Media Monitor
Media Monitor is a data-led podcast unpacking what’s really happening across advertising, media, and consumer behavior—and what it means next.
Hosted by Sean Wright and Kelly Sweeney from Guideline.ai, the show breaks down the signals behind the headlines: ad spend shifts, market trends, economic pressure points, and emerging opportunities shaping the media ecosystem.
Each episode translates complex data into clear insight, helping brands, agencies, and decision-makers cut through noise, reduce uncertainty, and make smarter strategic calls.
If media is changing faster than ever, Media Monitor helps you understand why, how, and what to watch next.
Episodes
44 episodes
Is Social Media Becoming Social Again? |E43
Social media was originally supposed to connect people.Then came feeds, algorithms, creators, advertising, endless scrolling and platforms designed to keep us consuming.Could the next era of social media move back toward where it ...
AI, Ad Spend & the Amazon–OpenAI Deal: What Advertisers Should Watch| E42
AI is moving faster. Advertising tools are getting smarter. Brands can do more themselves than ever before.So why aren't agencies disappearing?Kelly Sweeney and Sean Wright are back with a Media Monitor Grab Bag, breaking d...
Can the Right Sports Moment Make an Ad Twice as Memorable? | Gina Waldhorn| E36
A touchdown with four minutes left in a close game isn't worth the same thing as a touchdown during a blowout.So why should advertisers buy those moments the same way?In this episode of Media Monitor, Kelly Sweeney and Sean Wri...
Why More Streaming Inventory Is Pushing Ad Prices Down|E35
Media Monitor spends plenty of time talking about how much advertisers spend.This week, Kelly Sweeney and Sean Wright flip to the other side of the equation: what are advertisers actually paying?Using Guideline’s Q2 digital...
How the World Cup Became a $2B Advertising Event|E34
The World Cup has become a much bigger advertising business in the U.S.In this episode of Media Monitor, Kelly Sweeney and Sean Wright break down Guideline’s first-ever game-by-game World Cup advertising analysis and look at how the 2026...
Why Canada’s Ad Market Is Outpacing Global Growth|E33
Canada’s advertising market is outperforming the global average.In this episode of Media Monitor, Kelly Sweeney and Sean Wright dig into Guideline’s first-half data for Canada and explain why ad spend grew 9% year over year...
WWE, the Agentic Shelf & What AI Is Changing in Advertising| E32
WWE is attracting new sponsors. AI agents are becoming part of the shopping journey. Retail media forecasts are getting bigger. And brands are testing advertising in places consumers may not expect.In this episode of Media Monitor, Kelly...
How the NBA Turned Streaming Into a $2.1B Advertising Season| E31
The NBA had a very strong advertising year.In this episode of Media Monitor, Kelly Sweeney and Sean Wright break down Guideline’s latest NBA advertising report and explain how the league grew ad revenue from roughly $1.5 billio...
What Ad Spend Concentration Can Tell Us About What Comes Next |E30
Advertising spend can be growing while the market underneath it is becoming more fragile.In this episode of Media Monitor, Kelly Sweeney gives Sean Wright a new goal: create an index important enough to have his name attached to i...
Media Monitor’s Conversation at Cannes| The Agentic Future of Media Buying with WPP’s Devon DeBlasio
AI agents may automate more of media buying, but WPP’s Devon DeBlasio believes people still need to remain at the helm.In this installment of Media Monitor: Conversations at Cannes, Guideline Chief Product Officer Steve Silvers sits ...
Media Monitor’s Conversation at Cannes| Is Advertising Losing Sight of What Actually Works?
Advertising has more data, targeting, platforms and measurement than ever. Yet one question keeps surfacing: Are those capabilities actually helping marketers build stronger businesses?In this installment of Media Monitor: ...
Ep 29: YouTube, AI Search & the Ad Inventory Gap in Women’s Sports
YouTube, AI search, data centers, and women’s sports may look like separate stories. Together, they reveal how quickly media distribution and advertising access are changing.In this episode of Media Monitor, Kelly Sweeney and Sean Wr...
Media Monitor’s Conversation at Cannes| Why AI Still Needs a System of Record| Drew Kane
AI may be reshaping media planning and buying, but not every business problem requires an AI solution.In this episode of Media Monitor: Conversations at Cannes, Guideline Chief Product Officer Steve Silvers speaks with Drew Kane, ...
Media Monitor’s Conversation at Cannes| AI Won't Replace Human Creativity| Jonathan Anastas (Rumble)
Jonathan Anastas, Chief Marketing Officer, at Rumble, joins Media Monitor: Conversations at Cannes to discuss why AI won't replace human creativity—but instead make it even more valuable.Following Rumble's acquisition of Northern Dat...
What Advertisers Should Buy Now—and What Can Wait in Q4
When should advertisers lock in Q4 media—and where could waiting actually pay off?In Episode 28 of Media Monitor, Kelly Sweeney and Sean Wright use Guideline’s forward-booking, ad spend, and pricing data to look ahead at the Q4 ad...
Media Monitor's Conversations at Cannes: Metrics that Matter with Preeti
AI is giving marketers faster access to data and insights. But having more data doesn’t automatically lead to better decisions.In this episode of Media Monitor's Conversations at Cannes, Guideline Chief Product Officer Steve Silve...
Why Advertising Growth Is Slowing Despite a Huge Year for Media
The first half of 2026 delivered the Olympics, a resurgent NBA Finals, the FIFA World Cup, and continued growth across streaming and digital media. Yet advertising spend grew just 4% year over year—well below the roughly 10% growth Guideline ha...
3 Common Threads That Kept Coming Up | Conversations at Cannes
Welcome to the first episode of Media Monitor: Conversations in Cannes — a special mini-series featuring industry leaders sharing their predictions for the future of media, advertising, AI, data, and marketing.Recorded during Ca...
Why Brands Pay Millions for World Cup Sponsorships | The Hidden Value of Sports MarketingWhy Brands Pay Millions for World Cup Sponsorships | The Hidden Value of Sports Marketing
Why are brands willing to spend millions sponsoring global sporting events?In this episode of Media Monitor, Kelly Sweeney and Sean Wright examine the economics behind sports sponsorships during the FIFA Club World Cup and explain...
Why Meta Wants Prediction Markets | The $50M Advertising Opportunity Nobody Saw Coming
Prediction markets are rapidly moving from niche platforms into the mainstream—and advertisers are following.In this episode of Media Monitor, Kelly Sweeney and Sean Wright examine why companies like Meta are investing in prediction ...
NBA Finals, Fox + Roku & World Cup Ads: The Biggest Media Stories This Week
Sports, streaming, and advertising continue to reshape the media landscape—and this week delivered plenty to discuss.In this episode of Media Monitor, Kelly and Sean introduce a new weekly headlines segment before diving into Guideli...
How The New York Times Is Winning in Advertising (While Everyone Else Struggles)
Most media companies are fighting declining advertising revenue.The New York Times is moving in the opposite direction.In this episode of Media Monitor, Kelly and Sean launch a new deep-dive series by examining on...
AI, IPOs & Advertising: What Happens When AI Giants Go Public?
AI continues to dominate headlines—but is the advertising industry becoming more cautious?In this episode of Media Monitor, Kelly and Sean examine a series of major developments shaping the future of artificial intelligence and...
NFL Advertising Hits Record Highs: What’s Driving Nearly $6 Billion in Revenue?
The NFL continues to dominate live sports advertising.In this episode, Kelly and Sean break down Guideline’s latest NFL Advertising Report, examining the trends, categories, teams, and schedule changes shaping one of the most v...
Why Publicis Bought LiveRamp — Identity Data, AI & the Future of Advertising
Publicis just made one of the biggest advertising acquisitions in years — purchasing identity platform LiveRamp in a $2.54 billion all-cash deal.But this story is much bigger than a merger announcement.In this episode, Kelly and ...