AdGrowthWeekly | Issue No. 59

Free streaming is getting an unusual guarantee in one of Hollywood’s largest media mergers. As part of a settlement with 12 state attorneys general over its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount has agreed to maintain a free streaming service, such as Pluto TV, at its current service and quality level for five years. The agreement also requires the combined company to negotiate distribution deals for Paramount and Warner Bros. basic cable channels separately during that period, rather than selling them as a single package. Beyond television distribution, Paramount has committed to spending at least $1.5 billion more on U.S. film production over five years and releasing 30 films annually in the first two years, increasing to 32 in the following three. The settlement, announced September 21 and pending court approval, places specific conditions on how the combined company will operate its streaming, cable, and film businesses.

For decades, America’s biggest television networks have taken turns filming presidential events and sharing footage with news organizations nationwide. That arrangement came to a halt on September 21, when ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC jointly suspended White House television pool coverage after the Trump administration barred journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico. CNN had been scheduled to cover the president’s trip to New York for the United Nations General Assembly, but the other networks declined to replace its crew. The White House instead provided its own livestream and launched a 24-hour YouTube channel called Trump TV. CNN, MS NOW and Politico have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to restore their access, arguing that the restrictions violate their First Amendment rights. The administration has defended its decision, citing objections to the outlets' reporting.

Pluto TV is bringing more of the traditional streaming experience to free television. Paramount has rebuilt the service using the technology behind Paramount+, introducing a redesigned interface that brings live channels and on-demand programming together. Along with personalized recommendations, a new channel guide, and the ability to restart eligible shows from the beginning. The overhaul comes as Pluto TV reports 70% growth in monthly on-demand viewing in 2026, with viewing hours among adults ages 18 to 34 increasing 91% year over year. Paramount has also increased its investment in third-party licensed content by 63%, expanding Pluto TV’s library with titles including The X-Files, John Wick, and Rocky. The service remains free, but viewers will now find more of the navigation, discovery, and on-demand features typically associated with paid streaming platforms.

The U.S. Joint Industry Committee has recertified Comscore, iSpot and VideoAmp for the 2026–2028 term, confirming that all three meet its standards for use as national TV advertising currencies. The review covered 672 tests, 39 data questions and more than 150 million telecast observations across over 680 networks, examining household and demographic estimates, advanced audiences and measurement consistency across different types of programming. The committee also published How a Number Is Made, a report comparing the providers’ data sources, methodologies and processes for producing audience estimates. The recertifications apply to the three providers’ national TV measurement products and do not establish that their audience figures are interchangeable or that they will produce identical results for the same campaign.

Streaming shows can become hits almost overnight, but the audience numbers have often taken weeks to catch up. Nielsen is changing that with an update to its Streaming Content Ratings, moving from weekly to daily data delivery and reducing reporting time by up to 80%. Clients can now receive U.S. streaming viewership figures every business day for viewing that occurred just two days earlier, providing a more current picture of how individual programs are performing across streaming platforms. Nielsen is also accelerating its public Streaming Top 10 rankings, shortening the reporting delay from roughly four weeks to 11 days. The updated rankings cover original and acquired series as well as movies, allowing audiences to see which titles are drawing the most viewing minutes across major streaming services. The first accelerated list, released September 17, covered viewing from August 31 through September 6, bringing streaming program reporting closer to the pace of traditional TV ratings.

Choosing a different TV measurement provider is one thing. Building that data into the systems used to plan and buy advertising is another. Comscore has partnered with datafuelX to integrate its national TV measurement data directly into existing forecasting, pacing, and campaign reporting workflows, allowing network groups to transact using Comscore’s traditional age and gender demographics and advanced audience segments without rebuilding their planning systems. The partnership also extends to OpenAP, making its advanced audience segments available through datafuelX beginning in the third quarter of 2026. The first client integrations went live in August, giving participating networks access to additional measurement options within the same tools they already use to manage television campaigns from initial planning through final delivery.