In this week’s Week in Review: ICO gives green light to ‘consent or pay’, Blavatnik pours fresh investment into DAZN, and CNN announces fresh staff cuts.
Top Stories
UK’s Data Regulator Gives ‘Consent or Pay’ the Go Ahead
The Information Commissioner’s Office, the UK’s data protection authority, on Thursday released new guidance giving the green light to businesses running ‘consent or pay’ mechanisms to gain user consent for advertising-related data collection. The news will be welcomed by publishers, many of whom say that running consent or pay mechanisms has a significant impact on their ability to monetise their ad inventory.
The use of consent or pay, whereby a website asks users to either accept data collection or pay to access the site, has arisen across Europe in response to GDPR and related data laws. But its legality has been questioned, and remains an open issue in Europe.
The ICO however says that consent or pay mechanisms are valid, so long as they meet certain criteria. One major factor is that there can’t be a significant power imbalance, whereby audiences either have to use a specific service, or lose out significantly (as might be the case for a social network). In all cases, the amount of money that users have to pay as an alternative must be proportional to the financial benefit which the website gets from data collection. And publishers can’t use consent or pay to forcibly upsell users, by offering a basic option to users who consent to data collection, or an expensive paid option with a lot of additional features.
Blavatnik Funds DAZN’s Global Goals with Fresh $827 Million Investment
Sir Leonard Blavatnik, the billionaire owner of DAZN, has invested a further $827 million into the sports streaming service. The latest injection brings Blavatnik’s total investment in DAZN to $6.7 billion, as the business seeks further funding from the Middle East.
Despite holding high-profile sports rights across international markets, the London-based company has yet to turn an overall profit. But CEO Shay Segev told the FT that most of the top-ten markets in which DAZN operated were now profitable, with revenues expected to surpass $6 billion in 2025. “We see a clear path to create massive shareholder value,” he said. “We’re going to be the global home for sport. If you are a sports fan anywhere in the world, you are going to know DAZN.”
According to the firm’s accounts, DAZN’s rights costs in 2023 were $3.1 billion, with future rights commitments of $9.3 billion. DAZN executives said the ambition was to create a $200 billion media group that would become the “Spotify of sport.” The company bought rival streaming service Eleven Sports in 2023, and last month announced the acquisition of Australian pay-TV giant Foxtel.
CNN to Cut 6 Percent of Workforce in Efforts to Trim Linear Programming
CNN is cutting 6 percent of staff as part of its pivot to a digital strategy, the news network announced on Thursday. The cuts are expected to hit 200 staff on the production side, in efforts to trim the high production costs associated with its linear programming. “The changes we’re announcing today are part of an ongoing response by this great news organisation to profound and irreversible shifts in the way audiences in America and around the world consume news,” CNN CEO Mark Thompson wrote in a memo to staff. “It isn’t and can’t be a single set of changes but a process of investment, experimentation and adaptation that will last years.”
Thompson added that he doesn’t expect CNN’s total headcount to fall much across 2025, as the company will take on new hires as part of its investment in its digital output. The news business is reportedly looking for options for digital subscribers to stream CNN outside of the wider Max streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is also investing in “new high-quality journalism and storytelling,” on digital platforms, including through a new “lifestyle oriented” digital product.
The Week in Tech
Kantar Media Agrees $1 Billion Sale to H.I.G. Capital
Market research giant Kantar Group has agreed a deal to sell its measurement arm Kantar Media to investment firm H.I.G. Capital, the company announced last weekend, in a deal worth roughly $1 billion. As a standalone measurement company, executives say Kantar Media will be well placed to pursue further growth at a time when demand for cross-media measurement solutions is growing. The deal also has implications for agency group WPP: the holding company owns 40 percent of Kantar Group, meaning it stands to benefit from the $1 billion payout, which will primarily be paid in cash. Read more on VideoWeek.
Social Rivals Beef Up Short-Form Video in Brief Window Without TikTok
TikTok returned to US phones on Sunday after what turned out to be an extremely short-term ban for the short-form video app. On the eve of his inauguration, Donald Trump said he would delay the TikTok ban and suggested the Chinese business enter a 50 percent joint venture with US investors. But the 12-hour blackout was enough for rival social media firms to announce updates designed to fill the temporary void left by the ByteDance-owned service. TikTok and BlueSky both launched new vertical video offerings, while Meta updated Reels’ maximum video length to three minutes. Read more on VideoWeek.
Nielsen’s ‘Big Data + Panel’ Gets MRC Accreditation
US TV measurement mainstay Nielsen has announced that its ‘Big Data + Panel’ national TV measurement has received accreditation from influential industry body the Media Ratings Council (MRC). Big Data + Panel is a major part of Nielsen’s efforts to modernise its TV ratings tools, to keep up with fragmenting viewership. It combines Nielsen’s existing panel-based measurement with data provided from set-top boxes, smart TVs, and streaming services. Nielsen says that together, these data sets give a granular and accurate view of TV viewership, solving some of the issues inherent with solely panel-based measurement. Read more on VideoWeek.
Google Ads Switches to Target CPV for Video Campaigns
Google Ads is introducing a Target Cost-Per-View (CPV) bidding strategy for video campaigns from April, replacing the Maximum CPV option for new campaigns. Target CPV lets advertisers set the average amount they are willing to pay for each view received, whereas Maximum CPV means setting the highest amount. Existing campaigns using Maximum CPV will continue running, according to the update, but the option will be unavailable for new campaigns.
Equativ Unveils ‘Maestro’ Curation Platform
French ad tech firm Equativ has announced upgrades to its curation platform, Equativ Buyer Connect (EBC), which has been renamed Maestro by Equativ. Maestro centralises programmatic campaign management and provides buyers with direct access to supply, according to Equativ, including direct integration to more than 70 DSPs and over 30 data providers (including LiveRamp, Lotame and IAS). Other updates include new data capabilities, such as integration of first-party data, cookieless solutions and alternative IDs for targeting and frequency capping, as well as the ability to execute deals through Equativ’s direct inventory.
TikTok Shutdown Hits Ad Performance
TikTok’s 12-hour shutdown in the US had an impact on campaign performance, Adweek reported on Thursday. According to social marketers, the blackout, while brief, led to an ongoing dip in user engagement. “We’ve seen a decrease in all of our metrics and communicated to our clients that their profile health has come down,” said Harriet Riley, Social Strategy Director at ad agency Pereira O’Dell. “There’s a lull in activity because there is a whole user base that has not returned immediately.”
The Week in TV
Netflix Says It’s Already Seeing the Benefits of Building its Own Ad Tech
Streaming giant Netflix posted another strong quarter in its earnings release last night, revealing that total paid subscriptions rose by 19 million in Q4, reaching 302 million. Revenues meanwhile grew by 16 percent year-on-year, up to $10.2 billion.The streaming giant’s investments in its ad-supported subscription tier and in live events were both credited by Netflix executives as helping drive this growth. And on an earnings call following the results, co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters and CFO Spence Neumann said the company’s investment in building its own ad tech is already paying off in Canada (where its ad tech is already up and running), helping drive up revenues. Read more on VideoWeek.
Trust in TV Ads Continues to Grow but Generational Divide Remains Online
Trust in advertising continues to grow in the UK, according to the latest Credos Trust Tracker from the Advertising Association (AA). The trade body found that TV and cinema remain the most trusted media for advertising, though there remains a vast generational divide when it comes to willingness to trust ads. The 2024 data shows that 39 percent of the average population trust the ads they see or hear, up from 36 percent in 2023 and a particularly low 30 percent in 2022. The AA noted that this rise is mainly driven by younger audiences. Read more on VideoWeek.
DAZN Seeks Ligue 1 Renegotiation Due to Low Subscriber Numbers
DAZN, a sports streaming service, is looking to renegotiate its deal with Ligue 1, according to SportsPro. DAZN secured the rights in August, paying €400 million per year for the next five seasons. But DAZN has reportedly only attracted 400,000 subscribers as of the end of November, leaving the company doubtful of its ability to secure the 1.5 million customers required to make a return on investment. If the parties are unable to revise the deal, DAZN has the option to terminate the agreement after two seasons, if it fails to reach the 1.5 million threshold by December 2025.
ProSieben Takes to the Cloud to Speed Up Digital Transformation
ProSiebenSat.1 is migrating its content supply chain to the cloud, the German broadcaster announced on Thursday, with Amazon Web Services (AWS) as its cloud provider. The move is designed to accelerate ProSieben’s digital transformation, aiming to transfer the entire content supply chain, from production to distribution, to the AWS cloud. The migration will also support the Joyn streaming service, including faster implementation of content recommendations and FAST channels, alongside the development of new products, such as AI integrations. “The collaboration with AWS clearly contributes to our entertainment strategy: we want to establish our streaming platform Joyn as the leading superstreamer in the German-speaking region,” said Wolfgang Neubauer, Managing Director of ProSiebenSat.1 Tech & Services GmbH.
Deutsche Telekom Extends RTL+ Agreement
Deutsche Telekom and RTL Deutschland have announced a five-year extension of their streaming agreement, which automatically includes the RTL+ Premium tier in most plans for MagentaTV, Deutsche Telekom’s TV offering. The agreement, which began in 2020, also allows MagentaTV customers to upgrade to RTL+ Max, which includes music and audiobooks. “Our streaming businesses in Germany, France and Hungary continue to grow dynamically in all key dimensions: number of paying subscribers, viewing hours, subscription and advertising revenue,” said RTL CEO Thomas Rabe. “We have defined a clear path to reach profitability with our streaming business in 2026. Renewing the successful cooperation between Deutsche Telekom and RTL Deutschland for another five years contributes significantly to our strategic goals.”
ITV Studios’ Metavision Brings Hell’s Kitchen to Roblox
Metavision, a VR studio owned by ITV Studios under its new Zoo 55 label, has launched a Hell’s Kitchen-based format for the Roblox platform. The interactive experience lets players compete to impress Chef Ramsay and vie for the title of Executive Chef, according to ITV, and has 450,000 daily active users. “By blending the unique essence of Hell’s Kitchen with the immersive possibilities of Roblox, we’re offering players a fresh way to engage with the brand and create their own culinary adventures,” said Ashley Lewis, Managing Director of Metavision. “We’ve got an exciting 2025 roadmap for the experience and can’t wait to show the community what we have in store next.”
Crunchyroll Comes to Sky Streaming Devices
Crunchyroll, the Sony-owned anime streaming service, has been added to Sky Stream and Sky Glass in the UK. In addition to Sky’s streaming devices, the app is also expected to arrive on the Sky Q set-top box later this year. Crunchyroll viewing is available via subscription; the ad-free option is £4.99 per month, with a seven-day free trial.
The Week for Publishers
Newsweek Signs Up to Ozone
UK publisher alliance Ozone this week announced the addition of Newsweek’s audiences to its offering. Newsweek’s addition follows several major signings last year for Ozone, including Mediahuis Ireland, Netmums, and the UK audiences of Dow Jones. “At Newsweek, we pride ourselves on delivering trusted journalism that resonates with decision-makers and leaders across industries,” said Amit Shah, EVP of Newsweek. “Ozone allows us to expand our reach and provide advertisers with even greater opportunities to connect with our high-value readers in a privacy-first, impactful way.”
Independent Agrees $700,000 Funding from Bill Gates’ Foundation
UK newspaper the Independent is set to receive $700,000 in funding from Bill Gates’ foundation, the Financial Times reported this week, which will go towards hiring new reporters and funding investigative stories. The agreement guarantees creative and editorial independence, according to the FT.
Reach Signals Positive End to 2024
UK publishing group Reach put out a trading update this week, ahead of its 2024 full year results which are due in March, stating that it expects the results to come in ahead of market expectations following a strong Q4. Reach’s share price climbed by 20 percent following the news. Reach also announced it has completed the refinancing of its banking facilities, through a £145 million Revolving Credit Facility with a four-year maturity and one year extension option.
Apple Suspends AI News Summaries Following Errors
Apple has suspended a feature which generated AI-powered news summaries, following a number of high profile errors which drew criticism from the UK’s National Union of Journalists. Apple’s technology generated news alerts based on stories from third-party news publishers, but completely inaccurate summaries were picked up by users. These included an alert stating that Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, had shot himself, and an alert which stated that darts player Luke Littler had won the PDC World Darts Championship — which did happen, but hours after the alert was sent out.
DoubleVerify Highlights Sports Spoofing
Fraudsters looking to steal ad spend from genuine publishers have been targeting sports websites, according to DoubleVerify data shared with Wired, seemingly due to advertisers’ perceptions that sports content is more brand safe than hard news. DoubleVerify identified a number of websites which use domain names designed to mimic real sports news sites (such as BBCSportss and NBC Sportz). These websites are generally populated with AI-generated regurgitations of articles from other sports websites.
UK Considers Raising Foreign Ownership Media Threshold
The UK government is considering doubling the threshold of foreign state ownership of UK news businesses, the Financial Times reported this week, due to concerns that current rules could stifle dealmaking and harm news publications’ prospects. Foreign state ownership was banned amid a proposed deal for The Telegraph which would have given ownership to an Abu Dhabi-backed fund. Ministers have since been consulting on allowing exemptions for small minority holding, with Labour now considering setting the threshold at ten percent.
The Week for Brands & Agencies
WPP Considers US Listing
WPP CEO Mark Read has said he is considering moving the agency group’s primary stock market listing over to the US, according to an interview with the Financial Times, as he looks to drive share price growth. Read said that he has no immediate plans, but noted that other companies which have made the move have had “a positive experience”. Read’s primary focus however will be on ensuring the company’s AI investments start to drive top-line growth.
IPA Survey Finds Mixed Progress on Diversity and Struggles to Attract Younger Workers
Industry trade group the IPA this week revealed the results of its annual agency census, showing mixed results in terms of improving diversity. The number of women in C-suite roles increased in 2024, up from 37.9 percent to 39.9 percent, while the proportion of employees from non-white backgrounds crept up from 23.3 percent to 23.9 percent. But the ethnic and gender pay gaps both widened, to 31 percent and 19.7 percent respectively. Meanwhile the proportion of under 25s working in the industry fell in 2024, bringing the average of employees up to 35.2.
GroupM Shakes Up Global Leadership Structure
GroupM’s global CEO Brian Lesser has reorganised the senior leadership structure within the media buying giant, eliminating global CEO roles for GroupM’s agencies and bringing those CEOs into global GroupM roles. Ad Age reports that global CEO roles at EssenceMediacom, Mindshare, and Wavemaker have all been eliminated, in a move designed to streamline GroupM’s offering and positioning.
Publicis Acquires Performance Marketing Agency Dysrupt
French agency group Publicis has bought US performance marketing agency Dysrupt for an undisclosed fee. Dysrupt’s proprietary media solution, Impact Advertising System, covers media buying, performance creative, and cookieless measurement technologies according to Adweek. Clients include eBay, GameStop, and Ancestry.
Havas Buys Spanish Sports Marketing Agency CA Sports
Havas this week announced it has acquired CA sports, a Spanish business which specialises in sponsorship strategies and business development through sport. Havas says the acquisition will deepen and consolidate its sports marketing offering in the Spanish market. CA Sports will be folded into the Havas Play brand, operating as ‘CA Sports Part of Havas Play’.
Omnicom Picks Up Zurich’s Global Media Account
Insurance business Zurich has handed global media duties to Omnicom, Campaign reported this week, following a competitive review. Much of Zurich’s media work was previously handled by Interpublic Group – a significant loss, but one perhaps softened by the incoming merger between the two agency groups.
G2 Launches Gaming Specialist Agency
G2, a gaming entertainment brand which houses a number of esports teams, this week announced the launch of a new media house, 62 (pronounced six-two). G2 says 62 will help mainstream brands create content and reach gamers, offering ad creation, media buying, content production and event management services.
Hires of the Week
GroupM Restructures Leadership
GroupM, WPP’s media unit, has announced a leadership restructure under CEO Brian Lesser (see above). McKinsey’s Emily Del Greco will join as Global COO; Mindshare’s Global CEO Adam Gerhart will move to Global Chief Client Officer for GroupM; Wavemaker Global CEO Toby Jenner will become Chief Business Officer; and GroupM COO Mark Patterson will become Global President of Markets and Business Operations.
RTL AdAlliance Announces Reshuffle
RTL AdAlliance, RTL Group’s media sales house, has announced a management reshuffle, following the departure of Simone Blei as VP Global Sales. Artur Kobryn will take up Blei’s role with immediate effect, together with Nicole Haman as VP Global Digital Sales, who will take over the management of the UK business unit (BU) on an interim basis. And Stefanie Meierfrankenfeld will become BU Director DACH, responsible for international sales across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Criteo Appoints Dentsu’s Michael Komasinski as CEO
Criteo, a commerce media company, has named Michael Komasinski as CEO and a member of the board. From 15th February, Komasinski will succeed Megan Clarken who is stepping down after five years. Komasinski joins from Dentsu, where he currently serves as CEO Americas.
Mail Metro Media Promotes Hannah Barnett to Chief Client Officer
Mail Metro Media, which sells ads for the Daily Mail, Metro and i, has promoted Hannah Barnett to the newly created role of Chief Client Officer. Barnett joined Mail Metro Media from MailOnline in 2020, becoming Executive Director, Clients & Planning in 2023.
Google’s Matt Brittin Joins Guardian Media Group Board
The Guardian Media Group, owner of The Guardian and The Observer, has appointed Matt Brittin as a non-executive director for the board, effective 1st February. Brittin recently stepped down after 18 years at Google, where he spent 10 years as President for EMEA.
This Week on VideoWeek
Kantar Media Agrees $1 Billion Sale to H.I.G. Capital
Social Rivals Beef Up Short-Form Video in Brief Window Without TikTok
Netflix Says It’s Already Seeing the Benefits of Building its Own Ad Tech
Trust in TV Ads Continues to Grow but Generational Divide Remains Online
Ad of the Week
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