Inside Sky Media’s Mix-Up & Our Vegas Kickoff!

Welcome to The Refresh, a weekly newsletter from AdTechGod and Marketecture. Every Thursday we’ll bring you the latest advertising news, commentary, and memes.

• Reddit’s ads biz exploded In Q3, albeit from a small base (Adexchanger)

• Amazon’s advertising business grew 19% in the third quarter (CNBC)

• SambaTV acquires Semasio to beef up contextual CTV targeting (Adexchanger)

• Russia fines Google more than the world's entire GDP (NBCnews)

• Oops, Apple approved another illegal streaming app (TheVerge)

• Google And The DOJ recap their cases In countdown to closing arguments (Adexchanger)

• Fox sells out Super Bowl Ads at 'Record Pricing' (Adweek)

• Integral Ad Science Is raising the prices of brand safety solutions for buyers (Adweek)

Holiday Spend Positivity

This LinkedIn poll from AdTechGod shows some good vibes for Q4 digital ad spend! A solid 41% of people think spending will be “a little more than last year,” and another 19% are even more optimistic, expecting it to go “way up.” Together, that’s 60% of respondents predicting some level of growth, which feels pretty encouraging.

Even though there’s a fair bit of uncertainty in the economy, it seems like advertisers are still willing to put money behind digital channels. With only 18% expecting a downturn, it looks like brands are staying optimistic and ready to make the most of the holiday season.

Overall, this points to a positive end-of-year push for the digital ad spend!

Stay Positive!!

Sky's Costly Ad Slip-Up: Hundreds of Millions Owed to Big-Name Partners

Sky Media discovered it accidentally underpaid ad partners like Paramount and Warner Bros’ Discovery, potentially racking up hundreds of millions in reimbursement costs.

The mistake, which started before Comcast’s 2018 acquisition, continued until Sky caught it earlier this year. They’re now paying back partners, tightening internal processes, and some staff have left over the blunder. This misstep has big clients considering contract reviews, despite Sky’s past reputation for innovation in ad tech. Last year, Sky made £1.2 billion from advertising in their overall £10.2 billion revenue.

ATG’s view: Although it took years to catch I’m glad to see that Sky Media reached out to partners and did the right thing by paying them. We all know many would not have. This shows they’re serious about staying transparent and keeping solid relationships with top partners.

The Guardian

Barbershop Cuts and Cocktails with Magnite

Step into the barbershop for exclusive connections at our invite-only speakeasy event, set at the Barbershop Cuts and Cocktails in the Cosmopolitan Hotel Las Vegas on January 8, 2025!

We will have Marketecture Media interviews hosted by Ari Paparo followed by happy hour co-hosted by Magnite & AdTechGod!

Hosted by Magnite, Marketecture Media & AdTechGod

This does not guarantee entry. However, we will review and send formal invites at a later date. 

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