In this week’s Week in Charts, how ESOV moves market share, Amazon’s alleged $20 billion in takings from manipulating ad auctions, and influencer-led TV series are on the rise.
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Influencer-Led TV Series on the Rise in the UK
The number of influencer-led TV series commissioned in the UK reached 13 in H1 2026, more than double the amount in H1 2025, according to research from Ampere Analysis. Ed Ludlow, Research Manager at Ampere, noted that while the BBC has been the largest commissioner of creator-led content, “the recent rise has not been driven by a single broadcaster; rather, it has been split across multiple commissioners, showing that the creator economy is now a wider industry focus rather than a platform-specific push.”
Streaming Approaches Half of Ad-Supported TV Viewing in US
Streaming made up 48.2 percent of ad-supported TV viewing time in the US during Q2 2026, according to Nielsen’s latest Ad Supported Gauge report. Streaming’s share of ad-supported viewing has climbed from 42.4 percent in Q1 2025, as time spent with AVOD services eats into broadcast and cable’s proportion of ad-supported TV viewing.
Mattel’s Ad Spend Climbs With ‘Masters of the Universe’ Release
Mattel’s advertising expenses jumped 57 percent year-on-year during Q2 2026, partially driven by spending around the theatrical release of Masters of the Universe, the He-Man movie that flopped at the box office. The toy company said the high advertising spend also included expenses associated with Mattel163, the mobile games studio it fully acquired earlier this year.
Advertisers Lean on AI for Reporting and Analysis
Advertisers are embracing AI for reporting and performance analysis as part of their campaign workflows, according to a StackAdapt survey, though adoption lags for campaign setup and budgeting processes. “Respondents were also most comfortable allowing automation to operate in reporting and analysis, suggesting that marketers see these workflows as lower-risk, high-value areas where AI can reduce manual work and make performance easier to interpret,” said the report.
The Week in Stocks
Agencies
Dentsu’s share price rose on Friday after the company’s subsidiary Dentsu Soken confirmed receiving a privatisation offer from Itochu Corp.
TV
Paramount’s stock price is on the rise, signalling investor confidence in the company settling the US lawsuit against its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery.
Publishers
Shares in Future jumped three percent last week, but the publishing group’s stock price has dropped by 25 percent over the past six months.
Ad Tech
Viant stock continues to climb following the ad tech firm’s Q2 earnings report, which saw revenues increase by 34 percent YoY.
Tech
Adobe’s share price spiked on Thursday amid a rally in enterprise software stocks, sparked by Salesforce’s Q2 results on Wednesday.
