(So F$ing Hot!) List: More Than Cannes

“Walmart Connect is focused on making commerce media more accessible, more measurable and easier to activate for advertisers of all sizes.” - Ryan Mayward, GM and Senior VP, Walmart Connect U.S. after announcing the acqusition of Vibe.co for $1.2 billion.

Local TV Keeps Asking For Scale. It May Need Something Else Entirely. - Tim Hanlon

Feudal Media Shows Up Big Time In Cannes - Alan Wolk

The Future Of Television Will Be Won Before The Screen Turns On - Sofie Sue Rutgeerts

NEW PODCAST: Why ZIP Codes Matter More Than TV Markets Now

TVision Study: What We Watch When We Watch YouTube On TV - Alan Wolk

Fragmentation Was The Word Of The Day At Stream TV Show - Alan Wolk

Political Advertising To The Rescue — But for How Long? - Tim Hanlon

NEW PODCAST: Why The 2026 Midterms Could Be The Biggest Political Ad Cycle Ever

Pause Ads Generate Nearly Twice the Attention of Traditional Spots: New WunderKIND Research - Jon Lafayette

SAGE Says: Instagram’s Top Ad of 2026 Is Also a World Cup Standout - Eleanor Semeraro

AI Media Spending Seen Rising While Linear TV Continues Decline, Mediaocean Study Finds - Jon Lafayette

NEW SPECIAL REPORT: The TV OS Wars: The Battle For The Living Room

Why Every Local Advertiser Should Be Paying Attention To The Knicks - Anthony Campanella

ESPN Launches Fan House to Boost Sports Engagement - Jon Lafayette

Tube Trends: How ESPN Is Covering World Cup Without TV Rights - John Cassillo

V’s Guy Edri On Why “TV Is TV” Is More Than Just A Catchphrase - Alan Wolk

AI Adoption Accelerates Across Video Advertising Workflows - Eleanor Semeraro

Welcome to the Data Quality Revolution: Magnite Integrates Truthset’s Data Rated Audiences - Sal Tuzzeo

ICYMI

• FTC investigates Amazon over claims it misled advertisers [EMARKETER]

• Study: Programmatic CTV Pause Ads More Effective Than Traditional Spots [TVTechnology]

• Magnite Adds A Data-Quality Layer To Its CTV Inventory [AdExchanger]

• World Cup Media Spotlight: Fox Sports passes 1 billion digital/social views earlier than expected [Sports Business Journal]

• In 2026, AI is the Ultimate Catalyst and the Ultimate Killer of Adtech M&A [Adweek]

• Inside ESPN’s Big Bet on Women’s Sports for Sunday Nights (When Baseball Once Ruled) [Variety]

• Why Every Local Advertiser Should Be Paying Attention To The Knicks [TVREV]

• Fox-Roku Estimate: Third In Viewing, With 11% Share [MediaPost]

• World Cup ad reach spans audio and vertical video—not just linear TV [EMARKETER]

• NBA Finals Game 4 Rallies Nearly 21 Million Viewers [TheWrap]

• Fox Scores Early World Cup Fiscal Goal With Hydration Break Commercials [Media Play News]

Hanlon’s Local Links

• Fox To Acquire Roku In A $22 Billion Deal. What’s Next? - Lon Seidman [Lon.TV]

• Fox’s Cable TV Escape Plan: ROKU - Sean McNulty [The Ankler]

• When The NFL Comes Calling, Station Groups Are Ready To Say ‘No’ To Fee Increases - Paige Albiniak [TVNewsCheck]

• What Kind Of Stories Are Best At Turning Local News Readers Into Subscribers? It’s Hard News, Not The Soft Stuff - Joshua Benton [NiemanLab]

• Location Data Is Becoming a Scale Advantage - Luke Stillman [Madison And Wall]