Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.
To The Core
Nielsen is trimming its workforce – again – and by quite a lot this time, Ad Age reports.
On Wednesday, the TV ratings giant announced plans to cut its global personnel by around 9% “in an effort to bring costs in line with revenues,” according to a Nielsen spokesperson.
Before this round of layoffs, Nielsen had roughly 15,000 employees worldwide, meaning about 1,300 people were affected.
Nielsen already laid off a few hundred staffers in January.
The latest layoffs are likely related to Nielsen’s acquisition by a private equity consortium last year. Private equity is known to squeeze ad tech companies for as much cash and profit as possible by shaving them down to their core business and nixing just about everything else. In Nielsen’s case, the priority now is Nielsen ONE, its cross-media measurement platform.
Sources with knowledge on the matter say this round of layoffs could also produce as much as $200 million in annual savings to help offset an outstanding $10 billion in acquisition-related debt.
Either way, Nielsen is under a ton of pressure to become profitable despite intense competition in the TV currency space.
Streaming Scuffle
Disney and Comcast have set a new date, September 30, to start negotiating the ownership of Hulu, CNBC reports.
In 2019, Disney and Comcast struck a deal that gave Disney a two-thirds stake and Comcast a one-third stake in Hulu, which was then valued at $27.5 billion. The joint owners agreed that either party could force a sale in January 2024.
Tensions over Hulu have been running high. Comcast-owned NBCUniversal moved some Hulu shows to its streaming service, Peacock, while Disney added Hulu content to Disney+. The “synergies” and “churn benefit” Hulu brings to Disney could be worth $30 billion, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts said at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia and Technology conference on Wednesday. That number is likely far higher than Disney is willing to pay.
But Disney could benefit greatly from owning 100% of Hulu’s content and ad tech. Hulu has been running targeted advertising for the past 15 years, and so it’s miles ahead of Disney when it comes to strategic considerations, such as how to balance subscription pricing and churn while still turning a profit.
One thing’s for sure, though: Regardless of Hulu’s final sale price, things are bound to get snippy at the negotiating table.
NewTube?
YouTube broke the traditional TV model, but its new CTV ad experience is taking cues from linear’s long-established playbook.
YouTube is reducing the number of ad breaks that non-premium subscribers see in its CTV app in favor of longer ad breaks placed in the middle of content, The Verge reports. The end result will likely resemble linear TV commercial breaks.
The new ad experience is in the testing phase. YouTube doesn’t know yet how long the ad breaks will last or when the experience will roll out to a wider base of users.
Much like the introduction of unskippable 30-second spots to its CTV app earlier this year, YouTube’s shift to longer ad breaks feels like the platform is trying to position a tried-and-true strategy as something new and exciting.
But YouTube isn’t just drawing on TV’s old tricks for inspiration. It’s also warming to Google’s unfulfilled video game ambitions.
YouTube began testing its new browser-based gaming portal, Playables, on Tuesday, 9to5 Google reports. It’s a far cry from Google’s attempt to be a major player in video games through its failed Stadia platform. But chalk it up as yet another example of Google packaging something old as something new.
But Wait, There’s More!
Disney releases a new ad-free bundle that includes Disney+ and Hulu. [CNET]
Roku to lay off 10% of its workforce, totaling over 300 staffers. [Deadline]
Netflix shares more details on its anti-password sharing plans. [Variety]
Vistar Media’s new retail media targeting tool activates campaigns on DOOH screens in major retailers. [release]
Instacart rolls out a Shopify app for CPG brands. [release]
UK regulators pull back on plans to compel tech platforms to scan encrypted messages for harmful content. [FT]
You’re Hired!
TripleLift hires Bob Coon as SVP of US sales. [release]
GumGum appoints former Trade Desk exec Michelle Hulst as president. [release]
