Hot List: Now With More TL;DRs
This week we’re trying a new format.
TVREV Originals party in the front, some TL;DR on industry developments in the back.
Like a fresh haircut, with a cheeky mullet.
The TL;DR
Paramount+ Is Letting Advertisers Buy Show-Specific Streaming Ad Spots [AdExchanger]
TL;DR: Paramount+ introduced “streaming fixed units,” allowing brands to reserve an ad spot in a specific episode for the first 7 days, with programmatic filling remaining slots afterward. The move aims to give advertisers a mix of mass reach (event-style alignment) and precision targeting in one format.
CTV players hope importing social assets can lower brands’ barrier to entry [Digiday]
TL;DR: CTV companies are enabling brands to repurpose social or influencer video ads onto TV inventory, reducing the creative production burden for smaller advertisers. Early tests suggest this approach can yield meaningful lifts in awareness, consideration, and favorability.
Roku Now Incorporated into the FreeWheel Streaming Hub, Deepening Strategic Partnership to Power the Premium CTV Ecosystem [Business Wire]
TL;DR: Roku is now integrated into the FreeWheel Streaming Hub, strengthening its partnership with FreeWheel and making Roku’s premium CTV inventory more directly accessible to buyers via FreeWheel. This deeper alignment enables smoother workflows, more transparent demand paths, and shared monetization tools across direct and programmatic channels.
Amazon Reveals Its Starting Lineup of NBA Advertisers [AdWeek]
TL;DR: Amazon announced the first wave of brand partners for its inaugural NBA streaming coverage, featuring advertisers like State Farm, PepsiCo, and Toyota. The deals showcase Amazon’s expanding CTV ad ecosystem, blending live sports, retail media data, and shoppable ad opportunities across Prime Video and Freevee
CleanTap Says It Easily Fooled Programmatic Tech With Spoofed CTV Devices [AdExchanger]
TL;DR: CleanTap used a Raspberry Pi and dummy HDMI setup to impersonate a CTV device and reportedly got 100% of its spoofed impressions accepted into live programmatic auctions. Even when verification vendors flagged those impressions as invalid, CleanTap says some still passed through, exposing weaknesses in upstream fraud filtering.
Instacart grows its retail media bona fides with TikTok integration [Marketing Dive]
TL;DR: Instacart partnered with TikTok to let creators and brands link directly to shoppable Instacart pages, turning social content into retail media touchpoints. The integration extends Instacart’s data reach into video and CTV-adjacent environments, strengthening its full-funnel appeal for advertisers.
The Full-Funnel Retail Media Network: Bridging On-Site And Off-Site For Seamless Customer Journeys [AdExchanger]
TL;DR: Retail media networks are extending into CTV to connect on-site shopping data with off-site video ads, enabling seamless targeting and attribution across the full customer journey.
The Trade Desk Is Now Selling Onsite Retail Media Ads, Pitting It Against Criteo [AdWeek]
TL;DR: The Trade Desk is expanding into on-site retail media ads, letting advertisers buy placements directly on retailers’ websites — a move that puts it in direct competition with Criteo. The shift blurs lines between programmatic and retail media, and signals The Trade Desk’s intent to own more of the commerce-driven CTV and retail ad ecosystem.
How Retail Media Takes Over Everything [Ad Exchanger]
TL;DR: Retail media is expanding beyond e-commerce into CTV, social, and digital video, driven by retailers’ first-party data and advertisers’ demand for measurable results. It’s becoming the backbone of modern advertising, connecting commerce, content, and data across the full consumer journey.
Recommended Reading:
David Ellison Taps Bari Weiss To Lead CBS News And Buys Her Company For $150 Million. Here's What Insiders Are Saying. - James Faris [Business Insider]
CleanTap Says It Easily Fooled Programmatic Tech With Spoofed CTV Devices - Anthony Vargas [AdExchanger]
ITV Launches GenAI Ads Manager Powered By Magnite’s Streamr.AI - Julian Clover [BroadbandTV News]
Madhive Invests In Precise.AI; Appoints Jim Wilson As CEO - Adam Jacobson [Radio+Television Business Report]
Mitigating ‘Google risk’: The Independent Maps Four-Pillar Growth Plan For The AI Era - Jessica Davies [Digiday]
MPA Calls On OpenAI To Take ‘Immediate And Decisive Action’ Against Sora 2 Copyright Concerns - Casey Loving [The Wrap]
With Microsoft In Tow, Amazon’s DSP Tightens Its Grip On The Open Web - Seb Joseph [Digiday]
PubMatic Claims Much Faster, Smarter Advertising Decisions With Nvidia - Mark Johnson [Media Shotz]
Scott Spencer’s New Startup Wants To Help Users Monetize Their Online Advertising Data - James Hercher [AdExchanger]
TVB Reveals Lanzano’s Successor As President/CEO - Adam Jacobson [Radio+Television Business Report]
Hanlon’s Local Links:
FCC To Vote On Accelerating ATSC 3.0 Transition At October Meeting - Tom Butts [TVTech]
FCC’s Newest NEXTGEN TV Plan Erases Firm ATSC 1.0 End Date - Adam Jacobson [Radio+Television Business Report]
Cedar Falls Utilities Shutting Down 'Dying' Cable TV Next October - Ted Hearn [Policyband]
Too Small to Mess With - Lucy Schiller [Columbia Journalism Review]
FCC Commissioner Gomez: Time For Firm “Public Interest” Definition - Matthew Keys [TheDesk.net]
Want Younger Local TV Viewers? Build Parallel Pipelines - Tom Sly [TVNewsCheck]
