Publishers

This year, programmatic companies faced tough decisions about privacy, awkward acquisitions and the cookie die-off that never quite happened.

The generative AI trend generated endless hot takes this year, but the ad industry also had plenty to say about growing competition between DSPs and SSPs. Here are AdExchanger’s top 10 most popular guest columns of 2025 and why they resonated.

Enjoy this weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem … 

Roku’s streaming data will now be integrated into Nielsen’s campaign measurement and outcome tools, the two companies announced on Monday,

Let’s close out the year with a roundup of the most impactful CTV stories of the year, from Netflix’s ad surge to Nielsen’s measurement missteps.

Anthropic’s AI-operated vending machine sparks chaos; ad revenue should remain a top priority; and Roblox has potential for in-game ads – and concerns.

2026 is going to be a big year for NBCUniversal. Not only will it play host to the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, it’s also going to broadcast the Super Bowl, the NBA Playoffs, the regular MLB season on NBC and the FIFA World Cup on Telemundo.

Inside Coca-Cola’s pivot from TV advertising to influencer marketing; Netflix inks another exclusive video podcast deal with iHeartMedia; and Madison & Wall predicts slow US ad spend growth in 2026.

Auctions aren’t just for programmatic ads anymore; fashion influencers are turning to Substack; and AI-generated recaps continue to get the facts wrong.

Netflix could acquire Warner Bros., unless Paramount swoops in or regulators intervene. How rearranging the streaming leaders could affect the CTV ad business.

Google’s AI browser opens relevant tabs for you; Disney-owned characters are now featured on Sora; and Google’s AI Max for Search gets lackluster feedback.

YouTube TV launches new skinny TV bundles; anti-ad Substack is testing ads; Google strikes new publisher licensing deals to feed its AI.

Publisher comment sections remain an untapped source of intent-based data, according to Kelly Andresen, who recently left USA Today to head up comment monetization platform OpenWeb’s direct sales efforts.

Bringing programmatic ads to AI chatbots marks a shift in the business model for AI search, while traditional publishers must find new ways to monetize.

For years, MFA was a mostly web-based problem. Now, generative AI has supercharged the made-for-advertising model, and it’s infecting social media feeds and vertical video platforms.

After a prolonged will-they, won’t-they phase between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, Netflix swooped in with an $83 billion offer on Friday to acquire the Warner Bros. side of the business.

The metaverse hype is over; Apple Maps forays into advertising; and streamers vie for HBO Max and the WBD studio archive.

Spencer has exited The Trade Desk after 12 years, marking another major leadership change amid friction with ad tech trade groups and intensifying competition across the DSP landscape.

Broadsign may actually be building a platform that will make an attractive acquisition target down the road. And one of the major cross-platform Big Tech players feels like the most likely buyer.

CTV spending is flattening, performance is plateauing and buyers are hesitant to push budgets further. The reason is not complicated. When buyers cannot see what they are buying, they cannot commit their spend with conviction.

Enjoy this weekly comic from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem … and happy Thanksgiving!

On Tuesday, digital out-of-home (DOOH) ad tech startup Place Exchange was acquired by Broadsign, another out-of-home SSP.

E.l.f. Beauty’s “So Many Dicks” campaign targets corporate leaders via contextual advertising with the goal of increasing diversity in corporate boardrooms.

After pulling back on moderation, Instagram gets flooded with antisemites; BidSwitch builds a programmatic way for AI bots to pay to crawl websites; and nearly half of Gen Z dislikes AI content.

Most of what’s sold as “contextual” today still runs on the same keyword logic we used a decade ago. The industry didn’t reinvent contextual targeting; it simply replaced one keyword with a cluster.

Is it just me, or do third-quarter earnings always seem especially strange?

We break down some of the most interesting financial trends coming out of Q3 earnings reports, and what rises to the level of being worth covering in the first place.

Disney’s Q4 earnings double down on the success of sports streaming content, but the YouTube TV blackout continues.

In July, PubMatic saw a temporary drop in ad spend from a “large” unnamed DSP partner, which contributed to Q3 revenue of $68 million, a 5% YOY decline.

The real challenge is drawing a clear line between the AI-generated content that adds value and the kind that erodes trust and leads to significantly lower ad effectiveness.