Streaming media giant Netflix continues to post strong revenue growth, with a 15 percent increase to $9.83 billion in Q3, year-over-year. Net income hit $2.36 billion, a 41 percent increase over the same period last year, though the company is forecasting a Q4 dip, to $1.85 billion. Operating margin was up 30 percent (versus 22 percent during the same period last year). Ad-tier memberships increased by 35 percent for the quarter. Overall, global streaming paid subscriptions are up 14.4 percent in the third quarter, for a total of 282.72 million. Continue reading Netflix Q3 Is ‘Most Profitable’ Quarter Ever, Up by 41 Percent

Reddit is expanding its keyword targeting advertising program, introducing it in more places and adding AI-powered recommendations to help ads appear in the most relevant environments across the platform. Keyword targeting is now available for feed ads in addition to conversations, which were previously the only placement available. Reddit is also launching an AI feature called dynamic audience expansion that works with keyword targeting to place ads before a wider range of viewers based on the objectives of the campaign. Since going public on the NYSE in March, Reddit has been under pressure to increase ad revenue. Continue reading Reddit Drives Precision in Conversation Keyword Ads Using AI

Acting in advance of a California law that goes into effect on January 1, cloud gaming platform Steam has begun posting a notice that its customers are purchasing a license, not a product. The language that appears in the Steam shopping cart now includes the advisory that “purchase of a digital product grants a license for the product on Steam.” Signed into law last month, California’s AB 2426 is categorized a consumer protection law against false advertising for digital goods. Specifically, it requires online sellers provide a “conspicuous” advisory that licenses are limited in duration and can be revoked. Continue reading Steam Preemptively Adds License-Only Terms to Online Store

Meta is rolling out new generative AI advertising tools for video creation on Facebook and Instagram. The expansion to the Advantage+ creative ad suite will become widely available to advertisers in early 2025. The announcement, made at Advertising Week in New York last week, was positioned as a way for marketers to improve campaign performance on Meta’s social platforms. The new tools will allow brands to convert static images into video ads. The company also announced a new full screen video tab for Facebook that feeds short-form Reels with long-form and live-stream content. Continue reading Meta Announces New GenAI Video Tools at Advertising Week

DirecTV is launching a free ad-supported streaming TV platform, MyFree DirecTV, available November 15. At launch, the FAST service will provide viewers with curated content and what DirecTV promises will be “an extensive on-demand library.” Additional channels are slated to join the MyFree DirecTV platform starting in 2025. The service will be offered nationwide via online, mobile and on select smart TVs and streaming devices. The company cites FAST’s earning potential, “generating nearly $8 billion in the U.S. alone this year” as viewers enjoy a free ride amidst escalating subscription fees. Continue reading MyFree DirecTV: FAST Platform Slated to Launch Next Month

Snapchat is now placing advertising on its main Chat tab, with Disney signing aboard as the lead partner with “Sponsored Snaps from Disney.” Taco Bell and McDonald’s are underwriting “Promoted Places.” Previously, Snapchat had kept the Chat tab ad-free. Users will now begin seeing “Sponsored Snaps” proffered by brands beside messages from their friends. “These new placements are a natural extension of the way people already engage with businesses on Snapchat and help advertisers expand their reach with the Snapchat community across two of the most widely and frequently used parts of our service,” explains Snap. Continue reading Snapchat Adds Advertising to Chat Tab with Disney a Sponsor

Freely, the free UK streaming service broadcasters collectively launched in April, has gained a foothold on smart TVs that run Amazon’s Fire TV OS. Backed by the BBC, ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5, Freely combines free live linear channels with on-demand content in an ad-supported streaming environment. Since those broadcasters must, by government charter, offer “programming beneficial to the public interest,” there has been concern around keeping them relevant and accessible in the streaming era. The deal between Freely and a tech giant with a popular OS is seen as a big win. Continue reading Amazon Fire TVs to Carry Freely Streaming in the UK This Fall

Although TikTok has been carrying ads since 2018, it hasn’t really caught on as an advertising vehicle. Now the company is trying to change that by launching Smart+, an AI-powered ad buying tool that is the ByteDance company’s version of Google Performance Max, Meta Advantage+ or Pinterest Performance+. The idea is that by automating campaign management, marketers may be inclined to spend more. Smart+, which launched last week, automates everything from creative development to bidding, targeting and measurement, making ad buying easier on the short-form video app. Continue reading TikTok Intros AI-Driven Ad Campaign Automation with Smart+

Having demonstrated how advertisements in its AI Overviews would work back in May at its Google Marketing Live event, the search giant is now adding the feature for U.S. mobile users and plans to include Google Lens shopping ads “above and alongside visual search results by the end of the year.” “The ways people ask questions today have expanded beyond the search box,” notes Google, explaining the move as a response to that evolution, as artificial intelligence technology has helped consumers use their voice and cameras “to explore the world around them.” Continue reading Google Serving Ads in AI Overviews and Lens Search Results

Pinterest is unveiling AI and automation tools to support advertising campaigns on the platform. At its annual Pinterest Presents global advertiser summit the social platform known for inspiration boards and shopping unveiled a generative background feature for its Pinterest Performance+ suite, allowing advertisers to replace flat backgrounds with “lifestyle imagery” using AI. Launched earlier this year, Pinterest says Performance+ lets advertisers create campaigns in about half the time and is already producing positive results. Now it is rolling out improvements to the feature in time for the holiday shopping season. Continue reading Gen AI Among Pinterest Performance+ Advertising Upgrades

Microsoft announced that its Copilot AI assistant has received a major overhaul, gaining voice and vision capabilities. Copilot also now has a virtual news reader mode to present headlines, as well as the ability to see what you see and to interact in a more conversational manner. Before a general release, these tools will be trialed among a subset of Copilot Pro users “to gather feedback” and make them “better and safer.” Microsoft AI Executive VP and CEO Mustafa Suleyman says the changes herald “a calmer, more helpful and supportive era of technology, quite unlike anything we’ve seen before.” Continue reading Microsoft’s Copilot AI Assistant Update Adds Voice and Vision

Reuters and CNN are among the global news services that will be charging those who want access to their digital content beyond a free quota. Reuters plans to add $1 per week pricing in the U.S., Canada and parts of Europe in the weeks ahead, while CNN is beginning to ask visitors for $4 a month or $30 per year. Vox Media’s popular tech publication The Verge is also said to be considering subscription fees. The outlets are pursuing digital monetization strategies as ad-supported models are increasingly challenging for those who aren’t Google, Meta or Amazon. Continue reading CNN, Reuters Roll Out Consumer Subscriptions and Paywalls

TikTok is updating its Live subscription offering, renaming the monetization offering simply “Subscription,” opening it up to eligible non-Live creators in regions including the U.S., Japan, Brazil, France, the UK and Germany. Like the third-party subscription platform Patreon, TikTok’s Subscription allows fans to pay creators for exclusive content and other perks. In participating regions, creators can offer fans monthly subscriptions at three price tiers, each with its own parameters and perks. TikTok launched Live subscriptions in 2022 and announced in March that it would be revamping the feature to allow more users to monetize. Continue reading New TikTok Live Subscriptions Help More Creators Monetize

Amazon has joined the ranks of firms offering generative video tools, although its release is aimed only at advertisers, at least for now. Simply called Video Generator, it can turn a product image into a video that showcases the product and even demonstrates its features, “leveraging Amazon’s unique insights to vividly bring a product story to life.” At the company’s Accelerate 2024 conference Amazon also debuted Live Image, which lets brands create animated GIFs from stills, a customizable chatbot assistant for third-party sellers, and a new AI-powered recommendation engine based on customer interests. Continue reading Amazon’s Video Generator Turns Stills into Advertising Clips

AI-powered ad campaigns “are continuing to deliver big results for businesses large and small,” according to Google, which has put Gemini to work for Google Ads. The company announced at the DMEXCO digital marketing event in Cologne a new suite of Gemini-powered tools aimed at making the experience even better by providing additional insights and more control over where and how marketing assets are deployed globally using Google Ads. For starters, Gemini’s “conversational experience” for search campaigns will expand its language palette, making auto-generated headlines and images available in German, French and Spanish in the months ahead. Continue reading Google Unveils Gemini-Powered Ad Features and AI Image ID