After this year’s blitz of presentations, the NewFronts could be aptly renamed ConnectedTVFronts. YouTube led the charge with a March 25 announcement that it’s expanding its Shopping affiliate program to creators with as few as 500 subscribers. Then, onstage in New York City, duos Amazon and Samsung, and Walmart and Vizio, each announced expanded partnerships specifically aimed at CTV sales.
Connected TV has, of course, been YouTube’s focus for years. It’s now spent three years as the most-watched streaming service on TVs, and within the last few months, also became the single most-watched provider of content, beating out all traditional television networks.
I’m sure we’ll hear more about that at YouTube’s Brandcast presentation in May (during the traditional TV Upfronts), but for NewFronts, YouTube focused on wooing advertisers with AI and with creators. It highlighted Kantar data that showed 78% of U.S. viewers agree YouTube has the most trusted creators for product recommendations.
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And YouTube’s new Shopping update is aimed at getting more of those creators recommending products to their viewers–ideally products sold on YouTube’s own platform à la TikTok Shop. This update follows Neal Mohan’s 2026 letter to creators, where he said YouTube is “focused on” making its platform a “premier shopping destination” where viewers can buy products recommended by creators, without ever leaving the YouTube app.
In a blog post about the expansion, YouTube promised creators its plans aren’t “just about commissions–it’s about community.”
“Regardless of the size of your audience, by providing a seamless and helpful shopping experience, you’re reinforcing your role as a trusted guide for your viewers,” it wrote. “Each recommendation strengthens your foundation with your community, turning a simple purchase into a lasting, loyal relationship.”
YouTube has been trying to break into the ecommerce game for years, and it’s not hard to see why the platform is redoubling efforts: TikTok, which it chased irrevocably into short-form content, is now making billions through Shop, and YouTube wants a chunk of that change for itself.
Again, I expect we’ll see more concrete announcements around this particular topic at Brandcast (along with yet more AI). I also expect YouTube will further tie Shopping in with connected TV; in October, it announced a “from couch to cart” feature where CTV viewers will be able to scan a shopping QR code embedded in a video or ad, and be taken to that product’s page on their phone.
As for other NewFronts connected TV announcements…
- Amazon and Samsung focused on a similar “couch to cart” pipeline with a shoppable ads integration set for launch in July 2026. The feature will let viewers shop Amazon products directly on their living room screens through Samsung’s smart TV AVOD service, Samsung TV Plus.
- and Walmart and Vizio unveiled performance data for their long-running CTV relationship. The duo said 65% of surveyed Walmart customers reported CTV ads helped them discover new products, and that joint CTV campaigns deliver a median viewing of 44%. Some campaigns, like the one they ran for Cuban-style coffee brand Café Bustelo, “drove 98% incremental household reach beyond linear TV.”
“Shoppable innovation is no longer a future concept, it’s the standard,” Courtney Howell, Samsung Ads’ Head of Agency Development, said in a statement. “With our new Amazon integration and the expansion of Samsung Ads interactive ad capabilities, we’re transforming the biggest screen in the home into a fully shoppable, performance-driven platform where inspiration, engagement, and purchase happen in the same moment.”
Meanwhile Walmart said of its and Vizio’s partnership, “Together, the companies securely connect ad engagement across CTV to purchases through closed-loop sales attribution, helping brands drive awareness and engagement across the entire content lifecycle while unlocking new opportunities to show up where theatrical, streaming, and live sports fandom converge. Today’s milestones paint a clear roadmap for connected commerce’s future through CTV.”
