Week in Review: New BBC Boss Plans to Cut Channels, Ofcom Calls Out YouTube and TikTok Over Harms to Children, and Condé Nast Prepares for Google Zero

May 24, 2026

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In this week’s Week in Review: Matt Brittin has his first day at the office as BBC director general, Ofcom calls out tech platforms over online safety, and Condé Nast’s CEO says he’s braced for ‘Google Zero’.

The Week in Tech

ICO Calls for Looser Consent Requirements in Less Intrusive Advertising

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s data protection authority, has published advice to the government on possible changes to Regulation 6 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR), which governs the use of storage and access technologies such as cookies, scripts and tags for the purposes of online advertising. In a blog post on Monday, William Malcolm, Executive Director Regulatory Risk and Innovation at the ICO, explained how regulation 6 “could be amended to allow certain low risk forms of online advertising to operate without consent, while continuing to require consent for advertising that involves intrusive tracking and profiling people over time and across services.”

X Commits to Tackling Illegal Hate and Terror Content

Social media company X has committed to “expedited timescales for reviewing illegal hate and terror content” on its platform, in measures accepted by Ofcom last week. The public commitments include reviewing and assessing UK suspected illegal terrorist and hate content on average within 24 hours of it being reported, and engaging with experts on reporting systems for illegal hate and terror content. Danny Stone, Chief Executive of the Antisemitism Policy Trust, welcomed the moves but added there was “a lot more” work to be done. “X is failing in so many regards to tackle open racism on its platform,” said Stone. “We know where this online harm leads, and so for the sake and safety of all of us in Britain, I hope Ofcom will hold X to account for what it has promised the regulator it will do.”

StackAdapt Unveils AI Features for DSP

StackAdapt, a Canadian ad tech business, announced a series of new product features for its demand-side platform (DSP) at the 2026 Conversion summit in Texas. The new features include:

Command Center – a unified access point within StackAdapt’s DSP, where insights, recommendations and actions are surfaced automatically
Ivy Studio – an expansion of StackAdapt’s AI marketing assistant, Ivy, acting as a full-screen workspace where marketers can plan, execute and analyse campaigns through a single conversational interface
AI Video Builder – video and CTV creative production capabilities within the platform, allowing advertisers to generate standard and dynamic video and CTV ads using existing brand assets through AI-powered templates

X Plans Creator Push Using xAI

X is launching Creator Connect, a new product designed to bring creators onto the social media service, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The product will use tech from sister company xAI to connect brands with specific creators, by reaching out to the creators that are surfaced by AI to participate in the brand’s campaign. “We’ve really been looking at this as the year where we’re entering our creator era as a platform, and really trying to build a platform that fosters a healthy creator economy,” said Mitchell Smith, Global Head of Content Partnerships at X.

Amplified Launches Predictive Attention Product AttentionAI

Amplified, an attention measurement business, has launched AttentionAI, a predictive attention product designed to move attention from “a retrospective reporting metric to a proactive planning and optimisation signal.” AttentionAI enables brands and agencies to identify which creative assets will hold audience attention across digital platforms, according to the company, in order to drive media decisions, such as creative selection, budget allocation and campaign optimisation. “From brands and agencies to platforms, publishers and technology partners, this gives media players a new way to understand how audiences are likely to engage before a single cent is spent,” said Dr Karen Nelson-Field, Founder at Amplified.

Chalice AI Deploys AI Bidding Models in Equativ Platform

Chalice AI, an AI media decisioning company, has announced a partnership with Equativ, a French ad tech firm, to bring containerised AI decisioning into Equativ’s curation and activation platform. The partnership enables media buyers to activate Chalice’s outcome-driven AI bidding models directly within the Maestro by Equativ media platform, according to the partners. The collaboration also expands adoption of IAB Tech Lab’s Agentic Real-Time Framework (ARTF). “Equativ’s adoption of sell-side decisioning under ARTF marks exactly the kind of forward-looking partnership we built Chalice to enable,” said Chalice AI CEO Adam Heimlich. “When a supply-side platform deploys AI within the auction environment using an open, standardised framework, it creates real value for advertisers — not just faster decisioning, but smarter, more accountable outcomes. This is what the unbundling of programmatic looks like in practice.”

UK Consumers Shop on Their Phones While Watching TV Finds MiQ

Research from MiQ suggests that 76 percent of UK consumers use another internet-connected device while watching TV or streaming video, and 47 percent of these consumers are shopping on their phones, by browsing stores, researching products, checking prices or making purchases. The research, ‘From Funnel to Flexibility’, also found that 41 percent of UK consumers have used AI tools such as ChatGPT or Gemini in their shopping journey, from comparing products and brands to summarising reviews or asking for gift ideas. “Second-screen behaviour used to be talked about as a challenge for advertisers,” said Alex Deats, Europe Chief Strategy Officer at MiQ. “Our data suggests it is now one of the biggest commercial opportunities.”

Ofcom Recommends Hash Matching Tech to Stop Spread of Illegal Intimate Images

Ofcom has introduced a new recommendation to its Illegal Content Codes that tech firms use automated detection technology to reduce the spread of illegal intimate images online. The regulator recommended the use of ‘hash matching’ technology, which converts harmful images into digital fingerprints or ‘hashes’, and matched against further attempts to upload the same or similar versions of the image. “We are recommending that services use a hash database such as the market leader, StopNCII,” Ofcom said in a statement.

The Week in TV

Channel 4’s Digital Ad Transformation is Ahead of Schedule

UK broadcaster Channel 4 released its annual report for 2025, a significant release since the broadcaster had set itself a number of objectives for 2025 in its Future4 strategy, which it launched in 2020. One of those objectives was for digital ad revenues to make up 30 percent of total revenues, and Channel 4 is ahead of schedule on that front. Digital ad revenues, sitting at £346 million last year, accounted for 34 percent of total revenues, up from 30 percent in 2024. Non-advertising revenues meanwhile hit ten percent — right on target. Read more on VideoWeek.

ITV Launches Addressable Targeting for Live Linear Channels with Omnicom Media

ITV has launched Live Addressable+, an addressable ad product for live broadcast environments, in an exclusive beta trial with Omnicom Media Group. Live Addressable+ brings addressable targeting options to ITV’s live linear broadcast channels for the first time, according to the broadcaster, and is being trialled with more than 20 Omnicom Media brands, before rolling out to the wider market in the coming weeks. “Partnering with ITV on this exclusive launch helps us to shape the next phase of addressable AV buying for our clients,” said Danny Barnes, Chief Investment Officer at Omnicom Media UK.

Google, Amazon and Netflix to Command Half Global CTV Ad Market by 2030 Says Omdia

Google, Amazon and Netflix will command half of the entire global CTV ad market by 2030, according to forecasts from Omdia. The research outfit predicts that global CTV ad revenue will grow from $44 billion in 2025 to $81 billion by 2030, before surpassing linear TV ad revenues in the next decade. By 2030, Omdia expects half of global CTV ad revenues to be captured by Google (26 percent), Amazon (13 percent) and Netflix (9 percent).

Disney+ UK Ad Tier Reach Has Grown 65 Percent in Past Year Finds Barb

Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ continued to see growth in ad-supported reach in the UK last quarter, according to Barb’s latest Establishment Survey, with households on the Disney+ ad tier seeing the highest growth rate compared with Q4 2025. Prime Video remains the largest ad-supported SVOD subscriber base in the UK, reaching 12 million UK homes (40.4 percent of UK homes), up from 11.9 million the previous quarter. But Disney+ saw the highest growth in households with access to its ad-supported tier at almost 8 percent last quarter, and year-on-year growth of 65 percent. The streaming service had 2.8 million UK households (9.6 percent of UK homes) on its ad tier in Q1 2026, up from 2.6 million. Read more on VideoWeek.

HBO Max to Carry Video Podcasts in Europe

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) is adding podcasts to HBO Max in Europe, according to The Hollywood Reporter, with Harry Potter and Game of Thrones companion podcasts coming to the streaming service in video form, alongside audio versions on major podcast platforms. The move joins a wave of video podcast pushes from the likes of Netflix and Paramount, which is set to acquire WBD. The report notes that HBO Max has offered podcasts in the US since 2019.

Seven.One Media Introduces Pause Ads on Joyn

Seven.One Media, ProSieben’s media sales house, has introduced Pause Ads on the Joyn streaming service. The ad appears four seconds after pausing content on Joyn, and remains visible in full-screen until playback resumes. Insurance firm CosmosDirekt is the first brand to use the new format, according to the sales house. “We’re expanding our CTV advertising options on Joyn to include another attention-grabbing form of advertising that gives brands visibility within our diverse portfolio of high-quality content – and does so in a particularly natural and user-friendly way,” said Markus Messerer, Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer at Seven.One Media.

Sky News to Launch Podcast Subscription Service

Sky News is launching a podcast subscription service called ‘Sky News Insider: Podcasts’ on 15th June, the network announced on Monday. The bundle will be available for £2.99 per month, and will offer “ad-free access, bonus episodes and early releases” of Sky News podcasts. The network added that demand for its podcasts on Apple, YouTube and Spotify has risen by 102 percent over the past year.

Zee’s Ad Sales Hit by Middle East Conflict

Indian broadcaster Zee saw its Q1 earnings hit by the Middle East crisis, tight client spending and higher overall expenses, the company reported on Tuesday. Zee’s ad revenues, which account for nearly 40 percent of total revenues, fell 3.5 percent YoY during the quarter, with overall revenues down by 5.4 percent. Mukund Galgali, Deputy CEO and CFO at Zee, said that without the Middle East conflict, ad revenue would have likely grown in the low single digits.

Roku Launches Football Zone and Smart Projectors in the UK

Roku UK is launching a new Football Zone where viewers can find World Cup coverage, the TV and streaming business announced on Thursday, bringing live matches, highlights and related content together in a centralised hub on Roku devices. The company also announced a new line of Roku TV Smart Projectors in the UK, in partnership with Aurzen and Sharp. Powered by Roku’s operating system, the projectors offer access to Roku’s streaming content and services, including VOD and live TV.

The Week for Publishers

James Murdoch Buys Vox Assets

Following reports last week, James Murdoch this week agreed a deal reportedly worth more than $300 million to buy a number of major Vox Media assets: Vox, New York Magazine, and the Vox Media Podcast Network. The three businesses, which will sit under the Vox Media umbrella brand, will be housed inside Murdoch’s holding company Lupa Systems. Jim Bankoff, co-founder of Vox Media, will lead the company following the acquisition. “Together under Lupa’s stewardship we are primed to be the best home for talent and the most dynamic media company of this new era,” said Bankoff.

Meanwhile Penske Media is reportedly in talks to buy the titles which weren’t included in the Lupa Systems deal, including Eater, The Verge, and Popsugar.

Global Agrees Deal to Directly Sell Ads on its YouTube Content

Media and entertainment business Global announced on Tuesday it has agreed a deal to directly sell ads alongside its premium video content on YouTube. The company has made a big push into video in recent years, via video versions of its original podcasts, and its acquisition of video podcast company The Fellas and a majority stake in The Overlap. Under this new agreement, Global will directly sell ads alongside podcasts including The News Agents, My Therapist Ghosted Me, and Up To Speed, as well as clips from its radio brands across LBC and Capital. Fatima Dowlet, previously Channel 4’s director of video sales, has joined Global to lead a new video sales team.

Axel Springer Sees Profit Growth

Axel Springer reported its Q1 earnings for 2026 this week, with pro-forma revenues up by 2.6 percent year-on-year, and by more than five percent on an adjusted currency basis. Adjusted EBIT reached €54.1 million, an increase of nearly €30 million. “We are particularly pleased with the growth of MORNING BREW in the U.S. and Idealo’s continued excellent performance,” said Mathias Döpfner, Axel Springer’s CEO. “Our goal is to continue building momentum over the course of the year and further drive Axel Springer’s growth.” Pro-forma revenue growth is expected to be in the low single digits across 2026 as a whole, not including the impact of Axel Springer’s anticipated acquisition of UK newspaper The Telegraph.

Video Propels Podcast Sales Growth

Global podcast sales reached $9.2 billion last year, according to data from Owl & Co. reported by Bloomberg, up 23 percent year-on-year. And this growth is due in part to the popularity of video podcasting in particular. Advertising accounts for the majority of podcast revenue, and the inclusion of video allows pricier video formats to be used. According to Owl & Co., 73 percent of the growth in podcast revenues in the US, the largest market for podcasting, came from video-related revenues.

The Economist Experiments with Agent-Readable Content

Business and current affairs magazine The Economist is experimenting with creating agent-readable versions of its stories which sit outside of its paywall, Digiday reported this week, as the company figures out its strategy for reaching audiences through AI chatbots. For the moment, the company is focussing on marketing copy and B2B sales material — i.e. content which would be beneficial to have surfaced through AI tools, without the risk of valuable traffic being siphoned away from The Economist’s own site. The Economist’s VP of generative AI Josh Muncke told Digiday that the company envisions a future where two versions of the web exist: one designed for human audiences, and one optimised for AI agents.

Newsworks Relaunches ‘Back Don’t Block’ Initiative

Newsworks, the marketing body for UK news media, this week relaunched its ‘Back Don’t Block’ initiative ahead of the upcoming men’s FIFA World Cup, encouraging advertisers to ensure their brand safety controls don’t defund news content. Newsworks says readership across national news brands has risen significantly amid major global events, including the Israeli-US conflict with Iran, but many advertisers still avoid this content despite high reader engagement. And many blocklists include words such as ‘strike’, ‘shoot’, and ‘attack’ — words which can just as easily apply to a World Cup post-game writeup as a violent news story.

“News is where audiences are, where engagement is highest, and where attention drives results,” said Jo Allan, CEO of Newsworks. “Yet outdated, blunt blocklisting technology is standing in the way. It’s time for advertisers to put trust back in professional editors and support quality journalism by backing news – not blocking it.”

The Week for Brands & Agencies

Publicis Acquires LiveRamp for $2.2 Billion

French agency holding company Publicis Groupe announced on Sunday it has agreed a deal to acquire data and identity business LiveRamp for a total enterprise value of $2.2 billion, its largest acquisition since Epsilon back in 2019. “Combined with Epsilon’s identity, LiveRamp’s collaborative clean rooms, data connectivity, marketplace and partner and agent network will build a leader in data co-creation,” Publicis said in a statement, helping clients collaborate around data at speed, generate proprietary intelligence, and continuously train and fuel AI models. The acquisition however ends LiveRamp’s status as an independent company connecting up various parts of the digital advertising ecosystem, and reports suggest that rival holdcos which work with LiveRamp are already moving to wind down those relationships.

Dentsu Posts Slight Organic Growth for Q1

Japanese agency group Dentsu posted its Q1 earnings last Friday, revealing 0.8 percent organic growth in net revenues, and 2.7 percent reported growth in net revenues. Japan, unsurprisingly, was its strongest market, with organic growth of 4.7 percent, while EMEA was up by 0.8 percent. APAC and the Americas both saw organic declines however, of 7.5 percent and 3.0 percent respectively. “The marketing expertise we provide in media, creative, and the wider marketing services we offer are not the goal in themselves,” said CEO Takeshi Sano. “They are the means. The true objective is the sustained growth for our clients’ businesses and brands. Therefore, it is critical that we go beyond responding only to today’s clients’ needs to proactively anticipating challenges they have not yet identified and delivering the most relevant solutions at the right time.”

WPP Confirms Role as JLR ‘Growth Partner’

WPP confirmed this week that it has been chosen by Jaguar Land Rover as its ‘trusted growth partner’, a role which will see WPP provide creative, media, production, customer experience, and strategic counsel services to the car manufacturer. Under the terms of the deal, WPP’s remuneration will be directly linked to JLR’s growth. “To supercharge the growth of our modern luxury brands, we needed to think differently,” said Lennard Hoornik, Chief Growth Officer at JLR. “Together with WPP we want to resolve the traditional contradiction between scale and intimacy. Our joint vision for a single, AI-powered modern luxury marketing organisation is the solution.”

US Agencies Shift to Fixed-Fee Pricing

A quarter of US agencies have shifted exclusively to fixed-fee pricing, according to a survey of marketing and procurement leaders run by Forrester and Dentsu, with 63 percent reporting they are either satisfied or extremely satisfied with the approach. More than half of those who weren’t already using fixed-fee pricing meanwhile said they would be interested in doing so, according to Adweek’s reporting. The move comes as wider AI adoption and integration put pressure on traditional time and materials remuneration models. According to the survey, marketers say fixed-fee pricing reduces complexity, enables better budgeting and forecasting, and allows both marketers and agencies to focus on outcomes.

Advertising Association and Media Smart Launch Virtual Work Experience Programme

The Advertising Association and Media Smart announced on Thursday they are launching a new virtual work experience programme for entry-level talent looking to get into advertising. The programme, which has been developed with careers platform Springpod, includes two free immersive work experiences, designed to help learners understand the ad industry and explore the day-to-day responsibilities of creative and commercial roles. Each experience involves seven hours of self-paced content, and participants will receive a certificate upon completion.

EssenceMediacom Wins Honda’s European Media Brief

WPP Media’s EssenceMediacom on Monday announced it has been selected by Honda Europe as its media agency of record, following a competitive tender supported by MediaSense. The new partnership covers media strategy, planning, and activation, spanning Honda Motor Europe’s automobile, motorcycle, marine, power products across 16 European markets, as well as pan-European activity.

Factotum Acquires Media Bounty

Factotum, an outsourcing business covering marketing, accounting, IT, recruitment, and other services, this week announced it has acquired British media agency Media Bounty, as well as PR firm BIG little LDN. As part of the deal, all teams across Factotum are now legally bound not to work with clients in fossil fuels, weapons, gambling, pesticides, or pornography, extending Media Bounty’s long-held ethical positioning across the wider business. “Most businesses talk about values,” said Media Bounty co-founder Jake Dubbins. “Factotum’s embedded them as legal commitments, which is why this acquisition made sense for us.”

Behave Expands Into Germany

Behave, the UK-founded behavioural consultancy owned by Serviceplan Group’s House of Communication UK, on Thursday announced it is expanding into Germany following a period of rapid growth in the UK market. The new unit will be led by Mediaplus’s global chief data officer Karin Immenroth and global director Minh Nguyen. The move will also see Behave make its suite of AI-powered products, Behave.AI, available globally. “Expanding the Behave team into Germany […] strengthens our behavioural science capabilities and sharpens our differentiation across research, planning, content and AI,” said Will Hanmer-Lloyd, head of Behave UK.

Hires of the Week

WPP Media Appoints David Gaines as President, Global Head of Planning

WPP Media has named David Gaines as President, Global Head of Planning. The new role will see Gaines “helping to design and scale a modern approach to planning,” he said on LinkedIn. Gaines was CEO and Founder of independent agency Media by Mother.

Mediaocean Names Iván Markman as President and COO

Mediaocean, a US omnichannel ad tech business, has appointed Iván Markman as President and Chief Operating Officer. Reporting to CEO Bill Wise, Markman will be responsible for driving global operational alignment and performance. He previously led Yahoo’s B2B division, overseeing ad tech, search and Edgecast.