Issue #50: Top stories from Meta, Netflix & more

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🗞️ Top Stories

1. Meta earns billions in revenue from fraudulent ads
   Internal documents indicate Meta projected billions in revenue from ads for scams and banned goods, raising questions about platform incentives.

   Reuters

2. Digital continues to dominate UK ad spend
   New UK data shows search and online display now account for roughly 80% of ad spend, with Q4 projected to grow despite macro uncertainty.

   The Media Leader

3. ITV confirms £1.6bn Sky sale talks
   ITV says it’s in preliminary talks to sell its media & entertainment business to Sky for an enterprise value of about £1.6bn, excluding ITV Studios.

   Prolific North

4. Netflix ad tier hits 190m monthly average users
   Ads now reach 190m monthly active viewers globally, with UK monthly views rising 65% year on year and both programmatic and live ad tests expanded.

   The Media Leader

5. Reach plc shifts beyond Google amid zero-click concerns
   To offset declining search referrals Reach is leaning into MSN, aggregators, video and podcasts, aiming to offset the negative traffic impact of AI overviews.

   DIGIDAY

6. Uber debuts custom platform attention metric
   Uber Advertising launched an attention score with Adelaide and Kantar, linking placement signals to brand lift outcomes across Uber’s ad canvas.

   adexchanger

7. Google’s AI Mode adds new agentic capability
   Google expanded AI Mode with agentic actions like booking tickets and appointments directly from Search.

   TechCrunch

8. WARC Media releases Future of Commerce Media report
   Retail media is set to approach $200b by 2026, with growth moving from sponsored search toward richer display and off-site formats.

   Mediashotz

9. DoubleVerify debuts AI verification product
   New tools from the brand safety outfit detect and manage AI agent interactions and avoid low quality, AI generated content and encourage quality ad placement.

   ExchangeWire

10. Amazon Ads makes iHeartMedia available programmatically
    Amazon Ads and iHeartMedia expanded their partnership via Amazon DSP, widening scale and automation for programmatic audio buyers.

    businesswire

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