In this week’s Week in Review: AppLovin works on a social platform, WARC predicts strong growth for Netflix’s ads business, and Snap’s direct revenues top $1 billion.
Top Stories
AppLovin Plans to Build a Social Platform, Following Failed TikTok Bid
Mobile advertising company AppLovin is working on building its own social media platform, Bloomberg reported on Thursday, as it works to further expand beyond its core mobile game advertising business. AppLovin’s chief product and engineering officer Giovanni Ge discussed the plans on The Valley 101 podcast, while a live job posting references building “the digital backbone of our next-generation social platform”.
As the company’s CEO Adam Foroughi discussed on a recent earnings call, AppLovin is looking to bring a wider range of advertisers on board as its business continues to grow. It’s already a massive player in the mobile advertising space, with a market cap of nearly $140 billion, and total revenues in Q4 last year topping $1.65 billion. Much of this spend is concentrated in mobile gaming, where gaming apps themselves make up a large portion of advertiser demand.
A lot of AppLovin’s success comes from how highly trained its systems are on mobile gaming, giving it a strong understanding of how much an impression is worth to any given advertiser. Broadening out into new categories of apps and advertisers therefore requires plenty of new data. An owned-and-operated social platform would provide this, while also giving AppLovin its own product on which to sell ads. This isn’t AppLovin’s first sign of interest in the social media space — it made a bid last year for TikTok’s assets outside of China, though that bid was ultimately unsuccessful.
Netflix Forecast to Take 10 Percent of Global CTV Ad Spend Next Year
Netflix is set to take nearly 10 percent of global CTV ad spend next year, according to forecasts from WARC. The research cites figures from Omdia forecasting Netflix ad revenue to double to $3 billion in 2026, and reach $8 billion by 2030.
To fuel its growing ads business, the streaming giant is entering the video podcast space, while pursuing its acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) to expand its content and bundle offerings, in order to better monetise its users’ viewing time. WARC notes that Netflix is seeking to combat declining SVOD consumption and rising competition from YouTube, especially among younger consumers.
“The company is targeting competitor share rather than relying on market expansion and is on track to win a rapidly rising portion of CTV spend – from 3.7 percent in 2025 to 9.2 percent in 2027,” according to the findings.
Snap Looks Beyond Ads as Direct Revenues Top $1 Billion
Snapchat’s parent company Snap announced on Wednesday that the annualised revenue run rate for its direct revenue business now exceeds $1 billion, following significant growth of its various paid subscription businesses.
While advertising continues to make up the majority of Snap’s revenues, volatility in the ad market has impacted the company’s earnings in recent years. The company’s investment in direct revenue products now appears to be paying off, though this also impacts its ads business, since some of its paid offerings provide ad-lite experiences to users.
Snap says it now has 25 million subscribers across its global paid services, including Snapchat+, Lens+, Snapchat Platinum, and Memories Storage Plans. While many of these services are based around extra features, Snapchat Platinum offers an ad-lite experience to subscribers. And Snap is trialling ad-reducing offerings further, with the announcement of ‘Creator Subscriptions’, which give users access to exclusive content, priority engagement, and an ad-free experience within their favourite creators’ Stories.
The Week in Tech
UK Government Announces Crackdown on Illegal AI Content
The UK Government on Sunday announced new measures designed to enhance online safety in the wake of new technology, including a crackdown on illegal content created by AI. The government will “move fast” to force all AI chatbot providers to abide by the Online Safety Act, according to the announcement, which coincides with ongoing investigations from Ofcom and the ICO into X’s Grok tool. “The action we took on Grok sent a clear message that no platform gets a free pass,” said Prime Minister Keir Starmer. “Today we are closing loopholes that put children at risk, and laying the groundwork for further action.”
Ad Tech Company Moloco Explores IPO
Ad tech firm Moloco has selected banks to arrange an initial public offering (IPO) of the company, Bloomberg reported last week, with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan working on the first-time share sale. The business was valued at over $2 billion after a secondary share sale in 2023, according to a statement at the time. Moloco, whose name is short for “machine learning company”, is an advertising platform founded in 2013, and has worked with brands including Wayfair and Burger King.
Spanish Government to Probe X, Meta and TikTok Over AI Child Sexual Abuse Content
Spain’s Government will ask prosecutors to investigate X, Meta and TikTok for allegedly spreading AI-generated child sexual abuse material, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said on Tuesday. “These platforms are undermining the mental health, dignity, and rights of our children,” said Sánchez. “The state cannot allow this. The impunity of these giants must end.”
ByteDance “Takes Steps” to Prevent Copyright Infringement in Seedance 2.0
ByteDance, the Chinese tech company that owns TikTok, has said it will restrain its AI video-making tool, after threats of legal action from Disney, according to The Guardian. The company’s Seedance 2.0 tool made headlines when several AI-generated videos went viral, including a fight scene between Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, leading major Hollywood studios to accuse the tool of copyright infringement. A ByteDance spokesperson said the company was “taking steps to strengthen current safeguards as we work to prevent the unauthorised use of intellectual property and likeness by users”, but declined to provide further details on its plans.
Tech Firms Given 48 Hours to Remove Non-Consensual Sexual Images in New UK Laws
Tech companies will be ordered to take down intimate non-conensual images shared online within 48 hours, under new UK laws announced on Thursday. Through an amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill, companies that fail to act could face fines of up to 10 percent of their qualifying worldwide revenue or have their services blocked in the UK. “Violence against women and girls has no place in our society, and I will not rest until it is rooted out,” said Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
StackAdapt and Experian to Provide Audience Segments for UK Marketers
StackAdapt, a Canadian ad tech business, has announced a strategic partnership with Experian, a global data and tech company, to help UK marketers leverage their first-party data. The collaboration will give StackAdapt clients access to Experian’s ID Resolution and audiences, including its Mosaic audience segments. “Combining Experian’s unmatched consumer data footprint with StackAdapt’s programmatic capabilities gives our clients a powerful advantage in reaching and engaging their most valuable audiences with precision and accountability,” said Michael Shang, SVP, Advertising Technologies at StackAdapt.
Social Network Aveola Launches Live Streaming
Aveola, a social video network, has launched a Live Streaming capability enabling users to broadcast live video. The company said the feature includes built-in safety tools, allowing users to control who watches a live stream, while AI is used to check videos for inappropriate content, such as nudity or violence. “People want to share what’s happening right now,” said a spokesperson for Aveola. “Live Streaming lets you do that with more people at once. You might be travelling, talking about something you’re learning, or just want to share your story in real time. You decide when to go live and who can watch.”
Silverpush Drives Attention on YouTube Ads in Lumen Study
Silverpush, a contextual intelligence company, has released an attention study on the impact of contextual intelligence on YouTube advertising with agency partner Epitaph. Alongside attention specialist Lumen, Silverpush and Epitaph found that their contextual advertising on YouTube drove higher viewed rate (+12 percent), average view time (+22 percent), and attention per mille (+37 percent), compared with standard YouTube advertising attention benchmarks. “By showing strong scores across the board, this attention study found that Epitaph and Silverpush consistently drive higher relevance,” said Donia Baddou, Global VP of Partnerships at Lumen Research. “This, in turn, keeps YouTube audiences engaged and ensures much higher efficiency by delivering YouTube ads that actually capture people’s attention.”
59A Expands US Presence with LA Office
59A, a tech firm specialised in media strategy, planning and buying, is expanding its operations in the US, the company announced on Thursday. 59A was founded in the UK in 2019, and has also been operating in the US for three years. Now the business is launching an office in LA in order to service more US clients, with Jon Nash joining the company as US CEO, alongside Danny Moggs as SVP of Sales. “We believe we’ve got unique world-class tech and there’s no better place to prove that than in the world’s biggest and most sophisticated ad market,” said Adam Ray, Founder and CEO of 59A. “Jon and Danny are the perfect ambassadors for 59A to expand our presence in that market.”
Perplexity Abandons Advertising Plans
AI start-up Perplexity has abandoned its advertising plans, over fears ads would erode user trust, the FT reported on Wednesday. The news comes as rivals such as OpenAI push ahead with ads in efforts to monetise their AI tools. Perplexity started testing ads in 2024 but began phasing them out last year, and now says it has no plans to pursue advertising further.
The Week in TV
WBD Gives Paramount One Week to Make Final Takeover Offer
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has reopened talks with Paramount over a possible sale, giving the media group seven days to make its “best and final” offer or step aside. The move sees the WBD board attempt to force Paramount to either improve its bid or abandon its pursuit. The company is also holding a vote on Netflix’s $83 billion offer on 20th March.
Viaplay Posts Q4 Rise in Sales but Full-Year Decline
Viaplay’s net sales dropped by 4 percent YoY in 2025, according to the Nordic streaming company’s full-year results. The final quarter of 2025 saw net sales rise by 3 percent YoY, following the completion of Viaplay’s full acquisition of Allente Group, which added SEK 578 million of net sales and SEK 31 million of operating income to the Q4 results. The company also expects sales to be stable on an organic basis in 2026, with growth in the streaming business continuing to be offset by declining linear channel and advertising sales.
M6 Unlimited Produces First AI Ad with Waymark
M6 Unlimited, the French broadcaster’s sales house, has unveiled its first AI-produced ad for cleaning product brand INGA, in partnership with AI video company Waymark. The technology enables cost-effective production of ads that are “ready for broadcast on TV” using key elements provided by the brand, according to M6 Unlimited. “This initiative illustrates the potential of AI to support very small and small businesses (VSEs and SMEs) in creating TV and streaming campaigns, by simplifying processes and reducing technical and financial constraints,” the sales house said in the announcement.
Sports Content on Major SVOD Services Up 52 Percent Over Past Year
The volume of sports content on Prime Video, Apple TV, Disney+, Netflix and Paramount+ rose by 52 percent over the past year, according to research from Gracenote, Nielsen’s content data business. The findings suggest that Paramount+ has overtaken Amazon Prime Video and Netflix to lead in streaming sports programming at the individual game and event level, following its acquisition of UFC broadcast rights from ESPN. Sports content on free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels also grew by 30 percent YoY.
The Week for Publishers
Apple Embraces Video Podcasting with New Tools and Video Ads
Apple has announced it is introducing new video podcast capabilities to its Apple Podcasts platform, embracing the convergence of audio and video through new tools which will streamline the video experience on the app, while also adding new video advertising capabilities. Apple Podcasts will now support HTTP live streaming (HLS) technology, which essentially downloads video content in small chunks and optimises the quality of video playback based on the speed of the user’s internet connection. HLS video podcasts will only be available through partnered third-party hosting providers Acast, ART19, Omny Studio and SiriusXM, all of which have advertising capabilities. Working through these partners, podcast creators will be able to dynamically insert video ads, including host-read spots, with Apple charging the ad networks themselves an impression-based fee. Read more on VideoWeek.
Google Describes AI Overview Opt-Out as “Huge Engineering Project”
Google is under pressure from various regulators to give publishers the ability to opt out of having their content used in its AI overviews without also having to opt out of Google Search entirely. But this is easier said than done, Google’s MD for news and books partnerships Sulina Connal told an FT Strategies conference this week, describing it as a “huge engineering project” according to Press Gazette. While it’s unclear whether Google will work on an AI opt-out, Connal said the tech giant is concentrating on developing “more focused deals” with publishers around use of their IP within AI tools and services.
The Sun Reports Massive Expansion of Video Offering
UK newspaper The Sun has grown its video team and output more aggressively than it had expected last year, Press Gazette reported this week, as it continues to ramp up its production of original video content and video news. The Sun’s video team grew from around 25 people at the start of 2025 to roughly 80 by the end of the year. Total video views in 2025 were up by 140 percent compared to the previous year, with The Sun racking up 9.1 billion video views in total last year.
Stagwell Study Highlights Ad Effectiveness on News Brands in Germany
A new study conducted by agency network Stagwell, as part of its Future of News series, highlighted the effectiveness of advertising alongside news content in Germany. The research, run in collaboration with German sales house Media Impact, found that 81 percent of German adults read news content, and 35 percent consider themselves ‘news junkies’. And while some advertisers choose to focus on sports or lifestyle content, citing brand safety concerns, Stagwell’s data suggests this tactic isn’t necessary. Among Germans, the average purchase intent for brands whose ads were placed next to news articles on politics or crime was 66 percent, compared to 67 percent for sports and entertainment.
France’s Competition Authority Investigates Online Video Market
France’s competition regulator l’Autorité de la Concurrence this week announced it is investigating the online video content creation market, including the relationships between creators, the public, business partners, and platforms. While the investigation sounds fairly broad in scope, the competition authority suggested it will focus on the platforms’ relationships with creators, who it says are typically in a position of structural dependence on the main platforms. Platforms in focus include Instagram, OpenAI, TikTok, Twitch and YouTube, and the regulator warned these platforms to ensure that their relationships with creators are fair, with transparency around revenue sharing, algorithmic promotion, and moderation measures.
Future Begins Offering GEO Campaigns to Clients
UK publishing group Future Plc has started offering generative engine optimisation (GEO) as a service to its clients, Press Gazette reported this week, running tailored campaigns across its media brands designed to boost advertisers’ visibility within AI chatbots and services. Future Plc’s own publications have proven successful at ranking highly in AI chatbot results, with data from Ahrefs finding that Future’s TechRadar is the most cited publisher website globally by ChatGPT.
The Week for Brands & Agencies
Omnicom Prepares Further Cuts as it Streamlines its Business Post-Merger
US agency holding group Omnicom has reported its full year earnings for 2025, its first set of financial results since completing its acquisition of rival agency outfit Interpublic Group. Since it’s still very early days, and Omnicom only owned IPG’s businesses for the final month of the year, the numbers don’t yet give a full sense of how the two companies performed together — the usual headline organic growth figure, one of the main metrics by which agency performance is judged, was not included. But as CEO John Wren spoke about his plans to deliver meaningful growth on the back of the merger, one thing was clear: more cuts are coming, beyond those identified by the two companies when they first announced their deal. Read more on VideoWeek.
Havas Posts 3.1 Percent Organic Growth
French agency holding company Havas reported its full year earnings for 2025 on Tuesday, with full year net revenue organic growth reaching 3.1 percent. This marked a significant turnaround from last year’s fall of 0.8 percent, and the business expects growth to continue next year, albeit at a slower rate of between 2.0 and 3.0 percent. “2025 was a transformative year for Havas, marking our first full year as a listed company and one in which we moved forward with the rollout of our global plan and Converged.AI Operating System,” said Havas CEO and chairman Yannick Bolloré. “These achievements reflect the strength of our client‑centric model and our position as the strongest challenger in a highly competitive market.”
