Stagwell’s Penn: ‘We’re the fourth alternative’ to the Big Three holding groups
The Media Leader’s Jack Benjamin reports that Stagwell CEO Mark Penn is positioning the holding group as a “fourth alternative” to WPP, Omnicom and Publicis.
Paramount streaming chief Cindy Holland exits ahead of WBD merger
The Hollywood Reporter’s Alex Weprin reports that Paramount’s direct-to-consumer chair Cindy Holland is leaving the company as its Warner Bros. Discovery deal nears, with CEO David Ellison said to be “optimizing for HBO stability” in the combined streaming business.
SAGE data: Lowe’s ensemble NFL ad beats other “Earn Your Sunday” spots on likeability
The Measure’s Eleanor Semeraro reports that iSpot’s SAGE platform found Lowe’s “Power” spot, featuring Dak Prescott, Justin Jefferson and Myles Garrett, beats three other “Earn Your Sunday” ads by 33 to 44 Likeability points, driven by broader humor and cleaner narrative.
TVRev: TV addressability needs its own logic, not digital’s playbook
TVRev’s Sofie Sue Rutgeerts argues TV shouldn’t import digital’s audience-targeting infrastructure wholesale, since television is built around lean-back viewing, not the transactional intent that drives digital targeting.
Chartbeat: search decline pushes publishers to more controllable traffic
The Measure reports that Chartbeat’s new Q3 report finds search traffic declining, while referral share grows among loyal readers via direct, internal and dark social channels that publishers control more directly.
Greenfield: Ellison’s Paramount-Warner must become a platform, not just a studio
Business Insider’s Peter Kafka reports that analyst Rich Greenfield says Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery must open their streamers to outside creators, mimicking YouTube and Netflix, since neither combined library has enough content diversity to train recommendation algorithms.
Waxman: tech, not streaming, now sets Hollywood’s power structure
TheWrap’s Sharon Waxman writes that Hollywood’s disruption is a symptom, not the cause, of a deeper shift in the balance of power from content to technology companies.
Netflix expands AudienceProject deal to prove ad reach across markets
Advanced Television reports that Netflix will use AudienceProject’s Elevate platform and cross-media reports to document inventory value and show advertisers how it adds reach versus other channels, across the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Canada.
Retail media’s measurement mess is piling up on CMOs
Business Insider’s Lara O’Reilly reports that with over 200 retail media networks now competing for budgets, an ISBA and MediaSense audit of five major UK networks found five different definitions of an “attributed sale.”
VideoWeek releases 2027 CTV Advertising Guide for Europe
VideoWeek’s Tim Cross-Kovoor reports the CTV Advertising Guide Europe 2027 is now free to download. It covers landscape maps for five markets, an interview with Prime Video’s Lisa Rousseau, and data from IAB Europe and EMARKETER.
Twitch uses AI transcripts to judge streamers’ brand safety
Tubefilter’s James Hale reports that Twitch CEO Dan Clancy told The Snarketing Podcast the platform now uses AI to transcribe live streams and flag whether a streamer’s content matches an advertiser’s brand safety guidelines.
CIMM forms task force to tackle TV’s measurement currency conundrum
Digiday’s Tim Peterson reports that the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement is forming a new task force to address the TV ad industry’s ongoing measurement currency frustrations.
Kroger, Vidmob study ties creative scoring to 81% conversion accuracy
Marketing Dive’s Chris Kelly reports that Kroger, Vidmob and MMA Global found predictive creative scoring can forecast e-commerce conversion with 81% accuracy, with aligned creative driving a four-times lift in conversion rates before media even runs.
Guy Raz takes full ownership of ‘How I Built This,’ partners with Vox Media
TheWrap’s A.J. Katz reports that Guy Raz has acquired full ownership of “How I Built This” from NPR, with Vox Media handling sales, marketing, distribution and live events under the new partnership.
Motion Society taps ex-Spotify exec Chanel Simmons to run U.S. business
Deadline’s Jesse Whittock reports that creator economy company Motion Society has named Chanel Simmons, formerly of Spotify, Meta and Fullscreen, as Managing Director, U.S.
Commerce media plans still lag consumers’ cross-channel path to purchase
eMarketer’s Christopher Wood reports that commerce media planning remains siloed even though the customer journey now spans retail media, social, search, and in-store touchpoints in no fixed order.
Deloitte: media value is shifting from content to fan participation
MediaPost’s Stephanie Dolan argues entertainment is moving from a “Content Economy” into a “Participation Economy,” where audiences sharing, remixing and building communities around stories matters more than raw viewing time or subscriber counts.
Amazon gives brands more control over AI shopping conversations
eMarketer’s Rachel Wolff reports that Amazon is letting brands shape how its AI shopping assistant describes and recommends their products during conversational search.
Paramount+ buys three British A24 series for U.S. rights
Deadline’s Jesse Whittock reports Paramount+ acquired U.S. and select international rights to three A24 scripted shows: comedy “It Gets Worse,” coming-of-age drama “Major Players” and BBC fantasy adaptation “The Ministry of Time.”