In this month’s review of new ad formats, we focus on optimised timing. Pause buttons, split screens and second-screen triggers, designed to meet viewers mid-scroll or mid-scene. With every platform angling to capture the in-between, the latest entries turn micro-moments into media inventory.
Fubo: Pause ads enter the programmatic fold
What is it? On 30 May, Fubo became the first CTV platform to offer pause-screen ads in a programmatic biddable environment. Powered by Magnite’s ClearLine, the static, sound-off units appear seconds after a user hits pause — and disappear once they resume. Placements support both PG and PMP deals.
What good is it? Although pause ads have existed for years, they’ve mostly been custom buys in platform silos. Fubo’s rollout drops them into the programmatic stack, meaning planners can treat pause moments like any other impression: with scale, targeting and measurement baked in. Fubo claims its new format receives 33% higher brand engagement rate compared to standard video.
Pause patterns emerge: At NewFronts, Amazon and Tubi both made noise around pause-based placements, but those formats stayed close to commerce or homepage takeovers. For planners, programmatic pause-screen ads offer a new surface with familiar metrics: measurable, repeatable and worth scaling.
YouTube: Livestreams go split-screen
What is it? YouTube is testing side-by-side ads for livestreams: video creative that runs in a split-screen view, allowing brands to appear in-frame without interrupting the stream. The format rolled out quietly at the end of May and is currently in beta with select advertisers.
What good is it? Livestreaming has always posed a dilemma: do you interrupt the moment or wait until it’s over? This tries neither. By embedding the ad beside the content, YouTube avoids mid-roll drop-off while still capturing real-time attention. Less a TV break than a product placement in the corner of your screen.
Livestream logic becomes plannable: Previously, we’ve seen YouTube inch closer to CTV logic. Programmatic takeovers, DV360 integrations, Gemini-fuelled discovery. YouTube’s new format brings that energy into live content. For teams chasing real-time reach without the churn of mid-rolls, this makes live feel buyable.
Netflix: Formats that match the frame
What is it? Netflix has completed the rollout of its Ads Suite across all 12 of its ad-supported markets, with EMEA joining this month. That gives the streaming platform full-stack control, from inventory to measurement.
Now, it’s adding the flourish: a modular, AI-powered creative framework that lets brands adapt mid-rolls and pause screens to reflect the aesthetic of the show itself. Think Stranger Things overlays or Bridgerton title cards, complete with CTAs and second-screen prompts. Roll out starts later this year, with global coverage by 2026.
What good is it? Netflix isn’t just offering adjacency — it’s blending the ad into the set dressing. And because it owns the ad tech end-to-end, it can promise standardisation: show-aligned creative that’s templated by design, but flexible in execution.
Creative scale meets IP polish: It’s early-stage, but the goal is clear. Once live, planners could brief against a show’s tone or genre (‘period romance with a second-screen CTA’), rather than a rigid slot. If it lands, it could give planners what they rarely get from CTV: premium IP, performance logic and creative that flexes to the brief.
Google: Search becomes the storefront
What is it? At Marketing Live 2025 on 21 May, Google announced a wave of AI-powered updates to its ad tools, including the expansion of ads in AI Overviews (its conversational search interface) to desktop and select international markets.
Meanwhile, Smart Bidding Exploration introduces looser ROAS targets for search campaigns, letting advertisers bid on more speculative queries like ‘how to buy a home’. Ads are also being tested inside Google’s AI Mode chatbot, appearing beneath generated responses.
What good is it? It’s a fundamental shift in how ad inventory is surfaced. Search is no longer just a list of links. It’s a dynamic layout where the ad may be the only clickable object. Pair that with AI-driven bidding and image-to-video creative tools, and the planner’s role becomes less about slots and more about signals.
The last click left: The bigger shift isn’t just what Google is selling, but where that plan gets seen. If AI-generated results become the new homepage, ads won’t compete for attention — they’ll be the final nudge from discovery to decision.
Meta: Fully automated ads by 2026
What is it? Meta Platforms aims to be fully automated by 2026, folding creative generation into the same AI that already handles targeting, placement and optimisation. In theory: minimal manual inputs, no traditional setups, no levers left to pull. The update was shared as part of Meta’s wider AI roadmap on 2 June.
What good is it? It marks the next step in a rollout Meta’s been scaling steadily — first automating delivery, then budgeting. Now, creative joins the loop. Meta is building toward an end-to-end engine, into which brands put a goal and out comes a campaign. It’s performance planning, distilled to a prompt.
Planning in the age of prompts: Within this ecosystem, the role of the planner shifts from building campaigns to shaping briefs that steer the algorithm, and uncovering the gaps automation can’t fill. The upside is speed and scale. The edge is how you prompt.
Twitch: Sponsorships that scale
What is it? Amazon Ads has launched Twitch Creator Sponsorships, a new programmatic tool that makes it easier for brands to work with streamers. Using Amazon’s DSP and a self-serve matchmaking tool, planners can pair with creators based on category, audience, location and budget. Formats include branded overlays, host-read integrations, limited-time offers and interactive live chat prompts, all backed by standardised measurement.
What good is it? Twitch has long been culturally rich but commercially difficult. This rollout smooths the pipeline: no talent agency, no cold outreach, no bespoke integrations. Brands can now brief, match and activate creator campaigns with the same ease as any programmatic buy.
Influencer logic, programmatic muscle: It’s creator-led content that behaves like media inventory. With 42% of Twitch viewers having bought tech products promoted on-stream, the pitch is simple: native influence, served at programmatic speed.
Featured image: Chris Zhang / Unsplash