OPERATORS ARE MOVING PAY-TV TO THE INTERNET

19. 7. 2026 According to a new analysis, 55 per cent of European households will have a direct pay-TV subscription by the end of the year, which is just 1.6 percentage points more than five years ago. However, behind this stable figure lie significant national differences as well as a growing shift towards OTT streaming.

BACK-TO-SCHOOL SHOPPERS ARE NOT IGNORING AI

17. 7. 2026 Advertising and marketing hype has become heavily saturated with the term "agentic buying" for back-to-school purchases, but the distinction between actual transactional data and futuristic projection only becomes more blurred as the season gets underway.

MAJORITY OF BACK-TO-SCHOOL SHOPPERS GET A HEAD START ON THE SEASON

14. 7. 2026 Consumers are getting an early start on back-to-school shopping, with 62% of shoppers having already started shopping for the school year by early July, according to the annual survey released today by the National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics. While the figure is down slightly from 67% at the same point in 2025, it remains significantly higher than the 55% reported in 2024.

MASCOTS ARE BACK, BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW THEM

14. 7. 2026 Future-focused brands know that mascots can embody a brand and bring it to life.

STREAMERS STEP UP MOBILE STRATEGY AS SHORT-FORM VIDEO RESHAPES VIEWING HABITS, VEED ANALYTICS SAYS

8. 7. 2026 Traditional streaming platforms are overhauling their mobile apps with short-form video features as they seek to challenge the dominance of social platforms such as YouTube and Instagram, according to new research from veed analytics.

SPORTS KEEPS VIEWERS CONNECTED TO TRADITIONAL TELEVISION

6. 7. 2026 Inscape's Q1 2026 data shows sports viewing grew to 1.8 hours weekly, but traditional TV's dominance is slipping as streaming claimed 12% of sports time—up from 11.5% a year prior.

FIVE MARKETING TRUTHS: RITSON AND SHARP REACHED A CONSENSUS IN CANNES

23. 6. 2026 Mark Ritson and Byron Sharp are among the most prominent and most frequently cited figures in contemporary marketing. At the Cannes Lions festival, their rare joint appearance was based on a simple premise: given that they are known for frequently competing against one another, are there any issues on which they can actually agree?

THE WORLD CUP WILL CAPTURE YOUNGER CONSUMERS’ ATTENTION AND BUDGETS

8. 6. 2026 Many companies are betting on the World Cup to capture consumers’ attention, build awareness, and drive spending.

LG RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS GROWING ROLE OF TV HOME SCREENS IN FILM DISCOVERY

4. 6. 2026 The smart TV home screen is becoming an increasingly important tool for film marketers, influencing both cinema attendance and at-home viewing decisions, according to new research from LG Ad Solutions.

STREAMING VIEWERS WAIT LONGER FOR RETURNING ORIGINALS, SAYS AMPERE

27. 5. 2026 Viewing of Stranger Things rose 300% in the second half of 2025 ahead of its fifth and final season.

STUDY: AI LABELING DOES NOT HURT VIDEO AD PERFORMANCE

22. 5. 2026 MediaScience tested four AI labeling approaches as governments and platforms start to require disclosure.

THE POPULARITY OF LIVE STREAMING CHANNELS IS GROWING, WITH MORE PLAYERS JOINING THE FRINGE

21. 5. 2026 Streaming services on the Czech market are expanding their range of live channels, which are becoming a complement to their libraries of films and TV series. SkyShowtime and Sweet.tv are adding dozens of genre-specific ‘live’ channels that offer a continuous stream of content without the need to actively select individual titles.

THE END OF THE ‘LIVING ROOM ALTAR’. HOW GEN Z HAS DISRUPTED TRADITIONAL TV VIEWING

13. 5. 2026 For the baby boomer generation, the television remains the focal point of the home and a digital ‘altar’ around which furniture is arranged and daily life organised. For Generation Z, however, the role of this device has changed dramatically. It is no longer a “window to the world”, but often merely the largest and, paradoxically, the least-used screen in the home. This is not, however, a mere change in taste, but a complete shift in approach to content consumption.

WHY NETFLIX, DISNEY AND GOOGLE TV ARE ADOPTING THE VERTICAL VIDEO FORMAT

7. 5. 2026 Technological evolution often brings with it a number of paradoxes. Streaming services, which originally assumed that viewers would watch digital entertainment primarily on a large screen, are now beginning to experiment with mobile formats, including within the CTV landscape.

STREAMING DOMINATES THE SUBSCRIPTION MARKET, WITH GROWING INTEREST IN CHEAPER PACKAGES THAT INCLUDE ADS

5. 5. 2026 New data shows not only a growing number of subscriptions per user, but also a shift in behaviour, with people increasingly accepting adverts in exchange for a lower price. The importance of service bundling, led by HBO Max, is also on the rise, notes Erika Luzsicza of Axocom.

SNEAKER AND HEEL EMOJIS ARE FUELING THE RISE OF ‘VIBE SHOPPING’

21. 4. 2026 As footwear shoppers move away from rigid keywords, new Fast Simon data points to a more visual, mood-driven way of searching online.

STUDY USA: TOP REASON FOR SUBSCRIBING TO PAY TV IS LIVE NEWS AND TV

14. 4. 2026 Parks Associates reports that 33% of subs said they liked the idea of having their content aggregated into one place.

THINKBOX: TV ADVERTISING IS THE MOST TRUSTED MEDIUM

11. 4. 2026 One factor is becoming a clear differentiator in advertising: trust. As uncertainty grows and consumer confidence declines, it’s playing an increasingly critical role in shaping brand preference and driving profitability.