Retail media has quickly become one of advertising’s fastest growing sectors. From first-party data and closed-loop measurement to omnichannel reach and performance-driven outcomes, retail media networks are reshaping the future of commerce and marketing.

To recognize the organizations driving this momentum, ADWEEK is launching the Fastest Growing Retail Media Networks list. We’re honoring the retail media networks that have demonstrated exceptional growth, innovation, and advertiser impact, ranked by their three-year revenue growth.

The Fastest Growing Retail Media Networks list is open to:

• Retail-owned and operated media networks
• Commerce and marketplace media platforms
• Omnichannel retail media networks spanning on-site, off-site, in-store, and CTV
• Emerging and established networks demonstrating standout year-over-year growth

Submissions will be evaluated and ranked based on three-year revenue growth (2023-2025). Actual figures will not be published—only the three-year percentage growth will be made public.

Entry Fees

Early Bird (until Feb. 6): $175

Regular Deadline (until March 6): $225

Extended Deadline (until March 23): $295

Use the nomination form below to submit a candidate. The final deadline to submit is Monday, March 23 at midnight EST. 

On Thursday, MS NOW announced that former CNN executive Maria Spinella will join the network as its vice president of programming.

Starting on Monday, Jan. 12, Spinella will lead MS NOW’s programming teams, guide daily and long-term programming strategies, and help manage breaking-news coverage needs. The exec will be based in New York.

She joins the network from CNN, where she was most recently their executive producer of multi-platform programming, developing and producing content across multiple platforms and launching programs across all dayparts.

During her nearly two-decade tenure at CNN, Spinella oversaw some of the network’s primetime programs, including Don Lemon Tonight and Piers Morgan Tonight. She started off her CNN career as a segment producer for Paula Zahn and Campbell Brown. She has also worked at ABC News and HBO Sports.

Spinella has covered every presidential election cycle since 2000, produced dozens of town halls, primary debates, and candidate interviews, and served as a key leader on CNN’s special events programming team.

The Mouse House is getting some adtech upgrades, with Disney revealing several updates during its annual Tech and Data Showcase from CES on Wednesday.

Overall, the company’s event, which also helps kick off its upfront conversations, focused on making things more seamless and efficient for advertisers, including utilizing AI, self-service tools, and new metrics to identify brand impact.

Disney’s ads president, Rita Ferro, recently told ADWEEK that AI would transform how TV is “planned, measured, and optimized” in 2026, and several of the latest updates move the industry closer to that future.

Here are the top highlights from Disney’s Tech and Data Showcase:

Video generation tool

Disney is adding a new video creation tool for advertisers that can utilize brand assets and guidelines to make CTV-ready commercials, according to the company. The creative can be adjusted for audiences, context, and placement, and the ads are informed by performance signals within the spots.

AI-powered internal planning

Beyond creative executions, the company says it will use an AI-powered planning tool to make campaigns “more intentional, connected, and outcome focused.” The idea is to create more time to focus on strategy rather than setup, according to Disney.

Disney Compass Brand Portal

Disney is also updating its data platform, Disney Compass, expanding it with the Disney Compass Brand Portal. This new tool gives a view of brand performance across campaigns and platforms, with category benchmarks and AI-powered summaries to highlight key insights.

According to the company, the Brand Portal helps provide a clear view of campaign performance, including what’s working and the impact of media investments across Disney. At launch, Brand Portal will be connected to data providers including Affinity Solutions, CINT, EDO, Innovid, and VideoAmp.

Disney Advertising Brand Impact Metric

To better show the impact of placements, the company also introduced a new Brand Impact Metric that measures factors such as attention, brand health, and search. The metric is designed to show the halo effect of brand performance on outcomes, combining insights from established measurement providers and Disney.

“When brands can connect ad exposure to direct results, marketers gain clarity on not just what drove results–but how,” Dana McGraw, svp of data and measurement science, Disney Advertising, said in a statement. “The vision of the Disney Advertising Brand Impact Metric is to connect all pieces of the measurement puzzle in a single metric for advertisers to get a total view of what matters.”

Vertical video on Disney+

Disney brought vertical video to the ESPN streaming app through its “verts” launch last year, and this year the company is bringing vertical video to Disney+ in the U.S. as well. The company is also exploring how to use vertical video across categories and content types to create a more personalized experience.

Records are being broken a month before the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics even get started.

Today, amid CES, NBCUniversal announced it had sold out of its Winter Olympics ad inventory, with a month still to go before the games. In the process, the company set a new Winter Olympics ad sales record, with the highest linear and digital revenue it’s ever recorded. Plus, the company scored a record number of advertisers. With the news, NBCU has sold out inventory for the Winter Olympics, the NBA All-Star Game, and the Super Bowl, which make up what the company calls its “Legendary February” programming.

“With the resurgence of the Olympic movement, our strongest sports upfront in history, the early sellout of Super Bowl LX, and the remarkable return of the NBA, NBCUniversal has solidified itself as a sports powerhouse, and brands have taken notice,” Mark Marshall, chairman, global advertising and partnerships, NBCUniversal, said in a statement.

Among other highlights, the Winter Olympics is adding more than 100 new advertisers for the upcoming Games. Of its total advertisers, 85% of brand partners are investing in Milan Cortina digitally, and advertiser adoption of Peacock’s ad innovations has grown 31% from Paris 2024 to Milan Cortina 2026, according to the company.

Plus, the company said nearly 60 advertisers are using unique marketing elements, up more than 174% from Beijing 2022.

“The upcoming Winter Games, surrounded by Super Bowl LX and NBA All-Star Weekend, will captivate a highly engaged and passionate audience at scale in a way that no other media company can for advertisers,” Peter Lazarus, evp, NBC Sports & Olympics, advertising and partnerships, said.

NBCU’s previous record for Winter Olympics ad sales came from the 2018 PyeongChang Games ceremonies, which reportedly generated around $1.15 billion in total revenue. The company recently set the record for ad sales for the Summer Games as well, bringing in more than $1.25 billion for Paris 2024.