MediaPost.com: MediaDailyNews

LinkedIn Gets Mixed Ruling In Health Privacy Battle

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 16:54:50 -0400

A federal judge said a Nevada resident can proceed with a privacy claim against LinkedIn over allegations that it collected tracking data from Nevada's Health Link insurance marketplace.

Reddit Can Proceed With Scraping Claims Against Perplexity, SerpApi

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 15:38:38 -0400

Reddit can proceed with a lawsuit alleging that Perplexity and data scraper SerpApi wrongly obtained copyrighted Reddit posts from Google's search results.

Apple Advances Advertising Gains

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 14:19:02 -0400

Apple's services division, which includes advertising, reached a record of $30.7 billion in revenue for Q3 2026, up 12% year-over-year. Ads were a key growth driver supporting App Store and Music, but services slightly missed analyst estimates of $31.2 billion.

Roblox Hits 123M Q2 Users, Struggles To Engage Young Players

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:45:35 -0400

Roblox showed an increase in revenue and cash flow in Q2, with advancements in creator engagement and generative AI capabilities, but struggled to engage its youngest cohort of players.

June Ad Market Re-Accelerates Thanks To World Cup Spending

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 11:13:11 -0400

Overall U.S. ad spending surged 19%, while national TV ad spending jumped 36% vs. June 2025. The World Cup boost is expected to have a similar impact in July.

Disney Selling 50% A+E Stake To Hearst For More Than $1B

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 11:04:08 -0400

The midsized cable TV network group, including A&E Network, History Channel, Lifetime, Vice TV and others, would now be 100% owned by Hearst. The deal is expected to be finalized at the same time as Disney's quarterly earnings release on August 5.

Serviceplan Fiscal Year Media Grew 2.7%

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 10:02:06 -0400

The company, with ambitious expansion plans in Europe, Asia and the U.S., said media now accounts for 40% of its revenue.

Why We Are Automating The Past, How To Stop It

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 09:50:36 -0400

Most robotics companies seem to be focused on building humanoids. And if they’re not humanoid, they tend to resemble other things familiar to us like dogs or cars.

There does not appear to be a lot of innovation around truly new structures or approaches. Why? Because our world is inhabited and built by humans. Door handles, kitchens, factories, cars, and warehouse shelves were all designed around our anatomy. So, when engineers build a robot, they default to recreating an artificial “being” to fit the environment we already have.

We do the exact same thing in marketing with AI. Instead of rethinking how a brand connects with a human being, we build AI agents to do the jobs listed on our current Statements of Work. We make an agent to write a brief, an agent to slice 50 banner ad variations, an agent to optimize bids, and an agent to compile reporting decks.

We are applying brilliant computing power to automate the "horseless carriage." But true innovation isn't doing legacy work faster. It is asking why we are doing the work in the first place. I believe there are two structural roadblocks keeping us stuck in this loop.

Operational Inertia: It is infinitely easier for an agency to pitch a Chief Marketing Officer by saying: "Our proprietary platform generates 500 display banners in four minutes.” It requires zero organizational redesign. The department keeps its shape, approval chains stay intact, and procurement celebrates cutting a few hours off a retainer. Re-architecting a marketing process meaningfully means changing how decisions get made, who holds budget authority, and, most importantly, how teams are structured. Most companies simply don't have the stomach for that level of disruption.

Misaligned Financial Incentives: Legacy agency commercial models actively discourage radical innovation. When agencies bill on hourly retainers or a percentage of media spend, they are incentivized to maximize manual activity and spend.

If an agency uses AI to eliminate a legacy step, they stand to lose revenue. So, what happens? They slap a generative AI wrapper on the old workflow, call it an "end-to-end platform," and charge a new platform fee. It's a revenue-preservation strategy disguised as progress.

And advertisers are at fault here, too. If you want true innovation, you will need to lean in hard and that takes time, effort and inspiration. Sadly, most marketing departments are both designed for, and incentivized on, outputs and efficiency. AI can help with that, but as indicated, that requires little imagination and innovation.

So how do we break the cycle? For starters, you have to stop asking “How do we automate this task?" and instead ask “How can we make this task deliver incremental growth?”

Re-architect the Agency Scope. Stop incentivizing agencies for incrementalized assembly lines. Yes, algorithms can handle operational tasks like bid pacing, keyword match sculpting, and variation testing better than humans and a lot more. But pay human talent for original thinking and strategic evolution.

Move away from percentage-of-spend models or hourly retainers. Shift to a lean base retainer for governance, combined with project fees for strategy and outcome-based incentives tied to verified growth or profit.

And perhaps most importantly, shift your focus from campaign volume metrics (clicks, impressions, platform ROAS) to commercial outcomes (for instance net profit contribution or lifetime value). We don't need smarter software doing dumb work faster. It is time to burn down the legacy process and build an operating model fit for the present.

Instacart Drops 'Male' Micro-Drama, Supports Delivery Men

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 09:11:10 -0400

The teaser opens on a woman expressing displeasure about a male shopper, with comments such as, "A man is shopping my Instacart, thoughts and prayers," and "Male Instacart shopper, lord help me."

MLB Posts Strong Midseason Viewing: NBCU, Fox Gain

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 09:03:18 -0400

NBC with its new "Sunday Night Baseball" deal has spiked 51% to 2.5 million Nielsen-measured average viewers, with games airing on the NBC TV Network and Peacock from March 26-July 12.

Report Finds Gen Z Is The Loneliest Generation

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 08:58:09 -0400

Reasons vary, but for many it's financial or avoiding big, alcohol-focused gatherings, according to new research from Stagwell's The Harris Poll and Allison Worldwide.

Vita Coco, Fruit of the Loom Team For 'Coconut Bra,' Target Breastfeeding Moms

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 08:43:50 -0400

Launched in honor of National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, the limited-edition bra evoke's the coconut water brand's tropical imagery and draws attention to the importance of hydration for breast-feeding moms.

Meteorologist Continues Live Report As Tornado Hits Building

Fri, 31 Jul 2026 08:00:00 -0400

As a tornado struck the station, meteorologist Jordan Ambrose stayed live on the air as colleagues off-camera kept the broadcast going.

Amazon Advertising Up 26%, Q2 Profits Soar To $62.6B

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 22:21:03 -0400

New campaign tools, sports buys and cloud computing gains are powering better-than-forecast sales.

Reddit Reports Strong Q2 Revenue Growth But 'Choppy' Search Traffic

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 20:25:37 -0400

Reddit saw its Q2 revenue leap by 61% to $805 million, surpassing estimates of $730.4 million, Reuters reports. But it experienced uneven search-engine traffic, affecting U.S. user growth. "Search referrals were choppy in the quarter, and traffic was more volatile later in the quarter, but the bigger picture is unchanged: the commercial business is strong," said Steve Huffman, co-founder and CEO, in a letter to shareholders.

Meta Boosts Advertising In Q2, Tries To Reassure Investors On AI

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 16:43:14 -0400

CEO Mark Zuckerberg attempted to assure investors on the company's AI-first investments and looming regulatory issues.

Google To Guarantee Billions For Anthropic's Lease Of Data Centers

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 16:00:53 -0400

A consortium of banks led by Morgan Stanley reportedly will lend $15 billion to Nexus Data Centers, a Texas-based privately held developer of large-scale, AI-ready data center campuses. Google will provide guarantees for the billion of dollars Anthropic needs to lease its centers.

LinkedIn Reverses Approach To AI-Generated Content

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 15:48:24 -0400

LinkedIn is rethinking its strategy for AI-generated content on the platform's main feed, nixing AI-first publishing features while inviting users to mark probable AI slop for deletion.

Facebook Users To Court: Don't Throw Out Scam Ads Suit

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 14:41:43 -0400

"Meta has the capacity to combat deceptive Facebook ads and keep scammers off the platform," Facebook users argue to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

ABC Blasts 'Extraordinary And Unprecedented' FCC License Probe

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:45:26 -0400

"The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country: accommodate the Administration's view of what news coverage should look like or pay the price," Disney's ABC says in a new FCC filing.

DoorDash Approved For Drone Delivery, Agentic Ordering Via Shopify

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:38:43 -0400

The drone delivery business will allow DoorDash to explore a variety of agentic AI ordering opportunities and a partnership with companies like Shopify. Some of these opportunities for media buyers could create a different type of retail media network not yet explored.

Loyalty Programs Aren't Broken, But Your Customer Experience Is

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:25:26 -0400

Consumers judge brands within the first purchase and then decide whether the loyalty points are worth collecting later.

Stagwell Q2 Driven By Digital Transformation, Political

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 10:38:03 -0400

Madison & Wall commented that the firm's growth was stronger than most groups other than Publicis.

Svedka Reimagines Office Gossip With Branded Vodka 'Water Cooler'

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 09:39:01 -0400

The Russian vodka brand is promoting its new vodka water line with a limited edition office vodka/water cooler.

Tech Lab Updates Agentic Protocols, Releases AAMP 2.3

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 08:30:00 -0400

Today's IAB Tech Lab release introduces new capabilities intended to make agentic deployments more practical and move into production. The updated framework was designed to improve consumer privacy and regulations and has been tested to ensure all decisions are made with accuracy and precision.

Battle Of Cartoon Cat Comedies: 'Alley Cats' Vs. 'Top Cat'

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 08:00:00 -0400

It took 64 years for TV to return to cartoon cats with human characteristics living in an urban alley.

The catalyst for this revival is comedy top cat Ricky Gervais, whose new animated series about feral felines premieres on Netflix on August 7.

The show, titled “Alley Cats,” is reminiscent of that early ’60s animated series “Top Cat,” about another group of cat characters residing in an alley.

Like “Top Cat,” “Alley Cats” features a pack of cats, each with distinct personalities. In “Top Cat,” there were six who were all male. In “Alley Cats,” the pack has seven members, including three female felines.

Also on both shows, one cat is top dog. In “Alley Cats,” it is a fat cat named Gus, voiced by Gervais. In “Top Cat,” it was the charismatic title character, voiced by the late Arnold Stang.

Top Cat -- known to his pals as “T.C.” -- was the leader of a cat pack whose five other members were Benny the Ball (Maurice Gosfield), Choo-Choo (Marvin Kaplan), Brain (Leo De Lyon), Spook (also Leo De Lyon, a pseudonym for Irving Levin) and Fancy-Fancy (John Stephenson).

In “Alley Cats,” Gus is joined by Ponce (Tom Basden), Fang (Andrew Brooke), Puke (David Earl), Lara (Kerry Godliman), Kitten (Jo Hartley) and Olive (Diane Morgan).

Netflix describes “Alley Cats” as “an adult animated sitcom [that] follows the trials and tribulations of a group of feral British cats from all walks of society who seek companionship while ruminating on everyday life.”

ABC described “Top Cat” in a press release in March 1961. " 'Top Cat' deals with a band of fun-loving, adventure-seeking felines who live in a big city,” the release said.

“They have hilarious human characteristics, and each has a distinctive personality of his own. Their leader is Top Cat, familiarly known as T.C., a brash, aggressive opportunist,” it said.

Produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions, “Top Cat” ran for only one season, September 1961 to April 1962, airing in prime time on Wednesday nights (sponsored by Bristol-Myers and Kellogg). The season consisted of 30 half-hour episodes.

The first season of “Alley Cats” consists of six episodes, all under 20 minutes. Production reportedly began in 2023.

The format of “Top Cat” was said to have been modeled on “The Phil Silvers Show,” a 1950s ensemble service comedy in which Silvers starred as Sgt. Ernest G. Bilko.

According to a Google Gemini search, “Alley Cats” does not seem to be based any other show. Instead, it reportedly stems from Gervais’ interest in cats.

States' Lawsuit Against Paramount-WBD Is 'Trash,' Ari Emanuel Says

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 08:00:00 -0400

Ari Emanuel, CEO of talent agency WME Group, came out in defense of the deal for Paramount Skydance in its efforts to buy WBD in a 'Wall Street Journal' op-ed column.

Meta Forges AI Content Deal With Newsmax

Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:03:05 -0400

Meta will gain access to Newsmax's archived and current library of digital news content, with the ability to train its AI-powered search and discovery tools while supporting user searches on Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Meta AI.

MS Now, CNN, NewsNation Viewing Up In July

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 23:54:13 -0400

Collectively, viewership for the top five cable news networks was up 10% this month to 4.4 million prime-time viewers, according to Nielsen data - vs. 4.0 million in July 2025.

Microsoft Cloud Services Surpass $100B

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 23:33:41 -0400

Copilot, which includes AI features supported by cloud services in its Office suite, grew 20 million paid users last quarter, showing the time spent convincing users to give it a try has paid off.

Netflix Uses Automation, AI To Lure Smaller Advertisers

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 22:46:55 -0400

Netflix is automating ad buying and introducing new artificial intelligence tools in a bid to attract smaller advertisers, Merca 2.0 reports. Automation will reduce the barriers that have limited access for small and medium-sized firms. These advertisers can use predefined parameters such as budget, audience, campaign duration and marketing objectives to automatically purchase advertising. Netflix hopes to double its ad revenue in 2026 YoY for a total of roughly $3 billion.

Xbox Tests Offer Allowing Users To Stream Games For Free If They Watch Ads

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 22:40:28 -0400

Microsoft’s Xbox is testing a way for users to stream games for free by watching ads instead of paying for a Game Pass subscription, Business Insider reports. This not the first time Xbox has tested ads, but this attempt is more serious and shake up the gaming ad market. There is no word yet on formats and brands.

Comcast Offers Discounts To Win Back Broadband Customers

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 22:30:41 -0400

Comcast is addressing the recent loss of broadband subscribers with generous offers, The Street reports. The company lost 167,000 U.S. customers and suffered a 5.5% revenue decline YoY in the second quarter of 2026. It also lost customers after raising prices on its Xfinity services last year. Comcast is counting on its converged wireless and internet services, which offer monthly discounts.

Samantha Henig Named As Head Of Multimedia By 'The Wall Street Journal'

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 22:23:01 -0400

The Wall Street Journal has hired Samantha Henig as head of multimedia, a newly created title, effective September 8, Talking Biz News reports. Henig will oversee the Journal’s audio and video departments, while reporting to Aja Whitaker-Moore, deputy editor in chief. Maral Usefi, head of video, is departing the Journal and the video team will report to Whitaker-Moore in the interim.

WPP Media Debuts 'Made Together,' First Episode Plugs Trade Desk

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 17:33:34 -0400

WPP Media CEO Brian Lesser asked Green whether he felt The Trade Desk was misunderstood and Green responded in the affirmative.

What If It Actually Was America's Only Source For News?

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 17:06:16 -0400

First CBS News. If Paramount ultimately gets its hands on CNN, it may make "The Daily Show" live up to its tagline: "America's only source for news."

Snap Doubles Down On Agency Offerings

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 16:06:06 -0400

Snapchat is rolling out new tools and programs designed to help agency partners manage brands and collaborate with clients on Snap campaigns.

FTC Charges Hims & Hers With Duping Consumers Over Privacy, Billing

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:32:15 -0400

"Contrary to its privacy representations, Hims shared its consumers' health information with advertising platforms," the FTC, California and Utah allege in a lawsuit against the telehealth company.

Intent Predictions Advance For Ads Served In Apps

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 15:13:08 -0400

AI has been built on the ability to identify intent before it occurs - not as a prediction, but a calculated event.

Civic Publisher 'ASP' Taps Political Media Sales Vet Tempe To Lead Partnerships

Wed, 29 Jul 2026 14:53:24 -0400

Tom Tempe joins from head of advertising at "CQ" and "Roll Call."