The moment. US TV upfront spending share returned to pre-COVID levels while the industry argued about consolidation. A state attorney general suit against Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery is chilling wider media M&A, the settlement talk has a math problem inside it, and Sinclair’s $3.25 million Stirk purchase showed the shape of broadcast’s next roll-up. WPP’s legal troubles mounted without clients leaving.
The tension. Agencies are being told to govern AI before they scale it, by holding companies that are themselves consolidating under antitrust pressure. The discipline is being asked of the buyer and not the seller.
Who’s moving. Omnicom’s media chief, arguing governance before scale. Sinclair, writing the playbook. Publicis, launching Tekta with Travis Kelce to unify NIL marketing. Havas, taking Superdrug from WPP’s Mindshare. The state AGs, setting the price of a merger.
What the desk is watching. Whether the Paramount fight becomes the reference price for media M&A, and which discipline ends up owning YouTube Shorts buying, which agencies are still openly arguing about.
A year into Cindy Rose’s tenure, WPP Media’s retention rate has climbed to 43% from 16%, with $3 billion in new accounts won versus $2.81 billion lost. Operating margin still sits at 4.1%, far below Publicis’s 17.4%.
Sep 1Assemblymember Rick Chavez Zbur and Senator Ben Allen introduced AB/SB 186 to soften new business tax credit caps on Hollywood.
Aug 31Modern Retail’s podcast examines why old-school PR tactics of waiting out a scandal are failing brands today.
Aug 31Scripps has hired Jen Carfley, a longtime NBCUniversal advertising sales executive, for a senior role on its own sales team, according to a report from TV Tech detailing the personnel move.
Aug 30Old Navy comparable sales fell 4% to $2.1 billion as summer campaigns missed traffic targets, Gap Inc. said. The retailer is replacing Old Navy’s CEO and pivoting to denim, citing early gains from a Cardi B campaign.
Aug 30Fox’s World Cup coverage drew 128 million viewers and lifted its ad revenue 28% to $4.2 billion, but buyers say that hasn’t translated into a rush for Premier League inventory.
Aug 28Sinclair agreed to acquire four Howard Stirk Holdings stations it already operates under a shared services agreement for $3.25 million.
Aug 27Digiday’s Future of TV Briefing reports agencies are still sorting out which internal teams — social, video or TV — should take the lead on buying YouTube Shorts ads.
Aug 27BuzzFeed laid off 10 HuffPost Union members, cutting the national desk from seven reporters to three. The desk numbered 14 a year ago — the once-Pulitzer-winning newsroom keeps unwinding.
Aug 27Tatari’s Dana Delle argues buyers still purchase YouTube like a digital channel, on CPMs and algorithmic targeting, even though Nielsen counts it as TV and its reach dwarfs linear: CNN, 240 million monthly YouTube views against 550,000 in primetime.
Aug 27Unions, exhibitors and politicians all want a negotiated Paramount-WBD settlement. A THR analysis flags the contradiction: the financing needs more than $6 billion in synergies, and the protections everyone wants would block those same savings.
Aug 27Upfront commitments made up 75% of total deal volume this season, per Madison & Wall and Media Dynamics research. That matches pre-pandemic norms, reversing years of advertiser reluctance to lock in spend months ahead.
Aug 25Publicis Sports, Travis Kelce and Lionsgate-owned 3 Arts Sports formed Tekta, a consulting venture giving advertisers access to Division I athletes across 68 Power Four schools with a unified measurement framework. Select Publicis Sports clients get early access.
Aug 25Omnicom Media Group’s Ben Hovaness argues AI adoption should start with data governance and human oversight, not speed. He says agencies will win by orchestrating AI across ecosystems and by agreeing on consistent outcome measurement, not by owning the technology.
Aug 25Paramount’s $110B WBD deal is on hold until mid-2027 amid a state attorneys general antitrust suit, even after clearing federal and global regulators. Executives now warn the state-level threat could stall other pending media combinations.
Aug 25Marketing execs are rallying around “fandom” as a way to embed brands in culture rather than advertise around it.
Aug 24WPP faces a former exec’s kickback lawsuit, a class action alleging execs misled shareholders for 19 months, and a Sony probe finding WPP kept 80% of publisher rebates. Clients like Coca-Cola still praise the holdco publicly.
Aug 24A VAB/Dynata survey finds ads in local TV news boost purchase likelihood and brand perception across age groups, including younger viewers. The findings arrive as advertisers have grown wary of news environments over political polarization concerns.
Aug 24Asda’s George brand launches “If you know, you know,” created by Lucky Generals, its first campaign leading the entire George brand. The homeware-led push spans TV, social, OOH, retail media and in-store, with fashion activity to follow later this season.
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