13 Jun 2022 | The Media Leader Staff

100% Media Roundup: 13-17 June 2022

Archive: This was a daily digest of news stories from around the media world, updated by The Media Leader team, to ensure you’re 100% up-to-date.

Friday, 17 June

Siddique appointed journalist director of The Scott Trust

The Scott Trust, the sole shareholder of Guardian Media Group, has appointed Haroon Siddique as journalist director to the board.

Siddique (pictured, above) has worked at The Guardian for over 15 years and is currently its legal affairs correspondent, previously serving as a reporter and senior reporter. The Scott Trust formalised his appointment after a hustings and support from Guardian and Observer journalists through a ballot.

BuzzFeed News names new editor in chief

BuzzFeed News has named Karolina Waclawiak as its new editor in chief.

Waclawiak joined BuzzFeed News in 2016 and most recently served as the publication’s executive editor of culture.

She replaces Mark Schoofs, who announced he was stepping down in March after BuzzFeed announced it would be cutting staff in its newsroom.

NBCUniversal completes measurement pilot with iSpotTV

NBCUniversal revealed results from its measurement pilot with iSpot on Thursday.

The company praised the results, stating that “a cross-platform currency is here, and it’s ready to act and transact”, according to reports.

The pilot test included 67 advertisers representing 158 brands.

NBCUniversal also stated that 40% of its upfront deals are on Nielsen alternatives.

Snapchat is trialling a subscription service

Snap is “internally testing” a paid subscription service known as Snapchat Plus, according to reports.

Potential features include the ability to pin a conversation with your “#1 BFF”, receive access to exclusive Snapchat icons, and see how many friends have rewatched your story.

Thursday, 16 June

Tech and social media companies agree to strengthened EU disinformation Code of Practice

Companies including Google, Meta, Microsoft, Twitch, Twitter, and TikTok have agreed to the European Commission’s updated Code of Practice on Disinformation.

The Code was originally created in 2018 to set self-regulatory standards to fight disinformation online.

A revision process to the Code was launched in June 2021.

The “strengthened” Code contains 44 commitments and 128 new, specific measures on topics including transparency of political advertising, demonetization, monitoring, fact-checking and research, transparency, and more.

Other signatories of the Code include the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), Vimeo, Adobe, Clubhouse, Reporters Without Borders (RSF), and NewsGuard.

Reddit partners with DoubleVerify for expansion of third-party ad measurement tools

Reddit is partnering with digital media measurement, data, and analytics company DoubleVerify to expand its suite of third-party measurement tools available to advertisers.

DoubleVerify will deliver its suite of viewability, invalid traffic, and brand safety measurement services to Reddit’s global ad partners.

Reddit also currently offers an extant third-party verification offering through Oracle.

Teads launches attention program at Cannes Lions

Teads is launching a new attention program with the goal of advancing omnichannel attention measurement through combining creative and media.

The program will give brands access to multi-screen reporting of attention metrics within Teads Ad Manager, which will allow them to plan, buy, optimize, and report on attention with the goal of increasing returns on media investment.

Leading attention measurement companies Adelaide, Lumen, and Realeyes have partnered with Teads on the project.

The program, announced at Cannes Lions Thursday, will launch in Beta in July before an official release later this year.

Spotify to ‘slow hiring growth 25%’; partners with the IAS to provide brand safety tools for podcast advertisers

Spotify is slowing their hiring growth by 25%, according to a report by Bloomberg, as fears of a broader economic slowdown begin to affect hiring in tech companies that have relied on low interest rates to grow their business.

The announcement, delivered to employees via email Wednesday, marks a shift for Spotify, which had hired over 2,000 employees between 2019-2021.

Separately, the audio streaming company announced it has partnered with Integral Ad Science (IAS) to establish a brand safety framework for podcast advertisers.

The partnership seeks to develop a new brand safety and suitability reporting tool that will be powered by Spotify’s first-data data and verified by IAS’ independent analysis solutions.

Earlier this week, the company announced it had formed a Safety Advisory Council tasked with advising the company on how to act in response to harmful content published on its platform.

Senator Warren introduces bill that would ban sale of location and health data

US Senator Elizabeth Warren has introduced a bill cosponsored by left-wing senators Ron Wyden, Sheldon Whitehouse, Patty Murray, and Bernie Sanders that seeks to ban the sale of location and health data by data brokers.

The Health and Location Protection Act contains few exceptions to the ban, namely for actions that are HIPAA-compliant, disclosure pursuant to valid authorization by an individual, and for “publication of newsworthy information of legitimate public concern.”

Under the proposed bill, the Federal Trade Commission, states attorney general, and private citizens who are demonstrably harmed by the sale of their personal location and/or health data may sue data brokers found to have violated the law.

Warner Bros. Discovery int partners with LiveRamp for privacy-first solution

Warner Bros. Discovery has partnered with data connectivity platform LiveRamp to offer a new privacy-first solution with the goal of bringing clients targeted addressable marketing at scale across Eurosport’s online platforms.

The cookie-less solution will begin with Eurosport brand partners on Eurosport.com and its local platforms in France, Germany, Italy, Romania, and Spain, and is currently being trialled in the UK.

Facebook ‘changing its feed algorithm’ to compete with TikTok

Facebook’s main feed will begin heavily recommending posts to users even from accounts they do not follow, according to an April memo obtained by The Verge.

In addition, Reels – already promoted heavily on Instragam – will continue to become a prominent part of the Facebook experience as the company pivots to a more video-heavy experience on both apps.

Warner Bros. Discovery’s begins ‘laying off ad sales staff’ amid ‘lagging’ upfronts

Warner Bros. Discovery is looking to cut up to 1,000 jobs in its global ad sales team (30% of its ad sales employees), according to a report by The Information.

The company has begun offering team members “an opportunity to voluntarily leave the company”, adds a source speaking to Reuters.

The move comes as the newly merged company seeks to take cost-cutting steps and is reportedly lagging behind competitors in upfronts sales.

Wednesday, 15 June

WPP appoints Michael Houston president of US business

WPP announced Michael Houston, global CEO of advertising services organization Grey, as its latest president of business in the United States.

Houston (pictured, above) will oversee approximately 20,000 US WPP employees and will be responsible for promoting WPP’s offer and collective capabilities, supporting agency CEOs, and bringing together people and resources for clients.

Houston worked at Grey for the past 15 years before accepting the new role, where he will also serve as WPP’s executive sponsor for P&G.

Innovid launches CTV measurement platform

Innovid has launched a TV measurement platform for connected TV, InnovidXP, following the acquisition of TVSquared.

The Nielsen measurement rival said InnovidXP is a cross-platform, tag-free measurement solution, that is powered by “currency-grade impression data” tied to an ad-serving footprint that represents 88% of US CTV homes, as well as being integrated with creative personalisation technology.

Twitch expands ad incentive program

Twitch is expanding its ad incentive program, which offers streamers payment in exchange for running a fixed number of ads on their streams.

As of today, more streamers will be eligible for the program, and Twitch is increasing the amount creators can earn.

Under the old program, Twitch would provide streamers will a flat rate for every 1,000 ads shown on their channel; with the expansion, Twitch will now grant them 55% of total ad revenue brought in by the stream.

To qualify, streamers will need to run at least 3 minutes of ads per hour.

Read more about Twitch:

How Twitch is responding to a post-lockdown plateau

Pinterest launches two new ad formats

Pinterest has launched two new full-screen multipage ad formats combining video and images.

“Idea ads” allow users to visit a brand’s website, view product breakdowns like ingredients lists and materials, and see incorporated videos and images (pictured- below).

“Idea ads with paid partnership” allow brands to partner with Pinterest Creators to combine branded content with the multipage multimedia format.

Creators can also tag brand partners in this format to directly reference the sponsorship.

Craft Media nabs former Essence planning lead

Craft Media London has hired Yewande Ogunkoya as business director and part of the leadership team.

Ogunkoya (pictured, left) started her career in media strategy and most recently was a planning lead at WPP media agency Essence (and previously sister agency Maxus, now Wavemaker) leading on accounts for L’Oréal and Peloton.

Se brings a decade of experience in media in sectors including entertainment, subscription businesses, D2C and FMCG – across both brand and performance planning. Prior to specialising in UK media, she worked in Singapore, the US and Brazil in a variety of comms roles.

Adelaide partners with Viant to launch programmatic application of attention metrics

Adelaide, in partnership with Viant Technology Inc., has launched a first-to-market solution to enable advertisers to automate the application of Adelaide’s attention-based media quality metric through programmatic advertising.

As of today, Adelaide’s metric, known as AU, will have prebid segments available for activation directly within Viant’s programmatic software, Adelphic.

Read more on Adelaide here:

Adelaide raises seed round led by Human Ventures

Mediabrands forecasts 9% media owner ad revenue growth in 2022

In the summer update of MAGNA’s Global Ad Forecast, IPG’s Mediabrands notes that after a strong start to the year (14% Q1 growth in adspend), a deceleration is occurring amidst economic uncertainty.

MAGNA still anticipated global adspend to grow 9% in 2022 and 6% in 2023, however.

The report highlights the continue dominance of digital, with digital adspend growing an expected 13% this year to reach 65% of total ad sales, led by fastest-growing ad format digital video.

Read more on 2022 summer forecast updates:

GroupM downgrades growth forecast but expects ‘deceleration, not decline’

Zenith downgrades spend forecast amid Ukraine invasion

Netflix greenlights Squid Game reality competition series

Netflix has greenlit Squid Game: The Challenge, a 10-episode reality competition series based on the deadly competition featured in the streaming hit.

The streaming company boasted that the show will include the largest cast (456 players) and the largest lump sum cash prize ($4.56m) in reality TV history.

The series will be a co-production between Studio Lambert and The Garden, part of ITV Studios, and will be filmed in the UK.

On Sunday, Squid Game was renewed for its second season.

Apple TV inks 10-year, $2.5bn deal with Major League Soccer

Apple has agreed to terms with Major League Soccer (MLS) for the rights to stream all MLS games without local blackouts or restrictions exclusively on the Apple TV app.

The deal signifies Apple’s continued foray into live sports – in April Apple TV+ began airing Friday Night Baseball games in a deal with the MLB.

Matches will be available on Apple beginning next year.

Bloomberg debuts on Freeview UK

Bloomberg and Bloomberg Quicktake have launched on Freeview channel 271 via the Channelbox platform.

The channel will deliver business and market news, data, analysis and video featuring stories from Businessweek and Bloomberg News that UK residents will now be able to access free of charge.

Bloomberg Quicktake launched in 2017 as a social-only news platform and then progressed to a global 24/7 video business network in November 2020.

Read more on Bloomberg here:

Bloomberg takes on UK business press with brand launch

All In names companies championing its DEI actions

The cross-industry diversity initiative, All In, has named a list of companies that have provided evidence they are supporting its work.

These companies include adam&eveDDB, Advertising Association, AMV BBDO, Bray Leino, Channel 4 Television, Clear Channel UK, Dentsu, Digital Cinema Media, Direct Line Group, Google, IAB, IPG Mediabrands, ISBA, ITV, Leo Burnett, Mail Metro Media, McCann Worldgroup, MediaCom, Omnicom Media Group, P&G, Pearl & Dean, Pinterest, Publicis Groupe, Smart Energy, Specsavers, Tesco, the7stars, TikTok, VCCP and Wunderman Thompson.

They have all provided evidence that they have adopted the first six All In actions of improving the experience and representation of Black talent, disabled talent, working class talent, women, Asian talent and older talent.

Tuesday, 14 June

The Washington Post and Imagine Entertainment to collaborate on film and TV content

The Washington Post and Imagine Entertainment have agreed to a multi-year strategic partnership to create scripted and non-scripted film and television content based on reporting (archived, current, and ongoing) at The Post, the paper announced today.

The move, which grants Imagine Entertainment first look rights, marks The Post’s first foray into premium video production.

Imagine has co-produced numerous films and TV features, including political dramas such as Frost/Nixon (2008) and J. Edgar (2011).

Reporting by The Washington Post has previously been dramatized in acclaimed films such as All the President’s Men (1976) and The Post (2017).

Spotify creates Safety Advisory Council to help counter harmful content

Spotify announced Monday it had formed a Safety Advisory Council, comprised of third party experts, whose mission is to “help Spotify evolve its policies and products in a safe way while make sure we respect creator expression.”

The 18-member panel will advise Spotify on how to act in response to harmful content published on its platform.

Earlier this year, Spotify came under intense scrutiny over leading podcast The Joe Rogan Experience’s spread of disinformation about the Covid pandemic and use of racist language.

YouTube allows sports betting, alcohol, and prescription drugs ads on masthead in select territories

YouTube is loosening restrictions on what ads can be bought to display on its masthead, parent company Google announced over the weekend.

In the US, sports betting advertisements may now be bought, and in the US, Canada, and New Zealand, prescription drugs ads can also be booked.

In addition, alcohol ads will be allowed to be displayed where legal.

Google’s full list of ad requirements may be found here.

Tony Awards draws 3.9 million viewers, second-lowest ever

Sunday night’s Tony Awards drew 3.9 million viewers, according to Nielsen ratings released Monday.

The awards ceremony, hosted by Ariana DeBose, notched roughly a million more viewers than last year’s event but still ranked as the second-lowest audience on record for the Tony’s.

Pulitzer Prize-winning musical A Strange Loop took home best musical and The Lehman Trilogy best play.

Starcom appoints new investment managing partner

Publicis Groupe agency Starcom has promoted Ricardo Amboage from head of programmatic and display investment to investment managing partner for the client’s dedicated Samsung team.

Previously Amboage (pictured- above) worked across all clients, but he will now focus on overseeing investment solely for Samsung.

In the new role he has become part of agency’s senior leadership team and replaces Emma Morris who is now head of investment.

He joined Starcom in 2012 as digital activation manager and prior to this held roles at OMD UK.

Channel 4 launches idents for new ‘youth-facing’ E4 sister channel debut

Channel 4 has launched four twenty-second idents for the launch of E4 Extra, E4’s youth-facing sister channel, replacing the 4Music slot.

From 29 June, E4 Extra (pictured- main image and above) will focus on comedy and entertainment, with scripted and unscripted acquisitions including Batwoman, Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and Ninja Warrior Japan on Freeview 31, Virgin 337, Sky 139, Freesat 181 and YouView 31.

4Music will replace Box Hit’s slot on the EPG and shift from entertainment, acquisitions and music back to focus on latest chart hits and biggest stars in pop music.

ITV inks content partnership with Snap and acquires Plimsoll Productions

Snap will host made-for-mobile, short-form content from ITV’s biggest shows like Love Island, I’m a Celebrity….Get Me Out Of Here! and the FIFA World Cup 2022 as part of a new deal.

Through the Discover platform, Snapchatters will be able to see content including First Look, Daily Episodes, Weekly Round Up and Love Island Aftersun, and fans of the World Cup can access build up and highlights from the tournament.

This comes as ITV and Twitter renewed a multi-year partnership in the UK in May.

The commercial broadcaster has also announced today it has acquired the majority stake (79.5%) in the world’s largest independent natural history TV producer, Plimsoll Productions, for £103.5m.

Plimsoll Productions was valued at £131m and was founded in Bristol in 2013, producing Bafta, Emmy and Academy award-winning shows available in nearly 200 countries.

Disney+ rolls out across LG TVs in more than forty new countries

The Disney+ streaming app will now be available on compatible LG TVs in more than forty new countries and territories across Africa, Europe and the Middle East.

LG TV owners will be able to access movies and shows via Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, national Geographic and Star if their TV runs webOS from 2017 or later.

Mother introduces “Pitch It Forward” initiative

Mother is initiating a “pitch it forward” program whereby all first-year profits from a retained client will be donated to not-for-profit organizations that “inspire future generations with the power of creativity.”

The initiative is part of Mother’s new mission “Make Our Children Proud” which seeks to leverage Mother’s independence to lead on forward-thinking causes.

Pitch It Forward will be available to Mother clients in London, Los Angeles, New York, Shanghai, and Singapore.

Fox News carries daytime Jan. 6 committee hearing

Fox News carried yesterday’s daytime January 6 committee hearing after refusing last week to air the committee’s first hearing in primetime.

During the primetime hearing, Fox instead carried their standard programming slate of pundits Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Laura Ingraham who derided the hearing as it was occurring.

Airing the daytime hearing is a demonstration of Fox’s apparent strategy of focusing on news in the daytime and strictly opinion during primetime.

Monday, 13 June

Bauer Media Audio UK appoints new content director of digital platforms

Bauer Media Audio UK has promoted Tony Moorey to the new position of content director of digital platforms.

Moorey (pictured- above) was previously group content director for Absolute Radio, Magic Radio and Scala Radio, and originally joined Bauer in 2008.

He will now be in charge of audio and visual content for all of Bauer’s audio brands in the UK across its digital platforms from apps to websites.

Moorey started his career at Key 103 where he stayed for three years, before moving to 5Live for four years and then spending more than five years at Virgin Radio.

KOMI Group acquires travel and adventure brand Get Lost

Manchester-based social media, marketing, and licensing business KOMI Group has acquired leading travel and adventure brand Get Lost.

Get Lost, which has over 1 million followers across TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, will join KOMI Publishing’s roster of in-house brands like Happiest, It’s Gone Viral, and Go Fetch.

The value of the acquisition was not disclosed.

Jan. 6 hearings draw at least 20 million viewers

At least 20 million viewers watched last Thursday’s primetime January 6 committee hearing, according to initial figures from Nielsen.

The numbers do not include every TV channel nor most web streaming, however, meaning that the actual number of viewers is much larger.

The Nielsen ratings are significantly smaller than other major political showings such as the State of the Union address (which received 38 million viewers) or presidential debates (which received 63 and 73 million viewers in 2020), but greater than comparable congressional hearings.

The figures are more in line with events such as “Sunday Night Football”, as characterized by The New York Times.

Acast holds first audio Pride Parade

From today, podcasting company Acast will host a virtual audio parade with special podcast episodes about LGBTQIA+ Pride events in different countries worldwide.

The special episodes will centre on what Pride means to the podcasters, their favourite memories and moments from the history of the event.

The parade will start in Los Angeles, USA, with an episode from The Young Turks, before moving to France, Australia, Ireland and Canada across the month of June.

By the end of August, Acast’s Pride Parade will visit nine different countries and involve 17 different podcasts.

The audio parade will be supported by Acast’s suggestion tool, Acast recommends, to encourage listener discovery.

Talksport to broadcast every England match in UEFA Women’s Euros

Talksport will broadcast every England game in the UEFA Women’s Euros tournament this summer.

The Women’s Football Weekly programme will air on Talksport England, as well as Talksport 2 and in podcast form throughout the competition with Sam Matterface and Lianne Sanderson (pictured- above) commentating, Adrian Durham presenting and Faye Carruthers reporting live pitch-side.

Northern Ireland’s games in England’s group will also be included in the broadcast with two dedicated commentators.

A five-strong reporting team will be covering the rest of the group stages of the tournament.

Coverage starts with England’s warm up game against Belgium on 16 June.