A HUGE NOVEMBER FOR TV

How do you fit 103 billion minutes into one day? That’s the cumulative amount of TV viewing this past Thanksgiving, per Nielsen’s monthly “The Gauge” report. Turkey Day also marked the second-highest level of linear streaming, coming in behind this year’s Super Bowl Sunday. The report showed that sports’ share of broadcast viewing reached an all-time record of 37% in November, despite representing just 3% of the month’s broadcast content. (Nielsen: December 16, 2025)

A CLOSER LOOK AT HOLIDAY SPENDING

Early consumer data looks good for the holiday season, with retail sales up 1% and unit demand holding steady. It’s when you examine what they’re buying that things get more interesting. They’re shopping for essentials like food and beverages, which are up 2% in dollars spent and 1% in units purchased. Discretionary purchases, such as gifts, have actually declined by 2% in spending and 4% in units. There is hope for Super Saturday (the last Saturday before Christmas), with nearly 160 million consumers planning to turn out in search of deals. (MediaPost: December 16, 2025)

PAY TV SUBSCRIPTIONS ARE… UP!

After a lengthy trend of declines, the number of linear pay TV subscribers increased in Q3 2025. While traditional MVPD operators continued to see decreases, they were buoyed by vMVPDs like YouTube TV and Hulu Live TV, and the overall total is up by 303,000 subs. Some of this may be seasonal and tied to the start of the football season, but for now, it’s a positive sign. (TVTech: December 10, 2025)

HOW TO PREPARE FOR POLITICAL AD IMPACT

Political spending for next year’s midterm elections is expected to get close to $11 billion, with much of that earmarked for Local TV. With redistricting, contentious down-ballot races, and big PAC budgets, securing TV inventory will be more challenging than ever for advertisers. Alaina Donnellon, SVP of Local Media and Print/OOH at Active International, helps make sense of it all and offers some solutions for marketers. (TVNewsCheck: December 15, 2025)

The Simpsons has become so ingrained in our culture, it’s easy to forget that it began as an unassuming holiday special. After three seasons of short interstitials during The Tracey Ullman Show, their first episode premiered in 1989, starting with “Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire” (aka “The Simpsons Christmas Special”). Since then, we’ve gotten another 800 episodes, plus a movie (with a second in development) and many millions of dollars worth of merch. Homer, Marge, and the kids have been renewed through 2029—their 40^th season.