Comcast plans to launch a brand new promoting platform that may make it easier for smaller businesses to purchase promoting time — and, the corporate hopes, will lure some advertisers away from social media and digital channels and toward traditional television's streaming businesses.

On Monday, Comcast announced the launch of Universal Ads, a brand new platform for advertisers to buy spots for premium video content on traditional media corporations' streaming properties. The announcement comes ahead of the annual CES technology conference in Las Vegas.

Comcast has partnered with other media corporations that give advertisers the chance to purchase spots on different networks. So far, Comcast-owned NBCUniversal and ad-supported streamer Xumo are a part of the platform, as is A+E, AMC NetworksDirecTV, Fox Corp., Paramount, YearTelevisionUnivision and Warner Bros. Discovery. More are expected to be added in the approaching months.

“Universal Ads is designed to create new demand from advertisers who have not traditionally worked with us,” said Mark Marshall, chairman of world promoting and partnerships at NBCUniversal, CNBC’s parent company. “And as we start streaming and [small- and medium-sized businesses]in a future state this may apply to both linear and agency.”

Universal Ads, launching in the primary quarter, is designed to make it easier for advertisers of all sizes and shapes to purchase promoting time, in comparison with buying ads for platforms resembling: B. generally is a notoriously complicated process Meta, YouTube and TikTok, said James Rooke, president of Comcast Advertising. It is designed to mimic the technique of buying ads on social media content and technology platforms.

“It's concerning that there are a large number of advertisers who have built or started their business based on social video,” Rooke said. “But as you talk to these advertisers, there is a growing desire to diversify away from a very limited number of large technology companies.”

Rooke said the challenge is that these big tech corporations “make transactions on their platforms very easy,” while this just isn’t the case with traditional media or so-called premium content.

Marshall said he and Rooke had been in discussions in recent months about learn how to create “new demand opportunities” for non-traditional advertisers.

Comcast developed the free self-service platform with the assistance of its ad tech company FreeWheel. Many of the partners already registered are FreeWheel customers.

There are also plans to supply free, automated artificial intelligence tools to assist create the ads, which may pose one other problem for smaller businesses.

“Universal Ads has a tremendous opportunity to take market share from our competitors in a unique and collaborative way that will fundamentally change the advertising landscape,” Marshall said.

The media industry goes through a time of turmoil as consumers have increasingly gravitated toward streaming services and turned away from traditional television.

However, this content is much more dwarfed by time spent on social media and technology platforms. Accordingly, YouTube continues to take up a big portion of television time Nielsen. Younger generations are increasingly using social media like TikTok.

Streaming services, from Netflix According to NBCUniversal's Peacock, they’re placing increasing emphasis on promoting to realize profitability. Streamers have captured a bigger share of ad dollars in recent quarters, but that pales as compared to the tech giants' ad revenue.

Marshall noted that social media has “taken on immense proportions” in the case of the variety of advertisers interested in the technology platforms.

“Take Meta for example. They have over 10 million advertisers spending on search and social, whereas NBCUniversal only has it in the thousands,” Marshall said.

While GroupM, WPP's media investment group, described television as “the most effective form of advertising”. Current reportThe company expects the segment to grow lower than 2% in 2025 to total $169.1 billion in global promoting revenue.

Advertising revenue for “Pure Play Digital,” which excludes the streaming arms of traditional media but includes platforms like YouTube and TikTok, is predicted to grow 10% globally to $813.3 billion in 2025, based on GroupM estimates.

According to eMarketer, U.S. social media promoting spending is estimated to be $90.35 billion in 2024, up about 19% year-over-year, and is predicted to succeed in $90.35 billion in 2025 rising one other 13.6% to $102.66 billion.

While industry executives expect the promoting marketplace for traditional media corporations to stabilize in 2025, trends from previous years are also expected to proceed – meaning digital media promoting budgets will proceed to dwarf traditional media.

“You can continue to compete in a shrinking market, or you can go on the offensive and go where the growth is,” Rooke said. “We need to fish in the ponds where there is growth.”

Major advertisers and types still spend heavily on traditional media in the case of live sports and events. Fox executives said the corporate has already sold out February's Super Bowl ads allegedly cost about $7 million each. The college football season, particularly with the expanded College Football Playoff format, has also brought significant promoting revenue.

The key to the Universal Ads platform has been working with other media corporations, Rooke said, to present a unified front in an try and attract more promoting dollars from digital platforms.

“In recent years, single advertising platforms and walled gardens have created barriers for small and medium-sized businesses that lack the resources needed to effectively manage multiple platforms,” said Amy Leifer, chief promoting sales officer at DirecTV.

Leifer, together with executives from NBCUniversal, Warner Bros. Discovery and Fox, emphasized the importance of reaching small and medium-sized businesses as advertisers.

“The idea of ​​empowering small and medium-sized businesses to engage with audiences through premium content, particularly on connected TV, fits perfectly with the growing demand for flexibility and efficiency in ad buying,” said Ryan Gould, Executive Vice of Warner Bros. Discovery President of Streaming, Digital and Advanced Advertising Sales.

Media executives recently told CNBC that traditional linear television remains to be a very important channel for advertisers since it reaches more demographics than social media. They also noted that linear and streaming are not any longer viewed in numerous contexts and grouped together in conversation.

Advertisers searching for platforms outside of social media are “looking for a new product because they're finding that the returns from the existing channels are kind of diminishing,” Rooke said.

“They don’t have a new audience anymore,” he said.

Elon Musk said Saturday that he would randomly award $1 million a day to registered voters who sign a petition for his pro-Trump political motion committee to encourage his fans in swing states to vote.

At an America PAC event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Musk said, “I have a surprise for you,” adding that the prize money could be available “every day from now until the election.”

Musk then called a person named John Dreher, who he said was one in all the petition signers present, and handed him an enormous check.

“I think it's kind of fun, and you know, basically it seems like a good use of the money,” he said Tesla CEO who’s price almost $250 billion.

Musk, who can also be CEO of defense company SpaceX and owner of the social media platform He called the state the “lynchpin” of this election.

“I think the way Pennsylvania is going is the way the elections are going,” Musk said.

The deadline to sign the petition is Monday evening, the day voter registration closes in Pennsylvania. The petition posted on the America PAC website states that to be eligible for payments, signatories “must be registered voters of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania or Wisconsin.”

Rick Hasen, a law professor at UCLA and election law analyst for NBC News, said in a blog post that Musk's initiative appears to be a violation of federal law Election lawsspecifically, one which states that an individual “pays, or offers to pay, or accepts payment, to register to vote.” or for voting shall be punished by a high-quality not exceeding $10,000 or by imprisonment not exceeding five years, or each.”

“Certain things in this country can be sold, and certain things we've decided shouldn't be for sale,” Hasen told CNBC in an interview. “Congress has decided that you shouldn't be able to sell your vote to the highest bidder, and we shouldn't allow the political process to be distorted by people with the most wealth who might try to get you to vote a certain way .”

CNBC reached out to Musk and one in all his advisers for comment, but they didn’t respond.

In an interview with NBC's “Meet the press” On Sunday, Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Musk's plan to provide money to registered voters in his state was “deeply concerning” and “it's something law enforcement could look into.”

At pro-Trump events, Musk pushed exposed election fraud conspiracies, called for deregulation and repeatedly referred to President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, Donald Trump's rival, as interchangeable “puppets.”

“Nobody even bothers to kill Kamala, you recognize, because there's no point,” Musk said Saturday, repeating a phrase he has used in the past that drew attention from him the secret service. “I'm not suggesting that anyone should try to kill her, it would be pointless, but I'm just saying. I’m just making an observation.”

Musk said during his appearances that he believes many government agencies and regulations in the United States are ineffective and unnecessary. Trump has seized on an idea floated by Musk to create a government efficiency commission, saying the tech tycoon will be a large part of the commission.

“We really shouldn’t trust the government. We just shouldn’t do it,” Musk told Harrisburg. “Even if I’m in the government, don’t trust the government.”

While Musk's companies have long relied on government spending and support, he lambasted the Federal Communications Commission, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries for holding back SpaceX.

“Crazy things happen to us,” Musk said, “for example, SpaceX was fined $140,000 for dumping drinking water on the ground at Starbase.”

As CNBC previously reported, SpaceX has repeatedly discharged hot industrial wastewater into the wetlands surrounding the company's launch pad in Boca Chica, Texas, which the EPA believes is a violation of the Clean Water Act.

Musk mocked NOAA Fisheries for asking SpaceX to conduct a study to predict how its rockets might affect sharks and whales if they fell into the sea.

“I think it's a big ocean, you know, there are a lot of sharks. It’s not impossible, but very unlikely,” Musk said. The Mission of the agency is to “protect America’s coastal and marine resources.”

Musk's hostility toward President Biden increased in 2021 when the White House declined to invite Tesla to an electric vehicle summit.

“You know, Tesla has about 140,000 people – it's like there's quite a lot of blood, sweat and tears of individuals working hard to construct great electric cars,” Musk said Saturday. “That you are picked on like that for no reason. It’s like, what’s going on?”

Musk has long fought unions, and Tesla was accused of union busting before the EV summit. Biden has maintained a pro-worker platform throughout his presidency.

An attendee in Harrisburg asked Musk if he thinks self-driving cars should eventually become mandatory, allowing them to navigate traffic more safely than human drivers. Tesla has promised customers a “robotaxi” for years but never produced one.

Musk indicated that he was against anything the federal government mandated.

“We should just get the government out of this and let the market figure it out,” he said. “I am generally against the government. So I would like to thank you all for coming. It was an honor to speak with you.”

Musk mentioned Trump sparingly throughout the evening and did not go into detail about his policies or his record as president.

REGARD: Elon Musk donates $75 million to pro-Trump PAC

Thailand is working on a brand new technique to increase foreign visitor numbers and tourism spending: casinos.

The strategy has worked for Macau – the overtakes Las Vegas because the world's largest gambling center – and Singapore with two successful, 14-year-old casinos.

If Thailand's bill is passed, the country may very well be Macau and Singapore's biggest competitor by the tip of the last decade, industry observers told CNBC.

“They've seen what the construction of casinos has meant for Singapore and the power of the gambling dollar in Macau. If Thailand gets it right, it could increase its attractiveness as a destination,” said Ben Lee, managing partner of IGamiX Management and Consulting.

Tourism is a significant driver of Thailand's economy, but growth stays sluggish. Tourist numbers haven’t fully recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic, and won't until Chinese travelers particularly return in full force.

Southeast Asia's second-largest economy welcomed around 28 million foreign visitors in 2023, a far cry from the nearly 40 million tourists in 2019.

“Thailand is a tourism juggernaut, it is the only tourism market in the region that everyone fears. But the country is still struggling to recover its economy from the pandemic,” Lee said.

In June, former Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin ordered the drafting of a law to legalize entertainment complexes within the country, a move that might boost tourism spending, increase employment and revitalize the economy.

Apart from state-run lotteries or licensed horse racing, gambling is currently illegal in Thailand.

Although Paetongtarn Shinawatra has since replaced him as Thailand's latest Prime Minister, experts consider the bill is prone to be implemented.

“Thailand's political situation is in flux, but that is unlikely to put a damper on plans to build casinos,” said Yin Shao Yang, an analyst at Maybank Investment Bank.

If the law is passed, Thailand's casinos could generate revenue of 187 billion Thai baht ($5.5 billion), or 1 percent of the country's GDP, in line with a study by Maybank.

The Thai economy grew by 1.9% in 2023 and is anticipated to grow by 2.7% this 12 months. the Ministry of Finance announced.

“Tourism in Southeast Asia is highly competitive and countries in the region are looking at how they can position tourism as a pillar of economic diversification,” said Gary Bowerman, director of travel and consumer information company Check-in Asia.

“Legalizing casinos will put Thailand in a stronger position in the future simply because the tourism economy is already so large and has so many visitors,” Bowerman said.

The query most often asked by industry observers is by which Thai cities these casinos is perhaps positioned.

Although the federal government has not yet publicly announced the proposed locations, analysts consider they will not be in the guts of the capital Bangkok.

“Bangkok is already developed and there is no need for further development. I cannot imagine there being any more wasteland in Bangkok,” said Maybank's Yin.

He added that casinos can be inbuilt less populated areas, reminiscent of along Thailand's Eastern Economic Corridor, where Rayong, Chonburi and Chachoengsao are positioned.

This is different from the Macau model, where “a number of casinos like in Las Vegas are located close together,” Allan Zeman, chairman of real estate developer Lan Kwai Fong Group, told CNBC.

“Many governments want casinos in underdeveloped areas because they believe it promotes development,” he said. “But if you have just one casino in a developing city, it doesn't work that way anymore.”

Casinos are also expected to be positioned in other popular tourist destinations reminiscent of Phuket, Krabi, Chiang Mai and Pattaya, added Yin of Maybank.

“The government would want to squeeze out the highest investment spending [capital expenditure] from the Pattaya project,” Yin said, expecting $5 billion to be spent there.

As part of a broader initiative to expand capacity for tourists flying into Pattaya, U-Tapao Rayong Pattaya International Airport announced in March that it would build a second runway. Local media reported.

Check-in Asia's Bowerman added that Thailand would likely follow Singapore's model and build an integrated resort that also offers activities for non-gamers.

“Look at Marina Bay Sands. It has a fantastic bar, an infinity pool, hotels, museums and restaurants. Even young people who don't come to play can benefit from it.”

A draft of the Entertainment Complex Act was published by local media Bangkok Post In August, it was announced that Thai citizens wishing to visit casinos in their country would have to pay an entry fee of 5,000 Thai baht (US$147). This is comparable to casinos in Singapore, where locals have to pay 150 Singapore dollars (US$115) to enter. Entry is said to be free for foreigners.

The proposed rules also include requiring casinos to obtain a valid operating license for up to 30 years and requiring operators to pay 5 billion baht for registration, in addition to an annual payment of 1 billion baht.

Bowerman stressed that the Thai government may require U.S. operators seeking to enter Thailand's gaming industry to partner with Thai companies.

“There will be a legitimate local interest and Thai companies will be keen to get involved,” he said.

Casino experts agree that if Thailand successfully builds five to eight casinos across the country, it could eventually overtake the Singapore market in terms of popularity and total revenue.

But Macau’s casinos will continue to be the frontrunners, it is said.

Macau casino revenues for the first half of the year totaled 114 billion Macau patacas ($14.16 billion), while the two casinos in Singapore brought in $2.53 billion in the same period, according to earnings releases from the respective operators.

“If Thailand's casinos are built properly, there isn’t any doubt that it’s going to have the potential to overtake all other gaming jurisdictions in Asia, aside from Macau,” said IGamiX's Lee, adding that it could “come very close” if Thai casinos are well managed.

Bowerman reiterated his comments, saying Thailand is starting with a “blank sheet of paper” and will certainly attract major U.S. investors.

“The casino industry could be very lucrative and can herald a number of money. That will generate a number of revenue and tax revenue to fund various elements of tourism,” he told CNBC.

All-inclusive hotels are extremely popular with luxury travelers.

In the wake of the pandemic, demand for all-inclusive resorts has skyrocketed, in keeping with a Report from JLL Research Hotels & Hospitality. According to the report, travelers – suddenly and en masse – wanted a vacation that was stress-free and simple to plan, ideally with a wellness component.

Back then, travelers discovered that the all-inclusive resorts of the past—known for low-quality alcohol and more quantity than quality in food—had modified.

Much of the sector had turn into luxurious.

In 2022, the Dominican Republic's share of “upscale” and luxury resorts accounted for 47% of the overall all-inclusive resort offering – a rise from 31% in 1990, in keeping with JLL. The numbers are even higher in Mexico, where upscale and luxury all-inclusive resorts accounted for greater than half (55%) of all-inclusive resorts in 2022.

According to JLL, prices at all-inclusive resorts – once generally known as a comparatively reasonably priced type of travel – have also increased and are quickly surpassing 2019 levels.

Marriott And Hilton have also expanded into the sector, under brands travelers don't typically associate with all-inclusive resorts — from DoubleTree to Westin to The Luxury Collection.

Resort operators have upgraded the all-inclusive experience with every thing from larger suites to special resort privileges.

Guests on the beach Lopesan Costa Bavaro Resort Spa & Casino In the Dominican Republic, you may go for a “unique” room on the resort, which features an upscale room, a private butler, and access to a personal beach.

“We are seeing more and more guests traveling to enjoy a slow, unplugged experience with an upscale twist,” said Karina Arguello, the resort’s industrial director. “In addition to the elements you get when booking an all-inclusive resort, private and additional amenities help enhance this experience.”

Club Med presented:Exclusive collection rooms” at select resorts that grant additional guest benefits such as private transfers, continental breakfast in the suite, champagne in the evening and, as the name suggests, access to exclusive areas in resorts. One of these, Club Med Tignes, is a ski resort nearby the Italian border, which opened in 2022.

The brand also has six resorts – in the Maldives, Mauritius, Italy and France – which make up its “Exclusive Collection”. Prices on your own Valmorel chalet apartmentsa ski resort in France, starts at $2,475 per person in June and rises to $4,250 per person in December, according to its website.

Sandals, an adults-only all-inclusive resort operator in the Caribbean, offers Butler service for its suites at the highest level. According to its website, butlers will unpack guests' belongings, make dinner and spa reservations, serve drinks on the beach and expedite room service orders.

Travelers with larger budgets opt for these services, said Kelly Connor, a New Jersey-based travel advisor for the AAA Club Alliance. But they are not alone.

“Honeymooners … also like higher levels of luxury,” she said.

Sandals St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which opened in March 2024, introduced a new room category for the brand – the 1,248-square-foot two-story overwater Villa Vincy. A seven-night stay in late June for two adults with butler service costs $22,505 – less a 55% discount off the regular rate.

To counter criticism that all-inclusive vacationers don't see much outside the resort, the Sandals Royal Curacao and the Sandals Royal Bahamian offer a $250 voucher to guests who stay in a suite with butler service for a week Dining available at restaurants across the island. A Mini Cooper convertible is also available for your journey.

Half- and full-board options have long been popular in places like the Maldives, whose “one-resort-per-island” model makes it difficult to eat elsewhere.

But luxury resorts, many of them in remote locations, also opt for all-inclusive models.

Rosewood Cape Kidnappersa luxury lodge on New Zealand's North Island, offers guests half-board, which includes breakfast, dinner and aperitifs but excludes other alcoholic drinks.

Prices in British Columbia Clayoquot Wilderness Lodge Includes all meals and snacks plus wine, beer and spirits. A stay in certainly one of the lodge's 25 tents also includes guided activities reminiscent of swimming in glacier water and a half-day wildlife-viewing trip, in keeping with the web site.

Rates start at $2,900 per night.