The WIR: Dentsu says Simplification is Delivering Client Wins, Joyn Drives Growth for ProSieben, and iSpot Gets Backing from US JIC

In this week’s Week in Review: Dentsu reports its Q2 results, Joyn drives growth for ProSieben, and iSpot gets backing as a currency from US JIC.

The Week in Tech

Former YouTube Chief Susan Wojcicki Dies Aged 56

Susan Wojcicki, who spent almost 10 years as YouTube CEO, died from lung cancer last week at the age of 56. Colleagues praised Wojcicki’s leadership and her part in building Google’s $240 billion advertising business. Former Google exec Alan Eustace called her “the voice of reason” at YouTube, having helped smooth some of the controversies around the platform.

Google TV Streamer Replaces Chromecast

Google has launched a new streaming device called Google TV Streamer. The product is designed to replace Chromecast, the company’s smart TV dongle, with added “smart home” capabilities. Google TV Streamer carries streaming apps, such as YouTube TV, Netflix and Disney+, and uses Google AI to curate content suggestions across the users’ subscriptions.

Criteo in Merger Discussions with Skai

Criteo, a French ad tech firm, is in M&A talks with Skai, an omnichannel advertising platform, according to Digiday. The combination is uncertain, but sources said a tie-up would help Criteo position itself as a retail media specialist. Negotiations are reportedly in an advanced stage.

Meta Updates Attribution Algorithm for Performance Campaigns

Meta is making a change to its advertising algorithm, according to Adweek, in order to increase trust in its ad systems. The change affects conversion campaigns, and will give more weight to conversions occurring one day from when a user first clicks, rather than equally weighting toward all lengths of conversion windows. The report noted that the update could make campaigns appear to be performing worse, and potentially raise ad prices. But the changes should also make it easier to attribute conversions, thereby building confidence among performance advertisers who validate results using third-party measurement tools.

IAB Europe Launches Campaign Emissions Tool in Beta

IAB Europe has launched a new tool for estimating carbon emissions from digital ad campaigns. Now available in beta, OpenGHG tracks emissions in compliance with emerging global standards, as part of co-ordinated efforts to advance sustainability in the digital advertising industry. “IAB Europe’s OpenGHG is a key step towards a greener digital ecosystem, underscoring our commitment to global standards and transparency,” said Steffen Johann Hubert, Associate Director & Lead Sustainability at Seven.One Entertainment Group, and Vice-Chair of IAB Europe’s Sustainability Standards Committee.

The Week in TV

RTL Grows TV Sales Despite Slowdown in Q2

RTL saw positive movement in the German TV market during the first half of 2024, with TV ad revenues up 4.7 percent YoY. But the broadcaster reported a slowdown during the second quarter, after TV ad sales jumped 10 percent during Q1. RTL’s streaming business, which makes up around five percent of the group’s revenues, grew by 41.9 percent YoY during H1.

WBD and Paramount Write Down Combined $15 Billion From TV Networks

Warner Bros. Discovery has written down the value of its TV networks by $9.1 billion, as the transition to streaming continues to erode the cable business model. “It’s fair to say that even two years ago, market valuations and prevailing conditions for legacy media companies were quite different than they are today, and this impairment acknowledges this,” WBD CEO David Zaslav told investors. “The market conditions within the traditional business are tough.” Paramount Global also wrote down its cable business by nearly $6 billion, amid the closure of its TV studio and massive layoffs ahead of its proposed merger with Skydance Media.

Netflix’s Ad Tier Reaches Nearly Ten Percent of UK Households, finds Barb

Over 2.7 million households in the UK have access to Netflix’s ad-supported subscription tier, according to Barb’s latest establishment survey data, which charts total household reach for major CTV services. This is a significant jump for the service, up from 2.1 million households in Q1. Barb’s data suggests that sixteen percent of all Netflix subscribing households in the UK are now signed up to the ad tier. This figure means that Netflix’s ad tier now reached nearly one in ten UK households (9.5 percent). Read more on VideoWeek.

Ads to Near One-Third of UK Streaming Revenues by 2028

After a period of rapid expansion, the video subscription market is starting to plateau in the UK, according to the latest forecast from PwC. The report, ‘Global Entertainment & Media (E&M) Outlook 2024-2028’, notes that the UK is the largest OTT market in Western Europe, but subscription uptake is expected to slow over the next four years. Against this backdrop, streaming companies will continue to diversify their revenue streams, with advertising poised to take on an increasing role in OTT business models. Read more on VideoWeek.

APAC Becomes Netflix’s Third-Largest Region

Asia Pacific has overtaken Latin America as Netflix’s third-largest subscriber base, behind North America and Western Europe. According to Ampere Analysis, Netflix has achieved consistent growth in APAC since launching in 2016, in contrast to slower rates in the other regions. “Localisation has played a key role in Netflix’s strategy in APAC,” said Orina Zhao, Senior Analyst at Ampere. “In markets such as Japan and South Korea, Netflix has tailored its content offerings, with local titles now comprising 17 percent and 13 percent of its total catalogue respectively – while India and Indonesia are also among Netflix’s top 10 most localised markets.”

Canal+ Seeks Majority Stake in Mauritian TV Company MC Vision

Canal+ is planning to raise its stake in MC Vision, a Mauritian pay-TV business, from 37 to 75 percent. The increase would make Canal+ the company’s largest shareholder. The French broadcaster is also in the process of acquiring MultiChoice, the South African pay-TV operator.

The Week for Publishers

RedBird Narrows Down List of Buyers for The Telegraph

RedBird IMI, the investment group which currently controls The Telegraph and The Spectator and is trying to sell the assets, has whittled down the list of potential buyers as it moves into the second round of the bidding process. Among those reported to have dropped out are Maurice Saatchi, co-founder of ad agency Saatchi & Saatchi, and Belgian media business Mediahuis. UK publishing group National World and hedge fund boss Paul Marshall are reported by the Financial Times to still be in the running.

BuzzFeed Stock Rises as Programmatic Sales Focus and AI Investment Bear Fruit

Embattled digital media business BuzzFeed saw its share price jump by over 20 percent earlier this week as its Q2 financial results showed signs that its turnaround plans are paying off. Within the numbers, green shoots from BuzzFeed’s ambitious turnaround plan were visible. Programmatic ad revenues, which are a bigger strategic focus for the company and now make up the majority of total ad revenues, rose three percent year-on-year to $16 million. Affiliate commerce revenues, another strategic focus, grew nine percent. Read more on VideoWeek.

Daily Mail Passes 15 Million TikTok Subscribers

UK newspaper The Daily Mail announced this week that it now has more than 15 million subscribers across its various TikTok accounts, with over 10 million on its primary account, and more than one million on its UK-specific account. The Daily Mail has invested significantly in growing its TikTok audience in an effort to broaden its reach, particularly with younger viewers. It claims to have the largest presence on TikTok of any news publisher globally.

News Corp Takes Legal Steps Against AI Companies

Publishing group News Corp is taking legal steps against “AI aggressors, chief executive Robert Thomson said following the company’s Q2 earnings. News Corp is one of a number of publishers who have signed licensing deals with AI businesses, namely OpenAI. But for AI businesses which News Corp doesn’t have a relationship with, particularly those described by Thomson as “predatory”, News Corp is taking legal action.

Sports Coverage Caught Up in Overzealous Block Lists

Several publishers have reported that some of their coverage of the Olympics and men’s European Championships has been caught under poorly managed brand safety block lists, drawing ad money away from them, Press Gazette reported this week. Some content will have been blocked legitimately – for example, stories about a Dutch volleyball player convicted of child rape. But others have been caught under poorly refined blocklists. Some Olympics content for example was blocked by lists featuring the word ‘Paris’, dating back to attacks on France’s capital years ago. And football articles which contain the word ‘shoot’ still also find themselves blocked by some filters.

The Week for Brands & Agencies

GroupM Streamlines Retail Media Management Through Pacvue Partnership

WPP’s media arm GroupM has launched what it describes as a ‘global integrated commerce management solution’, developed through a partnership with commerce acceleration platform Pacvue. GroupM says the new solution will enable clients to unify bespoke insights, media management, and retail operations across different retail media offerings’ tech silos. “Our focus is on how we use technology to answer our clients’ business problems, drive incrementality, and simplify operational complexity. Our work with Pacvue makes that possible across markets, giving our clients the leading edge in a space where innovation has to be a constant,” said Samantha Bukowski, GroupM’s global head of commerce.

Hollywood Union Agrees Deal for AI Replication of Actors’ Voices in Ads

Actors union SAG-AFTRA has agreed a deal to allow for AI replication of actors’ voices for use in adverts, the organisation announced this week. The deal was struck with talent marketplace Narrativ, setting terms to allow actors to sell advertisers the right to replicate their voices for creative work. Under the deal, brands must still seek clearance from the actor in question for any ad which uses a replication of their voice.

Ad Net Zero Takes on GARM’s Sustainability Work

Ad Net Zero, an industry initiative promoting sustainability in advertising, has taken on sustainability work which has previously been run by the WFA’s Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), which shut down last week after being hit with a lawsuit by Elon Musk. Ad Net Zero contributed to GARM’s sustainability framework, which aims to standardise measurement of carbon emissions, but will now handle the project by itself, according to Adweek.

Walmart’s Ad Business Continues Rapid Growth

US retailer Walmart’s ad business continued its rapid growth in Q2, with its global ad business’s revenues up 26 percent year-on-year in Q2, and up 30 percent in the US specifically. Walmart said its third-party marketplace, where third-party brands list and sell their own products, has been particularly successful, according to Adweek.

Unilever Triples Spend on Gaming Marketing to Reach Younger Audiences

CPG giant Unilever has tripled its spend on in-game activations since 2021 in an effort to reach younger audiences, the brand’s global head of sport and entertainment partnerships Willem Dinger told City AM. Dinger said that Unilever has focussed on partnerships which are native to gameplay, rather than interruptive ad experiences, and that Unilever has a team of over 30 developers working on gaming activations.

Etsy Picks IPG’s Mediahub as New Media Agency

Online craft marketplace Etsy has picked IPG’s Mediahub as its new media agency, Ad Age reported this week. Etsy, which spent over $600 million on advertising last year according to Ad Age, previously worked with independent media agency Ocean Media.

Hires of the Week

Linda Cronin to Head up Media at Monks

Monks, the digital-first operating brand of S4 Capital, has named Linda Cronin as EVP, Head of Media. Cronin previously spent seven years at IPG-owned Initiative. The move reflects the rebranded company’s (formerly Media.Monks) mission to accelerate the industry-wide transition to AI-driven creative and technology.

Disney Hires Google’s Product VP Adam Smith

Disney has announced Adam Smith as Chief Product and Technology Officer for Disney Entertainment and ESPN. Smith spent almost 21 years at Google and YouTube, serving as VP, Product Management.

GroupM UK Names Jon Stevens Chief Growth Officer

GroupM UK has appointed Jon Stevens as its first Chief Growth Officer. Stevens joins from Zenith, a Publicis agency, where he has spent almost five years as a Managing Director.

ZEASN Appoints Adobe’s Chris Hock

ZEASN, a TV OS company, has hired  Chris Hock as VP Monetization. In his new role, Hock will lead the team in building out monetisation strategy and capabilities for the whaleOS TV operating system. He has previously held leadership roles at Adobe and Cadent.