In this week’s Week in Review: Netflix reports on ad growth, Sony mulls a bid for Paramount, and Axel Springer’s CEO explains why he no longer fears Google: it’s already won. Top Stories Netflix’s Ad Tier Grew by Two Thirds in Q1, but Scale Remains an Issue Netflix said its ad membership grew by 65 percent quarter-on-quarter in Q1 this year, following two quarters of similarly high growth, as it continues to scale its ad offering. And 40 percent of new subscribers signed up for the ad-supported tier, in markets where that tier is available. Netflix didn’t give a specific number for how many us ..read more

Impact Media, a new programmatic ad buying platform enabling advertisers to only pay for ads which reach certain minimum thresholds for attention, announced its launch today. Advertisers big and small are increasingly integrating attention metrics into their ad planning and measurement, seeking to eliminate spend on ads which go unseen and ignored by audiences. But many tools allow advertisers to target high attention media and use attention metrics for optimisation, rather than guaranteeing attention. And the ongoing debate around made-for-advertising websites – which continue to draw ad spen ..read more

Following a tough year for European broadcasters, in which ad revenues fell for many of the major players in a tough ad market, the early signs for 2024 are more promising. Following ProSieben’s announcement earlier this week that it’s seen a recovery in TV advertising revenues (though it didn’t detail the extent of this recovery), MFE announced it has seen six percent year-on-year ad revenue growth in the first quarter of 2021. In Italy, its largest market, ad revenues were up by five percent while in Spain, growth hit eight percent. This last stat is particularly noteworthy. MFE’s Italian br ..read more

One of the current game-changers in the world of sport broadcasting is the wave of clubs and sports leagues launching their own streaming services, allowing teams to serve video content directly to fans across connected devices – and unlike traditional TV deals, around the world. FC Barçelona has just launched Barça One, a free ad-supported streaming service, housing the La Liga team’s live content, news shows and documentaries. The new platform replaces Barça TV+, a paid subscription service that launched in 2020. The new offering is free with ads, and has a premium ad-free option for €2 per ..read more

There are plenty of positive trends towards CTV investment in Europe, says Stefanie Briec, Director of Demand Sales, UK & EMEA at AudienceXpress. But there are challenges for the year ahead too. Fragmentation remains a challenge, and for brands whose marketing budgets are being squeezed, it’s vital that they’re able to prove their CTV investment work. This means effectively measuring who they’ve reached and how many times across different CTV providers. In this interview, filmed at New Video Frontiers 2024 in London, Briec discusses: What factors are driving or deterring investment in CTV ..read more

American agency holding group Omnicom has reported its Q1 financial results, posting organic growth of four percent, with revenues reaching $3.6 billion. Flywheel Digital, a digital commerce platform bought by Omnicom last year, was a significant contributor to this growth, according to Omnicom executives. And Flywheel was the major topic of discussion on Omnicom’s earnings call following the results, with Omnicom positioning Flywheel as central to its future prospects. Flywheel was mentioned 64 times on the call, far more than the agency topic du jour generative AI, which came up 13 ..read more

Samsung this morning announced the promotion of Alex Hole to SVP and General Manager of the European Services business. Hole will lead the newly combined services division, which brings together the advertising, partnerships and product units, including Samsung’s gaming and streaming offerings. Alex Hole joined Samsung in 2017 to head up Samsung’s European Ads business, which has since expanded into 16 markets across Europe, and is due to launch in the Middle East this year. He also oversaw the development of Samsung TV Plus, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) service that now has over ..read more

Total digital ad spend in the US grew 7.3 percent in 2023, reaching $225 billion, according to the IAB and PwC’s latest Internet Advertising Revenue Report. And video is a significant driver of this growth, having had the fastest growth rate in recent years, powered by the influx of CTV inventory. Video revenues grew by 10.6 percent in 2023, reaching $52.1 billion. This means video now accounts for 23.2 percent of all digital ad revenues in the US, and it’s expected to continue growing at a high rate in the coming years, according to the report. Video was not the only high growth area in 2023 ..read more

ProSiebenSat.1 shareholders are gearing up for a pivotal vote at its annual general meeting (AGM) at the end of the month, as its main investor MFE-MediaForEurope seeks greater control of the German broadcaster. But after a difficult financial year for ProSieben, the company has reported a positive start to 2024, potentially strengthening its hand ahead in negotitations with MFE. In Q1 2024, ProSieben generated €867 million in revenues, up 6 percent YoY. The results mark a return to growth in TV revenues, coming off the back of 2023 when group revenues were down 7 percent across the full year ..read more

The deprecation of third-party cookies won’t have a direct impact on CTV, since CTV is a cookie-free environment. But as buyers test alternative identifiers, this could have implications for CTV measurement, says William Jones, Senior Director of Advanced TV and Omnichannel Activation at Adform. Testing of these solutions will start on online video, but as the industry settles on new identifiers, these may then be applied to CTV where possible. In this interview, Jones also discusses some of the contenders and component parts which might make up this new identifier. Filmed at New Video Frontie ..read more