NewFronts 2025: Interactive advertising takes center stage as CTV platforms embrace commerce

The 2025 NewFronts presentations highlighted how the lines between retail media, streaming platforms and advanced advertising are blurring as major players unveil new capabilities to connect content discovery with commerce opportunities.

Tubi introduces new interactive ad experiences and creator collaborations

Fox’s ad-supported streaming service Tubi announced several new advertising innovations and a slate of original programming during its presentation.

The service unveiled new interactive ad experiences including Tubi Wrappers for studio advertisers, Carousels enabling brands to create immersive virtual showrooms, and AI-powered Tubi Moments, which capture tone, sentiment and visual cues to enable ad creative to appear in relevant content.

Tubi also announced a substantial original content slate, including the adult animated comedy “Breaking Bear” featuring the voices of Brendan Fraser, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Annie Murphy, Elizabeth Hurley and Josh Gad.

The platform is also expanding its young adult offerings with three new films targeting Gen Z audiences: “Hive” starring Xochitl Gomez, “How to Lose a Popularity Contest” starring Chase Hudson, and “Kissing is the Easy Part” with Asher Angel.

Vizio’s MyHub centralizes content and shopping in Walmart era

Capitalizing on the success of dedicated content hubs within its TVOS to help users navigate viewing options across services, Vizio during its NewFronts pitch to advertisers unveiled plans for a new personalized hub that collocates not only programming and watchlists, but also retail and shopping offers.

The new feature on Walmart-owned Vizio’s smart TV platform, dubbed MyHub, is meant to both help consumer content discovery and tune-in challenges and give new space for brands and advertisers to get in front of viewers with special personalized discounts and shopping offers.

Key elements of Vizio’s strategy include:

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• Building on previous dedicated content hubs, including sports, gaming, and newsroom zones, which have proved popular by providing a centralized area in a fragmented content landscape
• Expansion into specific sports verticals like dedicated pro soccer and golf zones, with the latter becoming the platform’s second-most visited sports page after its April launch
• Positioning MyHub as a “first step to shoppable TV”

The marriage of retail and connected TV is particularly important for Vizio following its acquisition by retail giant Walmart in a $2.3 billion transaction that closed in December. The companies announced that Walmart will make Vizio CTV inventory available through the Walmart DSP (demand-side platform), enabling advertisers to streamline CTV buying “powered by Walmart shopper data and closed loop measurement.”

However, according to reporting by Adweek, Walmart is seeking commitments of $200,000 to run Vizio ads.

Seth Dallaire, EVP and chief growth officer at Walmart US, explained that CTV is one of the fastest growing inventory areas for the Walmart Connect ad business, and the company views efforts with Vizio as complementary to its typical retail media network that previously focused more on mid-lower funnel marketing.

Samsung Ads unveils shoppable ad formats and Samsung Television Network

Samsung Ads is taking a multifaceted approach to integrating commerce capabilities into its CTV ecosystem:

The company introduced ShoppingBreaks, launching later this year, described as a “sophisticated ad format” that will “shorten the path to purchase, enabling consumers to buy directly from their TVs.” ShoppingBreaks will serve creator-hosted, short-form content within Samsung TV Plus ad breaks with a clear call to action.

This is part of Samsung’s broader interactive solutions portfolio that includes GameBreaks—a collection of interactive mini-games that turn traditional ad breaks into engagement opportunities, which the company claims boost brand recall by 1.5x over standard video ads.

Samsung’s presentation also highlighted:

• The debut of STN (Samsung Television Network), described as “the broad-FAST channel of the future” available exclusively on Samsung TV Plus
• A suite of data-driven solutions including “Optimal Reach, GameBreaks, Performance Conversion, and Data+” to transform TV “from a mass-reach channel into a powerful, performance-driven service”
• Expanded partnerships with creators and content providers, including an exclusive deal with the Jonas Brothers for their upcoming tour

LG Ad Solutions focuses on commerce and interactivity

LG Ad Solutions is implementing more interactive TV ads with BrightLine, with formats becoming available in Q3 in the U.S. and Canada before expanding globally. The new ad units will include trivia capabilities and game advertising, with ads becoming gamified within the screen itself.

Shoppable ads are also a priority for LG, including QR codes and add-to-cart functionality to facilitate purchases and turn the TV into a full-funnel commerce channel. 

Additional highlights from LG include:

• 3D native home screen ads to transform the LG home screen into a brand showcase
• Social amplification through Spaceback, bringing social media content like Instagram Stories and TikTok videos to TV screens for unified cross-platform campaigns, launching globally in Q3 2025
• A partnership with Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson to launch the 50 Cent Action Channel on LG Channels

Google injects AI into Display & Video 360 platform

Google is weaving AI throughout its Display & Video 360 platform, enhancing its commerce and retail media solutions to help advertisers “turn viewers into buyers wherever they shop.” The company announced its comprehensive commerce and retail media solution in DV360 now includes partnerships with Costco, Intuit, Regal Cinemas, and United Airlines’ Kinective Media network.

The Google AI-powered buying experience integrates both generative and predictive capabilities throughout the campaign process, featuring smart inventory selection that responds to natural language prompts like “premium CTV deals for live sports fans,” easy campaign setup with AI-recommended settings, and quick reporting features.

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Media companies adapt to changing landscape

Traditional media companies are also adapting their strategies in response to the changing CTV and retail media environment.

The New York Times announced it will soon introduce shoppable integrations into its Cooking and Sports content, timed to seasonal moments like Thanksgiving and the Super Bowl. The publisher is also expanding its ad products, including a new video-forward product carousel similar to those seen on Instagram, full-screen expandable video units within its app, and interstitials in Games.

Yahoo unveiled a partnership between Yahoo Sports and Boardroom, the media brand co-founded by Kevin Durant and Rich Kleiman, to launch “Network with Rich Kleiman,” a new multi-platform video series, alongside a dedicated Boardroom hub on the Yahoo Sports website. The company emphasized its continued position as a trusted digital destination, with 9 in 10 Americans engaging with Yahoo each month.