This is the era of Peak TV+. In addition to broadcast and cable, we a bounty of major streaming services: Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video and more recently, Disney+, Apple TV+, HBO Max, and (soon) Peacock. Add in numerous smaller and more niche and targeted streaming services, and there's a lot -- possibly too much -- for most people to choose from. As someone who analyzes TV and streaming content for a living, here are my recommendations for the best shows to binge on this summer.

"As we enter the third week of mass protests across the US, the number of people going out and speaking against racial injustice has only grown," Horizon Media analysts write in the latest edition of a weekly study tracking a variety of American crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, an especially contentious political environment surrounding the U.S. election campaigns, unemployment and radical injustice.

Brand trust now ranks second only to price as the most important factors determining whether consumers buy a new brand or remain loyal to one. That's the top finding from the 2020 edition of the Edelman Brand Trust Barometer.

Nielsen has published a unique, interesting analysis of shifting consumer sentiment following the COVID-19 pandemic. The study, which utilizes its VisualDNA Personality Survey methodology --a non-incentivized psychometric assessment that triggers emotional and subconscious reactions from respondents -- may seem a little more qualitative than what we normally report on, but it's worth considering.

"Brand loyalty is up for grabs!" That's the conclusion of a study from performance marketing platform Profitero analyzing Amazon's and other data. The aptly named "The Cheating Consumer" report shows how supply chain shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, led to a significant amount of product shifting, even among brands consumers were previously loyal to.

One of the unintended consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic appears to have been a marked increase in the number of marketers utilizing in-house teams to buy video advertising via programmatic platforms, according to the findings of study of 350 advertisers and agency executives conducted by Advertiser Perceptions for the Interactive Advertising Bureau. The "IAB U.S. 2020 Digital Video Advertising Spend Report: Putting Covid in Context" found a 64% increase in the percentage of marketers buying video advertising via in-house programmatic teams.

Marketers are still feeling negative about their overall business environment, but they are slightly more optimistic that conditions will improve in the near future. Asked to rate their sentiment currently vs. in the next six months, a World Federation of Advertisers COVID-19 tracking study found their net negative sentiment declined from -43% currently to -19% in six months.

The ad industry consensus for the global ad economy has moved firmly into negative territory, based on GroupM's update today. GroupM now forecasts the world's ad economy will decline 11.8% in 2020, bringing the current consensus of the Big 4 ad agency holding company forecasting units down to -2.7% this year.

In a rare self-reflecting study about their own members ability to communicate with and effectively manage their agencies, the World Federation of Advertisers found agencies generally perceive they have less frequent interaction with clients related to providing them feedback on their performance. And when it comes to asking their agencies for feedback about their own performance, there was an even bigger divide with a majority of agencies indicating it either never happens, or only happens on an ad hoc basis.

A majority of agencies became more flexible with their clients in terms of their terms of payment and other practices, but most held firm on pricing so far during the COVID-19 pandemic, a survey of 130 digital agencies worldwide found. The survey, which was fielded over the past few months by global digital ad services outsourcing firm Uplers, also found that a majority of the agency respondents expect the impact of the pandemic to last for at least six months.