Dan Lovinger

This week's column brings up a somewhat controversial concept. The TV broadcasting industry is rapidly evolving into a streaming/addressable/targeted marketplace. Yet 75%-80% of broadcast TV viewing.....content on broadcast TV channels is still being viewed either via OTA or on pay TV. How can broadcasters make the transition to enable the scale of their viewing audiences to participate in the new TV marketplace? It won't be easy in an industry that eschews change. Broadcasters and agencies have been talking about this for years. It's time now to make the transition or get left behind! https://lnkd.in/gqZd4A9i

47

4 Comments

Another week and another article in the media industry trade press exposing the same old story: opaque incremental deals, principal media, and holding groups monetising volume instead of value. https://lnkd.in/eaSmgxpu And let’s be honest — none of this is new. The ANA has been crystal clear: principal media thrives because legacy agencies act as principals, not agents, restricting transparency and prioritising their own margins and bundles over client outcomes . What is hard to understand is that the industry is still pretending to be surprised. 👉 Why are auditors, and pitch consultants still rewarding volume as if it were a proxy for quality? 👉 Why do they measure mainly new business wins and scale instead of the capability to activate innovation before. Volume is the raw material of arbitrage. It’s the fuel of intermediation. It’s the mechanism that allows dark deals and principal trading to flourish. If you value volume, you implicitly value the business model that produces these behaviours. So maybe the industry’s problem isn’t just the deals — it’s the metrics that keep validating them. When will we shift from measuring “how big” to measuring “how good”? When will we start valuing the capabilities that actually matter to advertisers — strategic talent, data maturity, ethical use of technology, real performance — instead of how much media an agency can push through its pipes? Until that happens, don’t expect change, expect demise, because the incentives are still pointed in the wrong direction.

19

Changing consumption habits in sports will shift the industry’s media landscape over the next fours years, according to CEO of PCP Capital Partners Amanda Staveley. She spoke with Francine Lacqua on the sidelines of the #QatarEconomicForum bloom.bg/4dveXVa

9

1 Comment

The LPGA's new media deal represents a significant leap forward for women's golf and it's impossible not to be excited about what's coming. Starting next year, the production quality will transform dramatically: - 50% more cameras than 2025, delivering comprehensive hole and shot coverage - Enhanced slow-motion capabilities and 3x more microphones to capture the atmosphere and emotion of competition - Drone coverage showcasing both venue beauty and player skill - Expanded athlete storytelling, including broadcast walk-and-talks with players and caddies That last point deserves emphasis. Storytelling has been severely underutilized in women's golf, and it could be transformative for the tour's growth. When done right, compelling narratives are incredibly powerful, but they require thoughtful execution. I'm less convinced about the linear strategy. CNBC airing live golf feels like a step sideways when streaming platforms and YouTube should be the priority at this stage. Still, more distribution rarely hurts. Here's my concern: while these domestic improvements are impressive, the LPGA currently only provides a backhaul feed for US tournaments, no enhanced feed, no true world feed. International partners deserve better. I hope some of this investment extends beyond domestic borders to create a more robust product globally. The bigger question: Will we see similarly bold thinking applied to international media distribution? As someone who misses watching (and occasionally calling) LPGA tournaments, I'm hoping this signals the beginning of a broader transformation in how the tour approaches global media strategy. Women's golf deserves world-class coverage everywhere, not just in one market.

12

44.8%…well this is significant pushed out by Front Office Sports Streaming’s record-total TV usage in May, according to Nielsen. It’s the first time that streaming TV outpaced the combined share of broadcast and cable TV. Streaming accounted for 44.8% of TV viewership in May 2025, says Nielsen, compared to a combined 44.2% for broadcast (20.1%) and cable TV (24.1%).

10

2 Comments

FTC Drops Antitrust Case Against Omnicom Group Last week the FTC dropped their #antitrust objection to Omnicom Media Group acquiring Interpublic Group (IPG), a tacit acknowledgment that the two companies, combined, are operating in a highly competitive market and should be allowed to pair. To put this into perspective: The top four agencies, while very large on their own, WPP, Omnicom Media Group, Publicis Groupe, and Interpublic Group (IPG) had total revenue in 2024 less than Google’s Q1 2025 quarterly revenue (respectively $59.3B vs $66.9B). Years ago companies like Google and Meta were not competitive to agencies. But today it would be fair to say the largest tech companies are trying to encroach on what an agency does. Meta, for example, recently announced a new suite of AI-powered tools in Facebook to make ad creation simpler and sophisticated. The Wall Street Journal wrote in June: "Meta Aims to Fully Automate Ad Creation Using AI" and Joanna Stern showed just how far AI is come. Sir Martin Sorrell - WPP alum and CEO of S4 Capital Group (Monks) - spoke with journalists Mike Bird and Ethan Wu from The Economist last week and commented - bluntly - on the likely contractions coming to agencies due to #AI ("Robo-Copy - Will AI eat the ad industry?").  While he noted that AI will be an opportunity for agencies, he also shared “I think the impact on employment is going to be significant.” “I think the changes are as significant clearly as the internet or smartphone, probably more so.”  Given these emerging changes in competition for agencies, more #consolidation is likely to come - and should be allowed to happen.  #Agencies should have the freedom to innovate, acquire, and invest as needed to compete.

13

2 Comments

Sports Scoop Sunday Rundown on State of Streaming 🆘 - The E.W. Scripps Company brings PWHL into 95% of U.S. homes 📺 - Linear and IP still control the eyeballs per Josh Matthews, MMC 🍨 - How Amy Scheer has built a career of launching sports leagues 🏒 Get the Sunday edition here --> https://lnkd.in/evwUn3j5

6

1 Comment

Every media leader has had that moment: “If just a few of these big deals close, we’ll be fine.” The problem? Hope isn’t a forecasting strategy. Real forecast confidence comes from understanding what’s actually happening in the pipeline, not what we want to happen. When leaders rely on activity signals instead of gut feelings, forecasting becomes a tool for smarter decisions (not a quarterly stress test). If you’re tired of surprises at the end of the quarter, this perspective from LeadG2's Isha Bell is worth a read. 👇 #MediaSales #RevenueForecasting #SalesLeadership #PredictableRevenue #MediaManagement https://hubs.ly/Q042k6ND0

2

Destination Marketing is an important component of the marketing and advertising industry. In this Portada interview, find out how Stephanie Bittner Byington, CMO, Visit Seattle approaches the opportunity, particularly in relationship to the upcoming #2026 Soccer World Cup as Seattle is a host city. https://lnkd.in/eaKh-8dk

97

4 Comments

Thrilled to announce NCM’s new partnership with TransUnion, bringing cinema exposure data into cross-channel attribution for the first time. This unlocks measurable outcomes, clearer performance insights and real proof of how the big screen drives results across the full media mix. Today’s marketers need clarity, accountability and innovation. NCM is meeting that challenge head on by redefining cinema as a modern, data-driven channel that delivers both brand impact and measurable performance. #DemocratizingCinemaData https://lnkd.in/eQuBshHe

9

Global Streamer spend on sports rights is expected to grow in 2026 - good news all round? Not necessarily On the face of it, growing streamer spend is good for the Sports Industry. However, there are several underlying trends and issues beneath the headline numbers which mean that it would be unwise for all sport IP owners to bank on a cheque from the streamers. ➡️Firstly, we know that much of the headline spend will be skewed towards a small number of top tier (primarily US) sports. The aggregate figure of $14bn picks up the first full year of the new all time high NBA deal, plus the Paramount UFC deal. These two deals plus Amazons spend on NFL account for nearly one third of the total. ➡️Then there’s the question of the long-term sustainability of the sports streaming model. Peacock, which has spent heavily on NFL plus Soccer (Premier League), Golf and other rights is still losing $500m per Quarter - ok it’s part of Comcast but they won’t tolerate these losses forever. Paramount+ has moved heavily into sports (including Champions league in major European markets) but we wait to see how long this spending spree will last, particular if they don’t get WBD which they need in order to reach scale in streaming. ➡️Then there’s DAZN - the second biggest contributor to the total streamer outlay. I’m yet to be convinced by the global sports streaming model. They are getting closer to profitability, but have spent $6.7bn in the process and have had to rely on buying an earnings accretive cable business (Foxtel) and exiting (or attempting to exit) markets where they can’t turn a profit eg Ligue 1, Belgian pro league. ➡️So what about the sports properties - particularly those in the mid tier with a more local / regionalised footprint - that aren’t getting a chunk of this streamer spend, what should they do? ➡️The good news is that the linear broadcast model, increasingly sustained by advertising, still holds in most major markets eg itv in the uk has just splashed out on more rugby rights. There’s DTC - working well for more niche sports eg volleyball, equine sports (both of which align to the CVC investment playbook). Then YouTube as an incremental (ie non cannibalistic) reach play, and finally there’s the growing value of clips and highlights - e.g. weekly views to PL highlights on the BBCs digital platforms have now hit 1.5m, more than offsetting the decline in match of the day viewership ➡️So, the growth in streamer spend may not benefit all sports, but there are many more audience and commercial levers to pull if you know where to look https://lnkd.in/eUiDtPMX

5

2 Comments

Today, Genius Sports announced the acquisition of Legend, a global sports and gaming media network that connects sports fans with sportsbooks and advertisers at the moments they are most likely to act. Legend works with more than 800 customers across owned and operated media brands, hosted solutions and content syndication with tier-one publishers, including Sports Illustrated and Yahoo Sports, as well as many of the world’s largest sportsbook and iGaming operators. This matters for three reasons: 1. We are bringing together a proven leader in official sports data and technology with a scaled, performance-driven sports media and advertising platform.   2. The financial scale and profitability we previously expected to reach in 2028 will be largely achieved in 2026. That means, for 2026, on an annualized basis, we expect to deliver approximately $1.1 billion of Revenue and $320-330 million of Adjusted EBITDA.   3. Together, we are building a single platform that combines official data, audience and inventory to deliver measurable outcomes for advertisers, sportsbooks and rights holders. From our listing on the NYSE to our partnerships with the National Football League (NFL), The Premier League and hundreds more, as well as a growing portfolio of major acquisitions, there have been many milestones in the 25+ year history of Genius Sports. This is the latest. Find out more here: https://lnkd.in/dUiaXWT5

563

15 Comments

As sports moments multiply, fan attention is fragmenting across screens, highlights, feeds, and platforms. But Audacy’s new State of Audio: Sports Fandom reveals something clear: while TV still delivers the big moments, sports audio has become the daily home for diehard fans. Check out our latest State of Audio!

9

Great piece from fellow ‘operative’ David Dembowski on the emergence of linear streaming & live sports. Despite all the hype about “the decline of linear” - the entire linear model is being re-imagined before our eyes via streaming and CTV. For anyone who’s studied the trend it’s clear that linear ratings are shifting more than they are declining. “Measurement” just hasn’t caught up to the rapid shift in consumption behavior, particularly among younger audiences. It’s the “zero-cell” problem all over again. https://lnkd.in/exeD5U3X

33

1 Comment

The Warner Bros. Discovery bidding process is more than a corporate headline. It is a preview of where the power is shifting in live sports media. If WBD ends up sold, split or absorbed into a larger conglomerate, it tightens the field of true buyers even more. And when the pool of bidders shrinks, the leverage moves with it. For years leagues enjoyed a seller’s market. Networks needed inventory. Streamers needed growth. Live sports was the only thing that could hold cable together. That created an environment where asking prices kept climbing. We are not in that world anymore. The biggest media companies are consolidating, trimming costs and focusing only on assets that fit long term strategy. If WBD becomes part of a larger entity, that is one more giant controlling a massive share of distribution. Fewer giants means fewer bidders. Fewer bidders means tougher negotiations for everyone, including leagues that once had the upper hand. This is the real story behind the WBD situation. It is not just about who buys them. It is about what the next decade of sports rights will look like when only a small group of global players have the size, the reach and the willingness to spend. Live sports will still get deals. They just may not get the deals they were used to when the buyers needed them more than they need the buyers today. #sportsbiz #livesports #streaming

13

- TV holds attention for longer and leaves a lasting impression - Viewer attention costs less on TV. In a recent survey I conducted with Dominic Finney of Ascentinel, 8 out of 10 client and agency budget holders said they were confident that premium video delivers value – despite high CPMs. The research by Peter Field and Karen Nelson-Field strongly supports this view. Big screen, quality content, and a premium ad environment deliver superior results. It’s the kind of research all media needs – and it’s good to see it. Here’s a gold nugget from the article: "We need at least 2.5 seconds of attention before any memories are reliably created. Less attention than this, and memory impacts can actually be negative for secondary brands, whose ads are often misattributed to the brand leader – probably worse than not advertising at all!" What the research doesn’t cover is the opportunity that high-attention environments offer for quality ad creative. Longer, brand-led storytelling is a bit out of fashion at the moment, with the focus on “shorter is better”. But based on this research – is that a massive miss? At DAIVID 🦩 Creative Data, we’ve seen that longer cuts which take time to deliver an emotional payload – especially those that go beyond the category norm – are often the ones that cut through the noise, create memories, and ultimately drive outcomes. https://lnkd.in/eKy53FqC

8

In this week's Unofficial Partner guest blog, Ophir Zardok, Head of Sports Strategy at LiveU shares his views that in the age of hyper-connectivity, live video has become a critical tool for sports organisations looking to deepen fan engagement, strengthen brand identity, and expand their reach beyond traditional audiences. Full blog post here: https://lnkd.in/exNs8V-k

7

As brands and agencies brace for economic volatility, proactive steps are essential for ensuring media investments remain effective. From scenario planning and prioritizing transparency to competitive intelligence, it’s vital to prepare for varying economic conditions. Historical insights show that brands maintaining advertising spending fare better and recover faster. Marketing leaders must keep tone sensitivity in mind as consumers become more deliberate about spending. Adaptation is key. #MarketingStrategy #EconomicUncertainty #Advertising #BrandGrowth #MediaInvestments #Leadership #ScenarioPlanning

28

1 Comment