The Weekly 10: marketing, media and industry statistics to know now — May 7, 2025 edition

From Pinterest’s use as a search engine to the Kentucky Derby’s viewership, these are the data points we’re paying attention to right now.

The share of U.S. millennials who say that spending on hobbies and interests is a necessity — not a luxury — according to a new study by The Harris Poll for Credit Karma. (The authors defined “necessity” as something respondents are “willing to spend money on, no matter the state of their finances.”) The research aimed to quantify how the cost-of-living crisis among younger consumers is impacting purchasing behavior.

Average viewership for the 2025 Kentucky Derby — the race’s largest TV audience since 1989, and a 6% increase compared to last year, per NBC Sports. The event, which was broadcast live on NBC and streamed on Peacock, peaked at nearly 23 million viewers.

The share of consumers who have used Pinterest as a search engine, according to a new survey from Adobe.

Number of countries where fans have purchased WNBA tickets — a massive jump from 12 countries last year — per preseason data from StubHub. The arrival of women’s professional basketball at a global level is aligned with several other crucial growth indicators: WNBA ticket sales are up nearly 2.5x year-over-year, including a 28% increase in first-time buyers. 

The percentage of marketers and creatives who say brands are increasingly focusing on short-term marketing activities (as opposed to long-term brand building), according to an annual survey from the producers of the Cannes Lions festival. The report also concludes that risk–aversion from brands and unreliable consumer insights are the largest perceived barriers to stronger creative work. (See also: “Brand vs. performance marketing: One winning strategy,” from Quad Insights.)

The percentage of U.S. consumers who say they’re more likely to purchase a product they see in a grocery store if they first heard about it on the radio, according to a new study from iHeartMedia, per Radio Ink. 

The number of monthly active users that Spotify reported during its latest earnings call — an increase of 10% year over year, besting its own growth projections. The streamer says it saw expansion across all regions but specifically cited gains in the “rest of world” segment, which it defines as regions outside North America, Europe and Latin America.

The average number of video services per consumer in Q4 2024 — down from 11.1 during the same period a year prior — per MediaPost analysis of new research from TiVo. While customers subscribed to fewer total video services (the broad category encompassing premium linear and virtual paid TV, SVOD and AVOD), the study’s authors note that daily video consumption has remained essentially unchanged over the past three years.

The share of U.S. consumers who plan to travel this summer, according to a new KMPG report. While that represents an increase compared to last year’s figure (55%), survey respondents intend to spend 7% less per trip, on average, amid continuing economic uncertainty.