Podcast Summary: Next in Media

Episode: How Michael Wolf Is Rethinking Attention in the Age of Multitasking

Host: Mike Shields
Guest: Michael Wolf, CEO of Activate Consulting
Date: April 14, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode dives into how the measurement and value of consumer “attention” is rapidly evolving as media and technology habits shift—especially due to the explosion in multitasking and fragmentation across platforms. Michael Wolf shares insights from Activate’s industry-defining reports, discussing trends like the redefinition of television (notably, YouTube’s rise), the implications for advertisers facing diluted attention, the impact of streaming mergers, the future of sports and gaming, and why spatial computing and VR shouldn’t be dismissed yet.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Multitasking Revolution & Diluted Attention

• The "Attention Clock":
  • Activate measures not just total media usage, but the degree of multitasking—described as a “time multiplier.”
  • "The average American is spending actually more than 30 hours this last year, 32 hours and 17 minutes a day. And of that 13 hours a day is technology and media..." (Michael Wolf, 02:30)
• Impact by Media Type:
  • Audio is heavily multitasked—60%+ listen while doing something else.
  • Video games (PC/console) are least multitasked due to their immersive nature.
• Business Implications:
  • Both media and advertisers are struggling to adjust: “You’ve got this partial attention to everything.” (Michael Wolf, 04:04)
  • Current measurement and pricing models don’t yet account for split attention.

2. Fragmentation and Concentration Across Platforms

• TV versus Streaming:
  • Major TV companies (e.g., Disney, NBCU, Paramount) still dominate, but even combined, some streaming platforms are small players.
  • “Today, you’ve got 64% of television viewership among the biggest companies… Streaming is 36% of all television viewership. YouTube is by far 12.5% of all CTV, followed by Netflix, sort of down to about 9…” (Michael Wolf, 04:35)
• YouTube Redefining TV:
  • For Gen Z and beyond, YouTube is television.
  • Notably, YouTube Shorts has surpassed all other social networks in time spent (06:41).
  • Viewership is fragmented but also concentrating among a few platforms, with YouTube and Netflix as primary leaders.

3. The Ascendance of Video (and Decline of “Social”)

• Video Now Dominant Across Social:
  • Five years ago, social was about half video, half text. Now:
    • “71% of all social...is now video, and the video is not from your friends… TikTok, 81% [from influencers]; Instagram, 72%; YouTube, 94%; Facebook, more around 50% because of older demographics.” (Michael Wolf, 07:57–08:48)
  • Social platforms have shifted from being about friend content to being more about entertainment and influencer-driven video.
• Advertiser Perspective:
  • YouTube lags linear TV in driving large, simultaneous shared events (e.g., Super Bowl), but is gaining ground with huge live streams like Coachella (09:17–10:35).

4. The Paramount-Warner Merger: More Hype Than Muscle?

• Market Size Reality:
  • Despite the media hype, even merged, Paramount and Warner will have a smaller slice of TV.
    • “Even after that merger, you’re still at 3.7% [of TV viewership].” (Michael Wolf, 04:35)
• Growth Pathways:
  • Mergers can help build scale and marketing muscle, but customer acquisition and retention are expensive and difficult.
  • “The biggest problem with these streaming services…is what they have to spend on customer acquisition... And they're giving all that money away to Amazon...but to Apple and Roku and other places.” (Michael Wolf, 14:21)

5. The Promise (and Limits) of AI and CTV Advertising

• CTV Not Yet for Small Brands:
  • Unlike social platforms, CTV is still focused on big brands and agencies, not self-serve.
    • “It’s not yet really set up for smaller brands to use CTV extensively as a self service… The algorithm ends up really going to the people who can pay the most.” (Michael Wolf, 15:02–15:37)
• AI’s Personalization Potential:
  • AI could drive real-time creative changes (e.g., personalized ad creatives with different talent).
  • Future ad integrations: “It’s essentially like virtual product placement… we should expect to see a lot more.” (Michael Wolf, 11:39–11:59)

6. The Creator Economy and “Scalable” Influence

• Creator Integration Still Manual:
  • In-stream influencer marketing can’t yet operate at scale—custom sponsorships are still the norm.
    • “It’s going to be much more of a repertory company of different stars of different creators versus somebody doing it just as a platform…” (Michael Wolf, 16:40)
  • Large creators (e.g., Mr. Beast) are now building their own mini-media networks.
  • Cross-platform stardom remains rare—most creators do not scale equally across channels.

7. Gaming: The Next Big (Attentive) Thing?

• Gaming Time is Deeply Engaged:
  • Core platform games (e.g. NBA 2K, Grand Theft Auto, Roblox) command undivided attention, especially among Gen Z/Alpha.
  • In-game ads must be authentic and immersive, e.g., integrating real brands into venues inside games.
    • “That's advertising, it's not performance advertising…that’s really much more authentic, integrated, native than the kind of interruption advertising that we see elsewhere.” (Michael Wolf, 19:08)

8. Sports Viewing: Still A Tentpole, But Changing

• Gen Z and Engagement:
  • The leagues are experimenting to keep Gen Z involved; sports betting, fantasy leagues, and specialized prop bets help sustain engagement throughout games.
    • “But a big piece of it now is sports gambling…If you’re betting on it, you’re going to keep coming back.” (Michael Wolf, 19:54)

9. Is Spatial Computing and VR Over or Just Beginning?

• Vision Pro & AI Glasses: Still a Big Bet:
  • Despite slow early Apple Vision Pro sales, major tech companies are investing heavily in spatial/AI devices.
  • The next leap: “Spatial computing” as the bridge between AI, VR, data, and real-world environments.
  • The hard part is not hardware, but cloud-scale data integration and privacy.
    • “Every major technology company [is] throwing a lot of money into this...it requires massive amounts of data...not the device.” (Michael Wolf, 21:32–23:25)
• Meta’s Pivot:
  • Meta is focusing less on building a “third place” metaverse and more on hardware/platform potential.
    • “That more naturally resides in video games. There’s not going to be one place…They’re already there. It’s Minecraft, Roblox, Fortnite.” (Michael Wolf, 23:53-24:05)

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• On attention measurement:
  “The average American is spending actually more than 30 hours this last year, 32 hours and 17 minutes a day. And of that 13 hours a day is technology and media...”
  — Michael Wolf (02:30)

• On multitasking and fragmentation:
  “So we're seeing this fragmentation of attention. And what's happening is you've got this partial attention to everything.”
  — Michael Wolf (03:49)

• On the rise of video in social:
  “71% of all social...is now video, and the video is not from your friends… TikTok, 81% [from influencers]; Instagram, 72%; YouTube, 94%...”
  — Michael Wolf (07:57–08:48)

• On YouTube and live events:
  “What YouTube doesn't have is what big television does, which is big events that require simultaneous viewing…YouTube has only now begun to get those guns. Like, Coachella is one of YouTube's biggest simultaneous events. Right now, it's about 200 million people watching Coachella concurrently.”
  — Michael Wolf (09:17–10:35)

• On CTV ad access for small brands:
  “It's not yet really set up for smaller brands to use CTV extensively as a self service…They’re more interested in larger advertisers…”
  — Michael Wolf (15:02–15:28)

• On spatial computing’s future:
  “Every major technology company [is] throwing a lot of money into this...it requires massive amounts of data...not the device and it's really data in the cloud.”
  — Michael Wolf (21:32–23:25)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Media multitasking and the “attention clock”: 02:30–04:18
• TV, streaming share, and platform fragmentation: 04:35–06:18
• YouTube as TV; Shorts, social video dominance: 06:41–08:48
• Advertiser perspective on YouTube v. TV/live events: 08:54–11:22
• Paramount/Warner merger impact: 13:24–14:36
• CTV, self-service, and AI ad opportunities: 15:02–16:19
• The creator economy’s platform limits: 16:40–17:52
• Gaming’s unique engagement/ad future: 17:58–19:08
• Sports fandom, Gen Z, and betting: 19:18–20:42
• Spatial computing & VR, Vision Pro, future outlook: 20:54–24:15

Conclusion

This episode provides a broad yet nuanced look at where media attention is headed. Michael Wolf emphasizes that today’s battle isn’t just for time, but for meaningful, undivided attention—an increasingly rare commodity in the age of multitasking and platform fragmentation. Brands and platforms that adapt with more authentic integrations, embrace AI-driven personalization, and stay patient with emerging interfaces like spatial computing stand to win the next wave of consumer engagement.