In this week's Week in Charts, marketers prioritize CTV investment, sports piracy in the UK increases and global streamers increase their spending on sports rights.
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Charts of the week
CTV highlighted as an investment priority for 2026
According to Mediaocean's latest Advertising Outlook report, based on a global survey of marketers, 63 percent of marketers expect to increase their investment in CTV this year. A significant increase is also expected in the areas of social media and digital display/video: 63 percent and 61 percent respectively plan to increase their spending.
Some of this investment could be diverted from linear television, as 34 percent of marketers expect to cut their “national television” budgets. But linear TV isn't all one-way traffic: 17 percent say they will increase their spending and 48 percent plan to keep their linear budgets the same.
Streaming services are increasing investment in live sports
According to a study by Ampere Analysis, streaming services' investments in sports rights are increasing rapidly, growing from a total of $6.5 billion in 2022 to a projected $14.2 billion this year.
Part of this growth is due to “global generalist” streaming services – companies like Netflix, Amazon and Apple that are available worldwide and do not specialize in sports. Netflix, once a sports naysayer, continues to invest in boxing and NFL standalone shows, while Paramount has made live sports a cornerstone of its growth strategy following its acquisition by Skydance. However, Amazon is the biggest spender among generalists, investing $3.8 billion this year based on deals already agreed.
Meanwhile, local and specialized services are increasing their investments faster, rising from $1.3 billion in 2022 to $6.2 billion this year.
Stagwell shares rise after SPORT BEACH launch
Streaming services' interest in sports seems to go hand in hand with advertisers' interest. At the last Cannes Lions festival, more and more sports stars from all over the world flocked to the Croisette, with “SPORT BEACH” by the Stagwell agency group serving as the main sports hub.
This sports branding has given Stagwell an outsized presence on the Cannes seafront, and earlier this month the company announced the opening of a new sports practice that shares its name with the Cannes activation. This was also well received, with Stagwell's share price increasing by over 30 percent since the announcement.
Amandaland tops the UK Christmas viewing charts
The final season of Stranger Things may have been the most eye-catching TV series to air over the Christmas period, but according to Barb's viewing data, more British viewers spent Christmas in SoHa than Hawkins, with Amandaland's Christmas special topping the charts. Just over seven million viewers tuned in to the “Motherland” spinoff, which beat “The Scarecrow's Wedding” (6.7 million) and “The King's Christmas Message” (6.4 million).
The week in stocks
Agencies
S4 Capital shares rose over 50 percent this week after the marketing group said in a trading update that its full-year results are expected to come in ahead of its previous forecasts. It was much-needed good news for the group, which issued several profit warnings last year amid difficult market conditions.
TV
TV stocks rebounded this week after falling sharply the week before. Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery were the only losers as Netflix remains reeling from its ongoing takeover battle over WBD.
Publisher
British news publisher Reach rose nearly 13 percent this week after the company said it expects full-year 2025 profit to beat market expectations. Reach continues to assume that digital sales will have fallen for the full year, but only by one percent.
Advertising technology
U.S. technology stocks rebounded after a decline last week as President Trump's threats to Greenland and the launch of an investigation into Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell spooked investors. However, the trade desk is down week-on-week following news that its CFO Alex Kayyal is stepping down after less than six months in the job.
Tech
Meta shares rose over eight percent this week, ahead of the company's annual results expected on Wednesday. Meta's share price has fallen by around 10 percent since the end of October last year, when previous financial results sent the stock plummeting.
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