Warner Bros Discovery

Warner Bros. Discovery’s overall ad revenue dropped 7% last year. Its survival depends on its streaming service, Max, its lifeline in the intensifying streaming wars.

The US v. Google antitrust trial is over, but nobody’s done with the drama. Plus, Charter just struck a deal with NBCUniversal.

Why streaming TV might adopt the cloud-usage model for content; MAGNA projects strongest ad market in two decades; and “go woke, go broke” gets proven wrong, again.

In today’s newsletter: Amazon stands out among Upfronts CTV rookies; Google reveals how much revenue its ad tech divisions make; and women hold more marketing leadership positions than men, but churn is worse for women.

In today’s newsletter: US rules Google has a monopoly in search, but not search ads; Nvidia’s unreleased AI has been scraping online video from YouTube, Netflix and others; and streaming app Max debuts a new personalized home page.

In today’s newsletter: SSPs lead the way on ad tech’s M&A resurgence; Disney rolls back CPMs to court more streaming ad demand; and why dating apps struggle to grow and monetize their audiences.

Since launch, 82% of advertisers that buy inventory through the Yahoo DSP have tried Backstage at least once. And buyers are seeing lower CPMs from cutting out SSPs.

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.

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.

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.

In today’s newsletter: The CMA still has a bone to pick with the Chrome Privacy Sandbox; the FCC fines mobile carriers for selling customer location data to data brokers; and the Financial Times is the latest publisher to strike a licensing deal with an AI company.

In today’s newsletter: Google’s cookie deprecation delay hurts Chrome Privacy Sandbox supporters; mall chains go for broke with their DTC efforts; Warner Bros. Discovery launches a first-party data product.

In today’s newsletter: Performance Max has many imitators, but Google’s still ahead of the pack; France’s competition authority fines Google for using news content to train its Bard AI model without their knowledge of consent; and Apollo Global Management offers to acquire Paramount Global for $11 billion.

Streaming services that monetize with ads must prioritize engagement first and foremost. But programmers and investors alike named engagement as one of the top challenges of streaming profitability.

Total ad spend from deals transacted through Magnite’s platform topped $5 billion for the full year, representing nearly 20% YOY growth, while full-year CTV ad spend was also up 20%.

In today’s newsletter: Ad tech data can compromise Americans; Reddit has a hard road ahead revenue wise; CTV ad-buying startup tvScientific raises a funding round.

Warner Bros. Discovery is in a tight spot with double-digit TV ad revenue declines – and its core streaming service, Max, hasn’t picked up the slack … yet.

In today’s newsletter: Dotdash Meredith CEO Neil Vogel dishes on the news biz; Freevee might soon exit stage left; Fubo sues Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery to block their planned sports streaming service.

In today’s newsletter: Uber, the New York Times and Roblox all have ads businesses, but in different flavors; Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery plan to launch a sports streaming service; and Amazon gets introspective in response to competition from Temu, Shein and TikTok.

In today’s newsletter: Netflix is the only profitable streaming service; Meta’s automated support software frustrates advertisers; and the US Consumer Product Safety Commission may designate Amazon a “distributor of goods.”

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Ring Airer Netflix is paying more than $5 billion for the rights to livestream “WWE Raw,” Variety reports. The 10-year deal is effective starting next January and represents Netflix’s biggest push into live content. Following a live sports debut with its “Netflix Cup” […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Can You Hear Me Now? Consumers wary about targeted ads are convinced their devices are eavesdropping on their conversations. Most marketers insist that’s not the case, and their use of other targeting signals has gotten so sophisticated that it just feels like your […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Watch Party Advertisers and creators have dinged Netflix in the past for its lack of transparency into streaming ratings. Netflix answered critics this week with a surprise data dump – its first real viewership report. The report, which Netflix will release twice a […]

Under The Hood When Gary Numan sang, “Here in my car, I feel safest of all,” he didn’t know about the rapacious data collection practices of modern-day automakers. Ars Technica reports that, late last week, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) sent letters to 14 car companies, including Ford, GM, Honda and Hyundai, asking pointed questions about […]

The Missing Link Log another demerit for YouTube transparency. Four buyers say their post-campaign reports for YouTube Select are riddled with broken links, Adweek reports. Google introduced YouTube Select in 2020 as a way for buyers to purchase premium YouTube inventory, including top-performing channels and YouTube TV. YouTube sends buyers post-campaign reports with links they […]

DSPs and SSPs are being graded by TAG TrustNet on whether they comply with a key transparency initiative: sharing log-file data. Find out who’s passing and who’s failing. Then, we count the ways CTV suppliers are embracing programmatic buying.

Warner Bros. Discovery continues to lose subscribers to a lack of original content (for which it blames the Hollywood actors’ strike). But streaming advertising revenue, which is up 29% YOY, represents a glimmer of hope.

TV industry vets convened at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show in New York City last week to discuss the streaming industry’s maturation.

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Variation On A Theme Google launched a new Performance Max search feature called “search themes,” a rare opportunity to learn from the black box that is PMax campaigns. Search themes are broad terms that can inform targeting, even if the company doesn’t bid […]

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Talking Shop Two critical ad revenue growth areas for Google are YouTube and shopping ads – which means shopping on YouTube is a priority, to say the least. The newest feature for YouTube shopping is a product display control so accounts can display a […]