Go Big Or Go Home
Upfront negotiations are nearly over, and media buyers agree that overall spending is slightly down this year, Digiday reports. But sports is going gangbusters. (Duh.)
The more interesting story, however, is the shifting power dynamic between buyers and sellers.
When media spending is down, buyers typically expect the market to tilt in their favor, because the onus is on sellers to offer better pricing and more control, etc. But this year, many media sellers required buyers to commit more dollars to nonsports content to secure inventory in marquee sports programming, including next year’s Super Bowl, March Madness and other major events.
The tactic, which is known as match spending, isn’t new. TV publishers have long bundled content to monetize their full libraries. But in this case, it means that advertisers who want into the NFL, college football and other big‑ticket sports are expected to increase their nonsports commitments, too.
Buyers are biting now because sports are hot. But this trend is at odds with rising demands for control and transparency, and that tension is bound to come to a head before long.
Traffic Stop
Reddit and Google may be reaching the end of their alliance.
In 2024, the two struck a $60 million-per-year deal that allows Google to use Reddit’s data to train its AI models. But Reddit execs are starting to wonder whether it’s worth the money as Google AI overviews continue to decimate referral traffic, The Wall Street Journal reports.
That’s a risky calculus. If publishers want to show up in Google Search, they generally have to allow their content to appear in AI query results as well. Meaning that if they opt out of appearing in AI search, they’re also opting out of all Google Search traffic.
Within hours of the Journal reporting on Reddit’s plans to potentially cut off Google’s access to its content for AI training, Reddit’s stock dropped 9%.
But Reddit isn’t the first to consider this option.
USA Today Co. has already said it’s willing to turn off all Google access if traffic continues to drop and the publisher is preparing for a future without revenue from Google Search, according to Chairman and CEO Mike Reed.
“Enough is enough,” he said.
And People Inc. – which, for now, still allows Google to scrape its content – is in the same boat. As CEO Neil Vogel put it to the WSJ: “Turning them off and blocking them entirely is 100% on the table.”
The Dangers Of Data
The ad tech industry has long relied on third-party data to target households, including using personal details like email and home addresses.
Typically, the data is hashed or otherwise kept in a deidentified form so vendors don’t see raw personal information.
But not every buyer handles data that cautiously.
404 Media outlines how the typical data supply chain can funnel credit header data – the name, address and contact information at the top of a credit report – from credit bureaus like TransUnion and Experian to identity‑verification platforms such as Thomson Reuters CLEAR, which then pass that data on to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Put more simply, if a person opens a credit card or even just changes the address on their current account, that information can end up going straight to ICE.
As attorney Laura Rivera tells 404 Media, this gives the agency the ability to locate and target individual people without a warrant, which many civil liberties advocates consider to be an abuse of government power.
But Wait! There’s More!
Ruh-roh! OpenAI says that one of its AI agents hacked into the servers of a rival digital library without being prompted, which has serious cybersecurity ramifications. [Mashable]
A judge has approved a $1.5 billion settlement between Anthropic and a class-action group of authors, making it the largest copyright settlement ever reached. [Ars Technica]
Amazon cuts jobs in its artificial general intelligence unit. [WSJ]
Here’s how not to protect your brand identity during a public health crisis. [Bloomberg]
You’re Hired!
Havas Media Network appoints Paul Bland as its chief performance and ecommerce officer and head of Havas Market. [release]
Predictive intelligence company Sooth names David Jenkins as a principal and managing partner and Justin Shames as strategy director. [release]
