The Gauge™

TV Viewing trends in the U.S.

Navigate the TV landscape with precision. Examine audience viewing behaviors across key TV delivery platforms in a monthly macroanalysis.

TV viewing trends by platform

Copyright © 2026 The Nielsen Company (US), LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Discover how Americans watch TV across media distributors

Monthly TV viewing by distributor

Copyright © 2026 The Nielsen Company (US), LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The Ad Supported Gauge

Quarterly share of Ad supported TV

Q1, 2026

Total day | Persons 2+

Ad Supported Share of TV

Q1, 2026

Total day | Persons 2+

Category Share of Ad Supported TV

Copyright © 2026 The Nielsen Company (US), LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Methodology/FAQ

All your questions answered: The Gauge FAQ

- The data for The Gauge is derived from two separately weighted panels and combined to create the graphic. Nielsen’s streaming data is derived from a subset of Streaming Meter-enabled TV households within the National TV panel. The linear TV sources (broadcast and cable), as well as total usage are based on viewing from Nielsen’s overall TV panel.

- All the data is time period based for each viewing source. The data, representing a broadcast month, is based on Live+7 viewing for the reporting interval (Note: Live+7 includes live television viewing plus viewing up to seven days later for linear content).

- Within The Gauge, “other” includes all other TV usage that does not fall into the broadcast, cable or streaming categories. This primarily includes all other tuning (unmeasured sources), unmeasured video on demand (VOD), audio streaming, gaming and other device (DVD playback) use.

- Beginning with the June 2023 interval, Nielsen began utilizing Streaming Content Ratings to identify original content distributed by platforms reported in that service to reclassify content viewed via cable set top boxes. This viewing will credit to streaming and to the streaming platform which distributed it. It will also be removed from the other category, where it was previously reflected. Content not identified as original within Streaming Content Ratings and viewed through a cable set top box will still be included in other.

- Streaming platforms listed as “other streaming” includes any high-bandwidth video streaming on television that is not individually broken out. Apps designed to deliver live broadcast and cable (linear) programming (VMVPD or MVPD applications like Sling TV or Charter/Spectrum) are excluded from “other streaming.”

- Linear streaming (as defined by the aggregation of viewing to vMVPD/MVPD apps) is excluded from the streaming category as the broadcast and cable content viewed through these apps credits to its respective category. This methodological change was implemented with the February 2023 interval.

- Linear streaming via vMVPD apps (e.g., Hulu Live, YouTube TV) are excluded from the streaming category. ‘Hulu SVOD’ and ‘YouTube Main’ within the streaming category refer to the platforms’ usage without the inclusion of linear streaming.

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>> Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and others.

TRANSCRIPT:

DOUG: If you’re having trouble figuring out what you’re doing tomorrow, imagine our next guest who’s with Health2047 and is really looking ahead. Claire, thanks for being with us and can you give us a brief overview of what Health2047 is about?

CLAIRE: Sure, thanks for having me. Health2047 is the venture studio of the American Medical Association. We build and back early-stage healthcare companies. So, how I like to describe our model as a studio is we’re not just an investment fund that’s writing checks, but we also kind of operate with an agency model. We provide professional services, in my case, marketing and communications to our portfolio companies. So, the startups that we invest in as part of our overall value proposition in working with them and our startups range from an obesity phenotyping company to a foundation model, helping radiologists, as well as a Medicare advantage plan that was founded by physicians. My role is split 50/50 between supporting the firm’s brand as well as supporting all of these companies.

DOUG: As the owner of a 40-year-old startup myself. I know that a startup mentality is so important. How do you bring that to any organization?

CLAIRE: Yes, you really can. One of the things that I see a lot is, and I really appreciate what the founders that I work with is, that they make a point, even as they scale, to stay very close to the customer. If you think about how a company grows as a company scales, often the layers between the person who’s making the decision and the person that’s being decided for. In some cases, employees, in a lot of cases, customers become wider. There becomes a lot more layers. So, what I’ve seen is there are late-stage founders that still make it intentional, that they join sales calls and they join calls with their customers. And I think that’s really important takeaway for all organizations is staying as close to the customer as possible. That might look like if you’re a marketer at a large enterprise, actually joining and listening in on a voice of the customer call, for example.

DOUG: Yeah. So, that’s so interesting because a lot of founders are told you’ve got to delegate, delegate, delegate. And it’s reassuring to hear from you because I was on a call with a potential new customer just before this conversation. So, that’s good, but a topic that’s important is how do these organizations stand out to venture capitalists? Are there any tips along the way?

CLAIRE: Yeah. So, one of the things we look at is really who the founder is. So, building your brand can be very important in that respect as it is in any career. So, if you think about a company, take the finances aside. If you talk to any VC, they’ll mention things like they’re looking for coachability in a founder. They’re looking for team chemistry. They’re looking for domain expertise. And if you really peel back all of those layers, it actually comes down to storytelling. Now, Christina Farr, who’s an investor and a former healthcare journalist, has a really good book on this topic. So, I won’t steal too many of her punchlines here, but it’s called The Storyteller’s Advantage, and it’s all about really peeling back what makes a good story. So, something that comm pro’s do day in and day out. If you think about coachability, for example, that’s really taking feedback that you received from your investor on your initial pitch check and making sure it’s clear in your subsequent narrative that you’ve taken that feedback. It’s about the mythology you create around how your team is uniquely positioned to solve the challenge at hand.

DOUG: Yeah, and you’ve obviously learned a lot from advising founders. What are some of those lessons?

CLAIRE: As a marketer at heart, I love to do a bit of segmentation. So, I’m going to start with some of the blind spots that I help founders identify. So, a few different types of founders I work with, one, technical founders. So as a technical founder, you’re often really in love with your solution. It’s your baby and maybe a little bit less in love with the problem of your customer that it’s actually trying to solve. So, I often coach these founders is that product market fit can sometimes be a blind spot if you’re overly focused on your solution. Clinical founders who I work with a lot, physician founders, etc. we’re part of the American Medical Association, the customer’s problem is often the core and founding principle of what they’re doing. So, they are steeped in the customer’s problem. They’re often still seeing patients with that problem, but when it comes to actually scaling to other markets. That can sometimes be the blind spot. And then we work a lot with repeat founders, which is fantastic because they’re excellent at pattern recognition, but it’s really important not to always rely on the same playbook over and over again. So, that’s something that I advise founders on as well from a very tactical standpoint as well. One lesson I’ve had to unleash, so to speak, to founders, is treating a press release like a pitch deck. So, as we know, Doug, a press release and a press announcement, it’s multiple bites of the apple, whereas a pitch meeting, if you’re lucky, you’ll get 30 minutes with an investor to pitch your entire company an idea. So, really actually taking that drip campaign approach is something very new and exciting for founders. And that’s where my role comes in.

DOUG: What are the most effective ways to help employees feel invested in the organization’s future?

CLAIRE: At the early stage, some of the founding companies that I work with, they might be 10 or 15 people. That’s a little bit easier, but when you look at companies as they start to scale. So, I was working a few years ago with a series A company, so they had about 50 employees spread across the globe, all really communicating with each other asynchronously in Slack and the company had a major announcement. The founder was anticipating questions. He himself was in a different time zone than many of his employees. So, what we ended up doing was we recorded a series of asynchronous loom videos for employees who weren’t actually in the same time zone. So, a town hall in person wouldn’t have made as much sense. We also, within Slack had an ask Me Anything or AMA thread. And, you know, what we found was that it gave employees a chance to get ahead of the story, and also share the story from a sense of genuine excitement.

DOUG: What is the role that AI is playing in all of this? And maybe we can keep it on the marketing of these founder led companies that are looking to scale.

CLAIRE: I’m actually going to recommend a second book to you. It is The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI by Cory Doctorow. It just came out. So, he’s a technologist that he’s also a sci fi writer, and his theory is really interesting. So, if you think about how we should be using AI as marketers and professionals, think about the centaur. You have the human head that is doing the thinking, and then you have the powerful machine, the horse’s body. It’s a weird image I know of AI that really propels you forward. If you take the opposite of that. You know the reverse centaur, which is going to make the imagery even stranger. It’s really thinking about the horse’s head. So, AI that is being propelled forward by the human. So, a lot of the ways that the AI industry is automating away labor and what that can look like, and it’s not very effective, can be things like using AI to generate your content whole cloth. And I think a lot of folks are under pressure with AEO to optimize their content and really churn out a lot of content that LLMs can read, but you end up with automation decay as the content is read by LLMs and was created by the LLMs, and frankly, LLMs can recognize the content that was generated by them as well.

DOUG: If you want to wrap up with a final thought to the conversation, that would be great, because if people gotten through to this point, they will have learned a lot.

CLAIRE: One thing that can be learned really well from the industry that I work in is actually some of the constraints that we have and some of the restraints that we have. So, one of the things that I’m always impressed with, with my colleagues who work at startups, is they don’t have a prescribed tech stack, and so they’re able to be really creative and flexible in how they use tools. One of them just recommended a great course for me called Claude for marketers, for example, which is all about how do you unlock these tools to really amplify your marketing production. So, that’s something that I think is often overlooked in how we look at the scrappy Silicon Valley mentality, and is an important takeaway.

DOUG: Well, you’ve had so many important takeaways. Thanks so much for being on the podcast.

CLAIRE: Thank you for having me.

>> Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and others.

TRANSCRIPT:

DOUG: Seems like everything’s changed in PR. One area that we’re going to focus on today is tech PR. What would you say the number one thing that’s changed in tech PR is, Bob?

BOB: Well, I’d say the changes in tech PR are very much like the changes happening in other areas of PR and lot of this gets back to media. And also, the ways we get information. Obviously, these are the trends that have been going on for years, but even, you know, in the very recent future it’s changed even more with the advent of AI chatter, you know, fragmentation of the news media, polarization, those kind of things.

DOUG: Yeah. So, what is the updated PR playbook look like now?

BOB: It looks kind of a lot different that I say probably most tech PR, most PR firms, hopefully they are catching up to some of these changes and moving from, you know, pretty intense focus on media to other ways of getting your story out there. For example, working with influencers and they could be paid or organic. Things that used to be kind of very contrary to PR and agency life like considering paid content, it’s not all junk pay for play. There are some good paid opportunities. I guess you have to look at things that we have used PR to achieve in the past and find different ways of achieving those goals. And you still can, I mean, that’s the opportunity for those who want to stay on the cutting edge of building credibility, visibility, and validation, through different ways of making that work. In the area where I work and our agency works, technology public relations, for example, we can look at the role of influencers and industry analysts are extremely important influencers and more and more agencies are adding analyst relations to their, you know, list of services.

DOUG: You also want to be turning your clients themselves into influencers. What are some of the thought leadership strategies that are delivering the best impact today in your space?

BOB: It helps to be intentional and smart, rather than just a check off a box item. We have some bylines going to get placed. We want to get on podcasts. Do it with a goal of mind with a strategy. If you’re in a space that were very familiar with tech PR, B2B tech PR, primarily a lot of this gets down to the category that you playing. Is it a new category? Is it an existing category? Is it a subcategory? Your thought leadership, making a good case for that. It has to be very interesting and compelling because nothing will happen if it’s not, right?

DOUG: And that touches on how a story can break through a crowded media landscape. You were referring to that earlier. How much has been changed so many more options, choices, and ways the people consume information. What are some of your top suggestions on how to make sure your story breaks through?

BOB: Increasingly in PR, it’s important to have big ideas and tech PR as well. Not just press release and not just email pitches. When it comes to getting an interesting story out there and breaking through, I can think of an interesting example in fact. We have a client in online privacy protection and a couple of our account executives were on a call, listening to a client give an interview and something jumped out. It was about how people are very protective of certain personal information, but their phone number is something that they gladly give out. And this is a privacy protection company. And our team sent that this might be an interesting topic. They packed it into a pitch and the got through to something called scripts, which I’m sure you have heard of it, big syndicator.

DOUG: Big news syndicator, owned many newspapers.

BOB: Exactly, on a segment called, don’t waste your money. And it turned to very nice broadcast interview, that was syndicated across the country, at all these different stations. So, the topic caught on, it wasn’t a press release, it wasn’t like we have canned research. It was a very specific, nugget of information that our team in a sense would be interested in. So, think like a journalist, stay close to the news, and have a nose for what a good story could be.

DOUG: And I think I keep part of that and we just been going through this after we celebrated our 40th anniversary with the idea of what hasn’t changed, and it’s really about answering the questions that people want to know and need information that isn’t changed. One thing that’s changed about that is the ability of AI to give you more insights into the information that people really want to know about. That’s what we’ve been doing with transforming our services. What are you seeing with the role of AI if you are specially, since from the B2B perspective, the data shows 90% of B2B Shoppers are looking at AI to get answers?

BOB: It’s important to try to stay ahead of the curve. I would not believe anybody who says, I know exactly where this is going and what it means for PR in other areas. It’s changing so quickly. It’s going to be a very, iterative process. We’re jumping in and using it in many different ways, we are trying to push the envelope a little bit, but as we all know, there are risks and opportunities.

DOUG: And there been risks and opportunities with any sort of breakthrough. This one seems to be catching on even faster than some of the others and catching on a level. That’s so in deep. Any final thoughts that you want to leave our viewers with?

BOB: Getting back to the risks and opportunities, you know, the risks are I think as we know, crowded information landscape, a lot of AI driven junk. I think the biggest thing, maybe this is a good way to conclude because it’s hard to escape AI. So important across so many areas but one thing we will not compromise on is that high-touch, creativity storytelling, being close to the information and not outsourcing to AI.

DOUG: Well, you’ve definitely kept your touch keeping your agency thriving. Thanks so much for appearing on the podcast.

BOB: My pleasure, thanks for having me on. Take care and hope we talk soon.

Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and others.

TRANSCRIPT:

DOUG: We love the people who work with us, but we also love and recognize the contributions of the people who’ve passed through and gone on to bigger and better things. One of them joining us, Brian Devenny. Brian, it’s great to see you.

BRIAN: Good to see you, sir. How are doing?

DOUG: Doing great. So, let’s start off, maybe share a little bit about the work that you did while you were here at D S Simon Media.

BRIAN: I was the director of media relations at D S Simon during the seven years I was there from 2006 to just about 2013. And I led media strategy across a variety of projects. I think the biggest week we ever had when I was there was 17 SMTs in one week. So, it was always a very fast paced environment, very quickly moving, things changing on the fly, but it was a great experience. It was a great team, ultimate professionals, and everybody had sort of their role, and everybody knew exactly what they needed to do in order to make a project successful. I can’t remember one instance in my tenure there that that didn’t happen.

DOUG: We did manage to break that record with 20 in one week. And now, of course, we call them AI-Powered Broadcast Media Tours™ because they’re also optimizing for GEO. But, you know, one might think hearing this or suspect in my own bias is, like, where could you go from there? But somehow you managed to go. Tell us about, you know, what you’ve been embarked on more recently in your career.

BRIAN: Yeah. So, after my time at D S Simon, I actually moved from, New Jersey to California, and I now work at Zeno Group, which is international, actually. And I’ve been working on the Kia account for, just over ten years. So, it’s been great. I’m dedicated to one client, so it’s very different from my time at D S Simon, but it’s really cool.

DOUG: Yeah. If you want to add a feather in your cap, you can let them know that we have a Kia and thought of you when making that Kia Sportage purchasing decision, which was a good thing. We’re also doing as part of our anniversary series is getting people’s take on what stayed the same in the industry, what’s changed and what’s next. So, let’s start. You know, since you started your career in PR, what do you feel has still remained consistent?

BRIAN: The basic tenants of media relations, emails, calls to follow-up. The one thing that has changed a little bit about that, sometimes I’m able to text producers and editors. Whereas when I started out, I wasn’t able to, but it’s really those core, tenants of media relations of building that relationship with the media, so that way they trust you when they see an email with your name on it. They’re like, oh, this is probably a good story. You know, let me take a look. And they don’t just automatically put you in the junk bin or the, you know, to be read later bin.

DOUG: That is great. And, obviously, much has changed even from when you started with us in the early 2000s.

BRIAN: A lot’s changed. The biggest changes that I’ve seen in the industry are social media and now AI. Those are the two biggest changes because social media has really brought in a whole other level of media relations that, some old timers like me had to get used to, because we were used to dealing with the traditional newsroom. And now we’re dealing with journalists, very accredited journalists who are now working from home. And they don’t have the power of a big newspaper, a big TV station, or a radio station behind them, but they are just as influential as the folks in you know, at FOX in Detroit or any other market. So, that was one of the biggest changes. The team that I work on now has someone specifically dedicated to influencer and social media outreach. So, I’ve learned a lot about it, but I need to learn more.

DOUG: And I’d say one question with what you said. I think I can refer to you as a mid-timer, not an old timer. We want to be gracious to the people who pass through. One thing I struggle with is even the what’s next because we’re so deep in the now with AI transforming. Do you see what’s next?

BRIAN: Can you see that ahead? I do see what’s next. I do think AI is going to definitely play a role in communications moving forward and brand communications moving forward. I don’t know how much of what it will play. I think it was really sort of a novelty when it first came out, and people were very interested in it, but then I think people got kind of keen to it. Well, that’s clearly a fake image, and I think they don’t really trust it. So, it’ll be interesting to see how that evolves in the future.

DOUG: Yeah. We’re seeing the big changes. It gives us a better sense of identifying the questions people are asking that are relevant about the product. And that’s what it was always about when you were writing media pitches and developing story ideas. Hey, what’s the info people need to know? And now we’ve got the person who can answer it. What hasn’t changed also? You look the same, looking great. Congratulations.

BRIAN: I have filters on my computer.

DOUG: Congratulations on the success and all you’ve achieved. We know you’ve played a key role in helping us be where we’re at today. So, thank you so much.

BRIAN: I learned a lot working with you guys, and it really helped me hone my media relations skills. It gave me the power to be adaptable on the fly because we were working with so many different clients at the same time at D S Simon. We had to adapt to the client way of communication. So, some were more casual, some were very much indeed more formal. So, it was definitely made me more adaptable, and, you know, I think just a better professional overall.

DOUG: Yeah. Well, thanks so much for your generosity.

BRIAN: I appreciate you guys. Congratulations on your 40th anniversary, and cheers to 40 more.

Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and others.

TRANSCRIPT:

DOUG: As part of our 40th anniversary series, we’re reaching back to some remarkable people who passed through the company and have gone on to achieve greatness elsewhere. As you know, I take great pride in the fact that our average employee tenure is twelve years, but it’s also wonderful to know how many of them have been able to succeed going forward. And Jamie Claudio is a great example. Thanks for joining us.

JAMIE: Thank you, Doug. It’s a real pleasure to be here with you today.

DOUG: So, let’s start when you started at D S Simon Media. Why don’t you share some of your experiences that you had here?

JAMIE: Yeah, absolutely. It was kind of fun strolling down memory lane. You know, when you reached out to me, I kind of got all those memories going and thinking about my time with you and the company. I started with you in 2010. You were my very first job post-college, so my first adult big kid job, whatever you want to call it. And I started as the assistant to the CEO. So, that was my first time kind of clocking into a real office environment and learning kind of the early professional ropes. I left in 2014, so 4 years later, as the executive producer for what then was the satellite media tours and radio media tours. I would argue it was the most fun position in the company, but it was a real opportunity to grow through all of these iterative stages with an incredibly supportive, smart, and successful team. And it really launched the rest of my career, certainly.

DOUG: Yeah. And you’ve achieved incredible heights. Do you share what you’re doing now?

JAMIE: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you. So, it’s funny, I was telling Eric this story. So, one of the things that I really took away from D S Simon Media and not only starting my career, but it changed the trajectory of my career. I will never forget, we did a satellite media tour for National Geographic. And I think they had just released there, you know, 100 best places to visit or something like that. And, you know, we had the spokesperson in, and they were talking about destinations, places you could experience. And it was so impactful to me because I was like, oh my gosh. We can talk about places to travel to that can change perceptions, you know? I mean, this is really powerful stuff. I don’t ever want to talk about laundry detergent or men’s razors again, right? So, I knew of because that experience that I wanted to head into destination marketing and working in travel and tourism, which is exactly where I ended up today. So, I am the Executive Vice President for Global Destination Strategy. We’re an advertising technology firm called Tiki out of Hermosa Beach, California, and we specialize in building AI and generative engine optimization products specifically for destinations and travel brands.

DOUG: Yeah. It’s so impressive what you’ve been able to accomplish. Now, as part of our series, we’re also asking people for specific take something. So, what hasn’t changed since you started your career in PR and marketing?

JAMIE: You know what hasn’t changed? It’s the art of the pitch. It is still about the person on the other side that you were trying to reach, right? The journalist, the earned placement, or whatever that looks like. It’s about that connection. It’s not the product. It’s about building the pitch and the story that’s going to resonate for that audience. I think, you know, technology has really changed the who and the where, but it’s never going to change the why they said yes, right? So, specificity is always going to beat volume, and trust and relationships are always going to be the real currency.

DOUG: Yeah, and you’ve touched on it there. What are some of the things obviously, there’ve been so many that changed. What’s maybe one that you want to pick out that’s really just affected you and you found important?

JAMIE: Generative AI has really reshaped PR kind of top to bottom not only in pitching, but also in discovery. I mean, the notion of pitching for generative engine optimization, that’s emerged as a real discipline now. And I think there’s a huge opportunity for PR practitioners, right? Because audiences aren’t passive readers or passive viewers anymore. They’re participants, they’re commenting, and they’re sharing. Those things can outrun the potency of the original story. So, how we’re crafting has become very different.

DOUG: How you’re crafting continues to grow and make a difference. And, you know, thank you for the time you spent at our company and for staying in touch all of these years, and congratulations to you on the success you’ve achieved.

JAMIE: Thank you very much, Doug. It’s always a pleasure and I will always, always hold D S Simon Media near and dear to my heart. Thank you for starting my career.

DOUG: As we hold you.

>> Listen to the episode on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and others.

TRANSCRIPT:

DOUG: Chris, let’s jump right into it. What’s one of the most important lessons you’ve learned about industry consolidation?

CHRIS: Thanks for the opportunity to be here. I’d say the biggest lesson I’ve learned is that integration is fundamentally about people, right? I think the financial and regulatory transactions happen in due time, but building one organization takes time, right? It’s about creating trust with employees, maintaining confidence with clients, and being clear about, you know, where you’re headed. You have to resist the temptation, I think, to focus inward as much. Clients expect us to deliver, you know, while we’re integrating, right? So, every decision should answer one question, I think. Does this make us a stronger partner for our clients? And if we keep people and clients at the center, the rest of the integration tends to follow, but let me unpack, if I can, just one of those things real quick, because there are two other lessons I’ve learned. I think the integration is also a leadership exercise, not a financial one, right? I mean, you know, people don’t follow organizational charts. They follow leaders who can communicate clearly and make decisions, you know, with confidence and clarity. So, if you get the leadership right, I think some of the financial and operational synergies actually get easier to realize.

DOUG: Leadership can’t just be about one person. I know you’re extraordinarily influential, but it’s almost like making sure everyone feels like they have a leadership role throughout the organization. So, if you want to pick up with some of your other points, but I just thought that was something that I think is an important sort of take. It’s not just one person doing it all themselves.

CHRIS: I think you’re right. And it’s hard, right? It’s hard to lead. And, you know, one of the things in integrations, mergers, or whatever you may be managing is that there’s uncertainty. And we have to lead and inspire teams through that uncertainty, which takes, you know, a different skill set, but it also does require, it’s all hands-on deck for leaders across the business. So, I think that’s a really good point around extending leaders across organizations in these times.

DOUG: What is something that maybe gets underestimated in the time of transition that you think there needs to be more emphasis on in general?

CHRIS: Organizations tend to underestimate that these transactions are experienced emotionally, not organizationally, right? Leaders are thinking about strategy and operating models, but employers are wondering where do I fit in? You know, is my role going to change? Who’s my manager going to be? Who will I work for? And if we don’t address those very human questions, you know, fairly quickly, transparently, and consistently, I think people will fill those voids with their own assumptions. So, communication isn’t like a work stream, right? It is the work. We also underestimate the cost of uncertainty. Most people can adapt to change faster than I expect and your leaders can expect. They just can’t adapt to ambiguity. So, the longer decisions linger, the more energy people spend speculating instead of servicing clients and building the business. And I’ve learned that making good decisions quickly is often better than waiting for perfect decisions.

DOUG: Yeah, that’s such a great insight with transparency and certainty. And I remember we went through that in Covid and at the time all sudden we’re like, hey, is this the thing that’s going to take out our business after all these years? And we didn’t know, but, you know, fortunately, we were overly transparent, told, hey, we’re trying to get the PPE, we’re going to try and make the salary cuts as minimal as possible for a shorter period. And fortunately, we only had to do that for one pay period and got the PPE turned around that quickly, which just generated so much goodwill, but I think it’s nice if you tell people when times are good, then your credibility to tell them when times are bad. Knowing when times are good, people are going to be like, hey, I want a raise, times are good. You can’t just be nothing on one side and then all out on the other.

CHRIS: And I don’t think you have to have all the answers. I mean, you know, we’re month seven, you know, on this Omnicom PR journey. I don’t have every single answer, but I think, in addition, people want to know, get a lens into my thinking. They want to know where I’m headed strategically and what I’ve learned along the way. So, I do think communication can be broad, but I think, to your point and the point I made, it really is about transparency and honesty, and that’s what’s most important.

DOUG: Yeah. One of the things that you like to talk about is really understanding the time that the operating model of an organization needs to change. I mean, over the course of time, clearly, it’s changing multiple times. Maybe not wholesale change, but incremental and then sometimes wholesale. Obviously, this is a major change you’re going through and leading.

CHRIS: It’s time to change the operating model that made you successful starts getting in the way of the next stage of growth in progress, right? Every operating model is designed, you know, in a, you know, for a moment in time, but markets change, clients change, and technology changes. You know, talent evolves, right? So, I think the mistake leaders make is waiting for when the model breaks to try to change it. If you get to the point where you know your client’s needs are changing faster than your organization can keep up or respond, then I think it’s that’s a clear sign to rethink the operating model for sure.

DOUG: Yeah. So, from top to bottom, how does an organization stay nimble? And there might be a perception that it’s way harder for a larger organization to remain nimble. And some of that is instituting a feeling of entrepreneurship throughout an organization, but what are some of the keys you’re seeing to help the organization stay nimble in a time when change is probably happening faster than it ever seems to have been?

CHRIS: I think it goes back to your point about how you syndicate leadership, right? Remember, large organizations can also be broken up into small component parts, whether it’s a department, practice, division, or market. And I think that’s where, you know, those leaders in those practices, markets, and divisions are much closer to the people in the work, and that’s where you want to get some of that entrepreneurial spirit and the ability to move a little bit faster. I’d also say, though, that, you know, structure is important. You know, there’s a little bit of freedom in structure. It may sound like an oxymoron, but it gives you some of those guardrails to then be able to allow and empower managers across your business to lead and run fast within a bit of a framework. So, I do think structure is important. It should not be a strategy by any stretch, but it does give us sort of the framework and the guardrails that allow leaders to lead and respond in much faster times than you can. As a large enterprise, that’s somewhat silent at times.

DOUG: What I’m hearing from you is another word that it gives is guidance, which is so important. It’s, you know, it’s not just the guardrail of, hey, don’t go off the rails. It’s like, here’s a direction that can really help you move it forward. So, your teams are critical and say the brand or company level in shaping their organization’s reputation. Obviously, in your career, you’re at the point of like helping these organizations, right? How can those PR teams be even more effective in sort of providing that guidance again and actually executing to support the organization’s reputation?

CHRIS: I’m deeply passionate about this area of reputation management strategy. I think the first thing is that PR doesn’t own the organization’s reputation, right? It’s shaped by every experience people have, and customers have with the company. You know, what we do is PR to help the organization to understand, influence, and strengthen the reputation. And that brings together leadership, its employees, its customer service, and its customers. Our customers are now very much a part of the reputation journey with us, investors, and policymakers. So, I do think, you know, reputation is a team sport, and everyone in an organization plays a role in that. So, it’s and, you know, as we know and I know you know all too well, Doug, I mean, reputation isn’t built by what we say, right? It’s built by what we do and how consistently we do that. And I think the more our customers experience that and our clients experience it, the further along we are on that reputation journey.

DOUG: You know, we think of it all. It can be lost in a moment from a brand perspective. It can also be lost in a moment from a manager to employee perspective. I used to have and it was sort of a joke, but true. And I would say, okay, six months of goodwill I’ve generated with a colleague that can be blown up by one small f-up. That’s sort of the equation equality. So, how are you providing your guidance to still have your clients and your teams going for it? But, you know, not being afraid to fail, but still being not wanting to have one of those blow-up moments.

CHRIS: We’ve spent a lot of time focusing on the blow-up moments. I think, you know, where as reputation strategy is evolving, it’s more about reputation readiness, right? Are we clear and honest about where the vulnerabilities live within the enterprise? I mean, have we thought through the multiple scenarios of risk and challenged the reputation? Are we listening to markets? I mean, there are millions of conversations happening every day in social and digital channels about brands. And are we listening to those conversations or are we monitoring?

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Why Customers Choose Whatfix

Digital Adoption Platforms (DAPs) are not just onboarding tools. They’re enterprise enablement solutions that embed user guidance, training, and support directly into software applications ensuring that employees adopt new technologies, follow compliant processes, and continuously improve productivity across systems.

With IT investments soaring and digital transformation projects failing to meet expected business outcomes, DAPs are emerging as mission-critical platforms.

According to Gartner, 70% of large enterprises will deploy a DAP by the end of 2025 to realize the full value of their technology stacks. These platforms are no longer optional, they are the connective tissue between enterprise applications and business outcomes.

Quantified Value: How Much ROI Can a DAP Unlock?

Based on Whatfix experience data across application sizes and complexities, organizations see on average $652K in annual value per application deployed on when supported and optimized with contextual guidance and usage analytics.

To further break down the value a DAP can extract from an application, here is the average ROI of a digital adoption platform investment from real Whatfix customers based on the number of application users:

How to Measure DAP ROI

Digital transformation leaders must define ROI by looking beyond cost savings. The ROI of a DAP investment spans across departments, including things like:

- User productivity gains.

- Reduction in support tickets.

- Time-to-proficiency acceleration.

- Improved data quality and process compliance.

- Faster change adoption.

- Higher utilization of enterprise software capabilities.

Each metric should align with your application’s business purpose and the contextual value its intended to drive. For example:

- In a CRM: Faster sales cycles, improved data hygiene, better use of enablement content.

- In an ERP: Cleaner master data, fewer delays in procurement, compliance with financial processes.

- In a claims processing app: Faster cycle times, lower claim rework or waste.

- In a pharma app: Reduced validation cycle times, improved accuracy of batch processing, compliance with FDA mandates.

- In EHRs: Reduced clinician time-on-system, improved diagnostic flow.

- For loan officers: Reduced underwriting times, fewer application errors, better portfolio risk analysis.

Understanding DAP Costs and Risks

While the ROI can be significant, DAPs come with upfront and ongoing investments:

Key Cost Factors

- Subscription costs that are based on MAUs, the number of applications, and usage tiers.

- Deployment complexity (cloud, on-premise, hybrid).

- Content creation and maintenance for Flows, Smart Tips, Tours, etc.

- Administrative overhead for monitoring, updating, and scaling guidance across apps.

Potential Risks

- Underutilization due to a lack of governance or executive leadership misalignment.

- Change fatigue if guidance becomes overwhelming or irrelevant.

- Inadequate integration with analytics, content repositories, or user roles.

- Poor content design, leading to confusion instead of clarity.

Mitigating these risks requires strategic planning, stakeholder buy-in, and a strong partnership with your DAP vendor.

How DAPs Drive ROI Across the Application Lifecycle

Digital adoption technologies don’t just support one stage of the user journey they are foundational across the entire software lifecycle, from pre-launch to continuous improvement. By embedding in-app guidance, insights, and automation at every step, DAPs like Whatfix deliver compounding ROI across four key end-user adoption pillars:

- Accelerated user onboarding.

- Reduced support burden.

- Improved process compliance.

- Better feature adoption, utilization, and long-term value realization.

Here’s how that plays out at each stage of the application lifecycle:

1. Pre-Deployment Testing and User Feedback Loops

Why it matters: Most transformation failures start before rollout with poor process design, unclear workflows, or lack of user validation.

How DAP helps: Whatfix allows organizations to create simulated sandbox environments that mirror real application usage. Admins can deploy guided Flows, Smart Tips, and Field Validations to test user behavior, surface workflow bottlenecks, and collect end-user feedback before changes are pushed live.

ROI Outcomes of DAP for pre-deployment testing and user feedback:

- Prevent costly rollout rework.

- Accelerate time-to-deployment.

- Validate UX with frontline feedback.

Example: A major telecommunications enterprise was tasked with successfully building 150 HR workflows on its new Workday HCM instance (which was replaced 10+ legacy applications that had fragmented HR services) that would be used across 150,000 employees. With Whatfix, it streamlined its pre-launch user acceptance testing and case management by assigning test cases and collecting end-user feedback from the pre-launch pilot directly inside the beta application. This significantly accelerates the Workday implementation, deflected a surge of HCM-related IT tickets, and resulted in polished, optimized HR service workflows at launch, helping to drive user adoption and realize ROI from day one.

2. Onboarding and Training

Why it matters: Traditional onboarding is generic, disconnected, and quickly forgotten costing millions in lost productivity and re-training.

How DAP helps: Whatfix provides contextual onboarding journeys, personalized to the user’s role, department, or app module. With tools like Task Lists, Product Tours, and Progress Nudges, employees ramp up faster and retain workflows better.

ROI Outcome:

- Accelerate time-to-value of software investments.

- Reduce end-user training overhead and dependency on support staff.

- Minimize dependence on classroom or LMS training.

- Improve employee confidence and engagement from day 1.

- Eliminates risk of productivity dip after launch.

REG Case Study: Renewable Energy Group reduced time-to-proficiency in Salesforce and JD Edwards by 50% by providing hands-on training and embedding workflow support into employee tasks with Whatfix. Read the REG case study →

3. Embedded Support in the Flow of Work

Challenge: End-users often hit roadblocks during daily operations, leading to increased support ticket volumes, compliance issues, and process errors.

DAP ROI Enabler: With in-app guidance like Smart Tips, Tooltips, and Field Validations, DAPs proactively prevent errors and guide users toward task completion. Self Help modules, powered by AI assistants, give users immediate access to documentation, SOPs, or helpdesk articles without leaving the application.

ROI Outcome:

- Lower support ticket volume, support case escalations, and overall IT workload.

- Improve data quality and task accuracy.

- Higher first-time task completion.

- Maintain compliance with real-time process enforcement.

Acorn Recruitment Case Study: Achieved faster user enablement and decreased support queries with Whatfix.

4. Change Management and Process Adoption

Challenge: Rolling out new processes or compliance changes often causes confusion, productivity loss, or outright resistance.

DAP ROI Enabler: DAPs serve as a real-time change communication layer with features like Pop-Ups, Beacons, and Launchers that notify users about critical updates inside the app. You can also drive proactive behavior change by launching Flows or Smart Tips that reinforce new tasks and process steps.

ROI Outcome:

- Accelerate adoption of process updates.

- Lower training costs post-updated.

- Minimize downtime and change-related resistance.

- Ensure fast compliance and policy adherence across teams.

Sophos Case Study: Used Whatfix to manage Salesforce changes and ensure adoption across a global sales team. Read the case study →

5. New Feature Rollout and Adoption of Advanced Capabilities

Challenge: Enterprise tools are often underutilized. Many advanced features, AI assistants, or automation capabilities go unused because users don’t know how or why to engage with them. In fact, 64% of features in enterprise apps are never used. Enterprises pay for licenses and capabilities that employees never touch.

DAP ROI Enabler: Whatfix nudges users toward high-impact features using event-based guidance, dynamic nudges, and user segmentation. This ensures features especially new AI tools, analytics dashboards, or automation features are actively discovered and used. For example, a sales organization uses Whatfix to guide its CRM users toward competitive intel battle cards, which increased deal conversion rates. Another customer used Whatfix DAP in its SaaS platform to provide in-app upsell nudges, increasing its free trial-to-paid conversions.

ROI Outcome:

- Increase usage of high-impact features.

- Better outcomes from GenAI, reporting, or automation capabilities.

- Improve software license utilization rates.

6. Continuous Process Optimization and Workflow Enhancement

Challenge: Software processes aren’t static. As users engage, friction builds and without insight, IT can’t fix bottlenecks and inefficiencies.

DAP ROI Enabler: With Whatfix Product Analytics and Whatfix Mirror, leaders gain end-to-end visibility into how tasks are performed across applications. Time-on-task, drop-off points, error paths, and help content usage can all be tracked, fueling continuous optimization and task efficiency using real user data.

ROI Outcome:

- Quantifiable task time improvements.

- Eliminate redundant steps and process bottlenecks.

- Reduced user frustration.

- Higher productivity and process efficiency.

- Create a continuous feedback loop between users, IT, and business.

7. Long-Term Value Realization and Governance

Challenge: Without long-term governance, digital transformation efforts lose momentum, and applications drift from their intended value. Knowledge fades, content becomes outdated, and processes fall apart.

DAP ROI Enabler: DAPs enforce scalable governance across applications by providing consistent, measurable, and adaptable guidance.

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Training & Readiness

User Readiness: Before Go-Live, Prove Teams Can Do Real Work

User readiness helps teams identify whether employees can perform real workflows before mistakes affect customers, compliance, support volume, or revenue. This guide breaks down how to assess readiness with simulations, AI roleplay, workflow scoring, and adaptive remediation before real work begins.

Learn the basics of digital adoption platforms (DAP), explore use cases, and see why organizations with a DAP see a 64% lift in time-to-value and 67% lift in overall ROI from software investments.

Leadership wants proof that software investments improve execution. This KPI framework shows application owners how to connect adoption metrics to productivity, quality, support, and quarterly business reviews.

After an app goes live, IT and support teams face a surge in tickets. Learn how a structured hypercare plan helps triage repeat issues, deflect questions with in-app guidance, and smoothly transition critical workflows to business-as-usual.

An enterprise software launch is just the start. Explore our 90-day roadmap to reduce workflow friction, boost adoption, and maximize ROI through continuous, data-driven system optimization.

Our buyers guide breaks down the best application simulation training platforms to prepare teams and assess user readiness before go-live with guided training workflows.

Move software training out of slide decks and into safe, hands-on practice. This guide shows how IT teams can build sandbox environments that reduce live-system risk, improve confidence, and accelerate proficiency.

Training completion is a weak proxy for adoption. This playbook shows how to cut time-to-proficiency with role-based onboarding, contextual guidance, and cohort-level measurement.

This 2026 ROI report surveyed 300 U.S.-based C-suite and digital transformation leaders to analyze if recent initiatives have succeeded or stalled and how long it actually takes organizations to realize value

Most rollout plans over-index on launch dates and training. This template helps application owners plan for live execution with clear ownership, readiness criteria, support paths, hypercare, and adoption KPIs.

Done effectively, application consolidation lowers technology costs, simplifies IT governance, standardizes business processes, unifies data, and creates a stronger foundation for AI, automation, analytics, and overall digital transformation ROI.

Digital Adoption Platforms: An Enteprise Buyer's Guide

Learn the basics of digital adoption platform (DAP), explore use cases, and see how organizations with a DAP see 64% faster time-to-value and 67% higher overall ROI from their software investments vs their peers.

Turn static procedures into contextual, in-app guidance that helps employees follow approved workflows, reduce errors, and maintain process consistency.

Explore how contextual in-app guidance accelerates software onboarding, reinforces complex workflows, reduces support dependence, and helps employees work more confidently.

Learn how to document cross-functional workflows, decisions, approvals, and exceptions so teams can execute processes consistently and keep procedures current.

Build a process governance framework that clarifies ownership, standardizes execution, strengthens compliance, and continuously improves workflows across enterprise teams.

Identify the causes of user errors and improve workflow accuracy through stronger controls, hands-on readiness, contextual guidance, and continuous analysis.

Compare modernization strategies and learn how to address technical complexity, prepare employees, and realize measurable business value beyond go-live.

Modernize CRM technology, customer data, and cross-functional workflows with a practical roadmap for improving employee adoption, sales productivity, and customer outcomes.

Navigate common ERP modernization risks with practical guidance on process redesign, phased rollouts, user readiness, and sustained operational improvements.

Build a more connected procurement operation by modernizing source-to-pay systems, standardizing workflows, strengthening compliance, and enabling employees through change.

A digital roadmap for modernizing claims and policy systems while protecting business continuity, preparing insurance teams, and improving critical operational workflows.

Plan core banking modernization across legacy infrastructure, critical workflows, and phased migrations while strengthening employee readiness and measurable business outcomes.

Drive Adoption of Every Software Investment, from Rollout to ROI

See how Whatfix helps enterprises accelerate proficiency, guide users in the flow of work, and optimize adoption across every mission-critical application with its AI-native digital adoption platform.

Remarks by Administrator Seema Verma at the Medical Device Manufacturers Association Annual Meeting 

(As prepared for delivery – May 2, 2019)

Thank you, Paul, for that kind introduction, and it’s a pleasure to be with all of you today. Earlier this year, we at CMS set forth 16 strategic initiatives, one of which is Fostering Innovation. This spans across the agency -- reducing burden through Patients over Paperwork, regulatory reform, and enhancing access to new transformative technologies. Today, I’m pleased to discuss our plan for Fostering Innovation as we focus on overhauling and modernizing CMS’s policies for new technologies.

At CMS, we understand that relentless innovation is a crucial driver in creating value across all industries. As Thomas Edison noted, “There’s always a way to do it better—find it.” Healthcare and technology, of course, are no exceptions.

Our vision is ambitious yet achievable: to protect and secure Medicare and ensure beneficiaries have access to the latest medical technologies. There is no greater need for innovation than in American health care. Today’s innovation and technology will be drivers for reducing costs, improving quality, and increasing access to health care for all Americans for years to come.

Think about it, in recent years—thanks to improved diagnostics and therapies, tools, and technologies—healthcare has witnessed a myriad of innovations designed to extend and improve the quality of our lives.

For example, we need only look at the history of hip replacement surgery. Not long ago, this surgery involved an expensive multi-day hospital stay, lengthy and often exceedingly painful rehab, and a device implant that was susceptible to wear and tear. Today, a patient can have a very different journey: more durable materials, coupled with advances in peri-operative management, have led to shorter hospital stays, lower costs, and improvements in outcomes such as lower surgical revision rates.

Or perhaps a patient is having symptoms indicating a heart attack. Innovative, high-tech tools such as pocket-sized ultrasound connected to a mobile phone can help physicians make a rapid diagnosis and potentially reduce expensive and unnecessary hospital stays.

Undoubtedly, innovation—coupled with the American free market—is the fuel that powers the engine of progress and creativity. That’s why the Trump Administration wants to do everything we can to promote, enhance, and assist it.

Unfortunately, we’re all too aware of the problem. When I came to CMS, I inherited outdated government rules and regulation that stifle innovation and access to innovative treatments. For CMS, as the largest payer in the country, we have a particularly outsized effect on the market. And our often arcane and outmoded regulations around coverage, coding, and payment can lead to unpredictability for innovators. In many cases, it isn’t enough for an innovator to wind their way through the maze of regulations. Because Medicare is set up with defined benefit categories set in law, innovations often can’t be covered or paid for by Medicare without an act of Congress. Meanwhile, there continues to be an ongoing discussion of Medicare for All, a complete government takeover of healthcare. Sitting where I sit, and seeing – on a daily basis – all the problems faced by patients in accessing innovative technology, it’s hard to imagine anyone could advocate for such a takeover. Let me be clear: government run healthcare will stall innovation and risk the development and adoption of new technology. Medicare for All leads to innovation for none.

The advent of novel medical technologies requires CMS to remove barriers to ensure safe and effective treatments are readily accessible to beneficiaries without delaying patient care. In essence, keeping new technologies and treatments moving from bench to bedside—and into the hands of those who need them most.

Currently—as many of you are aware—when it comes to new technology, the CMS process generally involves three elements. One aspect is coverage. CMS coverage decisions are guided by laws and procedures that determine whether CMS makes a National Coverage Determination to cover a new therapy nationwide…or, Medicare Administrative Contractors (or MACs) may make individual Local Coverage Determinations to cover a therapy in their region, leading to inconsistent access.

Another element is coding. Coding decisions are based on whether a new code needs to be developed, or whether an existing code can adequately describe the new therapy.

A third element is payment. CMS makes payment decisions for a new therapy through the Medicare payment systems, with a different decision on how each new therapy is reimbursed. For example, if a new therapy is provided to a beneficiary as part of a hospital stay, Medicare pays for it according to the relevant DRG. This may also include the possibility of a new technology add-on payment (or NTAP) if, for example, the cost of a medical product is significantly more than the current payment. But if a new therapy can be provided in a beneficiary’s home and meets certain criteria, it may be considered Durable Medical Equipment (or DME).

With the remarkable number of transformative technologies coming to market — many with unprecedented price tags — Medicare must develop new frameworks that will support tomorrow’s innovations and endure the test of time.

Simply put, our goal is to get new innovations to our beneficiaries concurrent with FDA approval by (1) removing government barriers to innovation and (2) harmonizing CMS coverage, coding, and payment processes.

That’s exactly what the Trump Administration has been working to do since day one—and we’ve already witnessed substantial accomplishments when it comes to changing outdated and harmful regulations around new technology.

For example:

We’ve undertaken painstaking efforts to unravel – one by one – government-imposed tangles to ensure access to specific technology. This includes a situation where Medicare refused to pay for a glucose meter because the meter could also be used with an app. In another situation, Medicare started paying for disposable insulin pumps more than a decade after private sector insurance had already begun covering it.

We announced that we would consider validated commercial payments in determining payments for certain innovative DME without predecessors in our fee schedule composed in the mid ‘80s, which the Medicare law requires as the starting point for DME payment. And we’re looking for other opportunities to make sure Medicare is getting the best deal for 2020…not 1986.

We’ve advanced proposals to bring telehealth services, remote communication services and monitoring, and care management in the physician fee schedule to all Medicare beneficiaries, not just those in rural areas. We are leveraging for the first time certain technologies that have long been available in the private marketplace. This is a historic advancement designed to improve access for all Medicare beneficiaries.

We also redesigned the LCD process as part of our Patients over Paperwork initiative to ensure a clear roadmap to local coverage. Patients over Paperwork is an agency-wide effort to solicit input from stakeholders on policies that are outdated, redundant, or overly burdensome, and to make updates in response. We believe these changes clarify and simplify the process, helping to ensure that manufacturers get appropriate therapies and medical devices to patients more efficiently. These improvements respond to stakeholders’ suggestions for more transparency, including multiple opportunities for engagement with CMS and our MACs.

We are advancing efforts to lower drug costs while increasing competition and encouraging the development of biosimilars in the United States. In 2018, we changed reimbursement for biosimilars, allowing each biosimilar for a reference product to be coded separately—adding pricing predictability for biosimilar innovators and encouraging their development.

And last week we announced significant payment policy changes to support broad access to transformative technologies, including certain antimicrobial drugs and CAR-T cell therapy. These include an increase to the NTAP, which provides hospitals with additional payments for cases with high costs involving new technologies.

We’ve proposed to modernize payment policies for medical devices that are granted FDA Breakthrough Devices Program designation to expedite their entry into the market. This includes waiving the requirement for “substantial clinical improvement,” which is one of the criteria that must be met for CMS to make additional payments. For devices granted Breakthrough-designated FDA approval, real-world data regarding outcomes in different patient populations is often limited at the time of approval, making it hard for innovators to meet this requirement. Waiving this requirement would provide additional Medicare payment for the technologies for a period of time while real-world evidence is emerging, so Medicare beneficiaries don’t have to wait for access to the latest innovations. After devices have been on the market for two years, they would still have to demonstrate evidence of “substantial clinical improvement” to receive the third year of add-on payment. We’re also considering waiving this requirement for similar “pass through” payments.

Additionally, CMS is soliciting comment on what constitutes “substantial clinical improvement.” This will help innovators better understand how we evaluate applications for NTAP under our payment policies.

These are great first steps, but our work is not done. It’s a vision of fostering innovation to lower cost and improve quality. Ultimately, we want to transform health care to deliver better value and results for Medicare -- and all Americans -- through competition and innovation.