Why brands are boosting investment in news
December 9, 2025
By SmartNews
As digital advertising grows more competitive and privacy shifts reshape performance channels, one environment is quietly regaining momentum: trusted news.
DoubleVerify’s launch of the News Accelerator™ Publisher Council highlights a turning point in how advertisers evaluate news content – not as a brand-safety risk, but as a uniquely high-performing, high-attention opportunity.
For marketers planning 2026 budgets, the findings point to a significant shift in where and why news belongs in the media mix.
News Ads Outperform Other Digital Channels
According to DoubleVerify’s global survey:
- 60% of advertisers said news placements outperformed their campaign baselines
- 27% saw comparable results
- Only 11% reported weaker results
The conclusion is clear: When suitability controls are used properly, news consistently drives strong engagement and outcomes.
Why the performance lift?
News audiences tend to be:
- Highly attentive
- Habit-driven
- Actively seeking information
- More trusting of what they read
These traits make news environments well-suited for both upper-funnel discovery and mid-funnel engagement.
Suitability is Evolving and Opening up More Quality Inventory
Historically, brands over-blocked news content due to adjacency fears. This led to underinvestment and a reduced understanding of how news actually performs.
DoubleVerify’s News Accelerator is designed to address this by improving:
- Content classification
- Contextual AI filtering
- Clear guidance on “trusted news” standards
As blocklists become more precise, advertisers regain access to premium, high-performing inventory they had unintentionally excluded.
Notably:
- Over 50% are already investing in news
- Nearly 30% plan to increase spend
- Only 1% of advertisers consider all news unsuitable
This marks a significant shift toward recognizing news as a safe, scalable, and results-driven channel.
Why News Matters more Moving into 2026
Several broader trends are converging in ways that favor news environments:
- Rising CPMs on social and search
- Competition continues to intensify, making diversification essential.
- Consumers craving credibility
- Trust in social platforms is uneven, while news consumption remains strong.
- Privacy-driven signal loss
- Contextual relevance – a core strength of news – becomes more valuable
- Media-mix diversification
- Agencies increasingly recommend adding high-quality contextual placements to hedge platform volatility.
Together, these trends create a landscape where news is not just brand safe – it’s strategically advantageous.
The Mobile News Habit: A Growing Opportunity
One outcome of this shift is the rising value of mobile-native news platforms.
Mobile is where users now check news repeatedly throughout the day – during commutes, breaks, and downtime – creating natural, high-attention windows for discovery.
This pattern aligns with what many advertisers are seeking:
- Environments where audiences are engaged, not passive
- Placements that feel native and unobtrusive
- Contexts that support trust, clarity, and action
Mobile news apps combine these strengths, making them increasingly attractive for performance, brand and full-funnel campaigns.
While many publishers benefit from this trend, platforms like SmartNews, with a highly active US news audience and mobile-first design, are well positioned to support advertisers looking for credible, high-attention reach as they plan for 2026.
The Takeaway
DoubleVerify’s News Accelerator isn’t just an industry update – it’s a signal that advertisers are reassessing the role of news in modern media plans.
What the data shows:
- News ads drive consistent performance
- Trust and attention give news a competitive edge
- Suitability technology now enables safe, scalable buying
- More advertisers are planning to increase news investment in 2026
As budgets shift and competition intensifies across traditional performance channels, trusted news environments offer a differentiated path to quality, relevance, and measurable impact.
Interested in exploring mobile news advertising?
Talk with a SmartNews expert about how advertisers are using mobile news environments to reach high-value audiences.