The industry’s annual pilgrimage to the South of France is now just a few days away… calendars are (double and triple) booked, linens have been ironed, and weather forecasts have been checked twice daily. For those of us making our way to Cannes, what can we expect this year?
Themes for Cannes 2026
Looking across the Croisette, you tend to see parochial change year-on-year, rather than dramatic shifts. The tech giants will once again dominate the beaches, and you’ll see plenty of familiar ad tech companies along yacht row. There will, as always, be shifts though, and one of the most notable changes this year is WPP’s move away from the beach, replaced by independent agency PMG. Sports stars and creators, an ever-growing presence at Cannes, will once again be out in full force, both inside the Palais and across the fringe event circuit, a sign of advertiser enthusiasm for sports content and creator alignment.
When it comes to the main talking points of the week, again we’ll see steady change rather than complete revolution. AI will obviously be omnipresent; you’ll do well to make it out of Nice airport without seeing it referenced in a well-placed OOH ad or hearing it referenced in the customs queue. But compared with last year, we’ll hear a lot more discussion of in-market products and agentic AI campaigns which have actually been delivered. The holding group’s AI offerings, and how their growing portfolios of data products feed into those, will also get plenty of airtime.
On the TV front, consolidation will be a big focus. While the deal is yet to complete, agency executives will be eyeing up the prospect of a combined Paramount/Warner Bros. Discovery ad offering. Fox’s just-announced agreement to buy Roku will also generate a lot of discussion, as attendees thrash out the implications of one of the largest CTV operating systems being owned by a TV broadcaster. Last year also saw a few cooperative initiatives announced by TV broadcasters, notably TF1’s distribution deal with Netflix and the SME self-serve platform announced by ITV, Channel 4, and Sky in the UK. It’ll be interesting to see how these projects have progressed over the past year, with TF1’s Netflix partnership going live just this week.
Finally, another fresh new story which will be widely discussed is the UK government’s plans to ban social media for under 16s. The proposal is controversial — some see it as government overreach, while others believe it effectively lets the social platforms off the hook in terms of improving the safety of their products. Regardless, it’ll have big implications for the ad world, as brands figure out alternative routes to reach younger audiences.
Where to Find VideoWeek
VideoWeek will be on the ground covering the major announcements and tracking all these talking points as they evolve, and we’ll be filming video interviews with senior leaders across the Croisette. This year we’re also hosting two live events on Tuesday 23rd, both of which will be at the Marea Rooftop.
VideoWeek Live
VideoWeek Live returns to the Marea Rooftop for a second year, hosting a mix of live panels and fireside chats, a leadership lunch, and networking for the CTV industry. This year’s event is being hosted in partnership with IAS, Synamedia, UpTalkTV, TiVo, Bedrock Platform, Dailymotion, and Swivel. It kicks off at 11:00 on Tuesday 23rd, and if you’ve not registered your interest already you can do so here, though spaces are limited and we can’t guarantee entry.
Speakers at this year’s VideoWeek Live include:
- Ed Couchman, Head of Advertising Sales, UK, Netflix
- Lindsay Turner, VP Digital, BBC Studios
- Mike Treon, Head of CTV & Video Strategy, PMG
- Mike Mathewson, VP Product Marketing, Integral Ad Science
- Chris Le May, Director Advanced Advertising, Synamedia
- Albert-Jan Tebbe, Director Advanced Advertising, Liberty Global
TV Rise Forum Town Hall
Earlier this year, we announced the launch of TV Rise Forum, a new cross-industry community for leaders in TV advertising which brings advertisers, agencies, media owners, platforms and technology providers together to address shared challenges in TV ad trading.
As one of our launch events, we’ll be hosting the TV Rise Forum Town Hall from 14:00 at the Marea Rooftop on Tuesday 23rd, where the topic for discussion will be CTV: “Too Digital” or Fulfilling its Full-Funnel Potential? To help lead the discussion, we’ve pulled together a panel of leaders from across the industry:
- Ross Jenkins, CEO EMEA & APAC, Mediahub
- Philippe Boscher, Head of Digital, Data, Research, Addressable TV & Innovation, TF1 Publicité
- Katie Butcher, Director and Strategy & Media Operations Specialist, PwC
- David Shaw, Head of Global Expansion, Universal Ads by Comcast
- Nathalie Curtis Lethbridge, Founder – Managing Director, Atonik Digital
Topics explored during the session will include:
- Is CTV inheriting the problems of digital advertising, or evolving on TV’s terms?
- Is measurement keeping pace with industry change?
- What role is AI playing in TV advertising today?
- How should advertisers evaluate YouTube, TikTok, FAST and premium streaming?
- What is holding back the growth of programmatic TV in Europe?
The session will operate under the Chatham House Rule and is designed to encourage open discussion, industry insight and meaningful peer-to-peer conversation.
Where to Find Our Partners
While we know many of our readers’ calendars will be packed with meetings, it’s always worth carving out some time to pop into some of the panels and fireside chats in the Palais and across the fringe events.
We’ve picked out some of the highlights from the events our partners are taking part in — to see what’s going on at the fringe events, you can check out Propeller’s comprehensive list here, while the Palais lineup is available here.
Monday
All Day: Synamedia, Café at the Majestic
Throughout the week, the Synamedia team will be based at the Café at the Majestic for 1-to-1 meeting, talking through its addressable advertising platform Synamedia Iris.
📍 Café at the Majestic
16.00 Building What’s Next: The Developer Playbook
This session will explore how innovative developers are building solutions on top of the FreeWheel ecosystem. With:
Matt Adams, Global CEO, Stagwell Media Platform
Stephane Bismuth, Co-Founder, Viznet.tv
Joe Hirsch, CEO, Swivel
John Hoctor, CEO/Co-Founder, Newton Research
Ying Wang, General Manager, Advertising, Xumo
David Dworin, Chief Product Officer, FreeWheel (Moderator)
📍 FreeWheel Beach, Plage Goéland
Tuesday
09:00 How Brands and Agencies Can Get Back Their AI Investment
This session asks how brands and agencies can move beyond experimentation, reduce inefficiencies and use AI to create measurable business impact rather than simply producing more content. With:
Paolo Mulè, SVP Global Clients & Strategic Partnerships, Dailymotion Advertising
Emily Ketchen, CMO of IDG, Lenovo
Tatiana Ponce, CMO & Research and Development, Natura
Chris Wilhelmi, EVP, Global Head of Data & Media, Monks
Prachi Gore, CMO, Asana
Charlotte Rawlings, Reporter, Campaign (Moderator)
📍Campaign House
11:15 From Pipe to Platform: Where Telcos Fit in the Addressable TV Ecosystem
Albert-Jan Tebbe, Director Advanced Advertising, Liberty Global
Chris Le May, Director Advanced Advertising, Synamedia
Vincent Flood, Editor-in-Chief, VideoWeek (Moderator)
📍Marea Rooftop
11:35 Why Premium Brands Still Need Premium TV
Mike Mathewson, VP Product Marketing, Integral Ad Science
Mike Treon, Head of CTV & Video Strategy, PMG
Lindsay Turner, VP Digital, BBC Studios
Tim Cross-Kovoor, Assistant Editor, VideoWeek (Moderator)
📍Marea Rooftop
12:05 In Conversation With Netflix
Ed Couchman, Head of Advertising Sales, UK, Netflix
Vincent Flood, Editor-in-Chief, VideoWeek (Moderator)
📍Marea Rooftop
13:30 TV Rise Forum – Cannes Town Hall, CTV: “Too Digital” or Fulfilling its Full-Funnel Potential?
Ross Jenkins, CEO, EMEA & APAC, Mediahub Worldwide
Philippe Boscher, Head of Digital, Data, Research, and Addressable TV & Innovation, TF1 PUB
Katie Butcher, Director, PwC
David Shaw, Head of Global Expansion, Universal Ads
Nathalie Curtis Lethbridge, Founder – Managing Director, Atonik Digital
Vincent Flood, Editor-in-Chief, VideoWeek (Moderator)
📍Campaign House
Thursday
16:30 How to Survive the AI Revolution Without Losing Your Job and Your Mind
This event from Wildflowers of London and Women in Programmatic Network brings together senior voices from across the programmatic and ad tech ecosystem for a frank conversation about what AI is actually doing to our industry, our roles, and our careers. With:
Austin Scott, Co-Founder, Bedrock Platform
Lou Nylander, Founder, Wildflowers of London
Jane Wolfson, President, UK & International, Captify
Scarlett Shipp, CEO, Alliant
Niki Chana, Programmatic Strategy Director, SBS
Flavilla Fongang, CEO, Sixth Hive
Liz Duff, Managing Director, Mediaplus UK
📍Campaign House
17:35 Sigma Software x DanAds AI Mixer: Meet Your New Sales Rep – It’s an AI!
Austin Scott, Co-Founder, Bedrock Platform (Moderator)
Katherine Tuluzova, CEO, Sigma Software
Jeffrey Mayer, Head of Product and MD, DanAds
📍Le Rooftop
13:00 Wired Different. B.R.O.s at Work
Austin Scott, Co-Founder, Bedrock Platform
Jessica Silva, COO, Screenverse
Sarah Glickman, CFO, Criteo
Priti Ohri, Co-Founder & CEO, Advertible
Allison Schiff, Managing Editor, AdExchanger
📍Criteo Yacht
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