The WIR: Peter Naylor Departs Netflix as Ad Memberships Rise, UK Marketing Budgets Grow at Decade-High Rate, and WBD Considers Splitting its Business

In this week’s Week in Review: Peter Naylor leaves Netflix, positive news for UK marketing budgets, and WBD considers splitting up its business.

The Week in Tech

Barb Expands TV Measurement Panel to 7,000 UK Homes

Barb, the UK’s TV audience measurement body, has increased its nationally representative panel of UK households from 5,150 homes to 7,000 homes. Panel-based measurement has come under scrutiny, particularly during recent changes in TV consumption, and the expansion seeks to enhance the accuracy of TV measurement. “At Barb, we know that underpinning successful, truly independent audience measurement using both panel data and big data, is the high quality and robustness of the panel itself,” said Barb COO Caroline Baxter. “By investing in rigorous, interview led recruitment, we reach all parts of the population, making our panel truly representative of the UK.”

Taboola to Sell Ad Space on Apple Apps

Taboola, a content recommendation and native ads business, will provide native advertising for Apple, Axios reported on Tuesday. The deal will see Taboola sell ad space on the Apple News and Apple Stocks apps, according to Taboola founder and CEO Adam Singolda. The partnership represents a serious move by Apple to grow its ads business via an external sales team.

Spotify Plans 40 Layoffs From Ad Sales

Spotify is planning 40 redundancies from its ad sales team, according to AdAge, as part of a restructure designed to merge campaign and account management. The music streaming company is looking to develop its self-serve programmatic ads business, with a focus on catering to more small- and medium-sized clients.

Utiq and Index Exchange Bring First-Party Identifier to SSP

Utiq, the identity solution created by four European telcos, has announced its integration with Index Exchange, a supply-side platform (SSP). The partnership will bring Utiq’s Authentic Audiences solution to the SSP, enabling media buyers and owners to address consented audiences in cookieless environments. “This partnership represents a transformation in addressable advertising, enabling the industry to move away from third-party cookies and hybrid IDs, towards the use of data minimised, deterministic, telco-powered identifiers that safeguard user consent and privacy, whilst maximising and managing true reach and frequency control in targeting real people at scale,” said Utiq CPO Will Harmer.

CTV Ads Drive High Attention Finds Amplified Intelligence

Ads on connected TV deliver higher attention than other forms of digital video, according to research from Yahoo, Omnicom Media Group and Amplified Intelligence. The study suggested that CTV ads delivered an average of 9.7 active attention seconds, about eight times more than mobile ads and 16 times more than desktop. “This makes sense due to the nature of the device, where the ad takes up most of the TV screen, whereas desktop tends to have more content and, therefore, more distraction from the ads,” explained the report.

The Week in TV

Paramount Considers Selling Pluto TV Back to Co-Founder

Paramount is considering selling off Pluto TV, according to Streaming Media Blog. Multiple sources suggested Tom Ryan, co-founder of Pluto TV and CEO of Paramount Streaming, had been in discussions with Paramount about repurchasing the FAST business. The report noted that the subject of Pluto TV has been absent from recent strategy meetings at Paramount.

MFE Ad Revenues Up 6.7 Percent in H1

MediaForEurope (MFE) has posted a 6.7 percent YoY increase in ad revenues during the first half of 2024. MFE CEO Pier Silvio Berlusconi said ad sales in Spain and Italy had surpassed expectations. Consolidated EBIT was also up 11 percent during the six-month period.

Viaplay Ad Revenues Up 5 Percent in Q2

Viaplay posted 3 percent YoY revenue growth for Q2 2024, driven by 5 percent uplift in ad revenues. The Nordic streaming business also reaffirmed its commitment to stopping account sharing, “so that we can all convert more account sharers into paying subscribers.” The company’s exit from “non-core international markets” is ongoing.

DAZN and BeIN Sports Reach Late €500 Million Deal for French Football

Sport streaming business DAZN and sports network beIN Sports have agreed a late broadcasting rights deal for France’s top football league Ligue 1, worth €500 million annually until 2029. The sale, agreed shortly before the start of the new football season, averts fears that a deal wouldn’t be reached in time. But France’s Professional Football League (LFP) has had to accept a figure significantly lower than it had hoped. The LFP had been targeting at least €1 billion annually overall for domestic rights alone – it will have to settle for around €700 million instead, including international rights and rights for lower league games. Read more on VideoWeek.

YouTube to Outspend Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery on Content This Year

YouTube content spending is expected to reach almost $20 billion this year, according to Ampere Analysis. The figure, comprising its revenue sharing arrangement with creators, puts YouTube ahead of Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery, but behind Disney in terms of content spend. YouTube’s ad revenues are also forecast to reach $35 billion in 2024.

Vivendi Explores London Listing for Canal+

Vivendi is looking to spin-off Canal+ and list the TV business on the London stock exchange, Bloomberg reported this week. The listing could take place as soon as the end of this year, according to people familiar with the matter. Vivendi shares jumped 6.4 percent following the report, reaching their highest level since June 2022.

Paramount Launches Self-Serve Ad Buying Platform for SMBs

Paramount Advertising has launched a self-serve buying platform, designed to attract more ad dollars from small- and mid-sized businesses. Paramount Ads Manager enables SMBs to create and launch ads in one business day, according to the company, with campaign minimums at $500. The offering also includes self-service creative tools, allowing advertisers to produce a 15- or 30-second video spot, including the use of generative AI tools from Waymark.

Channel 4 Streaming Up 30 Percent in June

Channel 4 streaming viewing in June rose 30 percent YoY, the broadcaster announced, citing Barb data. Streaming as a proportion of total Channel 4 viewing also climbed 29 percent YoY during the first six months of 2024, as the company seeks to become a “public service streamer” under its Fast Forward strategy. “Our strong performance in June, with success across a wide range of titles, demonstrates the clear editorial and content approach set out in our Fast Forward strategy,” said Kiran Nataraja, Director of Streaming & Content Strategy at Channel 4.

Future Today Brings Studio Titles to Fawesome AVOD Service

Fawesome, an AVOD service owned by Future Today, has announced new content additions from Sony Pictures Entertainment, Samuel Goldwyn Films and Gravitas Ventures. The licensing agreement includes Sony films such as Insidious, Drive and The Mortal Instruments. “Fawesome’s growing audience has come to expect engaging and entertaining content,” said David Di Lorenzo, Senior Vice President of Content Acquisitions & Partnerships at Future Today. “Our new deals with these major studios allow us to continue to expand our premium content offering while satisfying the wants of our audience.”

BBC Expands FAST Channels to MENA

BBC Studios is bringing two new FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) channels to Samsung TV Plus in the MENA region. BBC Drama is already available in Spain, Italy and France, but will expand to MENA with a content slate including Call The Midwife and Death in Paradise. Meanwhile the Top Gear channel will launch across MENA, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden and Denmark. “With FAST channel launches across 42 EMEA countries in just five years, I’m excited for BBC Studios’ future in this space,” said Kasia Jablonska, Director of Digital and On-Demand for EMEA at BBC Studios.

M6 and Sud Ouest Publicité to Market Addressable TV to Local Advertisers

M6 Publicité has teamed up with Sud Ouest Publicité to market the French broadcaster’s Segmented TV offering to local advertisers. Starting in September 2024, Sud Ouest Publicité will offer the M6 Group’s addressable TV inventory to advertisers located in Charente, Charente Maritime, Gironde, Dordogne, Lot et Garonne, Landes and Pyrénées Atlantiques.

BBC’s Head of iPlayer and Video Makes “Abrupt” Departure

Ankit Kumar, BBC Head of Product for iPlayer and Video, has abruptly left the BBC, Deadline reported on Wednesday. Kumar’s exit follows similar senior departures from the product team, including David Andrade, Director of Product Engineering, and Sara Bowley, Digital Delivery Director. Kumar joined the BBC from Amazon in October 2022.

Hallmark to Launch “Cross-Company” Streaming Service in September

Hallmark Media is rebranding its streaming service, currently called Hallmark Movies Now, as Hallmark Plus. Due to launch in September, the subscription service is a “cross-company” offering with additional membership benefits, including “monthly $5 Hallmark Gold Crown Store coupons, free unlimited eCards, shopping rewards and surprise gifts.” The subscription will cost $8 per month, up from the current $6 per month. “We’re thinking about how we find our viewers where they’re watching, and that’s where our viewers are,” said Lisa Hamilton Daly, EVP of Programming at Hallmark Media. “And look, I know we’re a bit late to the game. But we’ve had a chance to look around and see what everyone else is doing, see what the mistakes were.”

The Week for Publishers

RedBird IMI Seeks £600 Million for Telegraph and Spectator as Bidding Begins

Investment business RedBird IMI is seeking a combined valuation of £600 million for The Daily Telegraph and Spectator, as bidding for the two publishers kicks off today, according to the Financial Times. RedBird IMI itself has been blocked from taking charge of the titles, due to new laws governing foreign ownership of British media. Around 20 parties are interested in bidding, according to the FT, including News UK, National World, and Mediahuis.

Metro Reaches Profitability

UK free daily newspaper Metro has reached profitability for both its digital and print divisions, Press Gazette reported this week, marking a turnaround from a particularly tough period during the pandemic. The company credits the unification of its print and digital editorial teams, as well as a restructure of its sales teams, with the recovery. “I think what’s made the difference is the commercial team have really worked out how to sell Metro, how to give it a different identity to traditional newsbrands that operate across print and digital and in apps and then on social media, in such a way that we’ve really been able to grow market share considerably, grow revenue considerably,” said Metro’s managing director Richard Thompson.

Washington Post Builds ‘Third Newsroom’ to Reach Social-First Readers

The Washington Post is building a ‘third newsroom’, separate to its main news and opinion operations, which will look to build the Posts’ reach with readers who mainly interact with the news brand off-site. The third newsroom’s remit will be quite broad, with the overall aim of future-proofing the company’s business model. This will include investing in a wider set of media formats, as well as exploring alternative payment options such as micro-transactions for specific stories.

Footballco Launches Post-Cookie Tool ‘FC Precision’

Footballco, the sports media brand which owns publisher brands including Goal, Mundial, and Spox, this week announced a new post-cookie targeting solution called FC Precision. FC Precision will create tailored audiences using the company’s first-part data, including declared data, behavioural data, survey feedback, and lookalike profiling, which is pinned to its own Footballco ID. These audiences will be targetable across Goal and FC Player.

Most Britons Would Rather Share Data Than Pay for News

The vast majority of Britons (87 percent) say they would prefer to share some of their data and access ad-supported content for free, rather than paying for content, according to a study run by Appinio commissioned by The Trade Desk. But most also say their current experience of online advertising is sub-par. Despite the industry’s focus on personalised targeting, respondents said that only around five percent of the ads they see online are relevant to them.

The Week for Brands & Agencies

Omnicom Posts 5.2 Percent Organic Growth in Q2

American agency holding group Omnicom was the first of the major agency groups to post its Q2 financial results, announcing on Tuesday that it reached 5.2 percent organic growth for the quarter. CEO John Wren said the company’s investments in AI and commerce media are paying off, as are its investment in its company-wide operating system ‘Omni’. Growth was strong across markets, with 6.3 percent organic growth in the US, 6.9 percent in the UK, and 4.5 percent in non-UK European markets. Revenues for Omnicom’s advertising and media segment specifically were up 7.8 percent organically year-on-year.

Publicis Raises Full Year Forecast After Strong Q2

French holding company Publicis Groupe posted stronger-than-expected Q2 financial results, with organic growth in net revenues of 5.6 percent, bringing organic growth for the first half of the year up to 5.4 percent. Results were strong across regions, with the US up 5.3 percent, Europe up 4.2 percent, and APAC up by 7.7 percent. As a result, Publicis has raised its full year forecast for organic growth. The company now expects full year organic growth of net revenues between 5-6 percent.

Havas Agencies Lose B Corp Certification Over Shell Work

Four Havas agencies – Havas London, Havas Lemz, Havas New York, and Havas Immerse – have lost their B Corp certification, due to the holding group’s work with oil and gas business Shell, while other Havas agencies will be ineligible for B Corp certification. B Corp certification, issued by B Lab, certifies that businesses reach high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. Questions were raised over Havas agencies’ existing B Corp status after the group pitched for – and won – Shell’s account last year.

AAR Charts UK Fall in New Business

Agency new business for the first half of 2024 was down by 20 percent in the UK (in terms of the volume of completed pitches) compared with the first half of 2023, which itself was down by 23 percent compared with 2023, according to a new report from marketing consultancy AAR. CRM/CX accounts saw the steepest drop, with a 26 percent fall in pitches, while media was down four percent. Social accounts were the only category to rise, up 17 percent year-on-year. AAR notes alongside the overall fall in new business, there has been a lack of scale opportunities so far this year. So far in 2024 there have only been four completed reviews with billings reported in excess of £20 million- Molson Coors, Perigo, Pfizer, and Vodafone.

Publicis Media Wins Nestlé Media Duties in China

Publicis Media has been handed media responsibilities for Nestlé’s entire product portfolio in China, following a competitive review process, the two announced this week. Publicis already has a relationship with Nestlé in China through its communications agencies, and will now also handle media planning and buying in the market, covering social, mobile, and performance media, according to LBB.

New UK Government Pushes Ahead with HFSS Ad Regulation

The UK’s new Labour government mentioned plans to push ahead with regulation of HFSS (foods high in fat, sugar, and salt) advertising in the King’s Speech on Wednesday. The Labour government plans to pick up the Conservatives’ plans to restrict advertising of HFSS foods towards children, though no extra detail was given of how this will be implemented or when it will come into force.

Media.Monks Rebrands as Monks

Media.Monks, owned by S4 Capital, has rebranded simply as Monks, which the agency says reflects a streamlining of its structure and services. The company says it is transitioning its structure to two “fully synchronised” practices: marketing services and technology services, both of which will be powered by its workflow platform Monks.Flow. “With this shift in the way we deliver our services to market, we are better able to help clients transform the economics of their businesses and are well-positioned to develop and define the future of our industry,” said Sir Martin Sorrell, executive chairman of S4 Capital.

Hires of the Week

Infosum’s Brian Lesser Named GroupM CEO

WPP has announced Brian Lesser, currently Chairman and CEO at Infosum, is taking over as Global CEO of GroupM, the holding company’s media unit. He replaces Christian Juhl, who has spent five years in the role. Juhl will remain at WPP as President, Corporate Development. Read more on VideoWeek.

Channel 4 Announces Ruth Brougham as Streaming Business Director

Channel 4 has hired Ruth Brougham in the newly created role of Streaming Business Director. Based in Leeds, Brougham will lead Channel 4’s streaming operations, product team and roadmap. Brougham joins from Virgin Money, where she was Head of Digital Banking.

Brainlabs Adds Sean Seamer and Sue Unerman to Global Leadership Team

Brainlabs, a digital marketing agency, has named Sean Seamer as Global Chief Operating Officer, and Sue Unerman as Global Chief Strategy Officer. They join from Gravity Road and EssenceMediacom respectively.

Azerion Promotes Roxanne Harley to Head of Growth and Names Mark Taylor Head of CTV

Azerion, a digital advertising company, has promoted Roxanne Harley to Head of Growth, and appointed Mark Taylor as Head of CTV. Harley joined Azerion in 2021, while Taylor previously served as Commercial Partner Development Director at Quantcast.

Pixability Appoints Matt Nash as SVP EMEA

Pixability, a contextual targeting and brand suitability business, has enlisted Matt Nash as SVP for EMEA. Nash spent almost five years as Managing Director of Scibids, an AI marketing firm acquired by DoubleVerify in 2023.