National television advertising spending fell 5% to $4.4 billion in the third quarter, according to fresh data from measurement and analytics company iSpot.TV

The drop was somewhat smaller than expected considering that a year ago the NBA finals and the Summer Olympics were televised. Ad impressions were also down about 5.4% in the quarter to 596 billion, according to iSpot.

“There could be a beluga whale carcass they might be able to find, (or a) naive seal near shore, but generally they’re just fasting. They lose nearly a kilogram of body weight every day that they’re on land,” said Geoff York, a biologist for Polar Bears International (PBI). An AFP team joined him on an expedition.

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The videos Jellysmack has worked on have garnered so many views that the company could be considered the No. 3 media company in the U.S.—just behind Disney and ViacomCBS—according to research by Tubular Labs. Jellysmack’s creators have gained 445 million subscribers; notched 145 billion views across Facebook, Snap and YouTube; and made $175 million. And 50% of Jellysmack’s roster is earning over $500,000 annually.

Q3 spending dropped 23.5% to $472 million compared to $617.2 million in the second quarter for live and new programming tracked by i.Spot.tv.

Total Q3 impressions for CPG brands were 90.8 billion compared to 99.9 billion in the second quarter.

At the same time, traditional cable TV news channels continue to show gains in overall impressions in the most recent third-quarter period 2022, according to iSpot.

Fox News, MSNBC and CNN grew their collective share of TV ad impressions from 22.5% from 20.3% in the third quarter of 2021. Fox was at 76.6 billion impressions, followed by MSNBC at 41.2 billion and CNN, at 35.2 billion.

Once on solid ground, the bears “typically have very few options for food,” explains Geoff York, a biologist with Polar Bears International (PBI). York, an American, spends several weeks each year in Churchill, a small town on the edge of the Arctic in the northern Canadian province of Manitoba. There, he follows the fortunes of the endangered animals.

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With the release of Apple’s iOS 14.5 mobile operating system seeing record-high tracking opt-outs, and a world without third-party cookies fast approaching, a session at Festival of Marketing saw Unilever and Cheetah Digital outline the ways in which they are working together to deliver effective communications in a privacy-first world.

According to iSpot.tv, QSR ad impressions have been buoyed by the return to post-pandemic normalcy in live sports, which accounted for over 40% of all QSR ad impressions between Q1 2021 and Q2 2022. Ad impressions for QSR brands improved somewhat quarter over quarter, despite their fall from last year’s peak, and QSR now outpaces automakers and insurance companies as the leading driver of TV ad impressions, according to iSpot.tv.

At the same time, traditional cable TV news channels continue to show gains in overall impressions in the most third quarter period 2022, according to iSpot.

While short of 2020 high-water marks, iSpot says cable TV news is outpacing both the third quarter of 2019 and 2018.

But behind the scenes, much of the discussion around measurement is centered on cost, as well as cumbersome long-term contracts with Nielsen, which has operated as a near monopoly for decades. Despite inroads by competitors like Comscore, VideoAmp and iSpot.tv, particularly in the past year, TV networks are still working under long-term contracts developed when Nielsen had the power to largely dictate terms.

VIZIO WatchFree+ is introducing its Fall Fest programming lineup starting this week, featuring TV series premieres, new movies and stunts in VIZIO Features channels. Among the offerings: Two exclusive original series from Blue Ant Media, “Haunted Gold Rush” and “Hotel Paranormal.” Also launching on VIZIO WatchFree+ is MagellanTV channel Space Science Now, featuring a collection of premium space and science documentaries and series.

The new free, ad-supported streaming channel, set to launch exclusively through Vizio’s platform WatchFree+, will feature a collection of space and science documentaries and series, including Naked Science, The New Fire: Fusion Revolution, Voyage of the Continents, Cosmic Encounters, Venus: Death of a Planet, Everything and Nothing and The Mystery of Dark Matter.

Blue Ant Media’s paranormal-focused FAST channel HauntTV has launched on Vizio WatchFree+ in the US.

Series available on Vizio from this month include Ghost Chasers (10×60’), Ghostly Encounters (83×30’), World’s Scariest Hauntings (10×60’) and seasons two and three of both Paranormal Survivor (50×60’) and Boogeymen (26×60’).

Vizio has adopted SpringServe Tiles to display content on its SmartCast platform and make it easier for viewers to find what they want to watch.

“We are continuously looking for opportunities to improve the experience for engaged audiences through innovative and contextually relevant content and messaging,” said Travis Hockersmith, group VP, Platform Plus at Vizio. “SpringServe’s Tiles helps deliver personalized experiences, and simplify the search and discovery process for millions of users, whether searching for subscription or free content.”

Daniel Cox is a Minnesota native who researches and documents climate change's impact on polar bears.

He worked on the Arctic Documentary Project with Polar Bears International.

SpringServe, the leading independent TV ad serving platform, today announced that VIZIO will be leveraging the SpringServe Tiles solution to enhance the content discovery experience across VIZIO SmartCast for millions of users in the US. Building on its mission to deliver immersive entertainment through cutting-edge smart TVs and ad-supported content, VIZIO’s adoption of SpringServe Tiles will bring sophistication, intelligence, and control to the management of content on the home screen.

Vizio is using Magnite’s SpringServe technology to improve the user experience and ad visibility for its SmartCast platform.

Specifically, Vizio will leverage SpringServe Tiles, a functionality that allows publishers to create ads for a variety of streaming apps and in any size. This is especially useful for custom creatives – ads that don’t follow an existing design template.

FanDuel has spent $60.7 million in national TV advertising from August 19 through October 19 -- nearly double the total of $35.2 million spent the year before -- according to iSpot.tv.