This week's edition of the TV Room dives into the impact of subscription costs across major streaming platforms surging to new highs.
This week we're covering:
- 📺 CTV is gaining ground in the digital-ad arms race
- 📉 Streaming beats doomscrolling (shocker)
- 🎬 Creative spotlight: Apple: “A critter carol”
- 🎁 Spotify wrapped strikes again
CTV is gaining ground in the digital-ad arms race
Connected TV advertising is cementing its position as a performance powerhouse, with streaming's share of TV ad revenue climbing from 26.2% to 29.5% in 2025, according to WPP Media's This Year Next Year forecast. That growth reflects advertisers' recognition that CTV delivers the measurability and targeting precision that traditional linear TV never could.
The digital dog days
The shift toward digital continues accelerating, with digital channels projected to capture 84% of global ad spend. Total global advertising will surpass $1.2 trillion in 2026, creating a massive opportunity for platforms that combine premium video with performance marketing capabilities.
CTV sits at the center of this transformation. Platforms like tvScientific are proving that television advertising can deliver deterministic attribution, linking ad exposure directly to conversions and giving marketers transparent ROAS data in real time. That's a fundamental upgrade from the old broadcast model, where measurement was always an educated guess.
Onward and upward
Kate Scott-Dawkins, WPP's global president of business intelligence, noted that performance-driven, measurable formats are becoming "very, very attractive" to brands. CTV checks both boxes while delivering the emotional engagement and brand recall that only premium video on a big screen can provide. With video completion rates as high as 95%, CTV ads reach viewers who are actively paying attention.
Traditional search remains strong too, with spend expected to hit $244.9 billion in 2025. AI-driven tools are emerging but haven't disrupted established platforms yet. The broader story is clear: Advertisers are investing in channels that deliver measurable outcomes, and CTV is uniquely positioned to capture that demand as streaming viewership continues its upward trajectory.
Read More:
TV Industry Updates
- Traditional TV’s yearly obituary: Linear TV ad buys fell 7% in 2025 to $55.2 billion, with further drops projected through 2027.
- Your grandma’s recipe gets a QR code: Super League launched gamified "foodtainment" with TikTok recipes and shoppable QR codes on CTV and mobile.
- Streaming beats doomscrolling (shocker): Streaming video ads held 79% attentive viewing versus social media's 20%, per new research.
- 34 million people watched inflatable Snoopy: NBC’s Macy’s Parade drew 34.3 million viewers, the most-watched entertainment telecast in nearly seven years
- Local TV's 2026 bet: Local TV ad revenue is projected to jump 25.5% to $18.18 billion on midterms, Olympics, and World Cup, but core spending keeps declining.
Creative Spotlight: Apple: “A critter carol”
Apple's whimsical holiday film transformed a lost iPhone into a woodland karaoke session, blending emotional storytelling with seamless product placement.
The Details:
- The spot was all fun, featuring forest animals discovering a lost iPhone 17 Pro and using it to film themselves singing as a gift before returning the device to its owner.
- The campaign combined Apple's signature "Shot on iPhone" campaign with holiday messaging about friendship and giving.
- The creators cheekily staged a Find My alert in the story to demonstrate the phone's tracking feature without breaking the narrative.
What We Loved: This festive campaign cleverly let the animals naturally showcase the iPhone's camera capabilities while balancing humor and heart without heavy-handed product demonstrations.
Marketing Mix
- Spotify wrapped strikes again: Bad Bunny beat Taylor Swift as Spotify's most-streamed artist of 2025.
- Your emotions sold this ad: Ads that sync with human emotion performed 3.5x better in a new Seedtag and Columbia University study
- RC Cola’s revenge tour: Keurig Dr Pepper relaunched RC Cola after 40 years with a “damn good cola” pitch
- Hot Frosty gets a sequel (kind of): Maybelline launched a five-part microdrama starring Lacey Chabert and Dustin Milligan.
- Black Friday’s mall funeral: US shoppers spent $11.8 billion online, up 9%, as AI recommendations reshaped buying
- When data marries big ideas: Wpromote acquired Giant Spoon, forming a hybrid agency that fuses data, creative, and full-funnel strategy under one roof
