In this week’s Week in Review: Netflix evolves its ad offering, BILD launched BILDplay, and brands plan a move away from time and materials.
Top Stories
Netflix Begins Rolling Out In-House Ad Tech
Netflix revealed this week that it has launched its in-house ad tech, which it announced it was working on earlier this year, in the Canadian market, with plans to roll out the technology globally next year.
Netflix entered the ad world two years ago via a partnership with Microsoft, but has since been growing the number of buy-side tools available to advertisers. In August the streaming service announced the launch of private marketplaces, available through The Trade Desk, Google’s Display & Video 360, and Microsoft. In this week’s announcement, Netflix revealed it has now also enabled programmatic guaranteed buying in the US, Brazil, Canada, and Mexico. These capabilities will expand to Europe in February 2025 and to Australia, Japan and Korea later in the year.
Netflix also released new data around its ad tier subscriber count, announcing that it has reached over 70 million monthly active subscribers, with 50 percent of new sign ups opting for the ad supported plan in markets where it is available. Separately, data from Barb found that in the UK, Netflix’s ad tier reached 3.8 million households, up from 2.78 million in Q2.
BILD Launches News Short-Form Focussed Video Platform
German newspaper BILD, owned by international publishing giant Axel Springer, has launched BILDplay, a new video offering which will focus on short-form vertical video.
BILD says the new product is a response to the sharp increase in video consumption on social media, and will combine all of the newspaper’s video and audio content, optimised for mobile users. It is integrated within the main BILD site, as well as on its own dedicated page. The focus is on TikTok-style formats, with vertical scrolling between clips. The publisher appears to be running video ads within the feed.
“BILD means journalism that moves, informs and entertains millions of people,” said Marion Horn, BILD editor-in-chief. “With our new video offering BILDplay and our new BILDshorts, we are doing just that: fast video content that can be easily consumed anywhere and by anyone on their mobile phone.”
Majority of Brands Plan to Move Away from Time and Materials Remuneration
Three out of four multinational brands are looking to change their agency remuneration model in the next three years, according to the WFA and MediaSense. The survey of 80 companies found that advertisers are leaning towards output or outcome-based pricing, away from the traditional ‘time and materials’ model, due to increased complexity and time saved by AI.
But measurement challenges remain a barrier to change, according to the research, with 84 percent of respondents citing the lack of data and measurement between advertiser and agency to measure outcomes. On the other hand, 61 percent of brands expect agency fees to increase over the next three years, suggesting appetite for change in agency remuneration.
“The media landscape is evolving at an unprecedented rate, as new channels proliferate and AI reshapes the industry, bringing new complexities and even redefining the roles of advertisers, agencies and media owners,” said Tom Ashby, global lead media services at WFA. “The agency business model and with it, the remuneration structure agreed with advertisers, must continue to adapt.”
The Week in Tech
Viant Acquires CTV Data Business IRIS.TV
Ad tech business Viant Technology this week announced it has acquired IRIS.TV, a specialist in CTV content data, for an undisclosed fee. The acquisition will strengthen Viant’s positioning in the CTV space, while the two companies also say it will help expand IRIS’s CTV content identification across more major CTV publishers. IRIS will continue to operate independently following the acquisition, led by co-founders Field Garthwaite and Richie Hyden. Read more on VideoWeek.
CMA Reports Over 60 Unresolved Issues in Privacy Sandbox Update
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has released an update on its monitoring of the development of Google’s Privacy Sandbox tools, emphasising that Google’s decision not to completely remove third-party cookies on Chrome doesn’t defuse competition risks, and that there are still unresolved competition concerns relating to the Sandbox tools. The CMA’s report listed over 60 individual concerns relating to Privacy Sandbox tools, though the regulator noted that many of these may be fixed by a proposed update to the governance framework for the Sandbox. Read more on VideoWeek.
Meta Proposes Contextual Ads in EU
Meta is planning to offer Instagram and Facebook users in Europe the option to receive “less personalised ads,” the social media giant announced on Tuesday, in efforts to appease EU regulators. In the wake of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), Meta will provide the option to see contextual ads, based on the content a user sees on the social media platforms. “The new model introduced by Meta is under Meta’s sole responsibility, and it is neither endorsed by nor agreed with the Commission,” an EU spokesperson told Reuters. “It is premature to speculate about the impact on the pending non-compliance proceedings.”
Smartclip Adds Frequency Capping and First-Party Data Onboarding to ID Solution
Smartclip, RTL’s ad tech unit, has introduced two updates to its ID solution. Smart ID Hub now enables frequency capping for publishers and broadcasters across multiple IDs and ID levels, including user, user account, and household. In addition, media owners are now able to onboard first-party data assets, allowing publishers to connect all incoming IDs with their targeting segments. “Our latest features enable broadcasters and publishers to manage ad frequency, enhancing ad effectiveness by reducing overexposure, supporting sustainability goals by minimising ad waste, and protecting the viewing experience within premium content environments,” said Gloria Eichler, Chief Product Officer at smartclip. “Additionally, as media owners continue to face obstacles with external data sources, onboarding their valuable first-party data has never been more important. All in all, we are providing powerful tools to monetise at scale in today’s complex ID ecosystem.”
Skyrise Offers Media Emissions Measurement Via Cedara
Skyrise, an audience data firm, has announced a partnership with carbon intelligence platform Cedara to offer media emissions measurement to Skyrise’s advertising clients. These include omnichannel campaign measurement, curation of low-emission inventory, and access to verified carbon removal projects. “The drive for effective media solutions that help advertisers reduce emissions is obvious,” said Gareth Owen, Delivery Director at Skyrise. “It is better for brands, better for people, and better for the planet. It was important for us that this offering was omnichannel. Media is everywhere. Measurement should be too. Skyrise has been innovating with Cedara on a number of data based projects in beta for a while and we’re delighted to now roll these out to all our clients, no matter where campaigns are running around the world.”
TikTok Rolls Out GenAI ‘Symphony’ Tools Globally
TikTok has made its GenAI video creation platform, Symphony Creative Studios, available to all advertisers globally. Symphony lets advertisers turn text inputs into videos, create digital avatars, and automatically translate content. The ByteDance-owned company ran into issues back in June after mistakenly posting a link to an internal version of the tool, prompting users to create AI avatars that quoted Mein Kampf and Osama Bin Laden.
YouTube Adds Product Campaign Features for Shorts
YouTube has introduced new tools for product and creator campaigns on YouTube Shorts. Interactive stickers will be made available on Shorts ads to all retailers by the end of the year, created automatically from images in product feeds. The suite also includes animated image ads for Demand Gen campaigns, pulling product images from Google Merchant Center feeds, enabling brands to showcase relevant products based on customer interest. YouTube is additionally testing a central page for advertisers to manage creator partnerships within Google Ads, which will be rolling out to relevant accounts over the next few months.
The Week in TV
ProSieben Looks to Sell Growing Commerce Businesses
ProSiebenSat.1 is pursuing the sale of some of its non-TV assets, months after voting against the move under a proposal brought by its main shareholder, MediaForEurope (MFE). The announcement came as part of ProSieben’s nine-month results, which saw Group revenues increase by 3 percent year-on-year, despite a weaker third quarter where revenues declined by 1 percent YoY. The German broadcaster pointed to “cautious investments in TV advertising”, but reaffirmed its focus on its AVOD service Joyn, where revenues increased 28 percent YoY during the nine-month period. Read more on VideoWeek.
Amazon to Shutter Freevee AVOD Service
Amazon is shuttering its free AVOD service Freevee, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Sources said the product would be folded into Amazon Prime Video, with plans to migrate some Freevee employees and programming. Freevee’s future was thrown into uncertainty after Amazon introduced ads on Prime Video, essentially offering two ad-supported streaming services – although unlike Prime, watching Freevee did not require a paid subscription.
More Than Half UK Homes Have Ad-Supported Streaming Tier, Finds Barb
16.5 million UK homes now have access to an ad-supported tier for a streaming service, according to Barb’s Q3 2024 Establishment Survey, with 20.1 million households holding an SVOD subscription. The Netflix ad tier reaches 3.8 million UK households, representing 13.1 percent of UK homes, up from 2.78 million (9.5 percent) in Q2. Meanwhile the Disney+ ad tier reached 1.2 million (4.1 percent) homes, up from 820,000 in Q2.
RTL Lowers Full-Year Guidance After Weak Q3
RTL has lowered its annual revenue forecast, after reporting a 1.5 percent YoY drop in revenues during Q3. The media group cited a weak German TV ad market, with sales down 2.3 percent during the quarter. RTL is also exploring merger options for its production unit Fremantle, whose revenues fell 5 percent in the first half of the year. There were brighter signs for the streaming business however, with revenues up 41 percent during the first nine months of 2024.
95 Percent of UK TV Households to be Internet-Delivered by 2040
Ninety-five percent of UK households will have installed the capability to watch TV over the internet by 2040, according to a new report from the University of Exeter, University of Leeds, MTM, 3 Reasons, Real Wireless and Cartesian. The ‘Future of TV Distribution’ report found that 87 percent of TV households had an internet-enabled primary TV set in 2023, and the 17 percent of households reliant on digital terrestrial TV tend to have lower incomes, are more likely to be disabled, older, living alone, female, and geographically in the north of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. “Our analysis of the barriers to uptake of internet-delivered TV suggests that in 2040 the 5 percent of households that remain reliant on digital terrestrial television will continue to share these characteristics,” said the research. “Future research should focus on understanding these barriers and, if there is a case for switching off digital terrestrial television, explore potential interventions to support these households to switch to internet-delivered television.”
Paramount Turns Streaming Profit as TV Revenues Fall
Paramount turned a profit in its streaming business during Q3, the company announced last week, marking its second consecutive quarter of streaming unit profitability. However, Paramount CFO Naveen Chopra forecast a loss for the streaming segment during the current quarter. Paramount’s total Q3 revenue was down 6 percent YoY, led by a 19 percent fall in TV revenues, with ad revenues down 2 percent. But the DTC segment was up 10 percent, driven by 18 percent lift in ad revenues and 7 percent uptick in subscriber revenues. Paramount+ revenue also jumped 25 percent during the quarter.
“Our hit content drove strong performance in the third quarter where Paramount+ added 3.5 million new subscribers, solidifying our position as the number four global SVOD service,” said the company. “Our DTC segment successfully delivered profitability for the second quarter in a row, improving by more than $1 billion over the past four quarters, and, across the company, we continue to successfully execute non-content cost reductions that will result in $500 million in annual run-rate savings.”
Channel 4 App Launches on Apple Vision Pro
The Channel 4 streaming app has launched on Apple Vision Pro, the UK broadcaster announced on Tuesday, making Channel 4 programming viewable on the mixed reality headset. The app enables viewers to watch shows in “real-life environments”, such as living room walls, and to experience Taskmaster in an immersive version of the comedy programme’s set. “The new Channel 4 Apple Vision Pro app builds on our heritage of viewer innovation, be that the first broadcaster in the world to offer a TV-based on-demand service, or the first PSB to launch an HD channel in the UK,” said Grace Boswood, Director of Technology & Distribution at Channel 4. “The app also enables us to create even more viewer delight in one of our most-cherished shows, Taskmaster, moving it from the TV to the physical world. As we transition to become a public service streamer, we’re constantly exploring new ways to entertain viewers and engage advertisers through technology which creates remarkable experiences.”
French Media Groups Form New Trade Body ‘LaFa’
A consortium of French broadcasters (France Télévisions, M6 and TF1), rights management associations (ADAMI, SACD, SACEM and SCAM) and producers’ associations (ANIMFRANCE, SPI and USPA) have established a new trade body known as LaFA, short for La Filière Audiovisuelle (The Audiovisual Industry). LaFA aims to secure a sustainable business model, to keep pace with transformation in the sector, to ensure diversity and innovation in creative output, and to “promote French cultural exceptionalism”. The trade body will publish its first report on the French audiovisual industry’s economic contribution in spring 2025.
Adeia Sues Disney Over Alleged Streaming Tech Violations
Disney is being sued by tech firm Adeia for alleged violations of the latter’s streaming technology. The suit, filed in Delaware federal court on Thursday, claims that Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ infringe six Adeia patents covering various improvements to streaming functionality. “We always prefer to reach a mutually agreeable resolution without litigation as we have done with the vast majority of our customers, however we were left with no choice but to defend our intellectual property from Disney’s unauthorised use,” said Adeia CEO Paul Davis.
The Week for Publishers
The Onion Buys Alex Jones’s InfoWars
Satirical news website The Onion has bought InfoWars, the right wing website run by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, at a court-ordered auction, with CEO Ben Collins pledging to turn it into “a very funny, very stupid website”. The auction was ordered due to InfoWars’ bankruptcy, and gives The Onion ownership of InfoWars’s website, social channels, and production equipment among other things. Collins said the bid was backed by families of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, who won a $1.5 billion lawsuit against Alex Jones over his spreading of disinformation around the incident.
The Guardian Logs Off of X
UK newspaper The Guardian this week announced it will no longer post from any of its official accounts on social platform X, stating that “the benefits of being on X are now outweighed by the negatives”. “This is something we have been considering for a while given the often disturbing content promoted or found on the platform, including far-right conspiracy theories and racism,” the newspaper said in an article released on its website. “The US presidential election campaign served only to underline what we have considered for a long time: that X is a toxic media platform and that its owner, Elon Musk, has been able to use its influence to shape political discourse.”
Mail Online Tops 100,000 Paying Subscribers
Mail Online has topped 100,000 subscribers to its paid service Mail+, which launched in the UK in January and expanded to Australia and New Zealand last month. Mail Online puts select articles behind a paywall, accessible only to Mail+ subscribers, while keeping most of its content free to view. The publisher says it plans to expand Mail+ to the US next year.
Ozone Partners with Ipsos Iris for Audience Data
UK publisher sales house Ozone this week announced it is integrating Ipsos iris data to measure audiences across its portfolio of premium titles. Ozone says that the data will initially be used to validate the demographic profile of audiences across titles. “Given we see one-third of the UK population across the Premium Web every day, being able to verify the profile of these audiences is incredibly important to our advertiser customers,” said Matt Townsend, chief product officer at Ozone. “That’s why we looked to Ipsos iris – as UKOM’s endorsed industry standard for online measurement – to help us achieve this, and bolster our incredibly rich view of consumers and their interests.”
German Competition Body Gives AdAlliance Green Light to Sell Bauer Inventory
The Bundeskartellamt (Germany’s competition authority) has issued a statement clearing AdAlliance, a sales house owned by RTL Deutschland, and Bauer to jointly market the latter’s inventory through AdAlliance. “Our survey of advertising customers, media agencies and competitors has shown that customers do not expect the cooperation to have any negative effects,” said Andreas Mundt, president of the Bundeskartellamt. “We have ultimately decided to tolerate the cooperation project at this point. However, as with the other larger marketing cooperation projects in this sector, we will continue to monitor how the cooperation develops and can intervene if problems arise.”
The Week for Brands & Agencies
Dentsu Lowers 2024 Forecast After Disappointing Q3
Japanese agency holding group Dentsu has lowered its full-year forecast after reporting a tough Q3, in which organic growth sat at 0.3 percent year-on-year. Dentsu said that revenues related to internet advertising saw double digit growth, but revenues from its customer experience management offering have recovered slower than expected. Dentsu now expects completely flat organic year-on-year growth for the full year.
Mars Launches Global Agency Review
Food and petcare giant Mars has launched a global agency review covering media, social media, PR, commerce, brand, and influence marketing, Ad Age reported this week. Mars is reportedly looking to reduce the number of agency partners it works with as part of the review, which covers its snacking and petcare businesses.
Amazon Cuts US Ad Spend by $700 Million
Amazon, the largest spender on advertising globally, cut its ad spend by around 20 percent between January and August according to MediaRadar data reported by Adweek. This is equivalent to a $700 million cut in its US ad expenditure. The reduction came as Amazon pursued a wider policy of cost cutting across the company.
WPP Takes Full Control of T&Pm
WPP announced this week it has bought minority shareholdings in integrated agency T&Pm, bringing the agency fully within the WPP network. As part of the move, T&Pm is placing WPP’s AI-powered marketing operating system, WPP Open, at the core of its marketing models, according to the holding group.
Major Brands Return to X After Ad Freeze
A number of major brands have resumed buying ads on X following a temporary freeze, according to MediaRadar data reported by Adweek this week, though they’re typically spending less than they were before the freeze. Comcast, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, IBM and Lionsgate are all reported to have resumed spending on the platform, after pausing spend due to brand safety concerns.
Hires of the Week
Axel Springer Promotes Christoph Eck-Schmidt to CMO and CCO
German publisher Axel Springer has named Christoph Eck-Schmidt as Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Commercial Officer. Eck-Schmidt is currently CEO of Axel Springer’s Bonial and Managing Director of BILD and Media Impact. He will start his new role leading the marketing and sales divisions on 1st January 2025.
OpenX Names Julie Rooney as Chief Privacy Officer and Deputy General Counsel
OpenX, a supply-side platform, has promoted Julie Rooney to Chief Privacy Officer and Deputy General Counsel. Rooney joined OpenX as Legal Director in 2021. Her new role will help OpenX maintain standards in data ethics, digital privacy and data protection.
iSpot Appoints CTO Nipun Dureja
iSpot, a TV and video measurement company, has appointed Nipun Dureja as its Chief Technology Officer. Dureja joins from Docusign, where he served as Head of Product Engineering. In his new role, Dureja will oversee the structure of iSpot’s Engineering, QA, Infrastructure, Security and Data Science teams.
This Week on VideoWeek
How Are Agencies Funding News Journalism?
What’s Driving FAST’s Rapid Growth?
CMA Reports Over 60 Unresolved Issues in Privacy Sandbox Update
Viant Acquires CTV Data Business IRIS.TV
ProSieben Looks to Sell Growing Commerce Businesses
Ad of the Week
John Lewis, The Gifting Hour
