In this week’s Week in Review: Prime Video goes big on shoppability, Channel 4 announces layoffs in turnaround strategy, and DTG highlights the need for interoperability in internet-delivered TV.
Top Stories
Prime Video Ramps Up In-Show Shoppability
Amazon Prime Video is expanding its ‘Shop the Show’ offering, a shopping experience enabling users to instantly find products based on the content they are watching. The feature is now available on more than 8,000 titles, up from 1,300. The update also introduces a ‘Shop the Scene’ option that allows viewers to find items from specific scenes.
The integration of Prime Video content with Amazon’s ecommerce business has emerged as one of the streaming service’s major selling points for advertisers, creating a functional path to purchase via its video offering.
“We are always exploring new ways to enhance the streaming experience on Prime Video, and since launching Shop the Show, we have seen incredible enthusiasm from customers who love discovering products inspired by what they watch,” said Michelle Rothman, VP of Prime Video Shopping. “With this expansion, we are making it easier than ever for Prime Video customers to shop what they see on screen.”
Interoperability is Key for TV’s IP Future, says DTG
The UK government is currently consulting on turning off the country’s traditional broadcast infrastructure, moving to a solely internet-delivered system. The point at which this switch is flipped may not be far off — a recent government green paper suggested either sunsetting digital terrestrial television (DTT) broadcast infrastructure in 2034, or setting a time-limited extension to 2044 at the latest.
But switching over to IP delivery will be a massive project not just for the delivery of TV content, but for advertising too. And a new report from DTG, the UK’s technical standards-setter for digital TV which counts all of the country’s major broadcasters among its members, says that interoperability will be the major implementation challenge.
The report notes that as new delivery models for TV have emerged, different parts of the industry have settled on different technologies to handle core capabilities necessary for delivering ads. But these technologies all cover the same basic functions: creative workflows, metadata and signalling, trading and decisioning, delivery and execution, measurement and attribution, and identity and privacy.
As the UK moves beyond broadcast technology, the challenge is not so much in building new technologies, as in making existing technologies more interoperable, according to DTG. This need extends to commercial trading models too. More interoperability between direct sales, private marketplaces, and automated TV trading would increase campaign effectiveness, improve inventory utilisation, and strengthen advertiser confidence in TV, according to the report.
Channel 4 to Cut 28 Percent of Workforce This Year
Channel 4 is planning to cut 28 percent of its workforce by the end of the year, the UK broadcaster announced on Wednesday, representing around 340 roles. The restructuring forms part of the first stage of Channel 4’s long-term transformation strategy, which has three key aims:
- Reshaping how the broadcaster reaches audiences through distribution, partnerships and platforms
- Enabling greater investment in distinctive programmes that set Channel 4 apart
- Ensuring resources are allocated to maximise long-term value, sustainability and public impact
The layoffs reflect ongoing pressure on public service media in the UK, as the broadcasters move to save money in the face of mounting competition from tech giants and a soft TV ad market. Last year ITV cut 220 roles at its Studios division, and in June the BBC (while not affected by advertising) announced 550 job cuts in news, nations, and TV and radio content.
Priya Dogra, who took over as Channel 4’s Chief Executive in March, said the challenges facing the broadcaster require a “fundamental transformation” in its operations. “These decisions have not been taken lightly, but I strongly believe they are necessary to create a simpler, more focused and more sustainable Channel 4 that can invest a greater proportion of revenues into distinctive content, back British creativity and deliver impact for audiences long into the future.”
The Week in Tech
Meta Has Run Over 300 Child Sexual Abuse Ads This Year Finds TTP
Meta has run more than 300 ads containing suspected child sexual abuse material on Facebook and Instagram this year, the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) has found. According to the nonprofit, many of the ads served to promote deepfake “nudify” apps, used AI to depict child molestation, and collectively reached more than 29,000 people. “Content involving child sexual abuse is among the most serious that can be found online,” said TTP Director Katie Paul. “But this content isn’t hiding in dark corners of the internet. It’s being used in paid ads on Meta platforms.”
US Military Turns Off Advertising Trackers Over Security Concerns
US military officials have disabled advertising trackers on a range of phones and computers, according to Reuters, following reports that commercially available location data had been used to target American forces in the Middle East. The report said the disclosures highlight a growing national security concern that location data collected by the advertising industry and sold by data brokers can be used to track and target military personnel deployed to war zones.
Magnite Launches First Agentic Campaign in EMEA
Magnite, a sell-side ad tech business, has launched its first agentic campaign in EMEA, in collaboration with trading desk Amnet France. Through natural language prompts, Amnet used Magnite’s buyer agent to build and activate a video campaign through ClearLine on behalf of a leading automotive manufacturer, according to the company. Using Magnite Orchestration, the buyer agent communicated with the seller agent to identify and activate relevant premium CTV supply aligned with the campaign objectives. Magnite said the campaign delivered around 70 percent reduction in setup time and video view-through rate (VTR) of 95 percent.
The Trade Desk Falls From S&P 500
The Trade Desk dropped out of the S&P 500 last week, the index tracking the largest publicly traded companies in the US. The ad tech stock bypassed the MidCap tier and fell into the S&P SmallCap 600. The exit follows a run of disappointing results for the firm, which also cut 15 percent of its workforce this week. The Trade Desk’s share price has declined by almost 70 percent over the past year.
NVIDIA Introduces Video Tools for Media and Sports Organisations
NVIDIA is expanding its AI for Media offering, the tech company announced at IBC this week, with video tools including:
- NVIDIA Synthetic Video Detector (SVD) NIM microservice – helping organisations assess the probability of whether footage is authentic or AI-generated
- NVIDIA 3D Body Pose – estimates 2D and 3D human movement from video captured by a single camera, helping sports organisations with player and athlete movement tracking, biomechanics and performance analysis, as well as replay enhancement
- Video Frame Generation (VFG) – makes video motion appear smoother by using generative AI to create new frames between the original frames of a video
Innovid Integrates Meta MCP for Natural Language Campaign Analysis
Innovid, an omnichannel ad tech firm, has announced a new integration with Meta ads MCP (Model Context Protocol), bringing conversational workflows to Meta advertisers through its AI platform NIVO. Across early enterprise testing, Innovid has used the integration to summarise campaign health, identify performance trends and surface optimisation opportunities through natural-language conversations, according to the company. “Our early work with Meta ads MCP demonstrates how secure, authenticated access to advertising data allows AI agents to analyse performance, understand campaign context, surface opportunities, and help marketers move from insight to execution,” said Grant Parker, President at Innovid.
Telly Launches Programmatic Home Screen Ads
Telly, a US startup that provides free ad-supported TVs, is making its home screen ads available to buy programmatically, AdExchanger reported on Wednesday. Telly’s home screen ads appear on a second screen that sits beneath the main screen. The ads are delivered by Magnite’s SpringServe ad server, with demand coming from the likes of The Trade Desk and Teads.
The Week in TV
TF1 Plans Full-Funnel Measurement and Agentic Trading in 2027 Roadmap
Streamlining access for advertisers is the basis of the French TV sales house TF1 PUB’s 2027 roadmap unveiled this week, which includes new products, partnerships and AI tools designed for performance campaigns. Following two years of establishing its offering for SMEs, including the launch of the self-serve TF1 AdManager platform and new performance measurement tools, TF1 PUB has outlined five pillars behind its strategy for 2027: the development of new ad formats; the expansion of addressable and targeting capabilities; enhanced accessibility for all advertisers; full-funnel measurement tools; and the use of AI for simplifying ad trading. Read more on VideoWeek.
DOJ Widens Probe into Fox’s $22 Billion Roku Acquisition
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) is widening its antitrust inquiry into Fox’s $22 billion acquisition of Roku, Semafor reported on Tuesday. According to people familiar with the matter, the DOJ plans to seek more information from the companies through a “second request”, involving another round of data and document sharing. Reuters noted that the merger is expected to make the combined entity the third-largest player in TV viewing, behind YouTube and Disney, and ahead of Netflix.
Paramount Presses for $1.88 Billion Bond to Cover Legal Delays to WBD Merger
Paramount is continuing to press a dozen states and the Writers Guild of America (WGA) to pay a $1.88 billion bond to cover the costs of the hold up caused by their lawsuits, which have been brought to challenge the media company’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD). Under the merger agreement, WBD shareholders are owed approximately $650 million per quarter or $6.9 million per day if the transaction has not closed by 1st October. A US District Judge has scheduled a hearing regarding the bond request on 24th September.
Ad-Supported SVOD Uptake is “Increasingly Inevitable” Finds IPA
The latest report from UK advertising trade body the IPA, Making Sense: The commercial media landscape 2026, finds that acceptance of advertising in paid streaming services is growing. According to the research, more than one-third (36 percent) of adults in Britain now use ad-funded commercial SVOD services every week, and that audience is expected to keep growing. “Personally, we expect this figure to continue rising as ad-supported tiers become a standard feature rather than a step-down option,” the IPA’s Simon Frazier and Molly Bruce predict in the report. “Five years ago the idea of advertising returning to subscription video services felt almost counterintuitive. Today it feels increasingly inevitable.” Read more on VideoWeek.
Forty Percent of UK Small TV Production Indies at Risk of Closure Finds Indielab
Forty percent of the UK’s small independent TV production companies are at risk of closure within two years if current trends continue, according to analysis of Companies House filings by industry body Indielab. The analysis tracked net assets for 203 small indie producers across three years of accounts, finding that 56 percent saw their reserves fall over the period. The average small indie now holds just £42,000 in reserves, according to the research, which the report says would not cover the cost of a single delayed commission, a production overrun, or a series put on hold after delivery.
Netflix Raises UK Subscription Fees
Netflix has upped its subscription fees in the UK, claiming to “reflect improvements to our wide range of entertainment and the quality of our service.” The cheapest Standard with ads plan has jumped from £5.99 to £7.99 per month, Standard (with no ads) from £12.99 to £13.99, and Premium from £18.99 to £20.99. The increase marks the streaming giant’s second UK price rise in under two years.
The Week for Publishers
Daily Mail US Launches New Video Division
The Daily Mail’s US arm is launching a new video division called New Media, modelled on the UK division of the same name, Adweek reported this week. As is the case in the UK, New Media will focus on producing creator-led social video content using in-house editorial talent. Social video is a major focus for the newspaper, which expects social video to account for 33 percent of ad revenue by the end of next year, according to Adweek.
The Guardian Posts Two Percent Revenue Growth in 2025/26 Accounts
British news outlet the Guardian this week published its financial results for its 2025/26 business year, reporting two percent year-on-year revenue growth as income reached £282 million. The Guardian’s voluntary reader donation model continues to deliver for the business, with digital supporter revenues hitting £126 million. Ad revenues meanwhile sat at £63 million, the paper’s second-largest revenue stream. “This year we have continued to make strong progress against our strategy, growing our digital reader revenues and our international revenues and reach,” said Guardian Media Group chief executive Anna Bateson. “We are intent on making further investments to maximise the reach and impact of Guardian journalism around the world and ensuring our business remains financially sustainable for the long term.”
Washington Post On Track to Break Even This Year
US newspaper The Washington Post, owned by billionaire Jeff Bezos, is on track to break even this year and has sold 300,000 subscriptions so far this year, the company announced this week. The news came alongside the announcement that Jeff D’Onofrio has been appointed as publisher and CEO of the paper, having already served an interim stint in those roles. The Post has had a turbulent time in recent years, in part due to backlash over Bezos’ influence over its editorial direction. It reportedly lost over 250,000 subscribers following Bezos’s decision to not publish an endorsement in the 2024 presidential election.
News Media Association Warns UK Prominence Plans Risk Press Freedom
The UK’s News Media Association, a trade group representing news publishers, this week warned that the government’s plans to guarantee public service broadcasters (PSBs) prominence across various digital platforms risk harming media plurality and press freedom. The NMA says that news businesses not protected by the rules could see PSB coverage of stories based on their own original reporting given more exposure, potentially disincentivising investigative journalism. “Instead of bringing forward narrow solutions that fail to address the root causes of the problem, the Government should tackle large platforms’ market power – whether it be in search, social media, video, or AI,” said NMA chief executive Theo Bamber.
Most Large US News Websites Saw Traffic Drops in August
Forty-one of the 50 largest news websites in the US saw a year-on-year traffic drop in August, according to Press Gazette’s analysis of Similarweb data. Of the top ten, newsletter platform Substack was the only business to see year-on-year growth, up 29 percent. The Wall Street Journal, The Hill, The Atlantic, and The Independent were among the others to see a rise in traffic. Newsweek saw the largest fall, down 72 percent.
New Measurement Tool for UK Local Publishers Announced
A new audience measurement platform for the UK local news media sector is due to launch in the coming weeks, the News Media Association announced this week, which the trade group says will help media planners “see more clearly”. The new tool, called Regional Audience Intelligence Data, has been developed by research agency RAM Penetrace. The NMA says it will provide more immediate and accurate total brand audience data, which will be underpinned by a new digital-first methodology.
The Week for Brands & Agencies
Coca-Cola Plans NA Media Review Following Publicis’s PepsiCo Win…
The Coca-Cola Company is planning to review its North American media account, Ad Age reported this week, following last week’s news that its current agency partner Publicis has been handed global media responsibilities for Coca-Cola’s major rival PepsiCo. The French agency group had been in the running for an expanded relationship with Coca-Cola, but pulled out of that pitch after the PepsiCo win. Now, it looks likely to lose its existing relationship with the beverage business. Coca-Cola is believed to be in talks with WPP, Omnicom (which held the PepsiCo account before Publicis poached it), and Dentsu, according to Ad Age.
… While Omnicom CFO says He “Can’t Sugarcoat” Pepsi Loss
The PepsiCo loss was a major blow for Omnicom, with advertising strategic advisory Madison & Wall suggesting it may have been the American agency group’s biggest media client. And Omnicom’s CFO Phil Angelastro discussed the loss briefly on stage at this week’s Goldman Sachs’ Communacopia and Technology Conference, according to Digiday. Angelastro acknowledged it was a tough pill to swallow, describing it as “certainly a disappointment […] you can’t sugarcoat it”. He told attendees that Omnicom is “doing a detailed kind of deconstruction of how it happened and what we should have been doing differently to prevent it from happening.”
John Lewis Launches Online Chat Show in AI Visibility Push
British retailer John Lewis is launching a new digital studio and online chat show, which will see TV presenter Angela Scanlon interview a host of celebrities about their experiences giving and receiving gifts. The show will run on YouTube, with clips distributed on other channels, with six episodes planned at launch. John Lewis sees the show as an opportunity to showcase its products, but also to make its wares more visible within AI chatbots, according to The Guardian. Many large language models (LLMs) prioritise sourcing information from third-party sources and live content, The Guardian reports, so John Lewis hopes this new series will mean its products are surfaced more regularly within AI chatbot conversations.
AI Spending Expected to Fuel 11 Percent Ad Growth This Year
Advertising research and consulting business Madison & Wall released its latest global ad market forecast this week, projecting that global ad revenues will grow by 10.8 percent this year. This comes off the back of a very strong Q2, which saw a 12.9 percent year-on-year increase in ad revenues, according to M&W’s calculations. Madison & Wall says that AI has fuelled the strength of the market: AI-powered products like PMax and Advantage+ are taking share, new businesses are outspending their peers, AI capital is flowing back into advertising, and fees and costs are shifting to media.
New Filings Suggest Sony Voluntarily Provided Information to WPP Legal Case
A legal filing made last month in an ongoing unlawful dismissal lawsuit between WPP and ex-employee Richard Foster alleged that Sony, one of WPP’s largest clients, had run an investigation which found the media agency was operating an illegal rebate scheme. WPP hit back at the claims, questioning how Foster had gotten hold of documents from Sony, and asking for his legal team to be dismissed from the case. Now, a fresh filing suggests that Sony voluntarily handed the documents to Foster’s legal team, according to Adweek.
Hires of the Week
Jellyfish Names Seun Odeneye as Chief Media Officer EMEA
Jellyfish, a Brandtech Group-owned digital agency, has appointed Seun Odeneye as Chief Media Officer EMEA. The new role signals Jellyfish’s ambition to build an agentic media practice in the region. Odeneye previously served as Managing Director, Investment at IPG Mediabrands.
AudienceProject Hires Donia Baddou as VP of Partnerships
AudienceProject, a cross-media measurement firm, has named Donia Baddou as Vice President of Partnerships. Baddou will lead the company’s global partnerships strategy and strategic relationships with global platforms. Baddou joins from Lumen, where she served as VP of Partnerships.
Onetag Appoints Peter Wallace as CRO
Onetag, a global ad exchange and curation company, has announced Peter Wallace as Chief Revenue Officer. Wallace will spearhead Onetag’s global commercial strategy as the business enters its next phase of international expansion. He previously spent ten years as General Manager for EMEA and JAPAC at GumGum.
DV Announces Fiona Salmon as Regional Vice President, Northern Europe
DoubleVerify, a media quality verification business, has hired Fiona Salmon as Regional Vice President, Northern Europe. Salmon joins DV with more than 26 years of experience across digital media and ad tech, most recently serving as Managing Director at Mantis, Reach’s AI-powered contextual advertising platform.
This Week on VideoWeek
How Are Europe’s SVOD/BVOD Content Alliances Shaping Up?
Ad-Supported SVOD Uptake is “Increasingly Inevitable” Finds IPA
TF1 Plans Full-Funnel Measurement and Agentic Trading in 2027 Roadmap
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