The WIR: The CMA Accuses Google of Abusing Dominance in Ad Tech, X Launches a CTV App, and Linear TV Rebounds in the US

In this week’s Week in Review: Google is accused of abusing its dominant position in ad tech by the UK’s CMA, X launches its long awaited CTV app in beta, and IAB reports a rebound in linear ad revenues in the US.

Top Stories

CMA says Google is Abusing its Dominant Position in Ad Tech

The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has provisionally found that Google is abusing its dominant position in the ad tech market, causing harm to thousands of UK publishers and advertisers, following an investigation.

The CMA’s investigation focused on four key pieces of ad tech owned by Google: its buy-side offerings Google Ads and DV360, its publisher-facing tool DoubleClick for Publishers (DFP), and its ad exchange AdX. The regulator says that at least since 2015, Google has leveraged its dominant positions on the sell-side and the buy-side to self preference its own tools – making it harder for rival publisher ad servers and exchanges to compete with DFP and AdX respectively. CMA says methods used by Google have included:

providing AdX with exclusive or preferential access to advertisers that use Google Ads’ platform;
manipulating advertiser bids so that they have a higher value when submitted into AdX’s auction than when submitted into rival exchanges’ auctions; and
allowing AdX to bid first in auctions run by DFP for online advertising space, effectively giving it an ‘right of first refusal’ – with rivals potentially not having any chance to submit bids.

Google will have a chance to respond to the CMA’s claims, before the regulator decides what steps it might take “to ensure that Google ceases the anti-competitive practices, and that Google does not engage in similar practices in the future”.

The CMA’s decision comes just days before Google’s antitrust trial in the US, brought against the tech giant by the US Department of Justice, kicks off in America.

X CTV App Launches in Beta

X has launched its CTV app in the US, the company announced on Tuesday. Available in beta, the app can be found on Android TVs, LG, Amazon Fire TV and Google TV app stores. Elon Musk has spent months talking up the product, stating his intention for X to become a “video-first platform” to compete with YouTube.

While Musk has been vocal in his video ambitions, and X already hosts a fair amount of video content, its interface isn’t designed for a video-only experience. One question for the TV app will be whether it can effectively surface relevant video content, and whether the types of video content currently available on X are enough to keep viewers engaged in a CTV environment (where they’re more actively searching for video, rather than just having it appear in the feed as they scroll). Whether advertisers’ brand safety concerns with the primary X platform carry over to the CTV app is also crucial – if they do, X might find it hard to generate much more ad revenue via its CTV offering.

The X TV app beta is now available on several app stores, with more platforms on the way 📺

Paired with our upcoming Video Tab, this marks a massive leap forward in transforming X into a video-first platform and unlocking new opportunities for creators, advertisers, and our… pic.twitter.com/1P72feD4Fd

— Engineering (@XEng) September 3, 2024

US Linear TV Ad Market in Much Healthier State than Expected, finds the IAB

In November last year, IAB projected that US linear TV ad revenues would be down by 0.5 percent in 2024. The reality however has been much more positive. In a new outlook report released this week, IAB said that it now expects linear TV ad revenues to have grown by 4.3 percent by the end of 2024, a major turnaround.

Strong TV ad spend around the Olympics, as well as spending related to the upcoming US elections, have been the big drivers of growth – meaning this year’s strength won’t necessarily carry over into 2025. Nonetheless, the figures paint a much brighter picture for the US TV market.

CTV revenues meanwhile continue to grow at pace. Last November, IAB projected 14.5 percent growth in CTV ad revenues in 2024 – this number has now been increased to 18.4 percent. This makes it the fastest growing channel of those measured by IAB, beating out social media and paid search among other categories.

The Week in Tech

Ad Tech Market to Grow as Privacy Takes Centre Stage

The global ad tech market is expected to grow by 60 percent over the next five years, according to Juniper Research, a tech analysis firm. Ad tech platforms are forecast to generate $27 billion in 2024, and $43.5 billion by 2029. “The study identified the need to improve audience targeting to increase ad engagement, despite growing concerns over user privacy, as a critical driver of this growth,” said Juniper Research.

Google Switches Video Conversion Campaigns to Multi-Asset Campaigns

Google is switching its Video Action Campaigns (also known as video conversion campaigns) to multi-format “Demand Gen” campaigns. The company said advertisers who uploaded both video and image assets to Demand Gen saw 20 percent more conversions at the same cost per action than those who uploaded video assets only. The update will be effective from Q2 2025.

Snap Ads Business is “Growing Slower Than Competitors”, CEO Tells Staff

Snap CEO Evan Spiegel has told employees its ad business is “growing slower than our competitors” in an internal note on Tuesday. Spiegel said the company will focus on augmented reality and AR glasses to revitalise the business and Snap’s share price, which has fallen around 48 percent this year. “Unlike in digital advertising, where we were a late entrant in a market with established, scaled players, we are a leader in the market for this new type of glasses and in the development of our augmented reality platform,” said Spiegel.

MRC and IAB to Establish Attention Measurement Accreditation

The Media Rating Council (MRC) and the IAB’s Attention Measurement Task Force are launching a joint accreditation mechanism for attention measurement vendors, AdExchanger reported on Wednesday. Attention methodologies have come under scrutiny in recent months, with different vendors defining and measuring the metric differently, often producing significantly different results. The new framework will enable the MRC to audit individual measurement solutions, ensuring the technology works as described. But the guidelines will not require methodologies or tech (such as eye-tracking) to be present in order to receive accreditation.

Brazil Suspends Access to Elon Musk’s X in Misinformation Row

Anatel, Brazil’s communications regulator, is suspending access to X for users in Brazil, after the social media company missed a court-imposed deadline to name a local legal representative in contravention of Brazilian law. The standoff follows the Supreme Court’s ruling that X allowed the spread of hate speech and misinformation about Brazil’s electronic voting system. Elon Musk accused the court of “shutting down the #1 source of truth in Brazil.”

LG Ad Solutions Launches Full-Screen Ad Format

LG Ad Solutions has launched a new full-screen ad format for the LG smart TV home screen. Native Screensaver Ads activate across the Home Screen, LG Channels and Content Store. “This novel ad format capitalises on idle screen time, turning what may be perceived as a period of downtime into a valuable engagement opportunity,” said the company.

The Week in TV

Sony Looks to Original Content to Compete with Entertainment Giants

Sony is leaning on original content to compete with the likes of Netflix, Apple and Amazon, CEO Kenichiro Yoshida told the FT this week. Yoshida said Sony needed to shift its focus from distribution to the creation of intellectual property, as the Japanese firm transitions from electronics brand to global entertainment company. Under Yoshida, the group has spent $10 billion over the past six years to build its portfolio of games, films and music, the three business segments that account for 60 percent of Sony’s annual revenue.

Amazon Upfronts Attract Buyers Seeking Scale and Low CPMs

Amazon has completed its first Upfront season, according to Adweek, following the introduction of ads on Prime Video. The company reported “positive feedback from agencies and brands leading to strong demand” for its programming, but did not reveal total volume or CPMs. However, two anonymous buyers disclosed that Amazon’s CPMs were between $20 and $25, and cited Prime Video’s scale as a key selling point. “When Netflix and Disney+ launched, people dipped their toe in,” said one buyer. “With Amazon, they’ve garnered more share as a first-year Upfront player than the competition.”

DirecTV Slams Disney’s “Growing Pattern of Anti-Competitive Actions” in Latest Pay-TV Blackout

On Sunday, Disney-owned channels – including ESPN, ABC, Freeform, FX and National Geographic – went dark on DirecTV, as carriage negotitations between the media giant and pay-TV distributor fell through. The blackout saw almost 11 million US homes lose access to the channels in the middle of ESPN’s US Open coverage, and before kickoff in a highly anticipated college football game. DirecTV accuses Disney of unreasonably raising its prices, while Disney claims its terms are the same for all distributors. Read more on VideoWeek.

Channel 4 Champions Disability Representation in Advertising Beyond Paralympics

Channel 4 Sales, Bupa and Purple Goat have launched an initiative to encourage the representation of disabled people in advertising, aiming to prolong visibility beyond the Paralympics. The partnership offers a training programme and workshops for marketers, an inclusive disability digital handbook with best practice tips, and a 50-second Paralympics spot. According to the campaign, just 4 percent of ads currently feature disabled people, compared with 24 percent of the UK population.

Kids Viewing Nudges YouTube to Top of Nielsen Rankings

Kids viewing helped YouTube become the media distributor with the highest share of total TV viewing in July, according to Nielsen, marking the first time a streaming platform leads its Media Distributor Gauge. The measurement firm notes that summer months tend to boost streaming viewership and kids’ total TV usage. The research revealed that school-aged viewers accounted for nearly 30 percent of YouTube viewership during July, and 13 percent of total TV viewership.

BBC Plans to Cut 115 Regional Production Roles

The BBC is planning to cut up to 115 editorial and production jobs in the Nations and Regions, the broadcaster told staff at BBC Wales, BBC Scotland and BBC Northern Ireland. The note said management would aim to “deliver the savings without closing any major services.” The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) responded that news teams across England have already seen “devastating” cuts, and the latest layoffs would “further hollow out local news provision.”

The Week for Publishers

Video Has Become “The Focus of Everything” at The Sun

UK news publisher The Sun has made video “the focus of everything” over the past year, political editor Harry Cole told Press Gazette. Parent company News UK closed down linear TV channel TalkTV last year, but The Sun is using video production capabilities to create video content across social channels as well as its own website. Longer form video content distributed on YouTube is being cut up and distributed on short-form platforms, and excerpts of interviews are used in The Sun’s reporting, according to Cole.

Mail Metro Media says Data Strategy is Yielding Results

Mail Metro Media, the sales house which covers the Daily Mail & General Trust’s media properties, says its investment in data through the launch of a commercial audience data team earlier this year is paying off already. Since launch the team has created over 500 new data segments across demographics, interests, locations, context, in-market and outcomes. The team has planned over 100 bespoke data strategies for brands, and reports it has generated between 10-40 percent campaign performance improvements on high impact ad formats, and over 30 percent improvements on standard formats.

Wall Street Journal Offers Pre-Election Performance Guarantees

The Wall Street Journal is offering advertisers performance guarantees based on metrics from attention vendor Adelaide in the two weeks before the US presidential election, Adweek reported this week. And advertisers whose campaigns don’t meet benchmarks based on Adelaide’s metrics will receive make-goods in the form of further impressions. The move is designed to encourage advertisers not to turn off spend during election season, demonstrating that advertising next to important political journalism can deliver strong results for advertisers.

BDG Secures Growth Investment from Medici Capital Partners

BDG, the media group which owns Bustle and Nylon among other publisher brands, has secured growth investment from Medici Capital Partners, Axios reported this week. The size of the investment round is unknown, but BDG CEO Bryan Goldberg said that the money would be used to “double down” on what’s working, “creating moments-driven journalism across digital, print, and live events”.

Google AI Overviews Hit Publisher Search Visibility

Google now generates AI overviews for 17 percent of search queries in the UK and US, according to research from SEO agency Authoritas, pushing publishers’ primary links further down the page. Google does include links to sources within the AI-generated results, but the study noted it takes two clicks to actually get to the original source, Press Gazette reports. Google said last week that it is working to increase publisher visibility within AI overviews.

ITV-Backed New Media Business Woo Closes Down

Woo, a Gen-Z focussed media brand backed by ITV’s Studio 55 investment arm, has shut down two years after launching. Woo came to market with the ambition of becoming the defining media brand of Gen Z, and providing an antidote to toxic news cycles. ITV simply cited “a challenging market for publishers to grow audiences” as the reason behind the closure.

The Week for Brands & Agencies

WPP and OMG Win Amazon’s Media Account

WPP and OMG have come out on top in the pitch for Amazon’s media account, a major win since Amazon is consistently one of the world’s biggest spenders on advertising. The account has been split by geography – OMG will handle the Americas, while WPP will run the account in EMEA and APAC. IPG Mediabrands previously held the account, and IPG will remain a global media partner for AWS, Amazon Ads, and Amazon Business.

Dentsu and 614 Group Launch Initiative to Drive More News Investment

Agency holding group Dentsu and 614 Group, an advisory firm, have launched a new initiative aimed at driving more investment in credible news media. The coalition seeks to better understand the factors which drive investment in news journalism, as well as those which block it, in order to find ways and create tools to funnel more ad spend towards news publishers.

Dentsu says it has gained support from several of its clients, while OpenX and Sightly have signed on as underwriters to support the launch of the work. The launch comes shortly after the closure of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, an initiative which similarly sought to steer ad spend towards trustworthy and credible media companies.

The Industry May Not Realise, but the US Ad Market is Booming says Madison and Wall

The US ad market, excluding political advertising, grew by 9.6 percent in the second quarter of this year, according to ad consultancy Madison and Wall’s latest US forecast, higher than had been anticipated. While there’s still talk about difficult times and tight budgets, the data shows that the US market is in a strong position. “Whether its participants realise it or not, the industry just experienced a remarkable third consecutive quarter of around 10 percent growth on an underlying basis,” the consultancy said in a release accompanying the forecast. Read more on VideoWeek.

A Quarter of Marketers to Reduce Spending on Elon Musk’s X Next Year

X’s hands-off approach to moderation, as well as its often combative attitude towards advertisers, is leading marketers to pull back from the platform, according to new research from Kantar. The research firm asked 1,000 senior marketers globally about their spending plans for 2025. A net 26 percent of marketers said they plan to reduce ad spend on X in 2025, citing brand safety concerns and poor perceptions around innovation and trust as major causes for the pullback. Read more on VideoWeek.

Byron Sharp says More Attention Doesn’t Mean Better Results

Byron Sharp, professor of marketing science and director of the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute, and an influential voice in the advertising world, says the marketers are giving too much attention to attention metrics. Speaking in an interview with Forbes, Sharp said he believes marketers have been “seduced by the simple logic that without attention advertising doesn’t work”. While this is true, Sharp said that doesn’t mean advertisers need to pay for extra attention, or that more attention will deliver better results, and that optimising to attention too much can limit reach and actually blunt effectiveness.

Dentsu’s iProspect Secures eBay Media Duties

Dentsu-owned iProspect has been named eBay’s global media agency of record following a review, beating out incumbent EssenceMediacom which also competed in the review. “While we were very impressed with all the agencies who participated, iProspect stood out for their passion of the eBay brand and their strong operating model,” an eBay spokesperson told Mediaweek. “Their support will be critical as we focus on full-funnel campaigns that are integrated throughout the entire buying and selling journey.”

WPP Kills Off EssenceMediacom X Following Sky Media Loss

WPP’s EssenceMediacom X brand, which was created to handle media accounts which conflicted with others handled by EssenceMediacom, has been shut down following the agency’s loss of Sky’s media account, according to More About Advertising. Operations will be merged with EssenceMediacom, though CEO Clare Chapman is leaving the company.

Hires of the Week

Kate Rowlinson Appointed as GroupM UK CEO

GroupM this week announced that it has appointed Kate Rowlinson, previously CEO of EssenceMediacom UK, as its new UK CEO. Natalie Cummins meanwhile will step up to the role of EssenceMediacom UK CEO, while Josh Krichefski, who had previously held both the UK and EMEA CEO roles at GroupM, will now focus solely on the EMEA position.

Guardian US Appoints Sara Badler as Chief Advertising Officer NA

The Guardian US this week announced the appointment of Sara Badler as chief advertising officer, North America. Badler joins the from Morning Brew, where she served as chief commercial officer. In her new role, Badler will be responsible for driving advertising revenue growth, fostering strong client relationships, and leading a sales team including marketing, programmatic and ad operations.

MiQ Appoints Zuzanna Gierlinska as UK Chief Commercial Officer

Global programmatic media partner MiQ has hired Zuzanna Gierlinska in the new role of UK chief commercial officer. Gierlinska, who most recently worked as chief solutions officer for GroupM Nexus, will lead MiQ’s commercial expansion including sales, account management, and marketing.