Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.
Hot For Hulu
Comcast is preparing to sell its 33% stake of Hulu to Disney.
Disney CEO Bob Iger told investors last week that Comcast and Disney were in talks about Hulu’s fate. On Tuesday, Comcast CEO Brian Roberts confirmed “it’s more likely than not” that Comcast will sell to Disney, Variety reports.
The news comes on the heels of announcing a “one app experience” with Disney and Hulu, which is coming to the US later this year.
According to the original agreement between Disney and Comcast, either company can force the other to sell its stake as early as January 2024.
Whereas Disney hinges much of its near-term growth on Hulu, Comcast is placing its bets on NCBUniversal’s Peacock. Roberts said Comcast will start charging Xfinity customers to watch Peacock, which was originally included as a bundle, and called out Peacock’s low-cost subscription model and its latest deal with the NFL.
Comcast’s sale of Hulu “will ultimately be valuable for our shareholders,” Roberts said during a conference in New York. Comcast’s stake is worth at least $9.2 billion.
Tallying The Tube
Speaking of TV, alternative currencies to Nielsen aren’t done competing for advertiser attention.
On Tuesday, iSpot announced an integration with Google’s Ads Data Hub clean room, which should give advertisers better measurement on YouTube buys.
In this case, better measurement means differentiating audiences on the YouTube app versus YouTube TV, including streaming and linear viewers, for incremental reach.
ISpot’s measurement slate for YouTube also includes co-viewing, which has been a priority since the Nielsen competitor led a major investment in TVision panels.
Dealing in person-level impressions calls for privacy-safe pipes, hence the Google clean room integration.
ISpot also aims to help advertisers measure YouTube on par with other TV programmers, despite broadcaster assertions that it doesn’t count as premium content. (Most of iSpot’s clients are on the buy side.)
“We think it’s important [for advertisers] to apply the same qualifier for impressions” regardless of what screen or platform serves them, iSpot CEO Sean Muller tells Ad Age.
Whatever broadcasters think about the quality of YouTube impressions, advertisers still need to be able to count them.
Augment Your Reality
TikTok unveiled a $6 million Effect Creator Rewards program on Tuesday, Insider reports, which pays creators for AR effects that go viral.
The program is much better funded than Snap’s comparable $3.5 million fund for AR developers who make Snapchat Lenses through its AR platform, Lens Studio.
Snap rolled out its creator fund in 2021, while Effect House, TikTok’s AR developer platform, debuted in August 2021.
Of course, both these programs pay peanuts compared to TikTok’s $1 billion Creator Fund, YouTube’s $100 million Shorts Fund or Snapchat’s Spotlight Fund.
But social media platforms like TikTok, Snap and Instagram are recognizing the growing importance of AR. Custom AR effects can inspire users to create millions of new videos, set brands and advertisers apart in the always-on fight for audience attention and engagement, and help boost songs.
AR filters are also highly visual and understandable and can reach users worldwide, regardless of language or culture.
But Wait, There’s More!
Samsung is reportedly considering buying TV hardware from LG, one of its biggest competitors. [Reuters]
Netflix warns telecoms that anti-password sharing enforcement is coming. [Financial Times]
How “neuromarketing” (marketing, neuroscience and psychology) can shape brands’ strategy. [The Drum]
CNET employees are forming a Media Workers Union in the name of journalistic integrity and to protect their jobs from AI tools. [Bloomberg]
You’re Hired!
WPP-owned Mindshare taps Nancy Hall as CEO of its North America business. [MediaPost]
