In this week’s Week in Review: FIFA+ moves exclusively to DAZN, the BBC goes big on short-form content, and ad tech companies call for scrutiny of the EU’s digital omnibus.
Top Stories
FIFA+ Moves to DAZN
FIFA+, a direct-to-consumer streaming service launched by football’s world governing body FIFA back in 2022, announced this week that the platform will be integrated into sport-dedicated streaming service DAZN, with the standalone app shutting down.
FIFA says that combined under one service, FIFA+ and DAZN will feature around 8,500 live matches annually, as well as original and archive content from FIFA’s catalogue. The organisation describes the partnership as “a major step towards building the global home of football”.
When FIFA+ first launched, questions were raised around whether it might one day look to distribute its most lucrative tournaments, like the men’s and women’s World Cups, itself. But the rights for those tournaments bring in very hefty sums from domestic broadcasters around the world, meaning the economics for FIFA of streaming those tournaments itself don’t add up. Even when it relaunched its Club World Cup last year, a clear opportunity to trial streaming a big tournament itself, it chose to work with DAZN.
Nonetheless, for DAZN the deal adds a significant volume of football content to its offering. And depending on how far FIFA wants to go with creating a “global home of football”, more expansive rights could be on the way in the future.
BBC Brings Shorts Tab to News and Sports
In the face of competition for audience attention from the major short-form video apps, a number of big broadcasters have begun integrating short-form video feeds into their. Disney, Paramount, and Netflix have all released short-form tabs since the start of the year, and the BBC is moving in that same direction too, announcing this week it is adding swipeable short-form video feeds to its news and sports apps.
On the BBC Sport app, the broadcaster has launched a dedicated ‘Shorts’ tab, a scrollable short-form feed which can be set as a user’s default page. On the BBC News App meanwhile, a new swipeable portrait player has been introduced, making it easier for users to scroll through news clips.
Will Farrell-Green, the BBC’s new chief product officer, said more similar updates are on the way. “As short-form video continues to evolve, we’re looking at how these experiences can connect quick updates, live moments and in-depth content — creating a seamless journey from a single clip to the full breadth of BBC journalism, sport and entertainment,” he said. Farrell-Green said that short formats can act as a “front door into richer, longer-form viewing”, suggesting that the focus will remain on driving audiences towards the BBC’s long-form content.
Ad Tech Companies Call on EU to Scrutinise Digital Omnibus Proposal
A group of 46 ad tech companies have signed an open letter addressing EU policymakers, raising concerns over proposed changes to the Digital Omnibus, which aims to simplify the EU’s digital regulatory framework. While the signatories express support for strengthening Europe’s competitiveness, they raise concerns that Articles 88a and 88b (which cover privacy choices and consent mechanisms) could increase legal uncertainty and technical complexity, and introduce economic disruption across the digital ecosystem.
Article 88b would shift the management of users’ privacy choices away from controllers and towards browsers, which the letter says would risk “distorting competition by reinforcing the market power of large integrated platforms.” Meanwhile Article 88a would strictly limit the storage of information on a user’s device without consent, in a manner that overlooks “the operational and technical realities of the digital ecosystem,” according to the signatories.
“Changes of this magnitude require careful technical, legal and economic analysis, meaningful consultation with affected stakeholders, and sufficient time for policymakers to properly evaluate the consequences on businesses and their consumers,” says the letter. The signatories call on the EU Council, European Parliament and European Commission “to ensure that adequate time and scrutiny are afforded to assess the legal, technical and economic implications of Articles 88a & 88b, including through further consultation with stakeholders and technical experts.”
The Week in Tech
PubMatic Enables Partner Decisioning Models to Run Inside Auctions
PubMatic, a sell-side ad tech business, has launched Decision Fabric, a containerisation layer that enables partner decisioning models (from algorithm companies, curators, agencies, and DSPs) to run inside PubMatic’s auction infrastructure on live bidstream signals at the moment inventory becomes available. Built on PubMatic’s AgenticOS, the solution is piloting with inPowered AI, MiQ, Chalice AI and SWYM.AI as initial partners. “The buy side has been optimising against a filtered view of supply for a decade,” said SWYM.AI CEO Ravi Patel. “Decision Fabric flips that — our algorithms now run where the inventory actually lives, on every bid request, in the moment it matters. That’s outcome-driven bid shaping at full supply-side scale, and there’s no equivalent of it on the buy side of the fence.”
YouTube Shorts Gets MRC Brand Safety Accreditation
YouTube has earned brand safety accreditation from the Media Rating Council (MRC) for the sixth consecutive year, the Google-owned company announced on Wednesday, noting that the accreditation was expanded to include YouTube Shorts for the first time. YouTube said this makes it the first platform to be given MRC accreditation for short-form video. “With Shorts averaging 200 billion daily views, brands can confidently tap into the format’s momentum and YouTube’s creator community,” the company said in a blog post.
Peer39 Acquires Media Quality Company Adloox From Scope3
Peer39, a contextual data firm, has acquired Adloox, a media quality business previously owned by Scope3, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition enables Peer39 customers to use authenticated signal controls across all major buying platforms, including Meta and Google DV360, according to the company. “Peer39 built one of the industry’s strongest environmental signal businesses across programmatic and CTV,” said Romain Bellion, Co-Founder and Former CEO of Adloox. “Adloox’s integrations and MRC-accredited measurement capabilities are complementary with Peer39 in ways few companies could combine. Bringing these capabilities together creates a unified authentication solution crucial for all advertisers.”
Synamedia Enters “Next Chapter” After Selling Video Network Business
Lumine Group is set to acquire Synamedia’s Video Network Business for an undisclosed fee, the Canada-based acquirer announced on Tuesday. Following the announcement, Synamedia said it is entering its “next chapter” through the rest of its business; an integrated portfolio of monetisation and targeting products, including Go, Senza, Iris, ContentArmor, and Gravity. “By bringing together the engagement and discovery experiences audiences embrace on mobile with innovative large-screen experiences powered by cloud and AI, we are enabling operators to redefine video entertainment wherever audiences choose to watch,” said Dr Tzvi Gerstl, GM Media Cloud Technology at Synamedia. “The battle for attention is far from over, and our platform, technology, and expertise help our customers win it.
Ampersand, Fandango and Kochava Partner on Tying TV Ads to Movie Ticket Sales
Ampersand, a TV ad sales and tech firm, has announced a new partnership with Fandango, the film discovery and ticketing platform, and Kochava, a measurement specialist. The collaboration delivers a full-funnel, cross-screen theatrical advertising solution designed to connect TV exposure directly to ticket sales. “By connecting deterministic TV exposure to verified ticket sales in a privacy-safe way, this collaboration gives studios something they’ve long needed: clear, actionable insight into how premium television drives real box office outcomes,” said Seth Samuels, GM of Kochava Foundry. “It’s a major step forward in bringing true closed-loop accountability to TV advertising.”
The Week in TV
RTL Completes Sky Deutschland Acquisition
RTL on Monday announced it has completed its acquisition of Sky Deutschland, in a €68 million deal designed to strengthen the European media business in the face of competition from global streaming giants. The acquisition sees RTL Group take full ownership of Sky’s businesses in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, including customer relationships in Luxembourg, Liechtenstein and South Tyrol. This brings Sky’s 12.3 million paying subscribers in the DACH region into the RTL business, in a transaction expected to generate annual synergies of €250 million within three years of completion, according to RTL.
“The transaction underscores the RTL Group’s strategic focus on domestic mergers in Europe,” the company said in a statement. “The aim is to sustainably strengthen local media companies in competition with global streaming services.” Read more on VideoWeek.
German Regulator Greenlights Banjiay and All3Media JV
Germany’s Federal Cartel Office has approved the creation of a joint venture (JV) between Banijay and All3Media, concluding that the transaction is unlikely to significantly impede competition in the German market. Combining two of the country’s largest independent TV production groups, the JV “will be the largest producer of general TV content for third parties by volume and will be particularly strongly positioned in shows and reality formats,” said Andreas Mundt, President of the Federal Cartel Office. “However, it will face only a small number of large broadcasting groups as customers, namely RTL, ProSiebenSat.1, ARD and ZDF, all of which are also capable of producing content through their own subsidiaries.”
Freely on Track to Become UK’s Leading Free TV Platform by 2034
Freely, the free streaming service launched by the UK’s public service broadcasters (PSBs), is on track to overtake Freeview’s digital terrestrial television (DTT) service as the UK’s leading free TV platform within the next decade, according to forecasts from independent analysts 3 Reasons. Freely is expected to reach 10.5 million UK households by 2034, while Freeview’s reach is projected to fall below one million. The forecasts also suggest that the number of homes without broadband will fall to 220,000 by 2034, which equates to 0.8 percent of TV households. “Together, the figures underline the growing readiness of UK audiences for internet-delivered television,” said Freely operator Everyone TV.
Zee Wins FIFA World Cup Rights in India
FIFA has struck a deal with Zee Entertainment to broadcast the 2026 World Cup in India, according to Reuters, ending a months-long standoff over the tournament’s availability in the country, just 10 days before the World Cup kicks off. While financial terms were not disclosed, the report notes that FIFA had initially sought around $100 million for the India package covering the 2026 and 2030 tournaments, before slashing its asking price to $60 million. The report says the deal gives Zee a “toehold” in an Indian sports broadcast market dominated by Reliance-Disney joint venture JioStar.
Samsung Research Highlights CTV Home Screen’s Growing Role in Content Discovery
Nearly nine in 10 European TV viewers use the CTV home screen to decide what to watch next, according to Samsung’s annual ‘Behind the Screens’ report. The research found that the home screen is accessed more than five times per day, highlighting its growing role in content discovery. “Fewer than one in three viewers know what they want to watch before they open the home screen,” according to the report.
CBS News Fires Anchor Scott Pelley Over Claims of Political Interference by Paramount
CBS News fired its longtime 60 Minutes anchor Scott Pelley on Tuesday, after Pelley accused new CBS News chief Bari Weiss of “murdering 60 Minutes“. Having been appointed by Paramount owner and Donald Trump ally David Ellison, Weiss fired multiple staff at the news programme last week, including its longtime executive producer, spurring concerns that the new leadership would undermine independent journalism at the network. In a statement after his firing, Pelley said he was “told to include assertions that are unverified” in his reporting.
Over 70 Percent of European Viewers Regularly Watch FAST Channels Finds Rakuten TV
Research from Rakuten TV has found that 73.7 percent of European viewers watch FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) channels daily or several times per week. The report also highlighted the role of FAST in content discovery, with 45.9 percent of respondents saying they use FAST channels to decide which subscription services are worth paying for. “FAST is entering a new phase of maturity across Europe, evolving from an emerging trend into a mainstream viewing behaviour across multiple markets,” said Cédric Dufour, CEO and President of Rakuten TV. “For content owners, this creates significant opportunities to extend the value of content libraries, increase audience reach and build deeper engagement within ad-supported environments.”
Home Screen Promos Drive Interest in Movies Says LG Ad Solutions Report
More than half (56 percent) of UK cinemagoers have rented or purchased a film after seeing it promoted on their TV home screen, according to research from LG Ad Solutions, while 35 percent said home screen promos have led them to see the film at the cinema. “Our research shows that the Smart TV Home Screen isn’t just a place where viewers start their entertainment journey, it’s where moviegoers are inspired to take action,” said Ben Orford, Head of Sales, Media & Entertainment Europe at LG Ad Solutions. “For studios and distributors, it represents a powerful touchpoint to influence decisions both in cinemas and at home and capture consumer attention at the intersection of discovery, intent, and action.”
Netflix Games Announces FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition
Netflix has announced a new FIFA World Cup game is coming to its gaming service on 11th June. Controllable via mobile device, FIFA World Cup: Launch Edition will be available to Netflix members in the 20 countries where the games offering is available: the US, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland and Brazil. More countries will roll out over time, according to the streaming company.
The Week for Publishers
Mantis Launches ‘Mantis Video’ to Help Publishers Compete for Video-First Briefs
On Tuesday, Reach-owned brand safety and contextual tech business Mantis announced the launch of Mantis Video, a new product which brings deep contextual understanding to online video. In essence, Mantis Video watches a piece of content frame-by-frame, and then uses AI to generate an in-depth summary of the video. Mantis’s AI contextual and brand safety technology analyses this summary to understand exactly what is happening within that piece of video content, in the same way it would analyse a regular written article. It can then apply its ‘Red, Green, Amber’ brand safety classifications, and bucket content into custom contextual categories. Read more on VideoWeek.
Publisher AI Coalition SPUR Adds 30 New Members
The SPUR Coalition, a collection of publishers working together to set standards around licensing deals with AI platforms, this week announced a major expansion of its membership, adding 30 new members including new founding member CMA Media, alongside a number of Canadian publishers and publisher trade groups across various markets. This brings total membership to 36, alongside founding members the BBC, Financial Times, Guardian Media Group, Sky News, Telegraph Media Group and Mediahuis.
“Welcoming 30 new members, including our first founding member from France, gives SPUR the scale required to turn its mission into a global mandate,” said Guardian Media Group CEO Anna Bateson. “This collective strength will help legitimise the standards we create, safeguarding the intellectual property of publishers and providing AI developers with a route to scalable, sustainable licensing.”
Short Form Video News App SaySo Launches in UK
SaySo, a short-form video news app launched by media business Caliber, has launched in the UK this week, aiming to capitalise on short-form video’s growing role in the news space. SaySo features creator-led news content and current affairs analysis, with 50 creators featured on the platform so far. The app allows users to personalise their algorithm when they first log in based on their preferences, according to JUK. It also provides a limited carousel of videos to users each day, rather than using the infinite scroll model which is typical of video apps. The UK launch follows SaySo’s release in the US and Canada in April.
UK Publishers Gain Opt-Out From Google’s AI Features Following CMA Intervention
The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority announced this morning it is ordering Google to give publishers the ability to opt out of their content being used in its AI search tools, without having to opt out of Google Search entirely, which it claims is a world first. Publishers in the UK will be specifically and separately able to control whether their content is used for AI model training — including fine-tuning — and grounding, both within and outside of general search. This will be possible both for entire domains, and at the page level. Google is specifically barred from penalising via search rankings any publishers who do choose to opt out. Read more on VideoWeek.
NYT Chairman AG Sulzberger Warns Against “AI Cheerleaders”
AG Sulzberger, publisher and chairman at the New York Times, warned this week that publishers should question the real value they’re getting from AI licensing deals with tech companies, warning that in some cases the returns are minimal in relation to the damage AI products could do to news businesses. Speaking at the WAN-IFRA World News Media Congress, he said that publishers should be careful not to let AI cheerleaders dominate the conversation. “Our profession has been too quiet, too passive and too fragmented in the face of abuses by the companies leading the AI revolution,” he told the conference, according to Press Gazette. “We cannot sit by as this work is used to build replacement products that undermine our ability to earn the audience and revenue necessary to continue reporting the news.”
OpenAI Doesn’t Plant to Share Ad Revenues with Publishers
Also speaking at the WAN-IFRA Congress, OpenAI’s VP of media partnerships Varun Shetty said the company has no plans to share ChatGPT ad revenues with publishers, according to Press Gazette. Some other AI search and chatbot businesses, including Prorata AI, do share ad revenues with publishers, the logic being that content from those media companies helps inform the creation of the content which ads are shown next to. But asked on stage whether ChatGPT planned to take that approach, Shetty replied “not at this point”.
Twitch Announces New Monetisation Tools for Creators
Live streaming platform Twitch used its annual TwitchCon event over the weekend to announce a host of new monetisation tools for creators. Twitch says it is looking to expand ‘Creator Sponsorships’, its programme for matching up Twitch streamers with brand partners, to a larger number of creators, with a focus on opening up opportunities “to streamers of all sizes”. It’s also begun rolling out ‘Gameplay Ads’, a new format which can be used as part of a Creator Sponsorship, which lets viewers demo a game directly on Twitch.
Reach Launches New Customer Division to Aid Revenue Growth
UK news group Reach on Monday announced it has appointed George Grist as its chief customer officer, to head up a newly created customer division which will bring together teams from across editorial, commercial, and operations, with a view to growing and diversifying revenues. “This new Customer function reflects our ambitions as a business as we focus on diversifying our revenues and making our brands more relevant and part of people’s daily lives,” said Reach CEO Piers North.
The Week for Brands & Agencies
Sorrell Reiterates Client Caution Across Start of 2026
Sir Martin Sorrell, executive chairman of S4 Capital, said market conditions across the first five months of 2026 have remained challenging or perhaps even deteriorated, in a statement released before the marketing group’s annual general meeting. But he added that trading has been in line with expectations so far, and the company is maintaining its guidance for the year ahead. Sorrell also mentioned that he’s seen promising uptake of AI across the areas S4 works in, including implementation of AI in clients’ marketing supply chains.
UK Advertising Exports Hit £19.4 Billion Last Year
Total exports of UK advertising services reached £19.4 billion last year, according to a new report from the Advertising Association and UK think tank Credo which released this week. Exports were up 38 percent year-on-year, with the US remaining the largest importer of UK advertising services at £5.5 billion. “This report shows the immense scale of what UK advertising already delivers internationally, not only as an export sector in its own right, but as a driver of growth and commercial success for businesses across the wider economy,” said Aisling Conlon, international director for UK advertising at the Advertising Association. “UK advertising does not need rescue. It needs recognition as one of the UK’s great global growth industries.”
WPP and Publicis Compete for Coca-Cola’s International Media Account
Coca-Cola has launched a global review of its media account, Ad Age reported this week, with WPP’s dedicated agency Open X set to battle it out with Publicis Media. The review will cover media, data science, and technology in most global markets, though creative and PR duties aren’t included. North America, which Publicis won from WPP last year, is not part of the review. WPP’s loss of the Coca-Cola NA account was a major blow to the company, and the British agency group will be very keen to avoid a repeat this year.
IAB Predicts One Third of UK Digital Ad Spend will be AI Driven by 2030
AI-driven ad spend in the UK is expected to reach £18 billion by 2030, accounting for just under one third of all UK digital ad spend, according to a new report from industry trade group IAB UK this week. The report found that 58 percent of IAB UK members are already experimenting with or piloting agentic AI within their organisations, while a further 16 percent are scaling agentic systems or operating agent-first marketing workflows. But only four percent of members currently consider themselves “agent-first”, and concerns around transparency, governance, data security and accountability remain widespread.
Dentsu Partners with Magnite to Streamline CTV Activation in Sweden
Japanese holding group Dentsu this week announced a new partnership with sell-side ad tech business Magnite in Sweden, which will see Dentsu leverage Magnite’s built-for video tools and technologies to power its own ‘AMX Premium Video’ offering. “As we continue to evolve our Dentsu premium video solution, AMX Premium Video, it’s critical that we work with partners who can provide the technology, transparency and interoperability needed to make smarter decisions across the media ecosystem,” said Christian Rissel, head of Dentsu Amplifi. “Magnite is helping us move beyond transactional media buying towards a more curated, intelligent and outcome-driven approach.”
Hires of the Week
The Trade Desk Appoints Nate Olmstead as CFO
The Trade Desk has announced Nate Olmstead as Chief Financial Officer, becoming the ad tech firm’s fourth finance chief in the space of a year. He replaces Alex Kayyal who was “terminated” after five months in the role. Olmstead was previously CFO at AI company Penguin Solutions.
The Guardian Promotes Allan Donald to CPO
The Guardian has promoted Allan Donald to Chief Product Officer. Previously serving as VP of Product, Donald will now lead end-to-end product strategy across the publisher’s digital platforms. He joins from Netflix where he spent four years as Director of Product.
Mediaplus Names Costin Mihaila as Global Chief Market Officer
Mediaplus Group has appointed Costin Mihaila as Global Chief Market Officer, a newly created role focused on leading the agency group’s international growth agenda. Mihaila previously served as Global Client President at WPP Media’s EssenceMediacom.
Uber Advertising Announces Elton Ollerhead as Head of EMEA Sales
Uber Advertising has hired Elton Ollerhead as Head of EMEA Sales. Ollerhead will oversee Uber’s advertising portfolio in the region, which became its fastest-growing Delivery region last year. He most recently served as Director of ASOS Media Group.
Channel 4 Hires Spotify’s Wade Jastremski for Sales Strategy
Channel 4 has named Wade Jastremski as Senior Sales Strategy and Operations Lead. The newly created role is designed to support the broadcaster’s sales team and their strategy to drive revenue growth. Jastremski joins from Spotify, where he served as Senior Manager of Global Revenue Management & Forecasting.
This Week on VideoWeek
RTL’s Sky Deutschland Acquisition Makes it Germany’s “Main Aggregator”
Mantis Launches ‘Mantis Video’ to Help Publishers Compete for Video-First Briefs
CTV Publishers’ Resistance to Standardising Emerging Ad Formats is Holding Back Scale
UK Publishers Gain Opt-Out From Google’s AI Features Following CMA Intervention
Why LinkedIn Is All In on Video
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