POSITIVE ECONOMIC SIGNS ARE GOOD NEWS FOR ADVERTISERS

As expected, tariffs played a role in consumer spending last month, but not in the way you might expect. The National Retail Federation reports that spending increased in July, with consumers taking advantage of summer sales to make purchases before tariffs went into effect. Total retail sales (excluding autos and gas) were up 1.45% versus June and 5.89% from July 2024. Another encouraging sign is that July home starts (a measure of home construction) were up by 12.9%, blowing away WSJ’s projection of 2.8% growth. All of this bodes well for advertisers, as it shows that despite it all, consumers are willing to spend, especially on furniture and appliances for all those new houses. (NRF: August 11, 2025; WSJ, August 20, 2025)

BIA LOWERS LOCAL AD FORECAST, BUT…

BIA Advisory Services has revised its Local Advertising Forecast, estimating that local ad revenue will hit $169 billion this year, 1.5% lower than its previous projection of $171.4 billion, and a 2.4% decrease versus 2024. But that’s not really a fair comparison, since last year saw record-breaking political spending. This year’s projection is $168.2 billion when political advertising is excluded (a 3.7% increase from 2024). Even in the face of tariffs, weakening consumer sentiment, and all of the other headwinds, any kind of increase is a sign of strength. It’s all about context. (BIA: August 13, 2025)

STREAMING REACHES RECORD SHARE IN JULY

Nielsen has released its monthly “The Gauge” report, and in July, streaming grew to represent just over 47% of television viewed. Many of those platforms also hit individual records: Netflix reached 8.8%—an all-time high—and had the month’s most-watched title, Squid Game. Boosted by Love Island USA, Peacock tied its non-Olympic record of 1.6%. The Roku Channel (2.8%) and YouTube (13.4%) also set records. They were all helped by the fact that broadcast TV was in summer mode, though ABC World News Tonight did very well, as did FOX’s coverage of the MLB All-Star Game. (Nielsen: August 19, 2025)

AD DOLLARS CONTINUE SHIFT TO STREAMING

More good news for streamers: In this year’s Upfront (for the 2025-26 season), streaming platforms have seen an increase of nearly 18%, reaching an estimated $13.2 billion. Linear TV still took in more revenue at $17.8 billion, but that’s down around 3% from last year. CPMs for both linear and streaming have decreased, with broadcast and cable down 4.1% and 6.8%, respectively, and streaming down 7.6% largely due to its increased inventory. Creeping up behind all of them are FASTs, which offer a more traditional TV-like user experience and efficient CPMs (costs are down 17% versus 2024-25). (Marketing Dive: August 18, 2025)

THIS WEEK IN VIDEO HISTORY

August 18, 1926 – The First Televised Weather Map

Ninety-nine years ago, this week marked the first time a weather map was delivered via television broadcast. How was this possible when TVs didn’t even come into American homes until the 1950s? Well, it’s because it wasn’t broadcast to homes. It was sent from W3XK in Virginia to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). As Hurricane Erin hits the East Coast in the coming days, we can thank this nearly century-old feat for all the detailed information we’ll receive. Learn more about it here.