Edition #528
Measurement changes, OpenAI nabs Meta ad veteran and branded entertainment is really in vogue.
So you’re working with the MRC to keep your measurement in compliance. And they suggest, it would be stronger, if this part of your data source, was sourced independently.
You’ve selected that data source, because you think it helps present the best model, for clients, as they navigate the ever changing landscape. But, you need to keep complaint.
So you go and change.
That’s what Nielsen has done recently, swapping where they source their demographic data, to inform their streaming vs linear tv consumption. And this is important, because, this definition informs where and what you measure.
And it turns out, to be a big deal. As Patrick from WSJ highlights,
Streaming accounted for 41.9% of U.S. TV viewing time in February, compared with 47.4% for so-called linear TV, according to unreleased Nielsen data described by people with direct knowledge of the numbers.
That’s a reversal from Nielsen’s most recent monthly Gauge report, which said TV viewing in January was 47% streaming and 42.7% linear, as well as Nielsen’s announcement last year that streaming had surpassed broadcast and cable viewing in May for the first time.
Now with Super Bowl in this month, you expect Linear to be stronger, but rightfully so, some advertisers are going, well, on this new basis of measurement, what was it like six months ago, three months etc.
By just dropping in a new methodology, they can’t completely change their plans overnight. If traditional tv is bigger than thought, maybe some brands have been too fast to allocate to streaming (and vice versa).
The piece concludes with the fact, this doesn’t change the fact that eyeballs are moving towards streaming. But, timing matters.
Notable stories this week
- Adobe turns brand marketing into entertainment with “The Marketers” comedy series.
- Sequential Streaming Ad Series from Ford.
- OpenAI poaches Meta Ad Veteran to build its ads business.
- LTK’s updated creator contract includes a $50,000 penalty clause, AI training rights, and a clause barring attorneys. Read this before you click okay.
- The Atlantic takes its journalism to sea in three year cruise ship partnership.
- OpenAI’s first advertisers can’t prove ChatGPT ads work.
- Beehiiv to allow creators to manage accounts through AI platforms.
- Zuckerberg launches Meta Small Business.
- Delayed Nielsen data will show traditional TV back on top.
- Reinvigorating the Philadelphia Inquirer.
- The Economist launches new Economist Enterprise business unit.
- Apple is set to put ads in Apple Maps in services push.
- Publicis vs The Trade Desk isn’t really about transparency – it’s about who gets the margin.
- Reddit looks to AI search as its next big opportunity.
- TikTok’s plan to reimagine video advertising.
- Pubmatic is betting AI agents will finally fix programmatic complexity problem.
- Amazon is planning a first of its kind Audio Ad Deal in the UK.
- Ads Are Popping Up on the Fridge and It Isn’t Going Over Well.
- Why the Publicis – Trade Desk split signals a turning point for programmatic.
- Quicken is producing 100 pieces of content every few weeks using AI.
- YouTube shows are closing in on traditional TV — fast.
- AI is rewriting the old rules of Google Search and SEO.
- X adds comment downvotes to improve algorithmic ranking.
- Google folds Gemini deeper into DV360 to automate media planning and buying.
- X dangles $200k for advertisers to return to the platform.
- Yahoo DSP: The future is never logging into the UI.
- Google Search is now using AI to replace headlines.
- Omnicom launches audit of The Trade Desk’s fees.
- AI analytics agents need guardrails, note more model size.
- Nexxen DSP delivers full-funnel performance with AI-powered optimization and incrementally measurement.
- Stripe brings a new checkout experience to Facebook.
- The veteran podcaster’s hanging up their headphones.
Deals/M&A
Campaign of the week
- Every Ground is our Proving Ground. With the launch of F1 on AppleTV Ford are launching a sequential ad series, where the 30 second spots are used to advance a story. Neat, smart, continuing this thread of Apple being savvy with its media.
Smartest commentary
- “Away from the pearl-clutching social media posts, operators with insights into the sector argue that the real narrative at play is one centered on margin, control and who ultimately captures the most value from a dollar of media spend.” –Digiday.
Datapoints of note
- The exec also noted that weekly active users for search over the past year grew 30% from 60 million users to 80 million users. Meanwhile, the weekly active users for the AI-powered Reddit Answers grew from 1 million in the first quarter of 2025 to 15 million by the fourth quarter.
- pDOOH investment set to surge 44% as programmatic takes over half of campaigns.
- Higher programmatic CPMs drove 44% revenue growth for The Guardian US.
- According to Spotter, there are now roughly 6,600 “creator TV” channels in the US — defined by long-form episodes (22+ minutes), consistent release schedules, and meaningful audiences. Collectively, these shows generated an estimated 26 billion hours of viewing in the US in 2025, with more than half of that on connected TVs.
- The Atlantic now counts 1.46 million total subscribers as of the second half of 2025, having added 300,000 net new subscriptions over the prior year.
- 82% of ad executives believe Gen Z/millennial consumers feel very or somewhat positive about AI-generated ads, nearly double the 45% of consumers who actually feel that way,” the researchers wrote.
- Bluesky hits 43m users.
- MorningBrew are at $75m-$80m revenue.
Events
- Branded Content Days is coming up in New York mid April.
That’s it for this week.
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