John Cassillo

Super Bowl

SAGE, Why Were Super Bowl Ads Less Funny In 2026?

As already covered in this space, Super Bowl LX's ads were significantly less funny in 2026. iSpot Creative Assessment data showed that after three straight years of 70% of ads scoring for humor, "funny" scores declined all the way to 48% in 2026. But why the

SPORTS

Bad Bunny Bounces To Big Super Bowl On Instagram

Part of Bad Bunny's major appeal as a Super Bowl halftime performer was his Gen Z-focused audience. Before the game, data from Tubular Labs revealed that nearly 71% of Bad Bunny's YouTube audience was Gen Z, and those viewers were also likely to create content about

SPORTS

Super Bowl LX Ads Get Serious

After years of laughs leading the way during the Super Bowl, this year's game got a bit more serious – or at least a lot less funny. Data from iSpot's Creative Assessment survey showed that just 48% of Super Bowl ads scored for "funny" in

CREATOR ECONOMY

Smosh Pit’s Ascent To Teens’ Top YouTube Channel

Over the last year, Smosh Pit’s U.S. YouTube watch-time among 13-to-17 year-olds has ballooned by 60%, and the channel is now No. 1 for that age group on the platform. * The trick has been a consistent output (30-40 videos per month) over the last year, and a good

CREATOR ECONOMY

Streamers End Year at Parity Pushing Promos

Some of the top streaming services spent December pushing show and movie promos, reaching similar numbers of unique U.S. YouTube viewers in the process. * Data from Tubular Labs shows that Peacock, Netflix, Disney+ and HBO Max all closed the year reaching between 25 million and 29 million domestic YouTube

CREATOR ECONOMY

Content Creator Ad Pay Surges 103% Since 2022

Even as celebrity ad usage and pay have increased in recent years, creators are also seeing their own surge at the same time – with pay rising by 103% since 2022. Data from Extreme Reach’s new report, XR State of Pay, details how some creators are getting paid at similar

SPORTS

Winter Sports Win Social Video Gold, Even Without Olympics

Every four years, the Winter Olympics bring a surge of global attention for niche sports. But the burst of interest isn't limited to just Olympics years. Data from Tubular Labs reveals that winter sports remain a hot topic even in non-Olympic years. * Last year, ice skating videos drove

TV ADVERTISING

2025's Top Networks By Retail Ad Conversion Lift

In 2025, measurement evolved from a post-campaign scorecard to a more active and optimized approach: Did this ad placement generate in-person and/or online sales lift? By shifting ad budgets based on real-world outcomes, advertisers are turning media planning into a better engine for revenues. Data from iSpot's

CREATOR ECONOMY

Google’s 'Year In Search' Tops U.S. YouTube Reach

Google’s “Year In Search” has become a viral event every year across TV and social media, and the brand made the most of the 2025 recap in December. Data from Tubular Labs shows that Google was the No. 1 creator (brand or otherwise) on YouTube by U.S. unique

Advertising

Ad Production Expands Beyond California, New York

New York and California continue to lead commercial ad production market share, but other regional hubs have also emerged around the country as a growing reflection of changes in how/where work gets done. Extreme Reach’s new report, XR State of Pay, details these new geographic shifts, which could

SPORTS

NFL Season's Top Advertisers: Insurance Wins

On the field, this NFL season was one filled with parity and the unexpected – especially without one clearly dominant team and the long-successful Chiefs stumbling to their first losing season in 15 years. The added intrigue seemed to pay off for TV networks and advertisers as well. On the advertiser

CREATOR ECONOMY

77% Of Last Year's YouTube Views Came Via Shorts

Short-form video is here to stay, and is only expanding by the year as viewers flock to formats like YouTube Shorts in droves. Over on TVREV, we shared Tubular Labs data indicating that over three quarters – 77% – of global YouTube views came from short-form videos under one minute long in

CREATOR ECONOMY

MrBeast Averaged 206 Million Views Per YouTube Upload In 2025

Social video sites generated nearly 200 trillion views in 2025, with many of those occurring on YouTube. And while brands and media companies have continued to spend on platforms like YouTube as a way to connect directly with audiences/fans, individual creators are still dominating views. Data from Tubular Labs

Site Traffic

BBC Accounts For One-Third Of Most Engaging Stories Of 2025

The most engaging stories of 2025 were some of what you'd expect – and plenty that you may not. But one of the bigger takeaways from Chartbeat's annual list of top stories is that certain publishers intrinsically understood how to both tell dynamic stories that readers were

TV ADVERTISING

Holiday TV Ads' Strong Head Start

This year, holiday TV ads got off to their strongest start since at least 2022, as brands extended the shopping season into early October. Data from iSpot – first shared with The Wall Street Journal – shows that holiday-related national linear TV ad spend was up over 13% year-over-year dating back to

CREATOR ECONOMY

Audience Overlap Spotlights TikTok’s Cultural Import

The following is a selection from Brandon Katz of Greenlight Analytics Though we're long past a time when TikTok was considered an exclusively "young" platform that existed apart from the rest of culture and social media, it's still worth digging into just how big

TV ADVERTISING

Pfizer's Super Bowl Spot Remains Knockout By Ad Likeability

Pfizer's 2025 Super Bowl ad, "Knock Out," was a big winner after the Big Game in February. And it winds up the same held true at the end of the year, too. A new report from iSpot showcases top creatives of 2025 by a variety of

CREATOR ECONOMY

Going Deep On Policy With GoodFellows

The Hoover Institution (located on Stanford’s campus) has found significant YouTube success lately, not by embracing Shorts or some viral trend outside of its subject area – but instead leaning into deep policy discussions that are defining our time, while getting viewers to tune in for extended periods. Data from

CREATOR ECONOMY

DJ Vlad Gets More Watch-Time Per Viewer Than Legacy Media

Former DJ Vladislav Lyubovny averaged 40.6 minutes watched per unique U.S. viewer on YouTube last month, while leaning into longer-form interviews and clips that hooked and then kept people’s attention for extended periods. Vlad primarily interviews figures in the music and hip hop communities on his channel,

Site Traffic

AI-Assisted Headlines Generating Click-Through Rate Lift

In its best use cases, AI can generate significant efficiencies across a variety of industries. And despite valid concerns around how AI will impact site traffic, publishers are also finding success with AI-assisted headlines to generate higher click-through rate lift. Data from Chartbeat shares more around how its Headline Testing

CREATOR ECONOMY

How LEGO Built a Winning Strategy with YouTube Shorts

LEGO’s building something huge on YouTube, and it’s primarily out of Shorts. Data from Tubular Labs highlights how the toy brand has emphasized YouTube Shorts to hit new highs in terms of both unique U.S. viewers and minutes watched. LEGO’s 14.1 million YouTube viewers ranked

TV ADVERTISING

B2B Brands Bet On Soccer For TV Ad Conversions

Despite limited ad breaks during soccer matches, the sport was still a strong source of online lift conversions for B2B brands during Q3 2025. Data from iSpot's Q3 Unified TV & Video Ad Snapshot reveals the programs that delivered for B2B, with soccer and other live sports largely

SPORTS

Capital One Leads Brands Banking On Baseball Ads

On Saturday, the Los Angeles Dodgers won a thrilling game seven to take home their second consecutive World Series title over the Toronto Blue Jays. And while L.A. took home the win on the field, the extensive series had some big winners off the field as well in the

TV ADVERTISING

Big Box Shoppers Are Big On Watching Broadcast TV

The price tag attached to broadcast programming – especially live sports – may be high. But for many industries, it's also warranted because of the reach it provides intended audiences. Case-in-point? Big box retailer shoppers were most likely to watch Big 4 networks and sports in September 2025, according to

TV ADVERTISING

What Drove TV Ad Purchase Intent In Q3?

Understanding audience reach is one part of the larger equation for TV advertisers. Crucially, brands need to understand whether ads are actually spurring an intent to purchase products or services – and what's fueling that desire within a given ad. Data from iSpot's new Q3 2025 Unified