Ad tech rebuilt itself around identity resolution and clean rooms once third-party cookies disappeared. Coverage here spans SSAI, programmatic CTV, ad-supported tier economics, frequency capping, and the measurement approaches replacing the old playbook.
Telly is expanding its programmatic advertising capabilities by enabling home screen ad inventory through Magnite's SpringServe and The Trade Desk. The company is also collaborating with the IAB Tech Lab to establish standardized bidstream signals for home screen ad formats to improve targeting and scale.
The FTC has filed a lawsuit against Amazon alleging deceptive auction practices in its retail advertising business, prompting industry calls for greater transparency in programmatic auction mechanics. While the lawsuit does not cover Prime Video, analysts are urging streaming buyers to demand verifiable log data to ensure auction integrity across all DSP inventory.
Ad tech companies are shifting from using task-specific AI tools to building integrated operational layers that connect internal systems like CRMs and monetization stacks. This transition aims to automate complex programmatic decisioning and demand routing by embedding AI directly into core business infrastructure.
This article provides a comprehensive overview of demand-side platform (DSP) pricing models, including common fee structures and cost components like media spend, technology fees, and data costs. It specifically notes that Amazon DSP's managed-service offering typically requires a $50,000 minimum spend, highlighting the importance of evaluating total cost of ownership for programmatic campaigns.
Nielsen has expanded its Ad Intel product in Italy to include Connected TV (CTV) ad spend tracking across major streaming platforms. The update provides competitive intelligence for marketers to analyze ad investment shifts between linear TV and digital streaming channels.
GumGum has launched a new advertising suite called GumGum Sports Media that utilizes computer vision from Relo Metrics and viewership data from VideoAmp to enable addressable retargeting of sports fans. The platform allows brands to target households verified to have seen specific sponsorship placements during live broadcasts across CTV and digital channels.
Base44 has integrated Google Ads Performance Max campaign creation directly into its AI application-building dashboard, allowing users to generate ad accounts and manage media spend without leaving the platform. The integration automates campaign setup and creative population using content from the user's application, though it raises questions regarding account ownership and compliance with Google's new programmatic proxy policies.
VIOOH has partnered with Starlite Media to integrate over 800 digital out-of-home screens across 70 US markets into its programmatic supply-side platform. This integration enables advertisers to programmatically purchase large-format, full-motion inventory in retail environments to reach consumers near the point of purchase.
Klaviyo and MNTN have integrated their platforms to allow marketers to trigger automated email and SMS workflows based on Performance TV ad exposure. The partnership enables brands to sync first-party audience data, such as cart abandonment, to connected TV campaigns for improved cross-channel attribution and follow-up.
Nexxen International reported strong Q2 results and raised its 2026 programmatic revenue guidance, driven by a recovery in CTV activity. The company also announced updates to its nexAI platform, including support for interoperability with external AI agents and new first-party data onboarding features.
Sofia Digital and Broadpeak have partnered to integrate performance-based advertising solutions into HbbTV and DTT environments. The joint offering includes Spot2Spot for ad replacement, Click2 for smartphone-based interaction, and BannersIn for web-based overlays, aiming to bring addressable CTV capabilities to legacy television sets.
A 2026 report from BrandShield indicates that brand impersonation on marketplaces like TikTok Shop is causing significant media efficiency issues, with 31.6% of consumers reporting they stop clicking ads from brands they believe are being impersonated. While the report highlights a growing threat from AI-driven fraud, it also notes that consumers often blame the platform rather than the impersonated brand, complicating traditional brand-health metrics.
NBC Sports is transitioning to Nielsen for verifying streaming viewership data for NFL and MLB Wild Card telecasts, moving away from its previous reliance on Adobe Analytics for public metrics. While Adobe will remain the internal tool for first-party data, Nielsen will now provide the verified, unified audience count for broadcast and digital telecasts.
London-based startup Empyre has launched a platform designed to license creator content to fans for clipping, utilizing automated Content ID compliance and revenue-sharing models. The system aims to mitigate platform enforcement risks associated with unregulated clipping while providing brands with verified distribution networks and audience data.
Researchers from Gamers Nexus have alleged that LG smart TVs capture audio transcripts and collect extensive local network data while in standby mode to support the company's advertising business. The report raises significant privacy concerns regarding the implementation of automatic content recognition (ACR) technology and data collection practices in connected TV hardware.
ADvendio has joined the nonprofit trade association AgenticAdvertising.org to support the Ad Context Protocol (AdCP) for AI-driven advertising. The partnership aims to integrate ADvendio's execution infrastructure and Guardrail Engine with the AdCP standard to facilitate automated, commercially sound transactions between AI buying and selling agents.
Retail media networks are struggling to modernize legacy ad technology stacks due to organizational inertia, annual budget cycles, and misalignment between technical capabilities and business goals. While composable cloud and AI-driven solutions are available, successful implementation often requires significant internal data infrastructure and long-term strategic planning.
US District Judge Leonie Brinkema has rejected the Department of Justice's request to force Google to divest its AdX exchange and DoubleClick for Publishers business. The ruling mandates behavioral remedies rather than structural breakups, allowing Google to maintain its vertically integrated ad-tech stack.
A weekly industry roundup reports that Disney+ saw a 1.1 million household increase in the UK, largely driven by a wholesale distribution partnership with Sky. The report also highlights consumer research indicating that audiences frequently disengage from unskippable ads and that marketers remain concerned about brand safety near AI-generated content.
US streaming ad loads increased by 18% between January and August 2026 as platforms shift focus toward maximizing ARPU through ad-supported tiers. Data from Ampere Analysis indicates that while Netflix saw the largest percentage growth in ad volume, Paramount+ currently maintains the highest ad load at 9 minutes per hour.
An investigation by the Tech Transparency Project revealed that Meta's automated ad review systems approved and monetized over 300 ads containing AI-generated child sexual abuse material between November 2025 and August 2026. The ads, many linked to deepfake 'nudify' apps, reached thousands of users across Meta's platforms, prompting inquiries from U.S. lawmakers regarding the company's ad moderation failures.
TripleLift explores the potential for agentic AI and the Model Context Protocol (MCP) to automate digital advertising workflows between buyers and sellers. The article proposes a framework where AI agents coordinate supply, creative, and measurement tasks to improve efficiency in programmatic advertising.
Fluent has partnered with Bilt to integrate targeted advertising into physical point-of-sale systems, enabling retailers to serve personalized offers during checkout. The initiative aims to leverage purchase-intent data to reach shoppers with non-endemic advertisements, including those for streaming services.
A study conducted by Circana on 48 Ibotta campaigns indicates that integrating promotional incentives with media spend can drive a 16% sales lift and 8X improvement in new household penetration. Ibotta CRO Chris Riedy argues that CPG brands should move toward a unified measurement approach that treats promotions and media spend as equally impactful.
Quigley-Simpson CEO Carl Fremont discusses the industry's ongoing challenge in converting high volumes of marketing data into actionable business insights. The discussion highlights the gap between data availability and the maturity required to effectively scale AI for measurable outcomes like sales and ROI.
NBCUniversal has released findings from its proprietary Creative Ad Engine, which uses AI to analyze ad performance across its streaming and live sports inventory. The data indicates that branding within the first five seconds of a spot correlates with a 2.8x increase in viewer recall.
Media agencies are developing internal auditing tools to manage AI token costs as Gartner reports that 60% of companies are exceeding their AI budgets. Additionally, the AI startup micro1 has submitted a $12.5 million bid for the data assets of the defunct Spirit Airlines, challenging a previous $10 million offer from Google.
Ad tech startup myGaru has developed a platform that enables competing Ukrainian telecom operators to share network-level identity signals for advertising without exposing personally identifiable information. The technology allows advertisers to maintain addressable reach in cookieless environments by using pseudonymized tokens that expire after each session.
Advertisers are increasingly adopting unified video strategies to manage fragmented inventory across broadcast, CTV, and digital platforms during high-demand live sports events. The strategy aims to improve media efficiency and reach younger audiences who frequently engage with second screens during live broadcasts.
Sell-side consultants Jana Meron and Scott Messer discuss the current challenges facing digital publishers, including the impact of AI chatbots on engagement and the evolving programmatic ad landscape. The discussion covers strategies for publishers to regain control of their inventory through curation and the integration of AI tools to improve audience targeting.
Magnite and Amnet France have launched an agentic advertising campaign in EMEA, utilizing natural language prompts to automate CTV inventory discovery and activation. The pilot reported a 70% reduction in campaign setup time and a 95% video view-through rate for an automotive client.
Global retail media revenue reached $174.2 billion in 2025, surpassing TV ad spend for the first time as retailers shift focus from last-click conversion to brand-focused budgets. Meanwhile, major legal actions against Meta, Amazon, and Google have yet to impact agency ad spending, and UK sports bodies are seeking government subsidies for women's sports production.
Marketers are increasingly adopting unified measurement and identity resolution strategies to bridge the data gap between linear TV and streaming platforms. This shift aims to improve total reach and frequency calculations while reducing wasted ad spend caused by siloed reporting.
Launchpoint has introduced an AI-driven platform designed to automate administrative workflows for creator marketing, including contract management, payouts, and fraud detection. The platform, which serves enterprise clients like Uber and Unilever, utilizes nine distinct signals to identify and block fraudulent engagement in creator-led campaigns.
Commonwealth Bank has partnered with Australian news aggregator LeadStory to launch a dedicated 'Breaking Finance News' channel on Samsung TV Plus and LG Channels. The deal integrates branded content and naming rights into a 24-hour FAST environment, highlighting a trend toward embedded advertising in specialist streaming news services.
Stockholm-based startup Fluencify has raised $4.3 million in an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round led by byFounders. The company provides an AI-driven platform that automates end-to-end influencer marketing campaigns, including creator sourcing, content production, and payment processing.
Cleeng provides a guide for D2C streaming services on implementing localized pricing strategies, including the use of Purchasing Power Parity and regional payment methods. The article outlines how their platform manages multi-currency pricing, tax compliance, and payment integration to improve international conversion rates.
OpenAI's ChatGPT advertising has reached a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate, signaling a shift toward native ad formats within large language models. Industry players like Thrad are developing specific ad-tech infrastructure, including inline cards and branded prompts, to capitalize on this emerging media channel.
OpoInstall provides a technical overview of mobile ad fraud mechanisms, including click injection, click spamming, and SDK spoofing. The article details mitigation strategies such as Mean Time to Install (MTTI) distribution modeling and the integration of platform-level integrity APIs to protect attribution accuracy.
Adtech platforms are increasingly utilizing machine learning to implement signal compression, filtering high-volume, fragmented advertising data into actionable insights. This approach aims to reduce decision complexity and improve predictive accuracy for programmatic and connected TV advertising.
A Kantar study of 600 European campaigns indicates that high-quality creative in out-of-home (OOH) advertising can deliver 14 times the brand awareness of weaker ads. The research also highlights that programmatic buying and cross-channel integration across five or more platforms can triple overall campaign impact.
EDO released a report analyzing 1,443 NFL on-screen sponsorships from the 2025-26 season to identify high-performing integration formats. The data highlights that halftime studio segments and specific billboard placements significantly outperform average sponsorship units in driving consumer engagement.
Adnami has launched curated, attention-optimized ad deal packages directly within Google Display & Video 360 (DV360) via Index Exchange. This integration allows programmatic buyers to access premium, multi-publisher inventory without requiring a direct Adnami account.
YouTube has integrated Amazon into its Shopping partner program, enabling US creators to tag Amazon products directly in videos, Shorts, and live streams. The initiative aims to increase retail conversion rates by embedding product tags and utilizing automatic identification technology within the platform's content archive.
Belgian broadcaster RTBF has migrated its ad monetization workflow to a standards-based Server-Guided Ad Insertion (SGAI) system using Bitmovin's player and Ad Insertion Platform's AdBlendr. The deployment enables dynamic ad insertion for both live and time-shifted content without the need for per-user manifests.
Digitas North America CIO Liane Nadeau and Roku's Carly Friedman discussed the balance between performance-based CTV metrics and long-term brand building at the Cannes Lions festival. The panelists emphasized that while shoppable technology is advancing, advertisers should avoid over-prioritizing low-funnel metrics at the expense of broader brand goals.
DAZN Media+ has entered a commercial agreement with AudienceProject to implement independent, cross-media audience measurement across its Australian streaming and linear inventory starting in 2027. The partnership aims to provide deduplicated reach and frequency data, addressing long-standing measurement gaps in the Australian video advertising market.
Google is testing new shopping ad placements within its AI Mode conversational search results, including inline carousels and single units featuring model-generated product descriptions. These placements currently lack specific reporting metrics in Google Ads, complicating performance measurement for advertisers.
Google is removing manual campaign-level language targeting for Search and Performance Max campaigns in September 2026, transitioning to automated inference based on user behavior and content signals. This shift reflects broader industry trends toward reducing manual targeting controls in favor of AI-driven model inputs as privacy-focused browser changes degrade traditional signal headers.
Australian advertising data from Guideline SMI shows a 28% increase in streaming video ad spend for July, largely driven by Commonwealth Games coverage. While total ad spend saw a slight decline, industry analysts note a structural shift in budget allocation toward CTV and BVOD as advertisers prioritize measurable, high-attention channels.
