17 December 2025

Australian Upfronts 2025: The key ad tech and CTV innovations shaping 2026

In summary

• Converged trading continued to dominate, with more publishers moving towards unified buying across linear, BVOD, FAST and streaming.
• Contextual intelligence, shoppable CTV and AI-powered optimisation were the standout tech themes across multiple networks.
• Attention, clutter and user control emerged as defining factors in how publishers are reshaping inventory and measurement.
• Audio made major advancements in AdTech, with new targeting, clean rooms and app-level engagement signals.
• Publisher partnerships expanded to strengthen privacy-safe data matching, outcome measurement and cross-screen attribution.

It’s a wrap

It’s that time of year again, when we round up the major announcements from Australia’s leading media and advertising platforms, as they unveil their 2025/26 strategies.

This year’s upfronts placed a much heavier focus on technology, measurement and signal quality across TV, streaming, audio and online video.

Below is a summary of the key updates, with an emphasis on converged trading, data partnerships, privacy-safe activation and the rapidly growing set of contextual and shoppable ad opportunities.

Foxtel

Foxtel delivered one of the most tech-forward upfronts of the season, announcing advancements in retail media, AI-assisted experiences, and next-generation sports inventory designed around high-attention moments.

Ad tech and retail partnerships

• Retail Plus officially launched, Foxtel’s new retail media solution, enabling outcome-based activation across premium video, supported by retailer partnerships such as Chemist Warehouse.
• Powered by allt.tv, the new second-screen integration that connects what viewers watch on TV with apps on their phones in real time (e.g. pre-filled carts triggered by cooking shows).

Formats and attention

• L-Bar ads introduced across Kayo and Binge, offering branding around the edges of live content without interrupting the stream.
• Pause ads and 3–6 second pre-game solus bumpers rolled out as high-attention, uncluttered inventory moments.

AI and viewer enrichment

• Kayo Buddy, an AI-powered viewing companion, gives real-time stats, personalised updates and curated highlights.

Measurement partners

Building on previous investments, Foxtel continues its integrations with:

• tvbeat for digitised linear impressions
• CommBank iQ for outcome-based insights
• Adgile for independent verification and creative analytics

Nine

Nine’s upfront was anchored in converged trading, short-form innovation and deeper integration of audience datasets across its platforms.

Unified streaming and trading

• Buyers were offered a single connection into 9Now, Stan Sport and the upcoming HBO Max partnership.
• Continued expansion of Nine Ad Manager, with a stronger push into self-serve for SMEs and performance-driven advertisers.

Formats and content distribution

• 9Now Stories, a vertical, mobile-first storytelling format, was expanded following strong performance over the Olympics.

Audience and data

• Growth of audience solutions via PoweredTV and 9Amplify, enabling creative and social amplification tied to premium TV content.
• Ongoing development of Nine’s first-party identity spine through enhanced segmentation and targeting across TV, digital and audio.

Seven

Seven centred its upfront on total TV trading, predictive intelligence and hyperlocal precision targeting across the 7plus ecosystem.

Trading and measurement

• Phoenix, Seven’s total TV trading platform, is now live with over 140 clients, enabling streamlined buying across linear, regional and BVOD.

Hyperlocal innovation

• Introduction of 7GeoPlus, built with GeoComply, enabling CTV and digital targeting at extremely granular location accuracy (~20m radius). A major leap for franchise, retail, and footfall-driven brands.

Audience intelligence

• 7REDiQ + Westpac DataX integration strengthens outcome measurement, connecting 7plus ad exposure with real-world purchase signals across 50+ categories.

Paramount / Network 10

Paramount’s upfront focused on contextual AI, shoppable formats, and the next phase of its converged trading platform.

AdTech

• Paramount Connect continues to evolve into a comprehensive audience-first trading platform across 10, 10 Play, Paramount+ and more than 60 FAST channels.

Contextual and shoppable CTV

Advanced contextual suite with KERV.ai + FreeWheel, including:

• Pause to Shop
• Own the Moment placements in the first break
• Scene-level contextual targeting aligned to emotions or story beats within shows

CTV scale

• Paramount is now the exclusive sales partner for LG Channels in Australia, adding 130+ FAST channels into its addressable footprint.

SBS

SBS celebrated its 50th anniversary with one of the most user- and advertiser-friendly sets of announcements.

User experience and attention

• Release of a market-first ad load and attention study, highlighting the impact of reduced clutter (SBS caps at 5 minutes of ads per hour).
• Plans to expand the study in 2026 to cover YouTube and ad-supported SVOD services.

Privacy and user control

• Permanent opt-out controls for alcohol, wagering and fast-food advertising, a global first in the streaming environment.
• Early trials saw a 45% decline in wagering-ad complaints.

Platform growth

• SBS On Demand improvements include live TV pause and rewind features, new FAST channels, and a push into video podcasts.

Amazon Prime Video / Amazon Ads

Amazon’s 2025 Australia upfront highlighted its growing role as both a premium streaming platform and an ad tech provider, with a strong focus on interactive CTV formats and AI-assisted planning.

Interactive CTV and commerce

• Introduction of interactive video ads across Prime Video, allowing viewers to engage with brands and add products directly to their Amazon cart using their remote or mobile device.
• Interactive pause ads, transforming pause moments into shoppable brand experiences.

AdTech and planning

• Expansion of Complete TV within Amazon DSP, an AI-powered planning and optimisation tool designed to help advertisers manage and measure streaming TV investment across multiple platforms from a single interface.
• Continued positioning of Amazon DSP as a central buying and measurement layer for premium streaming inventory in Australia.

Why it matters:

Amazon’s upfront signalled its ambition to sit at the intersection of CTV, commerce and ad tech, turning streaming inventory into measurable retail outcomes while simplifying planning in an increasingly fragmented video landscape.

YouTube

YouTube’s Brandcast continued the platform’s march into premium CTV territory.

CTV formats

• Immersive Mastheads
• 60-second non-skippable ads via YouTube Select
• Expanded shoppable CTV, allowing viewers to send product info to their phone directly from the TV screen

AI-led optimisation

• Peak Points, a new AI-driven temporal model that serves ads when viewers are most emotionally receptive.
• Attributed Brand Search links YouTube exposure to search lift, providing clearer mid-funnel effectiveness signals.

ARN

ARN’s upfront activity centred on expanding the capabilities of iHeartRadio as a data-rich audio and podcast environment.

New app experience

The redesigned app includes:

• Favourites across stations, playlists and podcasts
• A “Scan” mode for sampling live radio
• Ranked listening lists
• In-app lyrics and enhanced personalisation

These behaviours significantly strengthen ARN’s first-party signal set for advertisers.

SCA / LiSTNR

LiSTNR delivered one of the biggest leaps forward in audio AdTech this year.

AdTech

• Launch of LiSTNR Precision+:
  • Combines LiSTNR’s and advertiser first-party data
  • Uses AI for real-time targeting optimisation
  • Supported by privacy-first clean rooms
• Expanded Dynamic Creative Optimisation across audio formats
• Built on SCA’s fully owned tech stack, enabling consistent measurement and attribution

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