Publishers

How ad tech vendors try to market their tools as unique; Fox’s new AI-based ad platform; and AI models are getting too costly to maintain.

NBCUniversal successfully called its shot with the nickname “Legendary February.”

Buyers want a single, coherent view of reach and performance across programmatic. But for publishers, the operational reality is quite messy. Trusted Media Brand is using AI to clean it up.

In the rush to scale globally, US brands are often content with “accidental attention.” But attention isn’t a lottery; it’s a strategy that requires a deep familiarity with context in real time.

Paramount might have outlasted and outbid Netflix in the competition to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, but Netflix is not overly fussed about the loss.

Multicultural publishers are under pressure to grow and scale their audience to remain competitive in an increasingly selective marketplace. To adapt, some publishers are turning to tools like AdGrid’s Audience Accelerator to activate first-party audiences across channels. 

Surprise! Platforms ignore users opting out of ad tracking; the marketing machine claims credit for Geese’s popularity; and Meta’s MAGA-friendly moderation makes an unforced error.

Mula’s AI native content feed helps On3 keep its engagement and RPS consistent amid traffic drop-offs to publisher sites and the growing scarcity of online attention.

Hearst is stitching together its far‑flung news properties into a single programmatic marketplace to simplify buying local news and shore up its business as the ad market shifts.

CTV never fit cleanly into campaign execution models built for RTB-based trading. Whether agentic AI solutions can simplify the complicated CTV landscape for publishers will be their first real test case.

Could Epic’s rough patch mean ads in Fortnite?; TV’s shot to end the reign of direct insertion orders; and publishers learn how to game AI search summaries.

The effect wasn’t just limited to news content. The Reuters.com/lifestyle vertical also had some of its brand-suitable pages blocked.

Local media companies have already seen traffic declines of 25% to 50%, and the Local Media Consortium is collaborating to fight the problem.

If you want to protect your margins, your data and your long-term strategy, here are five questions worth asking before you sign anything.

Netflix’s MLB streaming is heavy on the ads; the anti-AI movement gains traction; the court dismissed X’s antitrust allegations.

The Guardian US grew its programmatic revenue by 44% year over year in February. The lift came from higher effective CPMs across both the open exchange and private marketplace deals.

If a buyer wants real control, “domain rationalization” alone will never be enough. Buyers need “bid rationalization,” shaping the supply at the bid-request level so they see fewer, better, more outcome-relevant opportunities.

BBC Studios is focused on a digital-first ad sales strategy as it expands its footprint in the US, says John Otto, VP of ad sales for North America.

Publicis recommends some clients ditch The Trade Desk; ChatGPT reconsiders its “unlimited” enterprise subscription; and how NYC’s Washington Square Park became an influencer hub.

Future’s new Helix ad optimization solution adds AI-powered data science and predictive modeling to its in-house audience platform.

CPG brands are all in on AI; The Washington Post tries dynamic pricing; and Buzzfeed has officially lost its edge.

Complexity hasn’t made the CTV supply chain difficult to trust. This is a transparency problem and, more specifically, an ads.txt problem.

Someday soon, marketers may be able to pay NBCUniversal to have an AI-generated approximation of “Real Housewives” executive producer Andy Cohen namedrop their brand to hundreds of thousands of fans.

2026 is the year CTV will bridge the gap between branding and performance. Fresh off the Convergent TV World event, our team discusses the rise of performance TV, shifting live sports rights and the impact of M&A on the streaming experience in this future-facing episode.

The deal is an example of OOH platforms building sales infrastructure that interoperates with agency workflows. It’s also an example of DSPs going direct to publishers.

Crossplay is NYT’s first two-player game, and marks the first time that users will see ads within the game experience itself.

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

The NHL develops new revenue streams; malware makes its way into the programmatic ecosystem; and Target plans to open 30 new locations this year, along with revamping existing ones.

It can be hard to measure the effect of advertising on in-person sales. Men’s Wearhouse partnered with measurement agency Ovative to see what was working.

Netflix unveils a conversion API; some publishers are using AI tools to expand their footprints; and CFOs are getting more involved in marketing decisions.