In this week’s Week in Charts, Netflix vs Paramount’s market shares, Future’s Google zero resilience, and the price of personal data.
To have Week in Charts delivered to your inbox, you can sign up to the newsletter here.
Quote of the Week
Number of the Week
Charts of the Week
Warner Bros. Takeover Battle Sparks Market Share Debate
It’s been a dramatic few days in the TV world, with the news that Netflix has agreed a deal to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s studios and streaming divisions followed swiftly by Paramount’s announcement that it is going directly to WBD’s shareholders with a hostile takeover bid.
As part of Paramount’s pitch to investors, CEO David Ellison said that his company will have a smoother path to regulatory approval. But there are many different ways of judging market share. Even if you just focus on one metric, like TV set viewership in the US, there are multiple ways you can slice the stats. On a call with investors, Ellison talked solely about the streaming market, dismissing the idea that social platforms are relevant players. With this lens, Netflix does appear more of an antitrust threat than Paramount:
But if you look at all TV set viewership, including broadcast and cable channels as well as YouTube, you get a different picture:
These stats, however, might be overruled by the Trump factor. The president has already spoken out suggesting that the Netflix deal could be a problem from a competition standpoint. And given Ellison’s connections to President Trump through his father and through Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, who is reportedly involved in Paramount’s bid, Paramount’s confidence in clearing antitrust procedures might be about more than just its market share.
WPP’s Struggles Laid Bare in New Business Table
The contrasting fortunes of French agency group Publicis and its UK-based rival WPP are laid bare in COMvergence’s latest new business barometer, which measures the total wins, retentions, and losses of media accounts by the media arms of the major holding groups.
While Publicis brought in over $7 billion worth of new business in the first three quarters of the year, WPP brought in just under $2 billion. WPP meanwhile lost $5.4 billion worth of business as clients switched to new partners, compared with just $1.1 billion for Publicis. It’s worth noting, though, that a number of major media wins for WPP have happened in Q4, including Henkel, Reckitt, and the UK government.
Most, But Not All, Advertisers Steer Clear of Dodgy AI Content
Brands are cautious around certain types of AI-generated content, according to IAS’s new Industry Pulse Report, and most say they will steer clear of content which is inaccurate, spammy, or shows signs of plagiarism. Of these concerns, misleading or inaccurate content seems to be the biggest, with 68 percent of those surveyed considering it unsuitable to advertise next to.
It’s also notable, however, the proportion of brands that don’t share these concerns. Twenty-five percent of those surveyed said that content which comes from unknown or recently registered domains with no verifiable editorial team is suitable to advertise next to. And 22 percent say they would be happy to advertise next to AI-generated content which includes inaccuracies or mis/disinformation.
French Audiences Put a High Price on Personal Data
How much is our personal data worth? According to research from France’s data protection authority the CNIL, a lot, for French residents at least.
When asked how much they would have to be paid each month in exchange for access to their personal data, 35 percent of respondents said they wouldn’t sell for any price. Of those who would be willing to sell, only six percent would do so for less than €1 per month. Between €10-€30 is the most common asking price, while a significant number would need more than €200 each month.
This isn’t just a theoretical question, as big tech companies spin up paid offerings for users who don’t want to give up their personal data for advertising purposes. Referencing research from 2022 on the value of personal data to advertisers on Facebook, the CNIL suggested the market price for personal data should sit at around €40 per month per service. These findings, however, seem to contrast the reality of life on the internet, where many of us have handed over personal information for free access to services, no payments required.
The Week in Stocks
Agencies
Omnicom’s share price returned to growth, having fallen upon the completion of its merger with Interpublic Group in last week’s chart. However rival group Publicis saw higher growth this week, and its market cap now sits over $2 billion above Omnicom’s.
TV
The ongoing battle for Warner Bros. Discover continues to shape our TV stock chart. Netflix, which agreed a deal to buy WBD, and Paramount Skydance, which yesterday made a hostile bid for the business, have both seen their share price fall as the takeover battle gets increasingly messy. Warner Bros. Discovery itself meanwhile continues to rise, up by 12 percent over the past week.
Publishers
Future PLC’s share price shot up as the company released its latest set of financial results, but has since slumped below last week’s level. There were positive notes about new revenue streams and the company’s adaptation to the ‘Google zero’ threat (see this week’s Quote of the Week), but significant challenges still remain.
Ad Tech
Criteo was this week’s biggest riser in the ad tech sector. The French ad tech business’s stock spiked on Friday, after it revealed new AI tech and tools, including a shopper data integration with an unnamed LLM.
Tech
Meta was a big riser in the big tech sector for a second week running, this week due to the news that the company is scaling back its metaverse spending by up to 30 percent. The metaverse strategic pivot, which saw the entire business rebranded, has slipped down the priority list, as costs have mounted and profits have proven elusive.
