Articles by: "Matt Krepsik, CEO – MediaRadar"

Media companies: Here’s how to win big with brand partners

July 21, 2025 Matt Krepsik, CEO – MediaRadar

For media executives, streaming used to be a thorn in the side of linear TV. Not anymore. With consumers continuing to cut the cord and major players like Netflix, Amazon, and Disney+ finally adding ad-supported tiers to their offerings, streaming has become the new front line of not just TV programming, but TV advertising too.

I was in Cannes a few weeks ago to meet with clients and understand their priorities for the year ahead. We had just come out with a new report on the rise of streaming TV and shared some impressive top numbers with the industry. But, unsurprisingly, they wanted to know where growth was most likely to come from for them.

It’s all well and good that auto, retail, finance, and pharma companies are spending over $1 billion on streaming platforms, they said, but which of those (and a dozen other) industries should they appeal to first? What types of advertisers within those industries might be most likely to respond? And for our media clients with both linear and streaming properties, how should they balance their media sales efforts between streaming and traditional TV?

To kick start the conversation, we decided to use our MediaRadar data to compare what brands have been spending on streaming platforms over the past few years to what they’ve been spending on linear TV. Mind you, not just linear TV but what most consider the bastion of linear TV: NFL broadcasts. The early results are remarkable and might affect how you think about your next media sales pitch.

Why NFL advertisers?

NFL games — and live sports in general — are tentpole events keeping traditional TV alive. However, streaming sports deals are multiplying and starting to lift media companies beyond major broadcasters too. Most football advertisers are in it for the reach and are well entrenched in linear TV advertising. However, many others are starting to recognize streaming as a natural extension of their traditional TV investments and a way to take their targeting capabilities to new heights. We thought that the intersection of those two advertising universes — streaming TV on one hand, and NFL games on linear TV on the other — would offer interesting contrasts and actionable insights for streaming media executives at a crucial time in their platforms’ development.

Another reason why this comparison is interesting is that advertisers spend about as much on NFL linear TV broadcasts ($8.5 billion during the 2024-25 season) as they do across all programs on streaming platforms ($7 billion during those same six months). So we’re not talking about two wildly different media channels with very unique advertising patterns and dynamics. It’s not streaming against the whole of linear TV and its $60 billion advertising market, for instance.

The overlap here is substantial. Figure 1 shows that between early August 2024 and early February 2025 (from the NFL pre-season to Super Bowl LIX), 23% of all the brands in our analysis advertised both on streaming platforms and during an NFL game on linear TV.

**Figure 1: Overlap between streaming and linear TV advertisers during the 2024-25 NFL season**
*Source: MediaRadar*

Football TV advertisers make clutch streaming partners

Of all the brands that advertised on streaming platforms in that six-month period, roughly half aired commercials during NFL games on linear TV as well. That’s been a fairly consistent picture over the years, as Figure 2 illustrates. The share of brands that advertise exclusively on linear TV has also been shrinking every year.

**Figure 2: Share of the number of streaming and linear TV advertisers during the last four NFL seasons**
*Source: MediaRadar*

There’s still a long way to go to convince all of those brands to give streaming a chance. However, those that have made the jump already contribute the lion’s share of streaming TV revenues. Figure 3 shows that they represented 23% of all advertisers during the 2024-25 NFL season but accounted for 64% of all media spend in our analysis (and 87% of all streaming media spend).

**Figure 3: Share of streaming and NFL media spend on linear TV during the last four NFL seasons**
*Source: MediaRadar*

Move up the chains

What type of brand should your media sales team pursue first? On average, beer & wine brands spent $1.2 million on all streaming platforms from Aug ‘24 to Feb ‘25, but they spent nearly $7.4 million during NFL games on linear TV. There’s plenty of room to grow. During that same period, telecom advertisers spent $2.7 million on streaming and $6.5 million on NFL TV broadcasts. Car manufacturers: $4.5 million and $11.7 million. Figure 4 shows the current gap in media spend for a typical brand in a number of sports-friendly industries.

**Figure 4: Average media spend per advertiser during the 2024-25 NFL season (million dollars)**
*Source: MediaRadar*

In some sectors like restaurants, pharma, or insurance, streaming budgets are already on par with football budgets on linear TV, but they’re well behind in many other popular sectors. As more NFL games and other sports franchises transition to streaming, there’s a clear opportunity for media sales teams to bring those budgets closer together.

That doesn’t mean that streaming growth will always come at the expense of linear TV, of course. Between Aug ‘24 and Feb ‘25, Modelo tripled its streaming budget (from $4.4 million to $14.5 million) while also increasing its NFL linear TV budget by 20% (from $39.4 million to $47.2 million). But if you want to move the chains for your digital platform, you could do a lot worse than sports advertisers new to streaming and used to spending a lot on TV.

With the 2025-26 NFL season right around the corner, it’s time to study the field and draw up a winning playbook.

Note: MediaRadar’s streaming tracking expanded to include Netflix during H2 2022 and Disney+ during H1 2023. Insignificant variance to the number of streaming advertisers. Analysis not adjusted and reflective of current conditions.

Advertising | Revenue | Supporter Spotlight | Video

3 signs that streaming TV has come of age with advertisers

May 19, 2025 Matt Krepsik, CEO – MediaRadar

Hulu and Netflix’s streaming services turn 18 this year. This marks a symbolic coming of age for two pioneers that took two very different paths but nevertheless freed us from appointment TV and — let’s not hold back — reinvented television in the process.

The coming of age is not only symbolic. If you’ve been in the TV business for a while, like I have, you must have felt a wind of change over the past year with the rapid rise and adoption of ad-supported streaming. In meetings with advertisers, agencies and media companies leading up to the TV upfronts this year, I’ve been struck by how much streaming was now on everyone’s minds. Not as a distraction, or even an add-on, but as a central component in upfront negotiations. Streaming has matured into a strong, accountable media channel old enough to vote, get married, and bring its own fireworks to the negotiating table.

The numbers back it up. At MediaRadar, we’re monitoring ad spend and campaign creatives across all major media channels 24/7. We’re seeing three big signs of streaming’s coming of age: in how growth is spread across most platforms, not just one or two; in the number of industries embracing it; and in the diversity of companies signing on as advertisers.

We just released The 2025 MediaWatch® Streaming TV Report to quantify recent US trends and help advertisers make data-informed decisions about their streaming plans. Let me sum up what we found in those three key growth areas.

Streaming advertising spend is growing across virtually all platforms

It’s going to take some time to see this year’s upfront deals reflected in the data. However, a full-year analysis of streaming budgets over the past couple of years shows clearly what trendline we’re on. We measured ad revenue for nine top streaming platforms over that period and found that it increased 17% in 2024 to reach $12.9 billion.

Hulu led the way with close to $4.5 billion in ad revenue last year, nearly 3X as much as second-place Peacock TV — a clear reflection of its first-mover advantage and experience in ad sales. With a growth of 15% year-over-year, the OG ad-supported platform isn’t resting on its laurels either, but Peacock TV and Max are growing a clip faster (+19% and +20% respectively), while Tubi TV (+27%) and Paramount+ (+31%) are racing to close the gap.

As for Netflix, its comparatively low growth rate in 2024 (+8%) had more to do with the company’s cautious rollout so far. (It has more to lose by cannibalizing its considerable SVOD base) than its full potential as an advertising platform. But it’s turning up the heat in 2025: Despite a challenging economic outlook, Netflix is aiming to double its ad revenue this year.

A wide cross-section of industries are embracing streaming

Advertising on streaming platforms has gotten a lot more polished in the past 12 months. Targeting, creativity, and frequency control have improved dramatically — even though I’m seeing a lot of State Farm ads featuring Jason Bateman these days. But then again, I like Jason Bateman and I’m due for an insurance quote, so they might be onto something.

Speaking of insurance, finance & insurance firms topped the advertisers list on streaming TV last year with nearly $1.7 billion in media spend, followed by retail ($1.2 billion) and pharma ($1.1 billion). Among the leading industries, pharma, restaurants, professional services, and non-prescription remedies are all growing at a YOY rate of at least 20%.

Can you guess what brand spent the most on streaming TV in 2024? That was Pfizer, with a budget of $140 million (+11%) and at a time the company was slashing costs. But even more telling is the fact that 29 brands spent more than $50 million on streaming last year, and they came from eight different industries. Streaming already represents 25% of total TV spend for auto manufacturers, 26% for retailers, and 31% for travel companies. It’s definitely not a niche channel anymore.

Streaming appeals to brands of all sizes

The third and final sign of maturity I want to point out is how much streaming has become an appealing option not just for big brands, but for smaller brands too.

While the number of big spenders—those with streaming budgets of at least $50 million—rose 16% last year, the total number of streaming advertisers, both large and small, jumped 29% to nearly 14,000 individual companies. The vast majority of these advertisers—81%—didn’t spend a dime on traditional TV.

To gauge the health of a new medium, we often focus on big news coming from big-name brands signing nine-figure deals. But it’s good to remember how crucial it can be to appeal to the long tail. While the leading brands are using streaming to expand their existing TV strategy, SMBs without the same marketing resources are taking advantage of self-service programmatic tools to experiment with TV advertising, many of them for the first time. Thanks to streaming, thousands of new advertisers are adding TV to their media mix.

Can streaming fend off tariffs and economic uncertainty?

Will streaming continue to grow at the same rate in 2025? Probably not. From consumer confidence to supply chains, pricing, and budgeting pressures, the current economic environment is too uncertain to invite confidence. In fact, most industry analysts have already revised their advertising estimates for the year. Jerome Powell’s remarks at the most recent Fed meeting — “I don’t think we can say which way this will shake out” — weren’t exactly encouraging.

But the fundamentals are finally in place for streaming: strong platforms, near-universal industry support, and high relevance to brands of all sizes. In fact, if advertisers are going to bet on one channel this year, they need to bet on streaming TV, says eMarketer. That’s because CPMs are coming down, streaming ads are successfully threading the needle between digital and traditional advertising, and yes, they’re measurable too.

All grown up indeed.

Advertising | Industry-Research | Revenue | Supporter Spotlight

Are legacy channels starting to hijack digital budgets?

January 20, 2025 Matt Krepsik, CEO – MediaRadar

In the first eight months of 2024, digital channels captured $107 billion in media spending, or nearly two-thirds of all available advertising dollars in the U.S.

Is it the end of the road for legacy advertising channels like print, TV, radio or out-of-home?

Keeping track of media spending

I’ve spent the past 20 years working in advertising, on the buy side, sell side, and right in the middle as a third-party data provider. I can’t recall a time when the industry didn’t predict that digital advertising would one day overtake traditional advertising. In the U.S., that threshold was reached in 2019 — to no one’s surprise — and digital media now accounts for 65% of all media spend around the country. But over the past year, I’ve noticed a fascinating new dynamic at play.

It appears that new digital channels aren’t stealing media dollars from traditional channels like they might have done in the past, but from other digital channels.

At MediaRadar, we monitor millions of brands around the clock and keep track of their day-to-day media investment decisions. We help advertisers understand what their competitors are up to and publish regular public reports on the state of the industry. We just released a new comprehensive report that shows that digital channels are continuing to grow, but at uneven rates, and that some traditional channels are surprisingly resilient, against all odds. For media executives looking to stand out in an incredibly crowded media environment, the strategic implications are momentous.

Digital channels dominate media spending budgets

There’s no question that digital media still dominates media budgets across most industries — from CPG to department stores, automotive, quick-service restaurants (QSRs), tech, or financial services. Digital channels like paid search, mobile, or paid social offer advertisers superior targeting capabilities, immersive user experiences, and a direct link to crucial outcome metrics like sales and new subscriptions.

Paid Search, for instance, grew 6% for the Jan-Aug 2024 period compared to the same period in 2023. Mobile grew 9% and display advertising 20%, buoyed by their versatility along the whole consumer journey (from top-funnel brand awareness campaigns to bottom-funnel sales conversions) and a mature programmatic ecosystem.

Traditional channels show resilience

Traditional channels aren’t growing as fast but they’re holding their ground. Linear TV, for instance, experienced a 3% increase in spending in 2024, driven by the continued appeal of high-profile sporting events and record-breaking political ad spending. These events draw large, engaged audiences to linear TV, and that won’t stop anytime soon now that TV rights for the NFL and NBA have been renegotiated.

Local radio remained relatively stable too (it declined by 1% in 2024), offering consistent reach for both local and national advertisers. Its ability to target specific geographic areas with tailored messaging continues to make it invaluable for local businesses.

Where to draw the line?

What should we make of new media channels like over-the-top (OTT) streaming, podcasts, or retail media? Are they new digital channels or digital reincarnations of traditional media channels with a different distribution method?

We’re starting to see some evidence that much of the money being poured into OTT these days isn’t coming from linear TV budgets anymore but from other digital channels, like online video. Similarly, podcasts aren’t cannibalizing local radio, and retail media isn’t growing at the expense of in-store advertising. Those new channels are as much a threat to digital media dollars as they are to traditional media dollars.

Traditional media channels are reinventing themselves for the digital age, and the line is starting to blur between traditional and digital media. At the Upfronts and NewFronts this year, streaming will be a central part of the conversation, not just a sideshow, and it will be crucial for media executives to offer combined audience packages that integrate the reach of traditional media with the targeting capabilities of streaming platforms.

Cross-channel synergies are the future

With so much fragmentation in the media environment, it’s become extremely difficult for brands to reach their target customers and prospects. Omnichannel marketing has become a top priority for them, which means that media companies need to collaborate more with one another to present a united front — from planning to activation and measurement.

Now more than ever, a well-balanced media mix is crucial for advertisers to maximize reach and engagement. Digital channels like paid search (24% of total media spend), mobile (14%), or paid social (10%) are leading the charge. But traditional media like linear TV (23%), radio (3%), and even print (6%) still hold significant value, especially near the top of the funnel. It’s time to develop more cross-channel synergies so that advertisers may curate a consistent and engaging user experience across all the touchpoints in their media mix, captivate consumers, and nurture long-lasting relationships with them. AI and advanced analytics can help, but only if the strategy is clear.

So yes, after years of digital channels hijacking media dollars from legacy channels, legacy channels are now flipping the script and reinventing themselves on the back of digital channels. In 2025 and beyond, let’s not talk about who is stealing what share of voice from whom anymore. Rather, let us focus on working together to meet advertisers’ objectives and deliver a better all-around consumer experience. The advertising pie will take care of itself.