Fact
78% of consumers eat the ears off of their chocolate Easter bunny first.
Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
What was the third spin-off of “Happy Days” (1974-84)? “Mork & Mindy” (1978-1982). Kudos to: Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA; John W Burshtan-Water Planet Productions/Denver; Martha Voyer-LW Direct/Irvington, NY; Eric Emeric-Paramount Global/NYC; Andrew Goldman-Phanes Funding Group/NYC
Today’s Trivia Question
No googling theme week: How was the title character in “All in the Family” spin-off “Maude” (1972-78) related to Edith Bunker? (Email your answer to trivia@cynopsis.com and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four answers per time zone.) |
DIGITAL MEDIA BUYER >>
FURMAN ROTH ADVERTISING/NY(HYBRID): Plan, launch, and optimize digital marketing campaigns across various paid media channels (including Display, Google products, Paid Social, CTV, and Programmatic, etc.) while managing budgets effectively. Support the execution of media plans across platforms, overseeing targeting, budget allocation, and performance tracking to drive campaign success. Full info HERE
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR; CTV BRAND PARTNERSHIPS – MID WEST/WEST COAST
FUTURE TODAY
REMOTE
Build, maintain and expand a pipeline of sales targets, contacts, and sales opportunities leveraging your relationships with a heavy focus on new business revenue. Build/nurture relationships with the investment, strategy, precision and digital agencies as well as clients. Also maintain an ongoing knowledge of the streaming media landscape. Full info HERE
DIRECTOR, AD MARKETING & SALES >>
THE SHADE ROOM/REMOTE: Develop and execute a revenue growth strategy to drive direct advertising, branded content, and sponsorship sales as well as lead the development of compelling advertising and branded content offerings tailored for TSR’s audience and cultivate and maintain strong relationships with key advertisers, media agencies, and brand partners. Full info HERE
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE DIRECT RESPONSE >>
OPPORTUNITY MEDIA/NY(REMOTE/HYBRID): Seeking an energetic achiever with excellent written & organizational skills for role to assist in growing revenue for dynamic Direct Response Team: required: BA Degree, Min 2 yrs DR Experience. Wide Orbit Exp a +. Full info HERE
PROFESSIONAL LECTURER OF COMMUNICATION/SPORTS BROADCASTING >>
MARIST UNIVERSITY/ POUGHKEEPSIE, NY: Teach studio and field broadcasting and new media courses in sports media and journalism as well as be able to teach a studio course on producing a newscast and help students live stream a podcast or produce short-form feature content suitable for social media streaming. Also demonstrate through their teaching, professional activity, and service. Full info HERE
DIGITAL MEDIA PLANNER/BUYER >>
BEACON MEDIA GROUP/ LYNDHURST, NJ: Management of paid social media campaigns, strong written & verbal communication skills, knowledge of various targeting methodologies, and basic understanding of traditional media. Familiarity with media planning and buying software. Proficient in website analytics tools. Experience in pixel implementation and conversion tracking. Full info HERE
VICE PRESIDENT BUSINESS AFFAIRS >>
HEARST MEDIA PRODUCTION GROUP/CHARLOTTE, NC: Focus on FCC compliance, brand integrity for all current series and day-to-day business affairs for development and production. Strategize with management and outside counsel on business issues, and draft, review and execute various short-form business documents. Legal background and/or related media experience is required. Full info HERE
SALES LEAD – AGENCY PARTNERSHIPS
UPWAVE
NEW YORK, NY
Build and manage relationships with our agency partners – mostly targeting media buyers and planners – and help them see the value of adding Upwave measurement to The Trade Desk campaigns. You will both leverage your existing network and open new doors to achieve aggressive but achievable sales targets. Full info HERE |
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