Week in Review: Netflix Launches a Vertical Video Feed, M6 Partners with ChatGPT, and Tech Giants Tout Their AI Investments

In this week’s Week in Review: Netflix launches ‘Clips’, M6 leans on ChatGPT for discovery, and tech giants discuss AI investments in quarterly earnings.

The Week in Tech

Pinterest Launches CTV Audiences Following tvScientific Acquisition

Following Pinterest’s acquisition of CTV performance advertising business tvScientific earlier this year, the company this week announced the launch of its audiences in the CTV market, bringing together its audience signals with tvScientific’s ad platform. By bringing its audiences “off of Pinterest and on the biggest screen in the house”, the business aims to help advertisers find relevant viewers, using its commercial intent signals to reach audiences that use Pinterest to discover and search for products. According to the company, using tvScientific’s platform in conjunction with Pinterest’s high-intent signals drives 27 percent uplift in outcomes per $100 in spend, and 65 percent uplift in purchases. “Pinterest brings a distinct opportunity, with more than 600 million monthly active users and growing,” said Lee Brown, Chief Business Officer at Pinterest. “Because of how users search and shop on the platform, we can give advertisers new ways to reach people at every stage of the shopping journey, from discovery to buying, both on and off Pinterest.” Read more on VideoWeek.

Roku Links Campaigns to Outcomes with First-Party Data Partnerships

Roku has unveiled Roku Curate, a new offering aimed at helping advertisers track outcomes from their campaigns. The solution offers first-party data from Best Buy Ads, Fandango, Criteo, Fetch, Kroger Precision Marketing and Instacart to tie ads to purchase decisions. “By combining Roku’s scale with Best Buy’s first-party data and holistic measurement capabilities, we’re driving awareness and consideration with clear visibility into downstream impact,” said Lisa Valentino, President of Best Buy Ads.

Freewheel Announces Outcomes-Driven CTV Platform and Publisher Partner Portal

Ad tech firm Freewheel and agency network Stagwell are building an outcomes-driven ad platform for connected TV, the partners announced on Monday, designed to give advertisers direct access to the “core infrastructure” of premium video and CTV. Also this week, Freewheel launched Partner Portal, a centralised hub that enables partners to create, test and scale solutions for premium publishers. “Partner Portal gives FreeWheel partners a faster, more secure way to build and bring new capabilities to market without sacrificing the trust and control publishers deserve,” said Matt Clark, VP of Strategy and Partnerships at FreeWheel.

IAS Unveils CTV Measurement Offering IAS Total TV

Integral Ad Science (IAS), a media measurement business, has introduced a new CTV measurement offering called IAS Total TV. IAS said the solution aggregates content-level data such as show, genre, ratings and language across major streaming services, including Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount and Prime Video, as well as publishers using its Publica ad server.

VIDAA Expands Rakuten Ads Partnership

VIDAA owner V has expanded its ads partnership with Rakuten TV Enterprise in France, Germany and the UK. Under the agreement, Rakuten TV Enterprise will deliver in-stream video ads across VIDAA’s TV Channels service, and native display ad placements across the TV interface, including the Home Screen.

Universal Ads Adds Linear TV Inventory to Self-Serve Platform

Universal Ads, Comcast’s self-serve ads business, has added linear TV inventory to its platform. The move gives advertisers self-service access to Comcast-owned linear inventory alongside streaming campaigns in a single platform, according to the company. “Viewers don’t think in terms of linear versus ‘streaming’,” said James Borow, General Manager at Universal Ads. “Advertisers should not have to think about it either.”

IAB Europe Releases CTV Measurement Framework and Transparency Principles for Public Comment

A common frustration for advertisers and agencies when it comes to connected TV advertising is a lack of standardisation in measurement and transparency. Industry trade group IAB Europe is hoping to help tackle this issue, by creating a common set of measurement standards and transparency principles for CTV advertising. This framework, developed in collaboration with businesses including Amazon Ads, EGTA, Freewheel, Google, IAB UK, MFE ProSiebenSat.1, Pubitalia, RMB Belgium, RTÉ, Samsung Ads and YouTube, has today been released for public comment. On the measurement side, the document provides definitions and outlines for a range of media metrics and performance metrics which are deemed suitable for CTV. Alongside these definitions, the framework also sets out some extra transparency principles which IAB Europe says should be generally applied across CTV trading. Read more on VideoWeek.

Reddit Reports Seventh Straight Quarter of 60+ Percent Revenue Growth

Reddit revenues were up 69 percent YoY during Q1, the social sharing company revealed on Thursday. The results marked Reddit’s seventh consecutive quarter of revenue growth over 60 percent, with its AI-driven ad platform Reddit Max seeing “strong adoption” by advertisers. “Advertisers are also increasingly adopting AI in their campaign setups with about 50 percent of Max campaign advertisers using AI-powered creative features to unlock even stronger performance,” said Reddit COO Jennifer Wong.

X to Overhaul Ad Platform

Elon Musk’s X is upgrading its ad platform, the social media firm announced on Thursday, using AI to modernise its retrieval and ranking systems. “These systems understand user behaviour at a much deeper level, enabling more precise, relevant and dynamic ad delivery that aligns with what’s happening on X in real-time,” the company said in a statement. X’s ads business fell into decline after Musk took over Twitter in 2022, leading to a 60 percent drop in ad revenues.

IAB Tech Lab Introduces Live Content Attributes in OpenRTB for Public Comment

IAB Tech Lab, the global technical standards-setting body for digital advertising, has introduced new Attributes to describe live content and a new Substitution Macro in OpenRTB, which are now available for public comment. The updates include standardised bidstream signals that help define whether content is a livestream, real-time, or a first broadcast, along with enhancements that allow more explicit communication of pricing and discounting between supply and demand platforms. The public comment period is open until 28th May, with feedback informing final specification updates and broader adoption across the ecosystem.

Mirriad Advertising Enters Administration

Mirriad Advertising, a UK-based virtual product placement business, is planning to place its operating units into administration, the company announced on Monday. After warning that the war in Iran had harmed its business, the firm said it has failed to secure funding that would have enabled it to continue trading. Shares in Mirriad fell by 20 percent following the announcement.

The Week in TV

TF1 Reports 7.1 Percent Fall in Total Ad Revenues

French broadcaster TF1 saw a 7.1 percent year-on-year slide in its Q1 ad revenues, which contributed towards an overall 5.2 percent in like-for-like consolidated revenues at constant exchange rates. TF1 said that the ongoing structural decline in the linear advertising market was exacerbated by “advertisers’ wait-and-see approach in a particularly unstable market since the fourth quarter of 2025”, as the US/Iran war added to geopolitical volatility. However revenues on the group’s streaming product TF1+ continued to grow at pace, up 20 percent year-on-year to €49 million — close to 15 percent of total ad revenues.

European Broadcasters Sound Alarm Over Digital Fairness Act

The Association of Commercial Television and Video on Demand Services in Europe (ACT), a TV trade group which counts ITV, Sky, RTL, Mediaset, Canal+, TF1, Disney, and Warner Bros. Discovery among its members, has sent a letter to the European Commission’s justice and tech chiefs Michael McGrath and Henna Virkkunen, warning that the EU’s proposed Digital Fairness Act should specifically target big tech, not publishers and broadcasters, Reuters reported this week. The Digital Fairness Act seeks to crack down on manipulative and misleading digital design practices, and applies across the board. But in its letter, the ACT said this could have a disproportionate impact on broadcasters and publishers which are already heavily regulated. “New measures must focus on the segment of the digital environment where significant responsibility gaps persist, rather than our ⁠well-regulated sectors that already uphold high editorial standards,” the group said.

DAZN Acquires Sports Tech Business ViewLift for $100 Million

Sports specialist streaming platform DAZN has agreed to buy sport streaming tech business ViewLift for around $100 million. ViewLift works with US sports franchises and multi-team networks which run their own direct-to-consumer streaming products, meaning it has deep relationships across the US sports landscape. It will be integrated into DAZN as a distinct business unit. “ViewLift is a superb company – a profitable sports technology business with deep relationships across the US sports ecosystem,” said DAZN CEO Shay Segev. “The acquisition will enable DAZN to expand both its US presence and its platform capabilities.”

Addressable TV Made Up Over One-Third of TV Spend in UK Last Year

Ad spend on addressable TV in the UK grew by 37 percent YoY in 2025, according to the latest Expenditure Report from the Advertising Association (AA) and WARC, which tracks spending figures via a survey of media owners and industry bodies. The findings show that while overall TV spend was down by 1.2 percent YoY, TV accounted for 11.2 percent of total ad spend in 2025, behind search (38.3 percent) and social media (24.7 percent). This suggests addressable TV is playing a growing role in bolstering TV’s share of UK ad spend, making up 35 percent of TV spend last year. The report reveals that overall UK ad investment was up 6.4 percent YoY, reaching £46.7 billion in 2025. Much of that growth was driven by the festive season, with ad spend rising 8 percent YoY during Q4 2025, hitting £12.9 billion. Read more on VideoWeek.

Paramount to be Nearly 50 Percent Foreign-Owned if WBD Deal Clears

Foreign investors will indirectly own just shy of fifty percent of the combined Paramount/Warner Bros. Discovery, should the deal complete, the Financial Times reported this week. Paramount gazumped Netflix to agree a merger deal earlier this year, but the company is very reliant on foreign investment in order to fund the purchase. And a filing published on Monday said the company expects that overseas interests will own slightly less than fifty percent of the group’s equity if the deal closes, though sovereign wealth investors will not have voting shares. Foreign funds which are aiding the deal include Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, Abu Dhabi-backed investment business L’Imad, and The Qatar Investment Authority, according to the FT.

FCC Reviews Disney’s Broadcast Licence Following Melania Joke from Jimmy Kimmel

US president Donald Trump’s feud with late night TV host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel has flared up again, with the president calling for Kimmel to be fired after he joked that Trump’s wife Melania had the glow of “an expectant widow”. And days later, the US communications regulator the FCC said it was reviewing the broadcasting licence for ABC, the Disney-owned network which airs Kimmel’s show. The FCC says it is investigating possible violations of its rules, including unlawful discrimination. The review requires ABC to file licence-renewal applications for all its licensed TV stations within 30 days, according to the BBC, and Disney may be required to prove that it meets the FCC’s public interest standards.

DAZN Brings Serie A Live Stream to TikTok

DAZN will broadcast a live stream of a game from Italy’s top football competition this Sunday on TikTok in the UK, which the company says is in line with its commitment to making sports more accessible. Serie A fixture Sassuolo v AC Milan will be broadcast on the DAZNFootball TikTok channel for free. “Partnering with TikTok to bring Serie A to more fans is the latest step we are taking towards making football more accessible, immersive and interactive,” said Pete Oliver, CEO of growth markets at DAZN. “Fans anywhere across the UK & Ireland will be able to watch a fixture from one of the world’s top divisions, with two teams rich with history, underpinning DAZN’s ongoing commitment to bring sport to more fans.”

Black in Business Returns to Channel 4

Channel 4’s Black in Business initiative, which offers free advertising on Channel 4’s properties for Black entrepreneurs, is returning for a third time in partnership with Lloyds. The programme has been expanded for 2026, as four businesses will each receive up to £200,000 worth of free airtime on Channel 4, up from £150,000 in the previous iteration. Channel 4 will also offer professional production services to create the ads, as well as mentorship opportunities from senior leaders at Channel 4 and Lloyds. “Increasing our overall package from the last cohort enables even greater impact across the Channel 4 portfolio, helping these businesses scale faster, reach new audiences, and build lasting brand recognition,” said Sam Hicks, head of advertiser strategy at Channel 4 Sales.

Viaplay Secures Rights for UEFA Club Competitions in Denmark, Norway, and Finland

Nordic TV company Viaplay Group has acquired exclusive rights to UEFA Champions League football in Denmark, and rights to the Europa League and Conference League in Norway and Finland, in deals stretching from 2027 to 2031. Sports have been a big focus for the company as it looks to drive streaming revenues, and Viaplay’s investments in sports rights were credited in its most recent set of earnings with helping drive up average revenue per user. “We continue to secure the content that is relevant for our viewers and, at the same time, provides proven commercial potential,” said CEO and president Jørgen Madsen Lindemann. “That is the case with the rights that we have now extended, so this is a good day.”

HP Launches FAST Service HP TV+

Consumer tech brand HP has rolled out a new free ad-supported streaming TV product called HP TV+, as part of its efforts to build out an ads business, Adweek reported this week. The service is available on HP devices, as well as through Microsoft’s app store, and features channels from content partners including USA Today, PBS, and Tennis Channel. The product is advertised on HP Media Network’s website, stating that advertisers can use HP TV+ to “engage viewers during interactive streaming moments with relevant ads they can click and act on instantly”.

The Week for Publishers

News UK Launches Synthetic Audiences Product ‘Times ExplorAItion’

Publishing group News UK is launching a new synthetic audience product for its Times Media sub-brand called ‘Times ExplorAItion’, which will sit within News’s wider Nucleus data platform. The product, built with synthetic audience specialist Electric Twin, creates a virtual, AI-powered model of News UK’s audiences, which advertisers can then use to test messaging and run focus groups and surveys, without committing real budget. These synthetic audiences are grounded in first- and third-party data signals, as well as market expertise. “Our goal is simple: to help advertisers reduce the guesswork and improve outcomes,” said Caroline Tredget, commercial director of The Times and The Sunday Times. “Synthetic audiences are not about replacing real-world research or performance data – they’re about giving advertisers the ability to test campaigns before they go live against a virtual audience that behaves just like a real one. We’re giving marketers a powerful new way to validate ideas, surface insights and enter the market with greater confidence.”

The Sun Gets into Live Sports with BILD Partnership

UK newspaper The Sun is partnering with German tabloid BILD to broadcast Fame Fighting v Misfits Boxing, a German-British boxing event set to be hosted in June. The broadcast will be available to subscribers of Sun Club, The Sun’s paid membership offering. The Sun holds the rights for the UK and US, while BILD will air the event in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. “By hosting this exclusive broadcast within Sun Club, we are pioneering a new way to expand our membership proposition,” said Dominic Carter, EVP of The Sun. “Our goal is to constantly find innovative ways to reward our loyal readers, and giving them ringside access to a global cultural phenomenon like this is exactly how we plan to deliver more value than ever before.”

Italy’s Communications Regulator Calls for EC Investigation into Google’s AI Search Tools

Italy’s communications regulator AGCOM this week filed a complaint with the European Commission calling for an investigation into the AI tools embedded in Google’s search offering, following a report from an Italian news trade group which alleged that these AI tools are having a negative impact on users and Italian businesses. The report claimed that following the introduction of AI Overviews and AI Mode into Google Search, editorial content from Italian news publishers has become much less visible within search queries. This, according to the trade group, risks the economic sustainability of those publishers, and could impact freedom of expression and media pluralism in Italy. AGCOM says the EC should look into whether Google has violated Europe’s Digital Services Act with its rollout of these AI features.

Australia to Begin Charging Tech Giants if They Don’t Negotiate News Payment Deals

The Australian government announced this week that it will start fining Meta, Google, and TikTok if they don’t negotiate deals to pay local media businesses for any content which is used and distributed via their platforms, as required under Australian law. The three companies will be taxed 2.25 percent of their local revenues unless they comply with the requirements, according to Reuters. “People are increasingly getting their news directly from Facebook, from TikTok and from Google, and we believe it’s only fair that large digital platforms contribute to the hard work of journalism that enriches their feeds and that drives their revenue,” said communications minister Anika Wells.

News Publishers See Significant Subscriber Growth on YouTube

The most followed English-language news publishers on YouTube saw an average 16 percent growth in their subscriber counts over the last 15 months, according to Press Gazette’s analysis of subscription data, amid widespread efforts to expand reach and distribution via the platform. The BBC is the largest English-language news publisher on YouTube, judged by subscriber count, with 19.7 million subscribers, followed by ABC News (19.5 million), CNN (19.5 million), Vice (19.1 million), and Al Jazeera English (18 million). Of these five, Al Jazeera English has seen the highest year-on-year growth in subscribers, up 19.2 percent.

USA Today Co. Sees Notable Revenue Contribution from AI Licensing Deals

US magazine publisher USA Today Co. says revenues from its various AI licensing deals had a notable impact on its Q1 results, helping fuel 5.2 percent growth in digital revenues on a same store basis. Speaking on an earnings call following the results, CEO Michael Reed said he sees licensing agreements as a significant future growth opportunity. “Our existing AI agreements, such as with Meta and Microsoft, had a notable impact on our Q1 results, and we continue to maintain an active pipeline across the AI ecosystem, including foundational model providers, start-ups and emerging licensing platforms,” he said. “As a result, we expect this category to contribute meaningfully to our growth over time. We expect these deals to be lumpy in nature. But when you step back and take a longer term view, this opportunity remains significant.”

The Week for Brands & Agencies

Omnicom Looks to Cut Out “Messy Middle” Tech Intermediaries

US agency group Omnicom reported its Q1 earnings this week, posting organic revenue growth of 3.9 percent year-on-year, and EBITDA growth of 27 percent. On an earnings call following the release, Omnicom executives talked through the company’s plans to sell off non-core assets. The plan is now to dispose of assets worth approximately $3.2 billion — an increase on Omnicom’s previously stated figure of $2.5 billion. CEO John Wren also talked about Omnicom’s experimentation with agentic media buying, which he said is cutting out a “messy middle” of intermediaries in the advertising ecosystem.

“There’s always a messy middle between the client, the advertiser, and what they pay for the media and reaching the consumer, and a lot of martech and stuff, which becomes exciting for a moment or two and then fades away,” said Wren. “Most of those businesses don’t last very long. There are intermediaries today that stand between us and the publishers, and they take a toll. The toll is paid for by the clients and by the industry itself.”

WPP Says New Business Wins Show Turnaround Efforts Are On Course

While the headline figures from WPP’s Q1 earnings released this week — a 6.7 percent decline in like-for-like net revenues — were hardly positive, WPP executives say the wider results show the company is heading in the right direction. Account losses that occurred over the past year are continuing to bite, and even existing clients are in many cases dialling back spend. But net new business appears to be on the rise. The company cited J.P. Morgan data which found WPP’s net new business for Q1 to be worth $0.8 billion, above Publicis ($0.7 billion) and Omnicom (-$0.1 billion). WPP also outperformed Publicis and Omnicom on J.P. Morgan’s rankings for Q4 last year. Joanne Wilson, WPP’s chief financial officer who took the lead on this morning’s earnings call in the absence of CEO Cindy Rose, said the company expects to see the fruits of its turnaround efforts start to show up on the balance sheet in the second half of the year. Read more on VideoWeek.

UK Indie Generation Media Launches in North America

UK independent media agency Generation Media, which specialises in children’s, family, and gaming audiences, announced this week it is officially launching in the US. The agency is opening an office in New York and has made two new hires, Caity Press and Zach Smith, who will both power the expansion as vice presidents of client partnerships. Generation Media, founded in 2008, says it currently operates in over 58 markets, with more than $100 million in annual billings. “Building our North American presence is a crucial next step for Generation Media,” said CEO Dean Weller. “There’s a clear need for more specialist, audience-first thinking in the region.”

WPP Expands its Henkel Remit

WPP has won an expanded remit for consumer goods business Henkel Consumer Brands, taking on global creative and production responsibilities for the company. This will give WPP an integrated remit for the brand, since it won Henkel’s consolidated media business last year. Part of WPP’s transformation push has been to create a more integrated offering for clients, and the agency group says its work with Henkel will reflect this approach. “Henkel’s ambition for end-to-end marketing excellence aligns perfectly with our ability to bring together world-class creativity with the transformative capabilities of WPP Open, our agentic marketing platform,” said WPP CEO Cindy Rose. “Building on the success of our European media partnership, we’re ready to accelerate Henkel’s growth by connecting creative, production and media in one seamless engine.”

Omnicom’s Acxiom Brings its Audiences into Amazon DSP’s Audience Hub

Acxiom, the data and technology unit owned by Omnicom, has announced an expanded partnership with Amazon Ads, making over 10,000 Acxiom audiences directly available within Amazon DSP’s Audience Hub. The company says this direct integration will make it easier for advertisers to activate Acxiom audiences across Amazon-owned media and open-internet supply in the US, UK, and Germany. “This direct integration with Amazon DSP makes our industry‑leading, privacy‑first data available for instant, multichannel activation,” said Martin Wexler, EVP of product revenue and partnerships at Acxiom.

Mark Penn Hails AI Impact as Stagwell Reports Four Percent Net Revenue Growth

Challenger marketing group Stagwell reported its Q1 earnings this morning, with year-on-year net revenue growth of 4 percent, and total revenue growth of 8 percent. Adjusted EBITDA meanwhile was up nine percent year-on-year. CEO and chairman Mark Penn hailed the quarter as Stagwell’s strongest Q1 in four years, and said that the company’s move to start providing AI services for marketers is paying dividends. “Stagwell continues to be on a path for a great 2026, bolstered by record new wins, its first government contracts, and its pivot to delivering agentic applications for the marketing industry,” said Penn. “On a two-year stack, our digital transformation segment is accelerating to 22 percent organic net revenue growth as we apply AI to drive industry-leading results for our clients.”

Hires of the Week

Luca Poloni Appointed COO of ProSiebenSat.1 Media

German broadcaster ProSiebenSat.1 Media has appointed Luca Poloni as group chief operating officer, effective today, and as a member of the executive board for a three-year term. In his role as COO, Poloni will be responsible for growth & digital business, technology, data & AI, content operations, distribution, and human resources. He has previously worked as group chief technology officer at MFE.

WPP Appoints Peter Agnefjäll to the Board

WPP on Wednesday announced it has appointed Peter Agnefjäll to its board as a non-executive director, effective from May 11th. Agnefjäll has previously worked as president and CEO of IKEA Group, and has since then served on a number of boards in a non-executive capacity.

Mediaplus UK Restructures Leadership

Mediaplus UK has announced a restructure of its senior leadership team this week. Celine Saturnino steps up from CEO of Mediaplus UK to CEO of Mediaplus Group UK, replacing Tom Laranjo. Head of operations Liz Duff and managing partner Jamie Dunlop will become joint managing directors of the London agency. And head of strategy Will Hanmer-Lloyd steps up to chief strategy officer of Mediaplus UK, while managing partner Becca Rawlings takes on the role of director of HR.

Channel Factory Makes Three C-Suite Hires

Contextual advertising business Channel Factory has announced three new C-suite appointments. Woo Kim joins as chief financial officer, current CFO Eren Pamir transitions to chief business officer, and Colleen Liguori joins as global chief human resources officer. “Each of these professionals with their own expertise will help us to continue delivering excellent media efficiency for our clients, create new innovations, and further transform the media landscape,” said Channel Factory CEO Tony Chen.

ID5 Hires Anna Lena Schenk as VP of Product

Identity specialist ID5 has appointed Anna Lena Schenk as its VP of product, the company announced last Friday. She joins from Virtual Minds, and at ID5 will lead product strategy and innovation. “Anna has been a longtime customer of ID5, first at Semasio, then at Virtual Minds, so already brings a strong understanding of our vision,” said ID5 CEO and co-founder Mathieu Roche.