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Remember back when Netflix insisted it would never run ads on its platform? Well, not only does it now have 40 million MAUs for its AVOD tier, it’s also launching an ad tech platform.

Warner Bros. Discovery had the most to prove during this week’s upfronts. So, the company used its upfront stage on Wednesday to showcase a new suite of ad products.

Around this time last year, there were only a handful of companies testing the Chrome Privacy Sandbox. Now, according to Google, there are hundreds.

Things are moving (pardon the pun) FAST in CTV programmatic. Total spend topped $21 billion in 2023, representing roughly 4x growth over the last five years. But if we want to ensure those ad dollars translate into outcomes, we collectively need to slow down and make time to proactively attack fraud and transparency concerns before they get worse.

What is Google’s true motive in launching the Chrome Privacy Sandbox? An optimist might give Google credit for not dropping the hammer like Apple did. But it’s hard not to be a little cynical about Google’s goals, according to Samantha Jacobson, chief strategy officer at The Trade Desk.

Advertisers worried about MFA could take a cue from the mobile app ecosystem and focus on performance instead of viewability. 

In today’s newsletter: Google’s generative search experience launches in the US; kid-focused brands worry Instagram is serving their ads to predators; Fox hypes clean rooms and shoppable TV at the upfronts.

During Disney’s upfront event on Tuesday, just hours after Amazon’s, the Mouse House couldn’t hold back on pitching its content and advertising prowess. Sports was a big highlight.

Amazon kicked off its first-ever upfront event with advertising right out of the gate, including pitches about its scale, shopper data and content, particularly its sports programming.

Expedia Group, the online travel agency giant, is here for the retail media revolution.

TelevisaUnivision used its upfront stage to remind agencies and advertisers that Hispanic audiences drive business results. It shared ways buyers can work directly with it for targeting and measurement, plus new video currency options for media transactions.

The expected shift away from third-party cookies might have slid from 2024 into 2025. But the shift is reshaping the marketing and advertising industry in ways that matter today. The need for organizations to prioritize addressability has never been greater. Yet many marketers are still struggling with precisely how to rework their data strategies to be sustainable for the long haul.

The practice involves monetizing resold subdomains jammed with recycled MFA articles produced by notorious content farms.

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Hidden Talent Hollywood creatives are being crushed by studios. They suffered a blow during the writers’ and actors’ strikes last year and they’re about to lose out again due to new performance-based payment policies proposed by streamers. Once upon a time, writers, actors and […]

BuzzFeed took another lap around its AI-related talking points as its advertising business took another lap around the drain.

Actors, musicians, dancers and comedians vouched for the value of NBCU media in between flashy performances and trailers during the programmer’s TV upfront. But about advertising, NBCU execs barely made a mention.

Buyers could solve many of the issues they have with the open web by focusing less on viewability and clicks and more on driving performance outcomes, says Goodway Group director of strategic partnerships Andrea Kwiatek.

MFA sites simply don’t belong on ad exchanges. And the industry already has the tools it needs to eliminate MFA from the supply chain.

In today’s newsletter: Companies looking to sell data target the US market; which media companies to bet on at TV upfronts; and generative AI data licensing is the new publisher revenue stream.

Integral Ad Science had a decent Q1 – especially in comparison to its direct competitor, DoubleVerify. Even so, frustration with the opacity of third-party brand safety and ad verification providers is increasingly bubbling to the surface.

Colossus SSP, a DEI-focused supply-side platform owned by Direct Digital Holdings (DDH), is the subject of Adalytics’ latest report released Friday. It’s a doozy.

Programmers are using their Q1 earnings reports as a dress rehearsal for their upfront pitches. Meanwhile, programmatic platforms, including Magnite and PubMatic, also had upfronts in mind during their Q1 earnings.

Enjoy this weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem … 

Smart TV makers are starting to adopt The Trade Desk’s UID 2.0. Plus: Podcast advertising revenue growth slows down.

Roblox CEO David Baszucki said advertising “will not be material this year” during the company’s Q1 earnings call on Thursday.

Will data dazzle media buyers at this year’s TV upfronts? Plus: Why recent changes to Google search results have decimated traffic for some digital publishers – and rewarded others.

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) broke the trend of streaming publishers reporting positive gains last quarter. But it’s slowly gaining subscribers, and expects bundling and global expansion to help speed up traction for its streaming service, Max.

The company’s total revenue was down 1% YOY due to a decline in ad revenue across its News Media and Dow Jones publishing groups.

The Trade Desk is focusing beyond the overall “open internet” and on what CEO Jeff Green calls the “premium internet.”

For Magnite, the biggest growth opportunity lies in supply-path optimization. The trade-off is the pressure to differentiate itself from other supply-side platforms competing for agency deals.