Mobile usage climbs +107% YoY to 54.3M unique visitors; desktop grows +18% YoY to 83.0M as ChatGPT drives PC gainsRESTON, Va., Jan. 29, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Comscore (Nasdaq: SCOR), a global leader in measuring and analyzing consumer behaviors, today released new data showing continued momentum for AI assistant destinations across devices heading into 2026. Using Comscore’s cross-platform measurement of unique visitors, total mobile visitation to the leading AI assistant destinations reached 54.3M in De ...

Core Insights - Bombora has partnered with Proximic by Comscore to introduce 300 new contextual audiences based on Bombora's proprietary B2B data, enhancing the value of the B2B ecosystem for stakeholders [1][2] Group 1: Partnership and Product Offering - The integration of Bombora's B2B data with Proximic's predictive AI technology allows advertisers to access sophisticated contextual targeting based on essential B2B attributes such as industry, job function, and professional group [2][4] - Advertisers can activate these new segments through The Trade Desk's Contextual Marketplace or via Deal IDs through Microsoft Monetize, providing access to major programmatic platforms like DV360, Yahoo DSP, and Adobe [3] Group 2: Strategic Importance - The partnership exemplifies Bombora's commitment to providing seamless access to its B2B data, enabling advertisers to implement sophisticated advertising strategies and reach their ideal professional audiences [4] - The combination of Proximic's AI-powered predictive signals with Bombora's data creates specialized segments that enhance addressability and drive results in a complex digital landscape [4] Group 3: Company Overview - Bombora is recognized as a pioneer in B2B data, connecting the B2B ecosystem through a unique Data Co-op of leading publishers and data providers, leveraging advanced AI models to create a comprehensive view of company research behavior [5] - The company offers a range of solutions including Intent, Identity, B2B Audiences, and Campaign Measurement, making them accessible across various B2B MarTech, RevTech, SalesTech, and AdTech platforms [5]

Core Insights - The 2026 State of Programmatic Report indicates a shift in the programmatic market towards intentional spending and accountability, with 58% of media buyers expecting increased investment in 2026 and 87% valuing cross-channel performance metrics for decision-making [1][6]. Group 1: Market Trends - Programmatic advertising is entering a mature growth phase, with buyers focusing on purposeful budget allocation and demanding transparency and quality across all screens [2]. - CTV (Connected TV) and audio are the only media channels projected to see year-over-year budget growth, with CTV expected to capture an average of 26% of media budgets and audio 10% [6]. Group 2: AI and Optimization - AI-powered optimization is now considered essential, with 82% of marketers affirming its importance [6]. - The top AI applications anticipated for 2026 include audience targeting and modeling (88%), campaign pacing and bid automation (77%), measurement and attribution (71%), and fraud detection and brand safety (70%) [6]. Group 3: Budget Reallocation - A significant 45% of marketers are reallocating budgets from linear TV to CTV, while 21% are moving funds from linear to programmatic audio [6]. - More than half of the respondents (58%) expect their programmatic investment to increase in 2026, indicating a positive outlook for the programmatic market [6]. Group 4: Measurement and Effectiveness - Marketers prioritize conversion rate (62%), ROAS (47%), reach and frequency (46%), and click-through rate (39%) as key metrics for measuring programmatic campaign effectiveness [10]. - 43% of respondents plan to increase their use of contextual targeting in 2026, especially in privacy-regulated sectors where 50% identify contextual targeting as their main tactic [6].

Core Insights - Comscore has launched content-level audio contextual and ID-free audience targeting and cross-platform campaign audio measurement on The Trade Desk platform, positioning itself as a leader in advanced audio targeting and measurement [1][2] Group 1: New Capabilities for Advertisers - The integration of Proximic by Comscore's AI-powered contextual solutions with Comscore's planning and measurement expertise allows advertisers to effectively plan, target, and measure audio inventory, including streaming audio and podcasts [2] - Advertisers using The Trade Desk have reported an average of 10% incremental, exclusive digital reach from audio inventory, demonstrating the effectiveness of this new capability [3] - The integration provides advertisers with the precision, measurement, and accountability they expect from other channels, enhancing their ability to capture the incremental reach of audio [4] Group 2: Engagement and Audience Insights - Comscore data indicates that 45% of adults aged 25 to 34 listen to podcasts weekly, showcasing the medium's engagement with a key demographic and the potential for advertisers [6] - The integration emphasizes the importance of independent measurement and performance-driven decision-making across all channels, reinforcing the value of audio in the digital media landscape [6] Group 3: Privacy-Conscious Advertising Solutions - The integration leverages content-level audio insights to deliver targeting without the need for cookies or user IDs, addressing the growing demand for privacy-conscious advertising solutions [5] - This model of cross-platform collaboration between Comscore and The Trade Desk exemplifies how openness and interoperability can advance the industry [7]

Core Insights - ESPN will utilize Comscore Content Measurement (CCM) to gain a unified view of audience engagement across linear, streaming, digital, and social platforms, enhancing its understanding of total audience reach and programming impact [1][2] Audience Engagement - In September 2025, ESPN reached a total audience of 240.4 million people across all its platforms, with 74.6 million engaging through linear networks alone, indicating a more than 3X increase (+222%) when including digital and social audiences [3] Strategic Implications - The collaboration with Comscore allows ESPN to better communicate its reach and impact to advertisers, refine its content strategy, and differentiate its brand in a competitive media landscape [2][4] Comscore's Role - Comscore provides insights into audience overlap and platform-specific lift, along with person-level demographics that aid in content planning and ad sales strategy [6]

Core Insights - Comscore has launched new program-level capabilities within its Content Measurement (CCM) to enhance visibility for advertisers and agencies regarding audience engagement with content at the series and episode level [1][4] Group 1: New Capabilities - The new program-level reporting allows advertisers to plan campaigns based on deduplicated reach across platforms, leading to more cost-effective campaigns and reduced wasted ad spend [2] - Comscore's CCM now provides daily normalized reporting across platforms, addressing the fragmentation in cross-platform insights and setting a new industry benchmark for transparency and precision [3] Group 2: Industry Impact - The expansion of content measurement capabilities enables better planning, smarter selling, and greater confidence in a converged media landscape where content is increasingly valuable [4] - The partnership with AWS and the use of Amazon Bedrock agentic AI technology allows Comscore to process vast amounts of viewing metadata, creating a unified "source of truth" for audience measurement [4] Group 3: Client Benefits - Agencies have expressed that the insights provided by Comscore are crucial for understanding viewing behaviors in context, allowing for faster and more confident decision-making [4] - The new capabilities are expected to help media companies and advertisers optimize their investments by measuring content performance across multiple devices [4]

Core Insights - Comscore has completed a recapitalization transaction with its preferred stockholders, enhancing financial flexibility and corporate governance [1][2] - The recapitalization eliminates an annual preferred dividend of $18 million and aligns interests among stockholders [1][2] Financial Details - Preferred stockholders exchanged 31,928,301 Series B preferred shares for 3,286,825 shares of common stock and 4,223,621 shares of new Series C preferred stock [2] - The transaction involved the issuance of 9,860,475 shares of common stock and 12,670,863 shares of Series C preferred stock, eliminating all Series B preferred stock [2] - The recapitalization implied an exchange of $80.8 million of existing liquidation preference for common stock at an effective price of $8.19 per share, a nearly 50% premium to the 90-day VWAP of $5.465 per share [2] - Additionally, $183.7 million of remaining liquidation preference was exchanged for Series C preferred stock at a price of $14.50 per share, with the new preferred stock being convertible into common stock at a 1:1 rate and paying no annual dividends [2] Strategic Positioning - The recapitalization is viewed as a pivotal moment for Comscore, positioning the company for long-term growth and investment in media transformation through AI [2] - The improved capital structure aims to increase market interest in Comscore's common stock and enhance public market capitalization [2]

Core Insights - The domestic box office is projected to reach approximately $9 billion by the end of the year, showing improvement compared to last year but still below pre-pandemic levels [1][3][4] - The holiday season is expected to be strong, with several major releases including "Avatar: Fire and Ash," "The Housemaid," and "Marty Supreme" contributing to box office performance [2][4] - Next year is anticipated to be significant for the box office, with expectations of reaching levels close to $11 billion, driven by a robust slate of upcoming films [4][6] Box Office Performance - The current domestic box office stands at $8.5 billion, with a potential to generate an additional $480 to $500 million during the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve [1][3] - Historical data indicates that the box office can perform strongly during the holiday period, suggesting a positive outlook for the final week of the year [3] Upcoming Releases - Major upcoming films include "Disclosure Day," "Digger," "Avengers: Doomsday," "Toy Story 5," and "Minions 3," which are expected to attract audiences to theaters [5][6] - The success of films like "Marty Supreme," which performed well in limited release, highlights the importance of star involvement and marketing in driving box office success [8][9] Audience Engagement - The communal experience of watching movies in theaters is emphasized as a key factor in attracting audiences, particularly among Gen Z moviegoers [12] - The combination of theatrical releases and streaming options is seen as essential for studios to maximize their reach and engagement with audiences [11][12]

Core Insights - Comscore has expanded its cross-platform reporting suite by introducing streaming audio measurement and enhanced social reporting, now rebranded as Cross-Platform Campaign Results [1][4] - The new capabilities allow advertisers to plan, activate, and measure streaming audio and podcast campaigns alongside other digital and linear formats, providing a comprehensive view of campaign performance [2][5] Company Developments - The rebranding of Comscore Campaign Ratings (CCR) to Cross-Platform Campaign Results (CCR) aims to clarify the company's unique offering in validating impact and optimizing spend across fragmented media landscapes [4] - Comscore's expanded social reporting provides insights into deduplicated reach and performance across Facebook and Instagram, aligning with TV, CTV, and digital channels [3][4] Industry Impact - The enhancements in Comscore's reporting suite enable advertisers to measure channels collectively rather than in silos, thus improving budget allocation and campaign planning across various platforms [4][5] - As consumer attention shifts across platforms and formats, the Cross-Platform Campaign Results equips advertisers with unified insights to validate performance and drive stronger business outcomes [5][6]

Core Insights - The Comscore AI Intelligence Report provides a comprehensive analysis of generative AI adoption and its impact on consumer behavior, highlighting the transformative role of AI in the consumer journey [1][2][3] AI Adoption and Usage - AI assistant tools have reached 36% of desktop users and 24% of mobile users in 2025, driven by platforms like ChatGPT, Gemini, and Copilot [6] - Over 30% of desktop searches on Google now feature an AI Overview, an increase from 23% in April 2025, indicating a surge in AI integration in search [6] - Nearly 63% of hotel bookers visited an AI platform before making a booking, with 7% doing so within minutes of completing their transaction, showcasing AI's growing influence on purchase decisions [6] Engagement and Demographics - ChatGPT leads the AI assistant category with strong engagement across both mobile and desktop platforms, reflecting users' integration of AI into various touchpoints [6] - AI usage has expanded across all age demographics, with the 25–34 age segment experiencing the highest volume increase [6] - AI-related social media content generated over 64 million engagements in 2025, nearly doubling from the previous year, indicating a significant rise in social buzz around AI [6] Methodology and Data Integrity - Comscore's insights are based on a person-based panel that represents users across desktop and mobile, utilizing a proprietary methodology and privacy-compliant behavioral data for reliable measurement [5]