Premium streaming platforms’ TV advertising/promotion efforts has seen a dramatic slowdown over the first half of 2025-- a drop of 46% to just $141 million in media value, coming from 22.2 billion impressions and 60,940 airings, according to EDO Ad EnGage.

Over the same six-month period a year before, streaming TV/media value -- paid TV advertising or TV promotions -- was at $261.7 million, with 98,310 airings and 39.3 billion impressions.

Major brands have pulled the plug -- with Amazon Prime Video cutting its TV advertising down by 64% this year to $13.4 million with 2,110 airings and 1.9 billion impressions -- compared to a year earlier, when it spent a massive $37.2 million with 8,980 airings, with 5.4 billion impressions. 

The largest number of airings this year for Prime Video have been on CNN, ESPN, NFL Network, Discovery Channel, USA Network, and History Channel.

Warner Bros. Discovery also went sharply lower, with Max at $2.5 million in media value/ad spending with 1,440 airings -- compared to a year ago, when it had a massive 19,450 airings and an industry-leading $38.5 million in spending.

Soon WBD’s Max will be renamed HBO Max, the original brand name of its launch in May 2020.

Much of Max's airing -- as with other legacy TV network-based media companies that own premium streamers -- places Max messages as promotional time on their cable TV and broadcast networks.

With Max, for this year that meant Motor Trend (with 604 airings), CNN (117), TBS (102), and Investigation Discovery (93).

As the more mature streaming-platform business has evolved, many companies have pulled back on production and acquisition costs, with lower marketing spend.

Other streamers went lower as well, with the Disney Bundle sinking to $4.9 million (2,300 airings) -- compared to a year before, when it came in at $33.8 million (7,970 airings). Paramount+ also went south, losing about half -- at $15.2 million (6.63 airings) versus $27.9 million (12,960 airings). 

On the positive side, YouTube TV -- the virtual pay TV provider witnessed a sharp rise to $15.4 million in paid TV advertising -- up from $1.36 million the year before.

FAST (free advertising-supported streaming television) platforms went in two different directions.

In 2024, PlutoTV was at $22.8 million (4,76o airings). Now at $3.4 million (3,040).

Fox Corp.’s Tubi got a major marketing push from the Super Bowl on sister TV channel, the Fox broadcast network -- all that rocketed overall to $18.47 million on just 223 airings. A year before it was $2.5 million and 504 airings.

Despite this year’s comparison, Pluto actually grabbed more impressions than Tubi this year -- with 827.4 million to Tubi’s 366.2 million.

NBCUniversal has not been very active with its Peacock streamer in terms of TV messaging -- at a low $1.3 million in media value (570 airings) -- compared to the year before, when it had $2.1 million (377 airings).