No Industry if Fully Transparent, But There Needs to Be a Level Playing Field
The ad industry’s transparency debate resurfaced as ad‑tech vendors and agency‑holding groups face accusations of opaque business practices. Jonathan Lucas‑Lucas, Managing Director of JLL Media and agency auditor, says transparency has improved over time but full openness is unrealistic. He argues the industry should aim for a level playing field with comparable disclosure standards rather than absolute transparency. The interview was recorded at New Video Frontiers 2026 in London.
WBD Talks Up Global Ambitions and Streaming Bundles Following HBO Max’s International Rollout
Warner Bros. Discovery used its Q1 earnings call to outline a global push for HBO Max, emphasizing bundled packages with local partners as it prepares for a merger with Paramount‑Skydance. CEO David Zaslav highlighted that bundling with Disney+/Hulu, RTL+ in...
“Media Needs to Turn Down Toxic and Turn Up Trust”
Channel 4’s chief commercial officer, Rak Patel, warned that the media industry must curb toxic content and rebuild audience trust, citing the channel’s documentary "Molly vs The Machines" as a call to action. The interview, recorded at New Video Frontiers...
Stop Picking Sides: Let ‘Living Data’ Power Total TV
Matt Bryan of Samsung Ads argues that CTV success hinges on "living data"—a continuously refreshed blend of first‑party screen signals and third‑party intent data. Samsung smart‑TV analytics show Europe’s viewing split 55 % streaming, 45 % linear, underscoring audience fragmentation. Research indicates...
Principal Trading Is “Muddying the Cost” Of Media
Independent UK agency the7stars announced it will no longer use principal media trading, a model that bundles media buying with undisclosed fees. Founder and CEO Jenny Biggam argues the move restores full transparency, giving clients clear insight into spend, placement and...
Week in Review: Netflix Launches a Vertical Video Feed, M6 Partners with ChatGPT, and Tech Giants Tout Their AI Investments
Netflix unveiled a new vertical video feed called “Clips,” turning short snippets into a personalized discovery tool on its mobile app. French broadcaster Groupe M6 partnered with OpenAI to embed its M6+ streaming catalog directly into ChatGPT, enabling conversational content...
Viewers Are Satisfied with Streaming, but There’s Room to Improve the Ad Experience
FreeWheel’s "Voice of the Viewer" report shows roughly 80% of consumers are satisfied with their overall streaming experience, citing content choice, value for money and ad‑supported tiers as key strengths. However, the study also uncovers persistent frustrations around ad relevance,...
WPP Says New Business Wins Show Turnaround Efforts Are On Course
WPP’s Elevate28 turnaround is beginning to bear fruit, with Q1 net new business worth $0.8 bn—outpacing Publicis ($0.7 bn) and Omnicom (‑$0.1 bn). While like‑for‑like revenues fell 6.7%, CFO Joanne Wilson says fresh client wins will lift the second half and erase 2025...
Week in Review: FranceTV Partners with YouTube, US Legislators Propose a New Data Act, and RTL Gets Green Light for...
France Télévisions expanded its partnership with YouTube, planning to stream all national and local news and sell its own ad inventory on the platform while using YouTube’s Likeness ID to block AI‑generated deepfakes. In Washington, House Republicans introduced the SECURE...
Sports Help Drive Strong Streaming Growth for Viaplay
Viaplay reported a 7.9% year‑on‑year rise in streaming subscription revenue in Q1, lifting overall revenue growth to 0.1%. The Nordic broadcaster’s investment in premium sports rights boosted average revenue per user for both direct‑to‑consumer and B2B segments. While streaming now...
The Cost of Burnout in Media Buying
High burnout among media buyers is causing costly human errors in campaign setup. A single typo can jeopardize a £2 million (≈$2.5 million) global launch, and Grasp estimates up to $3.9 billion of ad spend runs on compromised data. The article argues for...
Introducing the Video & TV Advertising Buyer’s Guide 2026
VideoWeek has released the inaugural Video & TV Advertising Buyer’s Guide 2026, available as a free download. The guide tackles the escalating complexity of video advertising, from fragmented channel mixes to brand‑safety concerns, and offers practical solutions for buy‑side professionals....
Unpacking the Role Retailers Play in Choosing TV Operating Systems
Retailers are now influencing which operating systems appear on smart TVs, a decision traditionally dominated by OEMs. Chris Kleinschmidt of TiVo Ads explains that a three‑way synergy among OS providers, retailers, and manufacturers is essential for a thriving ecosystem. The...
M+C Saatchi Warns Middle East Conflict Is Hitting Sports Revenues
M+C Saatchi warned that the US‑Iran war is set to dent its sports and entertainment advertising revenue as Middle East‑based events are cancelled or postponed. High‑profile cancellations include the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Formula One Grand Prix and the relocation of...
Week in Review: Netflix Talks Up Programmatic, Viant Acquires TVision, and Digital Video Sees Rapid Growth
Netflix reported Q1 revenue of $12.3 billion, staying on track for $3 billion in ad sales this year, with programmatic expected to represent half of its non‑live ad inventory. Co‑CEO Greg Peters said scaling programmatic will broaden the advertiser base beyond large...
TiVo Ads Brings Independent ACR Data Licensing to the UK
TiVo Ads has introduced its automatic content recognition (ACR) data licensing product to the UK, offering an independent, measurement‑first dataset drawn from a range of smart‑TV brands. The offering provides deterministic insight into both linear and streaming content and ad...
New Video Frontiers 2026: What to Expect
VideoWeek’s New Video Frontiers 2026 conference kicks off tomorrow in London, gathering broadcasters, agencies, platforms and brands for two days of CTV, AI and ad‑tech discussions. Day 1 features a fireside on brand‑marketer pressures, Omdia’s CTV forecasts, AI‑powered ad‑trading infrastructure, and...
Dentsu Says Advertisers Are Underinvesting in Video for Brand Building
Dentsu’s new "Brand Reset" report shows digital video, including short‑form and connected TV, can drive multi‑year brand growth, challenging the view that linear TV is the only long‑term channel. A single video ad exposure is estimated to lift sales 1‑5%...
Digital Revenue Growth Concentrated in Minority of UK Publishers Finds DPRI
UK digital publishers reported a 3.88% year‑over‑year revenue increase to £180.72 million (≈ $229 million) in Q4 2025, according to the Digital Publishers’ Revenue Index. Growth was uneven, with 46% of firms posting gains and 31% achieving over 25% growth, while 54% saw declines....
WPP Media Launches AI-Driven YouTube Tool ‘YouTube 5K’
WPP Media, in collaboration with Google, launched YouTube 5K (YT5K), an AI‑driven solution that automates channel curation and creative versioning for YouTube advertising. The platform scans channels to generate a refreshed list of over 5,000 brand‑safe options and automatically creates...
ProSiebenSat.1 Takes Multi-Platform Approach with New ‘Total Reach’ Focus
ProSiebenSat.1 reported a 6% drop in total revenue for 2025, with advertising revenue falling 8% in German‑speaking markets, but the broadcaster is betting on a multi‑platform "total reach" strategy to reverse the trend. CEO Marco Giordani outlined a plan that...
VideoWeek Podcast: #56 Rhys McLachlan, ITV
In the latest VideoWeek podcast, ITV’s Director of Advanced Advertising, Rhys McLachlan, detailed the broadcaster’s evolving programmatic strategy. He highlighted ongoing challenges such as fraud and waste in the ecosystem and warned about the "enshittification" of social media platforms. The conversation...
TV’s Training Offerings for Agencies Are “Outdated for the Modern Market” – Buy-Side View with Anything Is Possible’s Matt Towle
Matt Towle, head of broadcast at Anything is Possible, argues that traditional TV training programs are outdated and can’t keep pace with the modern CTV ecosystem. He notes that CTV is democratizing video advertising, allowing brands with budgets as low...
Week in Review: Canal and PPF Mull Taking Viaplay Private, Marketers Raise Principal Media Concerns, and UK Backtracks on AI...
Canal+ and private equity firm PPF, each holding about 29.3% of Viaplay after a 2024 rescue recapitalisation, are exploring a joint move to take the Nordic streamer private. The speculation lifted Viaplay’s share price by roughly 5% despite its four‑year...
“The Metrics That Matter Are in the Inventory Supply” – Buy-Side View with Mindshare’s Dave Sargent
Dave Sargent, UK Head of AV at Mindshare, argues that the most critical metrics for video and CTV lie in the quality of the inventory itself, not just view counts. He warns that CTV inventory is often diluted by non‑CTV...
RTL Approaches Inflection Point with Streaming Profitability Expected This Year
RTL Group reported a 3.8% drop in total revenues to €6.02 billion, but announced that its streaming portfolio is poised to become profitable this year after nearing break‑even at the end of 2025. Subscriber numbers rose to 8.06 million in 2025 and...
Gracenote Brings “Treasure Trove” Of Content Data to CTV Market with Launch of New Ads Business
Gracenote, the Nielsen‑owned entertainment metadata giant, has launched a CTV advertising business that layers its extensive content data onto programmatic buys. Research cited by the company indicates that about 70 % of bid requests lack basic genre signals, prompting a push...
ShowHeroes Boosts German Publisher Network and Programmatic Capabilities with Traffective Acquisition
ShowHeroes, the Berlin‑based CTV and video ad‑tech firm, announced the acquisition of German programmatic platform Traffective for an undisclosed sum. The combined entity will serve nearly 2,000 publisher partners and generate more than 25 billion ad impressions each month, positioning it...
Week in Review: BBC Mulls Opening Up iPlayer to Other PSBs, Video Leads Digital Ad Growth in the UK, and...
The BBC warned that declining licence‑fee revenue and rising streaming competition threaten its funding model, and proposed opening iPlayer to other public‑service broadcasters while keeping BBC content ad‑free. Meanwhile, UK digital video advertising grew 20 % to £9.3 billion, now accounting for...
Signals, Silos and Standardisation: Unpacking the Knowledge Gaps in CTV Trading
IAB Europe’s first Attitudes to Digital Advertising report shows programmatic CTV adoption rising but fragmented, with 21% of respondents handling over 81% of their CTV inventory programmatically while 18% cannot gauge their own activity. The survey highlights opaque supply paths,...
Week in Review: Netflix Drops Its WBD Bid, Premier League Plans a Streaming App, and CTV Fuels Ad Tech Growth
Netflix has withdrawn its $83 billion bid to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming assets, paving the way for Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion hostile offer, which the board has deemed superior. Paramount’s proposal, backed by Larry Ellison, now awaits regulatory clearance...
UK Broadcasters Attract “Sizeable Audiences on YouTube” Says Barb
Barb’s 2025 report shows YouTube viewing on UK TV sets climbing sharply, with half of children aged 4‑15 and 20% of over‑55s tuning in weekly. YouTube now accounts for 54% of its UK viewership via television, surpassing any single channel’s...
Sports, Influencer and Media Buying Capabilities to Drive M&A This Year
Moore Kingston Smith forecasts a modest rebound in UK media and marketing M&A in 2026 after a 23% drop to 301 deals in 2025, the slowest since the pandemic. Buyers are prioritising capability‑driven targets—especially sports, influencer, and media‑buying agencies that...