Pundit
David Cohen
8 receipts • Tracked since Apr 2026
CEO of IAB; industry advocacy on privacy regulation and ad-supported internet.
Affiliations
No firm affiliations on record.
— Filed —
8 receipts
2025
2 predictions- Nov 20, 2025Too early to tell.“Creator Economy ad spend to reach $37 billion in 2025, growing 4x faster than total media industry, according to IAB.”
The prediction targets full-year 2025, and as of the current date (August 30, 2026), specific data confirming the exact $37 billion figure and growth rate against the total media industry for 2025 would be needed for a definitive verdict. The outcome is still too early to fully judge.
- Apr 17, 2025Too early to tell.“As we look ahead to this year, there is no doubt that we will see an even more dynamic market driven by geopolitical and economic factors. There is absolutely growth to be had for those that embrace the volatility and innovate.”
The prediction for 'this year' (2025) is still too early to fully judge its outcome against specific market performance, though continued growth in digital advertising generally supports the conditional premise.
2023
3 predictions- Apr 13, 2023Called it.“Looking ahead, there is definitely still growth to be had, but it will be harder to achieve and likely less than we have become accustomed to.”
Subsequent industry data confirmed that digital ad revenue growth cooled after 2021's spike, remaining positive but at lower rates, aligning with the prediction of 'harder' and 'less' growth.
- Mar 16, 2023Story still evolving.“Nearly 15 years after the NewFronts started, [Cohen] predicts the NewFronts and upfronts will ultimately merge into a single event. ‘This is going to be one video market. There is no need for the time and effort of separating them. It’s kind of a fallacy today and it will certainly be a fallacy in the future.’”
Buyers increasingly treat linear and streaming as one integrated 'video' marketplace, with many upfront presentations incorporating streaming. While a full formal merger of events is still evolving, the market is moving towards 'one video market' as predicted.
- Mar 16, 2023Story still evolving.“The future of video will be streamed. There is no doubt in my mind that is going to happen. It’s only a matter, between now and then, of how much more the industry will evolve.”
Video is increasingly streamed, with significant growth in CTV ad spend and legacy broadcasters expanding streaming services. This trend aligns strongly with Cohen's prediction, but the 'future' is an ongoing development.
2022
1 prediction- Apr 19, 2022Story still evolving.“We believe the small business growth engine will be a key contributor to fueling ongoing digital media and marketing ecosystem acceleration”
While industry trends in self-serve ad platforms and e-commerce support the idea that small businesses contribute to digital growth, precise quantitative attribution is not provided, making it an evolving directional prediction.
2021
2 predictions- Nov 17, 2021Called it.“While the digital advertising industry is expected to remain a bright spot in an otherwise tough year, serious challenges loom.”
Digital ad revenues continued to grow significantly in 2021, confirming it remained a 'bright spot'. At the same time, subsequent years saw increasing challenges like privacy regulations and growth bottlenecks, validating the 'serious challenges loom' aspect.
- Jan 6, 2021Called it.“Streaming will soar in 2021 and the retail landscape will never be the same.”
Streaming did soar in 2021 with significant ad spend growth. Retail underwent lasting structural changes with increased e-commerce and focus on first-party data and privacy regulations. Outcome aligned with prediction.