Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.
Race Against The Clock
Netflix held its first-ever upfront virtually this week over concerns about the ongoing writers strike. But the streamer also has other problems on its hands.
Advertisers are frustrated not just with Netflix’s limited ad targeting but also with the fact that its ad-supported subscriber base is still too small, WSJ reports.
According to analytics firm Antenna, only 19% of Netflix subscribers were watching the ad-supported tier three months after it launched, compared with 36% for Disney. Even though the two have a similar number of AVOD subscribers now, Netflix has slower momentum in getting subscribers to sign up for ads – and it’s feeling the pressure.
Last month, Netflix announced more titles with ads, increased the number of concurrent streams allowed and spruced up the video quality of its ad-supported streams. Netflix is also taking its time enforcing anti-password sharing in an effort to slow subscriber churn.
But are advertisers buying in? Only time will tell.
Consent Decree
Attention, consent management platforms.
Later this year, Google will introduce a new policy mandating that publishers with web and app traffic in the EU and UK exclusively use Google-approved CMPs with sell-side products, including Google AdSense, Ad Manager and AdMob.
To get Google’s seal of approval, CMPs must be in compliance with the recently finalized Transparency & Consent Framework 2.2. Google will soon release a list of approved CMPs.
The TCF was designed to facilitate publisher compliance with GDPR, but the framework has faced challenges.
Last year, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties claimed that the TCF violates GDPR because its mechanism for conveying whether a user has opted into data collection between publishers and downstream partners could not be reliably audited by third parties.
IAB Europe, which oversees the TCF, then took steps to improve auditing and to raise the bar for CMP compliance in version 2.2. It also submitted an action plan with the Belgian Data Protection Authority to bring the TCF into greater compliance with GDPR.
The Belgian DPA approved the plan in January, but it still faces challenges from the Belgian Market Court and the EU’s Court of Justice.
Kick The Habit
The ad industry is “addicted to growth” at any cost, according to tech industry PR consultant Ed Zitron, who gave a fiery presentation at AdExchanger’s Programmatic IO conference in Las Vegas on Wednesday.
Zitron pulled no punches, faulting Big Tech companies, such as Meta, Google and Amazon, for their obsession with endless revenue growth, which has led to terrible, janky user experiences.
But in the end, those tech giants will pay the piper, too.
None of these companies have built sustainable business models, according to Zitron, who declared that “at some point, Facebook will run out of humans to acquire” as data sources.
But all is not lost. “I believe we can turn things around,” Zitron said.
Instead of staying hooked on hypergrowth, tech companies can focus on growing at a slower, more reasonable pace and connecting honestly with customers. Otherwise, Zitron said, users will hold companies responsible for hurting them – and that’s pretty bad for the bottom line.
But Wait, There’s More!
The New York Times debuts its own audio app. [TechCrunch]
During testimony before Congress, OpenAI founder Sam Altman dodges answering questions about how developers sued his company for stealing their code. [Slate]
Black creators say that their relationships with social media platforms remain strained over creator programs. [Digiday]
Warner Bros. Discovery shares how it plans to sell ads on Max, the streaming service that combines content from HBO Max and Discovery+. [Ad Age]
You’re Hired!
Ad exchange Emodo hires Yahoo alum Rajeev Tyagi as chief of product. [release]
Verizon CMO Diego Scotti will step down after nine years, with Rima Quresh, EVP and chief strategy officer, to serve as interim CMO. [WSJ]
