Week in Review: Disney Expands Euro Partnerships, TV and Video Revenues to Pass $1 Trillion in 2030, and UK Adults Engage Less with Social Media

In this week’s Week in Review: Disney+ adds to its slate of partnerships with European broadcasters, Omdia predicts that global TV and digital video revenues will pass $1 trillion in 2030, and Ofcom finds that UK adults are changing how they interact with social media.

The Week in Tech

Samsung Ads Launches TotalView for Tracking Reach Across Linear and Streaming TV

Samsung Ads, the advertising arm of Samsung’s media business, has announced a new solution for advertisers seeking clarity into the performance of their TV campaigns. Launched this week, TotalView provides a unified view of reach across linear and streaming, within the Samsung Smart TV ecosystem. In the context of ongoing fragmentation of viewing in TV environments, the company said advertisers have been calling for a unified view of reach across linear and streaming TV. According to Samsung Ads, TotalView combines signals from millions of Samsung Smart TVs, creating a dataset that can be used to enable smarter planning, precise targeting, and more holistic campaign measurement. Read more on VideoWeek.

Australian Government Investigates Social Media Firms for Disobeying Under-16s Ban

The Australian Government has accused Meta, TikTok and Google of disobeying the ban on social media for under-16s, and has placed the tech firms under investigation for potential non-compliance with the rules. One-third of children in Australia still have at least one social media account, according to a survey of 900 parents reported by The Guardian. “What we are seeing is evidence of the absolute bare minimum from social media companies, it’s straight out of the big tech playbook,” said Australia’s communications minister Anika Wells. “They obfuscate, they try to throw doubt on any regulation.”

Nexxen Launches Cross-Platform Planning and Activation Solution Nexxen TV

Ad tech firm Nexxen has launched Nexxen TV, a cross-platform planning and activation solution designed to enable advertisers and agencies to find an optimal split between streaming and linear TV media. The solution includes a Nexxen TV Home Screen tool for its exclusive native Smart TV units, a cross-platform planner that uses the company’s nexAI solution to optimise cross-platform allocation, and unified measurement for a holistic view of campaign results.

Criteo Gives SMBs Full Access to Self-Serve Platform

Criteo, a commerce intelligence business, has expanded its GO platform with full self-service access for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) and growth-stage commerce brands. Criteo GO is designed to simplify activation and dynamically allocate budgets across display, video, native and social channels. Using the self-serve platform, advertisers can create an account, enter billing details, and launch campaigns “in as few as five clicks”, according to Criteo.

Yahoo Builds AI Tools in DSP for Performance Advertisers

Yahoo is building out a range of new AI tools within its demand-side platform (DSP) for performance-focused advertisers, Adweek reported on Tuesday. The company did not disclose details but is reportedly hiring a dedicated team to build out these offerings, which include automated options for activating and managing media. “AI is enabling us to better support existing customers while making our technology accessible to a broader range of advertisers, and we will share more when ready,” a Yahoo spokesperson said in a statement.

Instagram Tests Extra Story Features for Paying Subscribers

Instagram is testing a new premium subscription that gives paying users access to exclusive features, Bloomberg reported on Monday. These paid perks include the ability to view another person’s Story without them knowing, and extend a Story’s availability by an extra 24 hours. “Our hope from these tests is to understand what’s most valuable to people in a premium feature set,” said an Instagram spokesperson.

The Week in TV

RTL Offers Concessions to Speed Up Sky Deutschland Takeover Clearance

RTL Group has offered concessions to the European Union relating to its planned takeover of Sky Deutschland, in an effort to address competition concerns and speed up the approval process for the deal, Reuters reported this morning. Details of these concessions haven’t been disclosed, though sources close to the deal told Reuters that one option might be outsourcing ad sales to third parties. An emailed statement from a European Commission spokesperson confirmed that commitments have been received, and the provisional deadline for the Commission to take a decision is now set for April 22nd. Read more on VideoWeek.

US Broadcasters Warn That Free TV Viewers Could Lose Major Sports Events to Big Tech

Major US broadcasters have urged regulators to address the trend of Big Tech companies acquiring the rights to broadcast football, baseball and other sporting events, arguing that these shifts could block access to major sports events and weaken local TV news. The comments came in response to a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) review into the growing shift of live sports away from broadcast networks. Fox responded that free TV viewers could eventually ⁠lose access to the World Series, Thanksgiving NFL football games or the Olympics, citing “a world where Big Tech acquires more and more broadcast sports rights – often as a loss leader to support other massive, vertically integrated businesses that primarily profit off of the personal consumption data of its customers.” Meanwhile Sinclair told the FCC: “Without high-value live sports on broadcast television, local broadcast journalism will suffer.”

EBU Warns Against Czech PSB Funding Cuts

A coalition of international media organisations led by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has warned against proposed reforms to public service broadcaster (PSB) funding in the Czech Republic, Broadband TV News reported last week. The reforms under discussion by the Czech Government, which include slashing licence fee contributions, are being positioned as a transitional step towards the full abolition of the licence fee model. The EBU argues the move risks undermining both financial sustainability and editorial independence. The intervention comes amid wider debate across Europe over PSB funding. Last month, a referendum in Switzerland saw voters reject a proposal from the political right to cut public media funding.

Disney+ Adds Italy’s Rai to European Content Partnerships

Disney+ has struck a partnership with Italian public broadcaster Rai, to bring content to the streaming service immediately after its linear broadcast. Disney has previously made content deals with ITV in the UK, ARD and ZDF in Germany, SIC in Portugal, and Atresmedia and RTVE in Spain. “This collaboration with RAI will bring Disney+ customers in Italy an even broader selection of incredibly iconic local shows,” said Karl Holmes, General Manager for Disney+ EMEA.

Roku Launches Howdy Streaming Service as Mobile App

Roku has launched a mobile app version of its paid ad-free streaming service Howdy in the US. Available for iOS and Android devices, the app gives subscribers on-the-go access to Howdy’s film and TV library, extending the service beyond the Roku platform. Howdy is priced at $2.99 per month, which Roku described as the lowest price point for an ad-free streaming service in the market. The service includes titles from Lionsgate, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros. Discovery, including Hollywood movies Edge of Tomorrow and When Harry Met Sally.

Versant Eyes Acquisition of Vox Media’s Podcast Network

Versant Media, the Comcast spin-off that owns CNBC and MS NOW, is among the suitors looking to acquire Vox Media’s podcast business, according to the NYT. Other companies are said to be interested in Vox Media’s portfolio of websites that includes Vox.com, The Verge and Eater, while others are interested in New York magazine. The talks are still in their early stages, according to people familiar with the negotiations, and may not result in a deal.

The Week for Publishers

Future Plc Shares Plummet as Google Traffic Drops Faster Than Expected

British publisher group Future Plc released a six month trading update this week, reporting that revenues for the company’s fiscal H1 are expected to be in-line with management’s expectations. But the company said that declines in Google search traffic, seemingly caused by the growing presence of AI products within Google’s search interface, have been harsher than expected. CEO Kevin Li Ying said Future is investing in ‘Google Zero’ products to protect against the change. “Whilst we are disappointed with the impact of the
changes in the search ecosystem on our near-term trading performance, we are making good progress in executing the elements of our growth strategy that are in our control,” he said. Investors however seem cautious, as Future’s share price fell by nearly 30 percent following the announcement.

Ozone Launches AI Innovation Engine ‘Ozone Labs’

UK publisher sales house Ozone this week announced the launch of Ozone Labs, a new collaborative initiative to investigate how AI might impact future product and commercial models in the publishing and marketing sectors. This will include building product prototypes and trialling new business models, with the aim of integrating successful capabilities into Ozone’s core ads business. The company says its work will focus on three areas:

Research: Benchmarking and white papers exploring how publishers’ content is sourced, valued and used within LLM ecosystems, with deep-dive research programmes delivered in tandem with individual publishers.
Labs Live: Partner hackathons co-created with brands, agencies and publishers, where collaborative teams sprint to build working prototypes around shared challenges, and pushing the boundaries of what is possible. Pilot events are planned in the US and UK.
Projects: An openly accessible collection of prototypes, concepts and evaluations in active development. Not all will become products, but sharing work-in-progress is central to the Labs ethos, with open-source outputs wherever possible. This will include tests and evaluations of ad-tech innovations such AdCP and ARTF.

Reddit Expands Pro Tools for Publishers, Citing Success

Social sharing site Reddit this week announced it is expanding access to its suite of Pro tools for publishers, designed to help media companies share their content and gain traction on Reddit’s platform. The company started piloting these tools last September, and said that publishers involved in tests have seen median post views increased by 46 percent and profile views nearly doubled compared to their pre-tool baseline. While Pro tools were previously only available via a waitlist, any publisher can now sign up by verifying their domain.

The Guardian Launches Feast on Substack

UK newspaper the Guardian has made its first step onto publishing platform Substack, cross-posting its weekly food newsletter ‘Feast’ via a dedicated Substack. The Guardian’s head of newsletters Toby Moses described the move to Press Gazette as somewhat experimental. “What we don’t know about Substack is, is this a new audience? Are these people that aren’t familiar with The Guardian, aren’t already engaging with our journalism? And the only way we can find that out is by trying it out,” he commented.

The Week for Brands & Agencies

WPP Media Launches AI-Driven YouTube Tool ‘YouTube 5K’

WPP Media on Wednesday launched ‘YouTube 5K’ (YT5K), a new AI-powered solution which the media agency says will significantly speed up some of the most time-consuming elements of running campaigns on YouTube. The product, which has been co-developed with Google, will use proprietary AI-assisted technology to handle channel curation and creative versioning. It will be available to WPP Media clients through its Media Solutions team, though the agency group plans to integrate YT5K into its company-wide platform WPP Open in the future. Read more on VideoWeek.

Brands Seek More Clarity on Use of AI

While many brands are keen on adopting AI tools and technologies, most want clearer guidance on how it should be used and when they need to disclose its usage, according to a WFA survey of 17 multinational brands representing $71 billion in cumulative ad spend. Seventy-eight percent said they’re already using AI in external marketing creative, and 87 percent are using it for product images. But around 80 percent of those surveyed said they want global guidance on transparent usage of AI. Sixty-one percent said they’re unsure about their regulatory obligations, while many expressed uncertainty around consumer expectations (46 percent) and industry best practice (39 percent). The WFA has released new voluntary best practice guidance alongside the research.

Microsoft Hands Global Media Business to Publicis Groupe

Tech giant Microsoft has picked Publicis Groupe to handle its global media account, Ad Age reported this week, which was previously run by Dentsu. It’s another big win for Publicis and a significant loss for Dentsu, as Microsoft spent over $450 million on measured media last year, according to MediaRadar data cited by Ad Age. Dentsu will however reportedly retain media duties for Microsoft’s Xbox gaming brand.

Omnicom’s CEO Ties Pay to Share Performance

Omnicom CEO John Wren’s payment structure was overhauled last year, with his base salary reduced to $1 back in June, and his pay becoming reliant on a one-time stock option valued at over $69 million at the time it was granted. The change was designed to tie Wren’s remuneration more directly to the performance of Omnicom’s stock, according to Storyboard18, as his payment in the coming years will be tied directly to rises in Omnicom’s share price.

Advertisers Become More Wary of Making Green Claims in the EU

The European Union’s upcoming Empowering Consumers in the Green Transition Directive, which will come into force in September, is making advertisers more wary about communicating their sustainability credentials, according to a WFA survey of 17 leading consumer brands. A lack of clarity around the requirements of the directive was the most commonly cited challenge, while some brand said they’re worried that existing products already in market might be retrospectively accused of breaking the law unless they’re sold before the law comes into effect. The directive is driving significant action however, as seventy percent of those surveyed said they are implementing changes to their commercial communications, while half have adjusted their environmental claims and labels.

EMEA Consumers Cut Back Spending, Though Younger Generations Are Most Optimistic

Just over half of EMEA consumers cut back their spending last year, according to Dentsu’s latest EMEA Consumer Navigator Mindset report, as economic conditions caused them to rethink some of their spending habits, compared to 20 percent who said they increased their spending. And sentiment about the current state of the economy are overall negative, with 66 percent saying their country’s economy is either not in very good shape, or in terrible shape. But younger generations are the most optimistic: 53 percent of Gen Z respondents to Dentsu’s survey said their economy is in either excellent or good shape, compared to just 27 percent of Boomers.

Hires of the Week

Canal+ Hires Anne-Laure Tingry as Chief Data and AI Officer

French TV business Canal+ has announced Anne-Laure Tingry as its new Chief Data and AI Officer. Reporting to CEO Maxime Saada, Tingry will be responsible for leading the group’s data and AI strategy across all markets and overseeing the rollout of related projects. She joins from Orange, most recently serving as EVP of the Smart Mobility Services Business Line.

Monks Names Alex Oberberg CRO EMEA

Monks, the operating brand of S4 Capital, has appointed Alex Oberberg as Chief Revenue Officer for EMEA. Effective immediately, Oberberg will lead the region’s commercial strategy, focusing on scaling Monks’ AI-driven systems for global enterprise clients. He most recently served as Head of Marketing at the Public Investment Fund (PIF).

Immediate Appoints Heather Payne as Chief Tech and Product Officer

UK publishing group Immediate has named Heather Payne as Chief Technology & Product Officer. She will work on developing Immediate’s digital products and capabilities to drive audience growth through increased use of data, personalisation, and new products and services. Payne was previously Founder and CEO of Toast91, an AI safeguarding platform for supporting vulnerable users.