The Current Report: Publishers experiment with making money in today's world

Jennifer Lewis, chief client officer at Carat Canada, joins The Current Report to explore how changing demographics in Canada influence advertisers' strategies, and how she's approaching solutions for measurement in the fragmented TV market. In other news, we also highlight Meta's decision to shut down Facebook News in the U.S. and Australia next month.

To read the full stories included in this episode:

• Programmatic Ad Spending Forecast Q1 2023: https://bit.ly/3T5XAR3
• Canada Connected TV: https://bit.ly/3TpCKxp
• Canada's biggest broadcasters on the future of CTV: https://bit.ly/49ZZ5XK
• As Meta tightens the traffic tap, where will news publications turn for audiences? https://bit.ly/48NY44f
• An Update on Facebook News: https://bit.ly/49G9c4p
• Paying for News: What Google and Meta Owe US Publishers: https://bit.ly/4cgSuu6
• Google, Meta should pay at least $14B per year to news publishers to account for ad revenue: study: https://bit.ly/4c7mXe4
• Meta bailing from Australian news to have 'absolutely disastrous' impact': https://bit.ly/3VfdeMN

Steve Ellis, COO of Paramount Advertising, joins The Current Report to discuss earnings, advertising opportunities on Paramount + and how Paramount is using live sports as an entryway for other content.

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To read the full stories included in this episode:

• - Streaming to Overtake Pay TV Subscription Revenue in the U.S. This Year: https://bit.ly/3ViLkj1
• - Streaming must innovate past the 30-second ad to help unlock its true potential: https://bit.ly/3T316vg

In this edition of The Current Report, we break down Google's Privacy Sandbox and takeaways from IAB Tech Lab's critical assessment of the initiative. We're joined by digital advertising space veterans John Donahue, partner at up and to the right, and Rob Norman, digital advertising advisor, to discuss their overall thoughts on Privacy Sandbox, platform transparency issues, and what the landscape might look like in a year.

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To read the full stories included in this episode:

•  'The industry isn't ready yet': A new report highlights flaws in Google's Privacy Sandbox': https://bit.ly/3SOLADs
•  IAB Tech Lab Privacy Sandbox: https://bit.ly/49Hk1Th
•  Walmart Agrees to Acquire VIZIO HOLDING CORP.: https://bit.ly/3Ib954I
•  Walmart will derive more profit from services, ad sales in the next 5 years - CFO: https://bit.ly/3SRob41
• On chocolate and politics: What CPG brands and political campaigns have in common: https://bit.ly/3ST49GA

On this edition of The Current Report we're joined by Snopes' chief revenue officer, Justin Wohl to discuss authentication. In a small test, Snopes saw a 200% increase in CPMs for ads that were served to a logged in, or authenticated, audience compared to readers tracked via third party cookies. As the cookie continues to crumble and publishers search for future identity solutions, experimenting with authentication could provide publishers a better picture of who they're trying to reach. Plus, NFL's Brian Rolapp believes Netflix could have a bigger role in the sports game in the future.

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To read the full stories included in this episode:

• A reset button’: How publishers are prepping for a cookie-free future: https://www.thecurrent.com/reset-button-publishers-cookie-free-future
• Early Tests Of Cookieless Chrome Ads Are Encouraging, But Don't Get Too Excited: https://www.adexchanger.com/online-advertising/early-tests-of-cookieless-chrome-ads-are-encouraging-but-dont-get-too-excited/
• Some publishers are starting to see revenue lift from alternative IDs: https://digiday.com/media/some-publishers-are-starting-to-see-revenue-lift-from-alternative-ids/
• NBA can shift the balance of power in media with its next rights deal: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/10/06/nba-can-shift-balance-of-power-in-media-with-rights-deal.html
• SBJ Media: Netflix’s NBA plan: https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/SB-Blogs/Newsletter-Media/2023/11/13.aspx
• Brian Rolapp speaks to Lightshed about Netflix in sports: https://lightshedtmt.com/ls_live/lightshed-live-chief-media-and-business-officer-at-nfl/

In honor of yesterday's Big Game, we're discussing recent landmarks in live sports streaming. Just last week, Disney, Fox, and Warner Brothers Discovery announced that they're combining forces to create a new sports streaming bundle, and Peacock saw huge success with the first-ever NFL playoff game to be exclusively streamed. These events could mark a change in the fragmentation of streaming sports. In other news, The Athletic's Richard Deitsch explores whether the Big Game will ever be exclusively streamed.

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To read the full stories included in this episode:

• Making sense of the momentous new sports streaming bundle from Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery: https://www.thecurrent.com/sports-streaming-disney-fox-warner-bros-discovery  
• Making sense of the momentous new sports streaming bundle from Disney, Fox and Warner Bros. Discovery: https://bit.ly/3UA6lFt
• Super Bowl XLVI Live Stream Sets Traffic Records: https://bit.ly/49xvaGl
• New sports streaming bundle could be a 'monster' — or a dud: https://bit.ly/42wvRx2
• The ESPN-Fox-WBD sports venture is a counterstrike against Big Tech and rights fees inflation: https://bit.ly/3P0IFqf
• What Peacock's NFL playoff game and Netflix's WWE deal signal for the future of sports streaming: https://bit.ly/3SBaUwm
• Will the Super Bowl ever be behind a streaming paywall? Here's what it'd take: https://bit.ly/3SypF35
• Disney CEO Bog Iger on new streaming bundle partnership: https://bit.ly/3HQUbR1

This month on The Current Report we're spotlighting the future of TV. As Upfront season is on the horizon, brands and agencies are preparing their strategies for the U.S. presidential election and the Summer Olympics. We're also joined by Andrea Kwiatek, director of strategic partnerships at Goodway Group, to discuss the future of TV, CTV and the election cycle, and streaming partnerships.

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To read the full stories included in this episode:

• Amazon is poised to boost its revenue by millions with the flip of a switch: https://bit.ly/3SHo4JA
• U.S. political ad spend on digital projected to jump 156 percent over last presidential election year: https://bit.ly/3SEW9dm
• US political ad spending to soar in 2024 with TV media the biggest winner - report: https://bit.ly/42oJLRZ
• The Current Podcast: https://bit.ly/47Y5FN1

This week, we discuss all things privacy and identity-related as Google continues to deprecate cookies and the EU adds to developing data legislation. We sit down with Evan Hills, SVP of strategy and partnerships at Dstillery, to discuss how marketers are navigating this transition. Plus, in news across the internet, Paramount will not return to Upfront Week, and mixed reality devices could be the next technological innovation.

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To read the full stories included in this episode:

• The next step toward phasing out third-party cookies in Chrome: https://bit.ly/3vN4rGZ
• CMA Q3 2023 update report on implementation of the Privacy Sandbox commitments: https://bit.ly/3Uar6ax
• 'A reset button': How publishers are prepping for a cookie-free future: https://bit.ly/48MIab4
• Some publishers are starting to see revenue lift from alternative IDs: https://bit.ly/48Ktuch
• Paramount Confirms It Won't Return to Upfront Week: https://bit.ly/48OdWUT
• Mixed reality is the next shiny thing for marketers, but some remain cautious: https://bit.ly/494Gaus

This week, we sit down with Dan Larkman, CEO of the programmatic agency Keynes Digital, to break down the hype around AI. Larkman shares his thoughts on the evolution of AI over the past year and where he thinks the innovation is headed. Plus, we spotlight The Current Podcast's interview with Hilton CMO David Weinstein.

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To read the full stories included in this episode:

• Simplifying the streaming experience and AI fatigue: 5 major insights from CES 2024: https://bit.ly/41V57Gi
• Google is finally killing cookies. Advertisers still aren't ready: https://bit.ly/48H4WR1
• 'We can do more and do it faster': How AI will transform the cookie-free future: https://bit.ly/42kQRHj
• What the new Diamond-Amazon deal means for MLB, NBA, NHL: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/39333324/diamond-amazon-streaming-mlb-nba-nhl
• Amazon will invest in Diamond Sports as part of a bankruptcy restructuring agreement: https://apnews.com/article/bally-sports-amazon-e44313c4491798f1f825a8c4e174f096
• Prime Video Ad Tier CPMs 'Far More' Competitive Than  Netflix's at Launch:https://www.adweek.com/convergent-tv/prime-video-ad-tier-cpms-far-more-competitive-than-netflixs-at-launch/ 
• Hilton's Mark Weinstein on driving loyalty and inspiring wanderlust: https://bit.ly/48F2xa7

This week on The Current Report, we explore what topics and trends marketers are gambling on at this year's Consumer Electronics Showcase (CES). We connect with IAB Tech Lab's Anthony Katsur and Full Throttle's Amol Waishampayan to discuss AI and the privacy landscape. Plus, we break down which streaming service is forecasted to have the highest percentage of U.S. viewers on an ad plan.

To read the full stories included in this episode:

• Simplifying the streaming experience and AI fatigue: 5 major insights from CES 2024: https://bit.ly/41V57Gi
• The ‘unrivaled’ move you might have missed from Disney’s early upfront at CES: https://bit.ly/3SiSxh3
• Insider Intelligence, Subscription OTT Video Viewers, US, 2023: https://bit.ly/3HBlqPr

Google is finally starting to remove third-party cookies from Chrome, a plan four years in the making. Chris Brooklier and Sarah Polli, director of marketing technology at Hearts & Science, break down how this will impact the future of digital advertising. With marketers looking for answers on how to move forward, Polli shares her wisdom, including how first-party data will only become more crucial.

Plus, Polli goes in-depth on data privacy, both from a regulatory standpoint and alternative identity solutions.