Observed Signal · May 19, 2026 · Market Research · Source: VideoWeek · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Digital Video to Capture 61% of US TV/Video Spend
VideoWeek’s Week in Charts summarizes multiple industry reports showing a continued structural shift toward digital video and rising AI use in video production. IAB projects digital video will account for 61% of US TV/video ad spend in 2026, up but growing more slowly than last year. iSpot research finds streaming partners are sharing more reach and frequency and demographic data but offer less visibility on attribution, programming and linear/streaming overlap. EMARKETER and Admazing report over 70% of US marketers rarely consider mobile gaming a core channel despite many seeing incremental reach potential. Wistia data shows increasing adoption of generative AI for video—69% using AI captions, 39% AI visuals and 25% AI avatars (2025 vs 2024). The piece also highlights sector stock moves, including LiveRamp/ Publicis M&A news and Nexxen revenue-driven gains.
The reports indicate a continuing structural shift of TV/video budgets to digital/streaming and rising generative-AI use in video production—both affect media allocation, creative production workflows and measurement needs across the ad ecosystem; measurement visibility gaps in streaming could drive demand for new analytics solutions.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- IAB projects digital video will account for 61 percent of TV/video ad spend in the US in 2026.
- iSpot reports 84 percent of marketers receive streaming reach and frequency data (up from 80 percent in 2025); 67 percent receive demographic data; visibility is lower for attribution (52 percent), programming (50 percent) and linear/streaming overlap (45 percent).
- An EMARKETER and Admazing survey finds more than 70 percent of US marketers rarely consider, deprioritise or treat mobile gaming advertising late in planning; under 30 percent consider it alongside or as a core channel.
- Wistia research shows 2025 adoption of generative AI video features: AI captions 69% (up from 61% in 2024), AI-generated visuals 39% (up from 28%), and AI avatars 25% (up from 16%).
- Market stock highlights: LiveRamp popped on news of its acquisition by Publicis; Nexxen saw the largest ad tech stock increase after 11% YoY revenue growth in Q1; S4 Capital, Paramount Skydance, Future and Adobe had notable weekly share movements.
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Digital Video Ad Spend Rises as AI and Targeting Accelerate
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) projects U.S. social video ad spending will grow 13% in 2026, outpacing connected TV (CTV) growth projected at 11%, signaling a shift toward feed-based platforms. The IAB’s findings — based on a survey of 360 U.S. marketers who spent at least $1M last year — estimate total U.S. digital video spend reaching $80 billion in 2026. Industry sources cited falling production costs from generative-AI creative tools, stronger targeting capabilities for smaller advertisers, and rising user video consumption (Meta reported an 8% rise in video watch time in Q1 2026; YouTube ad sales rose 10.7% to $9.88B) as drivers. While CTV continues to grow, programmatic CTV and quality adjacencies remain meaningful draws; nearly half of surveyed brands (49%) named targeting capability as their top investment criterion, up 23% year-over-year. The article includes quotes from agency and brand executives describing budget shifts from CTV to social video.
Digital video enters new era of competition
IAB’s “2026 Digital Video Ad Spend & Strategy Report” finds U.S. digital video ad spending is forecast to reach $81.9 billion in 2026, growing 11% this year and representing 61% of all U.S. TV and video ad spending. The report highlights three trends: targeting has become the top buying priority, social video is outpacing connected TV in buyer preference and spend momentum, and agentic AI is being adopted as an operational tool (used for planning, testing and analysis) while not yet entrusted with spending decisions. IAB projects social video spending of $31.9 billion versus $29.3 billion for connected TV. The findings are based on Guideline billing and forward-booking data, market estimates, industry interviews and a survey of 360 agency and brand decision-makers conducted Feb. 20–March 13, 2026.
CTV & AI Growth; Video to Counter AI Threat
Week in Charts flags CTV and AI as the main growth areas in IAB Europe’s Attitudes to Digital Advertising, with agencies (76%), publishers (54%), and ad tech (81%) naming CTV and 60% of advertisers citing AI as growth drivers. Reuters Institute notes publishers will focus more on video in the AI era, citing declines in traffic referrals from AI search results. Ampere Analysis forecasts global content investment reaching $255 billion in 2026, up 2% from 2025, led by streaming with spend rising 6% to $101 billion while broadcasters stagnate or decline. CoComelon tops end-of-year video streams, led by The Wheels on the Bus, with Bruno Mars songs in second and third and Golden from Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters in fourth. The Week in Stocks section highlights movements in Roku, The New York Times, and Adobe, and the piece weaves in signals around AI, M&A, pricing, and measurement shaping the ad tech and video ecosystem.
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