Streaming dominates TV ad dollars for the second year in a row, but eyeballs are getting cheaper

New data from Media Dynamics shows streaming dominating television’s ad spend for the second year.

8/14/25 1:44PM

Ads are still relatively new to streaming, but the business is already dominant in terms of dollars spent.

Streaming scooped up about 43% of advertisers’ television spending at the industry’s “upfront,” new data from tracking firm Media Dynamics shows. Per the firm, advertisers spent $13.2 billion on streaming ad space during the annual event and selling period, when networks sell the majority of their upcoming commercial space to advertisers.

The total marks a $2 billion increase from last year.

Meanwhile, both broadcast and cable TV saw pullback from advertisers, as viewers continue to spend the majority of their time on streaming services like Netflix and YouTube. According to the Nielsen Gauge, streamers scooped up 46% of television viewing time in June, compared to 23% for cable and 19% for broadcast.

Ironically, live sports and appointment viewing (once linear TV’s bread and butter) helped drive spending for streamers. Netflix on Thursday said it sold out the entirety of its in-game inventory for its two NFL Christmas Day games this year — the second consecutive year advertisers have gobbled up the spots. Netflix reportedly pays about $75 million per game for the rights.

Though Netflix doesn’t report its ad revenue, the company said it received double the number of commitments from advertisers this year. NBCUniversal, which will stream the Super Bowl this year, last month said it’s received 15% more ad commitments this year.

Advertiser hunger for sports has sent television rights deals surging. Paramount Skydance this week struck a seven-year deal to stream UFC fights for about $1.1 billion annually, double what Disney’s ESPN previously paid to broadcast the contests.

As streamers race to build up their ad businesses, the swelling of actual ad space has sent rates down across television categories. Per Media Dynamics, the rate streamers charge to reach 1,000 viewers has fallen by about $8 since the 2023 season.

With a roughly 15-year head start in advertising, YouTube is still firmly in the lead. Last month, the company reported $9.8 billion in ad revenue in its second quarter. That’s close to Netflix’s total revenue, including subscriptions, which was $11.08 billion in the same period.

Nia Warfield

Fox and News Corp slide as investors digest $3.3 billion Murdoch succession settlement

Fox and News Corp shares dropped on Tuesday after Rupert Murdoch’s heirs agreed to a $3.3 billion settlement to resolve a long-running succession drama.

Under the deal, Prudence, Elisabeth, and James Murdoch will each receive about $1.1 billion, paid for in part by Fox selling 16.9 million Class B voting shares and News Corp selling 14.2 million shares. The stock sales will raise roughly $1.37 billion on behalf of the three heirs.

The new trust for Lachlan Murdoch will now control about 36.2% of Fox’s Class B shares and roughly 33.1% of News Corp’s stock, granting him uncontested voting authority over both companies for the next 25 years. Originally, the Murdoch trust was designed to hand over voting control of Fox and News Corp to Prudence, Elisabeth, Lachlan, and James after his death.

Investors are weighing the trade-off. Clear leadership under Lachlan may resolve conflict internally, but the share dilution, executed at a roughly 4.5% discount, means long-term investors now hold slightly less clout than before.

Both companies’ stocks were trading close to all-time highs prior to the announcement.

385 ✈️ 434

Max Knoblauch

Boeing on Tuesday announced that it delivered 57 commercial jets in August, its best total for the month in seven years. That brings its year-to-date delivery total to 385 planes, eclipsing its full-year 2024 figure by about 11%.

The August figure marked Boeing’s second-highest delivery total of 2025 and represented a 43% jump from the same month last year. Through August, Boeing has boosted its deliveries by 50% from last year.

The plane maker is still trailing its European rival Airbus, which delivered 61 planes in August and 434 year to date.

Nia Warfield

9/8/25

Tariffs finally crept into retail's latest earnings results. Who were the winners and losers?

The long-awaited levies took a toll on nearly every retailer, but execution separated who could steer through the costs.