Week in Review: Sky's ITV Talks Slow Down, Substack Launches a TV App, and Dentsu's CEO Steps Down

In this week’s Week in Review: Sky’s ITV takeover talks reportedly slow down, Substack makes the move to TV, and Dentsu’ CEO resigns after a tough year for the company.

The Week in Tech

EU Says TikTok’s Addictive Design Breaks the Law

The European Commission says that short-form video specialist TikTok breaks restrictions on addictive design which are encoded in the EU’s Digital Services Act, a major piece of legislation which regulates tech businesses and prohibits harmful business practices. Following an investigation into the app which kicked off in 2024, the European Commission has issued a preliminary ruling, stating that TikTok should change elements of its design in Europe, including its recommendation algorithm and its use of ‘infinite scroll’, though TikTok will have an opportunity to challenge the decision. Alongside TikTok’s ‘infinite scroll’ feature, the Commission highlighted the app’s use of autoplay and push notifications, as well as its “highly personalised recommender system” as problematic features. The latter is particularly significant — TikTok’s algorithm is frequently credited as a big driver of the company’s success. Read more on VideoWeek.

Mental Health Coalition Launches Teen Safety Ratings for Online Platforms

The Mental Health Coalition (MHC), a nonprofit aimed at socialising, normalising, and destigmatising mental health, this week announced the launch of ‘Safe Online Standards’ (S.O.S), a new standards and ratings system designed to help protect teen mental health online. The initiative has received significant voluntary support from major tech companies including Meta, Google/YouTube, TikTok, Snap, Roblox, Pinterest and Discord, as well as backing from US senators from both sides of the aisle. The idea behind S.O.S is to provide an independent means for assessing how well a digital platform or service protects teen users’ mental health. Participating businesses will be rated based on their policies, functionality, governance and transparency, digital literacy and well-being, and content, and ultimately publicly awarded one of three ratings: ‘Use Carefully’, ‘Partial Protection’ or ‘Does Not Meet The Standards’. Read more on VideoWeek.

IAS Among Companies Under Investigation by FTC Over Ad Boycotts

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating 16 media measurement and news rating organisations for alleged advertiser boycotts of right-wing media, according to Adweek, with Integral Ad Science (IAS) among the businesses under investigation. The probe was revealed in a lawsuit filed against the FTC by nonprofit research group Global Disinformation Index (GDI), which is also under investigation. In June, the FTC demanded information from GDI as part of an investigation into purported collusion among media credibility groups to boycott conservative media outlets. GDI accused the FTC of violating its First Amendment rights by punishing protected speech. In December, IAS announced it would no longer use GDI to support its contextual brand safety product, having worked together since 2021.

LiveRamp Revenues Rise as AI Spooks Investors

LiveRamp, a data collaboration business, posted nine percent YoY revenue growth in its Q4 earnings last week. However, the company’s share price has fallen by around 30 percent over the past year, amid an emerging consensus on Wall Street that AI could seriously harm subscription software business models. But LiveRamp CEO Scott Howe said he was “bullish” on the ad tech firm’s future. “In contrast to what Wall Street may believe about the software sector overall, we believe AI is a tailwind, a true force multiplier for our platform as the advertising ecosystem looks to adopt AI in a trusted, secure way.”

Teads Partners with Google TV on Home Screen Ads

Teads, an omnichannel ad tech firm, has partnered with Google TV to expand its CTV home screen inventory. The partnership gives brands in major global markets (including the US and UK) access to the Google TV Masthead, the first visual impression on Google TV devices. “Our partnership with Google TV is designed first and foremost to drive impact for our clients,” said Simon Klein, SVP Commercial Strategy CTV at Teads. “Google TV offers exceptional reach and premium supply, and by pairing that with Teads’ creative and omnichannel capabilities, we’re able to bring brands a unique entry point that doesn’t just reach viewers – it commands attention and delivers premium quality.”

Amazon Ads Launches AI Agent for Advertisers to Create Ads

Amazon Ads has launched a new agentic AI tool enabling UK advertisers to create video and display ads, the company announced on Thursday. ‘Creative Agent’ is available within Creative Studio, where advertisers can click “chat” to access the tool. The AI agent combines Amazon’s customer shopping signals with information from the advertiser’s product pages, brand store and website, in order to design ad creative “that will resonate most with customers.”

Index Exchange Makes xpln.ai’s Attention Segments Available in Index Marketplaces

Attention specialist xpln.ai has announced an integration with Index Exchange, making its attention segments available in Index Marketplaces, the sell-side platform’s (SSP) curated marketplace. The integration enables advertisers and agencies worldwide to activate high-attention placements directly within the SSP, according to the companies, while limiting or excluding low-attention inventory. “Making xpln.ai’s attention segments available within Index Marketplaces will enable marketers to activate media strategies focused on quality and performance,” said Cadi Jones, SVP of EMEA at Index Exchange. “This collaboration is fully aligned with our ambition to help marketers and brands reach media environments that are more relevant, more effective, and focused on the user experience.”

Instagram CEO Dismisses Notion of Social Media Addiction

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri dismissed the idea that users can be addicted to social media at a landmark California trial this week, the Guardian reported on Wednesday. The trial concerns a 20-year-old identified by the initials KGM, who alleges that Instagram’s addictive design features exacerbated her depression and suicidal thoughts. “I think it’s important to differentiate between clinical addiction and problematic use,” Mosseri said on the witness stand.

iSpot Introduces Agentic AI Platform for Media Buyers

iSpot, an ad measurement firm, has introduced an agentic AI platform called SAGE. Media buyers can use SAGE’s “ChatGPT-like interface” to generate campaign planning ideas, according to AdExchanger. The company also introduced a Super Bowl dashboard for SAGE, which prompts buyers to ask questions based on iSpot’s data, such as: “What was the most likable Super Bowl commercial last weekend and why?”

Clear Channel Acquired by Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Capital for $6.2 Billion

Clear Channel, a US out-of-home (OOH) advertising company, has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital, in partnership with TWG Global. The all-cash transaction values Clear Channel at $6.2 billion. Wade Davis, a media and tech veteran who partnered with Mubadala Capital and TWG on the transaction, is expected to join Clear Channel as Executive Chairman.

X Launches Original Series in Partnership with Real Madrid

Social media company X is launching a video series in partnership with football club Real Madrid. Real talks is a 10-episode series, with each episode featuring one of Real Madrid’s star players. It forms part of the company’s content strand ‘X Originals’, which was launched in 2024.

The Week in TV

TF1 Revenues Decline as Linear Ad Market “Remains Under Strong Pressure”

TF1 posted an 8.7 percent YoY decline in revenues for Q4 2025, with ad revenues down by 9 percent YoY. For the full year, revenues fell by 2.5 percent, driven by a 4.3 percent fall in ad revenues. “Against a backdrop of rapidly changing consumption habits and a persistently unstable macroeconomic and political environment, the linear advertising market is expected to remain under strong pressure in 2026,” the French broadcaster said in its results.

Roku Shares Jump 12 Percent on 2025 Results

Roku’s revenues increased by 15 percent YoY in 2025, the smart TV and streaming business reported on Thursday, reaching $4.73 billion. The company also forecast annual revenue for this year above Wall Street estimates, signalling strong ad sales and the ramp-up of its demand-side platform (DSP) partnerships. Roku’s share price jumped 12 percent following the results.

Channel 4 Expands Third-Party Platform Push with Video Content on Spotify

This week Channel 4 announced it will start distributing its digital channel, A Comedy Thing by Channel 4, on Spotify. The channel launched on YouTube last summer, with comedians such as Vittorio Angelone, Olga Koch and Mike Rice contributing to its comedy formats. These include The Split, The Front Row, Joke Swap and The Lying Game, with episodes typically running between 10 and 30 minutes in length. Last year the UK broadcaster started distributing content from its digital brand Channel 4.0 on Spotify, and aims “to meet young audiences on the platforms where they are” by making the comedy channel available to all Spotify users on mobile and desktop apps. Read more on VideoWeek.

BBC to Cut Costs by Ten Percent

The BBC is planning to cut around ten percent of its costs over the next three years, according to the FT, leading to slashed content budgets and job losses. On Thursday, director-general Tim Davie told staff that all parts of the BBC are expected to be affected by the cuts. BBC employees told the FT that the move would lead to “tough” choices over its output.

HBO Max to Launch in UK&I Next Month

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has announced that the HBO Max streaming service will launch in the UK and Ireland on 26th March. There will be four monthly plans to choose from, according to WBD, starting at £4.99 per month. The service will be available directly via hbomax.com and via launch partners including Sky and Prime Video.

Sky to Bundle Disney+ in UK and Ireland

Sky will bundle Disney+ in the UK and Ireland as part of a multi-year agreement between the media businesses announced on Wednesday. The partnership will see Disney+ included in millions of Sky TV subscriptions from March 2026, according to the companies. The deal will also include the launch of an exclusive Disney+ Cinema channel for Sky Cinema customers.

Paramount Boosts Efforts to Derail WBD Sale

Paramount has sweetened its offer for Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) in ongoing efforts to derail the company’s pending acquisition by Netflix. Paramount said it would pay WBD shareholders approximately $650 million for each quarter the Netflix deal is not closed, beginning in 2027. The company is also reportedly in discussions to nominate Pentwater Capital Management, a WBD shareholder that has voiced support for the rival bid, to the WBD board.

Rai and EBU Test 5G Broadcast Tech at Winter Olympics

Italian public broadcaster Rai and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) are running new 5G Broadcast trials during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics, according to Broadband TV News, building on demonstrations carried out around Paris 2024. The trials are designed to test live, free-to-air Olympic coverage across smartphones and other devices, and evaluate how 5G Broadcast could fit into hybrid broadcast-broadband distribution strategies.

The Week for Publishers

Amazon Plans Content Marketplace for Publishers

Amazon is planning to launch a marketplace for publishers to license their content to AI firms, The Information reported this week. Amazon has entered talks with publisher executives about the move, according to the report, and slides seen by The Information suggest that the marketplace might be grouped with other AI tools in Amazon’s AWS cloud division, including Bedrock and Quick Suite. Microsoft has a similar product undergoing pilot trials, with a number of major publishers including Condé Nast, Hearst Magazines, People Inc., and The Associated Press already signed up to help design and test the initiative.

UK Culture Secretary Refers DMGT’s Telegraph Acquisition to Regulators

Lisa Nandy, the UK’s culture secretary, this week announced she has referred the Daily Mail and General Trust’s (DMGT) takeover of the Telegraph to both the Competition and Markets Authority and Ofcom for investigation. The CMA will look into general competition concerns related to the deal, while Ofcom will investigate any public interest concerns which could arise from two of the country’s largest right-wing newspapers coming under common ownership.

European Publishers File Antitrust Complaint Against Google’s AI Offerings

The European Publishers Council (EPC), a trade group which counts News UK, Axel Springer, The Guardian, Grupo Prisa, Bauer Media and Condé Nast among its members, has filed a complaint with the European Commission accusing Google of abusing its dominant position in the search engine market through its deployment of AI tools in the Google Search interface. The EPC alleges that Google’s AI tools, namely its AI Overviews feature (which creates an AI-generated response to a user query that sits above regular search results) and AI Mode (which functions as a separate chatbot, available within the wider search interface) use publishers’ content without true authorisation. Google, according to the complaint, doesn’t provide publishers with an effective opt-out mechanism, nor fair remuneration, while the presence of these AI tools siphons traffic away from those same publishers, and hinders the creation of a fair licensing market. Read more on VideoWeek.

Video Up, ESG Down on UK Digital Publisher Priorities for 2026

In the face of revenue threats stemming from traffic losses and AI summaries, UK digital publishers are seeking to diversify their revenue streams through subscriptions and video content, according to the latest edition of the annual ‘Digital Publishing: Outlook and Priorities’ survey from the Association of Online Publishers (AOP). In last year’s edition of the survey, subscriptions were ranked as the area with the most potential for revenue growth in the coming years. This year sees video joining subscriptions in first place, with 45 percent of respondents highlighting each option, up from just 36 percent who selected video as a prospective revenue stream in 2025. It is interesting to note that publishers’ reported environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) activities have diminished since last year. The proportion of respondents claiming to have a clear strategy to create a more diverse and inclusive workforce fell from 53 percent in 2025 to 48 percent in 2026, while those focused on reducing the carbon footprint of their websites dropped from 45 percent to 33 percent. Read more on VideoWeek.

Ziff Davis Joins List of Publishers Suing Google Over Ad Tech Monopolies

Publishing group Ziff Davis this week filed a US lawsuit against Google, claiming that the tech company has “unlawfully acquired and maintain[ed] monopolies” in the publisher-facing ad tech market. Ziff Davis claims Google’s actions have resulted in “dramatically less revenue for publishers and Google’s ad tech rivals”. Ziff Davis joins a growing list of publishers who have filed complaints against Google, following last year’s landmark decision in a case filed by the US Department of Justice which found Google guilty of building a monopoly in parts of the ad tech market.

FTC Accuses Apple News of Left-Wing Bias

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sent a letter to Apple raising concerns about its news aggregation service Apple News, Reuters reported this week. While Apple is legally allowed to curate its news feed however it likes, the letter claims that Apple may be violating its user terms and misleading consumers by not informing them of any inbuilt bias. The FTC, under current chair Andrew Ferguson, has taken a combative approach to the media, launching investigations against businesses which it perceives as pushing a left-wing agenda.

Immediate Launches New Experiential Agency IX

UK-based publisher Immediate this week announced the launch of IX, a new dedicated experiential agency which the company says will leverage Immediate’s portfolio of live consumer events and its creative partnership expertise. Immediate runs a number of live events based on its publisher brands, including the Good Food Show, BBC Gardeners’ World Live, and Move It. IX will use Immediate’s first-party data to help identify specific audience segments, and then create relevant activations for brand partners. This will include co-branded events, community events, pop-ups and road shows, and these live activations can be supported by campaigns run across Immediate’s magazine titles.

The Week for Brands & Agencies

WPP Plans to Bring Creative Agencies Under One Banner

British agency holdco WPP is planning to bring its three main creative agency brands, Ogilvy, VML, and AKQA, into one unified creative arm called WPP Creative, the Financial Times reported this week. The move has been somewhat telegraphed by WPP similarly creating new unified structures for its media agencies (WPP Media) and production businesses (WPP Production). The new structure is intended to further simplify WPP’s model, though the individual sub-brands will be retained and continue to function independently, according to the FT.

Publicis Launches New Sports Offering Influential Sports

French holding company Publicis Groupe this week announced the launch of Influential Sports, Digiday and others reported this week, a new offshoot from Publicis’s existing Publicis Sports division, which will help advertisers reach sports fans through creator and influencer partnerships. The new unit draws on Publicis’s influencer business Influential, which it acquired in 2024, and will also tap into data assets from Epsilon. We’ve seen a number of new sports launches in the agency world already this year, with WPP unveiling Media Sports, and Stagwell announcing SPORT BEACH.

UK Children “Bombarded” with Weight Loss Drug Ads, Report Finds

A new report from the UK Children’s Commissioner found that young people are “bombarded” with ads for weight loss drugs and products, the BBC reported this week. Of the children surveyed for the report, 41 percent said they have seen ads for prescription-only weight loss drugs online, despite the fact that advertising for these products is banned. Meanwhile, 46 percent of Black children and 35 percent of Asian children reported seeing skin lightening products online, while 43 percent of boys said they had seen muscle building supplement ads. Overall, 78 percent reported that being exposed to appearance-changing products online had a negative impact on their self-esteem.

IPA Agency Census Shows Workforce Declines and Diversity Improvements

Advertising trade group the IPA this week released the results of its 2025 Agency Census, which found that full-time staff numbers in IPA member agencies fell by 6.7 percent year-on-year. This drop was most pronounced in part-time employees, men, and those aged 25 and under. Meanwhile there were signs of improvement on the diversity front: women held more than 40 percent of C-suite roles for the first time, and 25.5 percent of employees identified as being from a non-white background (up from 23.9 percent in 2024). However, significant gender and ethnicity pay gaps remain, at 19.5 percent and 19.4 percent respectively.

TV Ads Drive Significant Betting Activity, Sheffield University Study Finds

A new study run by the University of Sheffield found that gambling ads shown alongside live matches during the 2022 men’s World Cup drove significant gambling increases, amplifying concerns around the risks of gambling ads driving harmful activity. During the last world cup, betting activity was up to 24 percent higher whenever matches were being broadcast on channels which aired gambling ads, compared to times when matches were aired on gambling ad-free channels. The study’s lead author Ellen McGrane said the data shows that betting ads don’t just switch people between different betting platforms, but drive higher overall activity, encouraging betting even among people who had no prior intention to gamble.

Dentsu Launches AI-Powered Content Engine to Connect Media and Production

Japanese agency group Dentsu’s end-to-end production agency Tag has launched a new ‘Content Engine’ within the group’s connected platform dentsu.Connect, which the business says will help drive outcomes by connecting media and production. Dentsu describes Content Engine as an AI-powered “conversational content orchestration system, with a single, unbroken data spine, connecting media, creative and production to create resonant, high-performing content that is channel-first and outcome-obsessed”. Capabilities covered by the system include briefing, production insights, review and approval workflows and an in-built content studio.

Havas Acquires Swedish Data and Measurement Specialist Ctrl Digital

French agency group Havas this week announced it has bought a majority stake in Ctrl Digital, a Swedish specialist in measurement, analytics and data activation. Ctrl Digital will be integrated into Havas Media Network’s technology, data, and analytics consultancy CSA, a move which will see CSA officially launched in Sweden and the Nordics. “Ctrl Digital’s expertise in measurement, analytics, and data activation makes our offer in Sweden significantly stronger,” said Jenny Leeb, CEO of Havas Sweden. “Their specialist capabilities enhance our integrated model across media, creativity, data, and strategy, and reinforce our ambition to deliver clear business results for clients.”

Hires of the Week

Publicis Hires WPP’s Sean Palmer After Winning Coca-Cola Account

Publicis Groupe has named Sean Palmer as Chief Operational Transformation Officer for Global Clients. He joins from WPP, where he spent more than three years as Global Chief Operating Officer for Studio X, Coca-Cola’s dedicated agency. The appointment follows Publicis winning the Coca-Cola business away from WPP in the US and Canada last year.

Dentsu Promotes James Bailey and Shenda Loughnane

Dentsu UK&I has promoted iProspect UK CEO James Bailey to Media CEO. He takes over from Shenda Loughnane, who has led the UK&I Media organisation on an interim basis since July 2025, and now becomes Market Lead, Ireland, and Global President at dentsu X. 

tvScientific Appoints Heather Carver as Chief Customer Officer

tvScientific, a CTV ad tech firm, has appointed Heather Carver as Chief Customer Officer. Carver brings more than 15 years of experience in programmatic advertising, including stints at Amazon Ads, Magnite and Rubicon Project.

OpenX Enlists WeTransfer’s Natalie Fisher-Brown

OpenX, an omnichannel supply-side platform (SSP), has announced Natalie Fisher-Brown as Regional Vice President, EMEA Buyer Development. Fisher-Brown joins from WeTransfer, where she served as Global Head of Sales.