AdGrowthWeekly | Issue No. 58

Google will not be forced to break up its advertising technology business, but a federal judge is imposing new limits on how it can operate. The decision follows an earlier ruling that Google illegally monopolized the publisher ad server and ad exchange markets, two key pieces of the infrastructure used to buy and sell digital advertising. The Justice Department had sought a sale of Google’s AdX exchange, but the judge instead ordered changes intended to loosen the connection between Google’s products, including preventing the company from requiring publishers using its ad server to also use AdX. The restrictions will remain in effect for six years, and Google must appoint an antitrust compliance officer to oversee its practices. The ruling leaves Google’s ad tech stack largely intact while changing some of the rules governing how publishers, exchanges and competing technology providers interact with it.

The line between scrolling and traditional TV viewing is getting thinner. Amazon is adding short-form news clips to Prime Video, giving viewers quick updates on national, local, and trending stories without leaving the television experience. The clips are available free to U.S. viewers with or without a Prime membership and sit alongside Prime Video’s existing live news lineup, which includes ABC News Live, CBS News 24/7, NBC News NOW, CNN Headlines and LiveNOW from FOX. Amazon is launching the format first on TV and living room devices, with mobile and web access planned next, an unusual order for a format largely associated with TikTok and other mobile platforms. There is already evidence that short-form viewing is moving onto television screens: YouTube says Shorts now generate more than 2 billion hours of viewing on TVs each month, as streaming platforms continue experimenting with shorter formats alongside traditional programming.

A major piece of the UK television advertising market is changing hands. Beginning in 2027, Channel 4 will take over Paramount’s £300 million plus annual TV ad sales business from Sky, bringing advertising for public service broadcasters Channel 4 and 5 under the same sales operation for the first time. The long term agreement covers airtime across 5, Milkshake!, 5USA, 5Star, 5Select and 5Action, along with Paramount networks including MTV, Comedy Central and Nickelodeon. Paramount will continue handling advertising for Paramount+ and Pluto TV, as well as sponsorships and creative partnerships, separately. The move comes as the UK TV ad market is undergoing broader consolidation, including Sky’s proposed £1.6 billion acquisition of ITV’s broadcasting and streaming business, which is facing its own regulatory review.

Three of streaming’s biggest players are forming a new voice in Washington as live sports become an increasingly important part of their businesses. Netflix, Amazon and YouTube have launched the Streaming Access and Choice Alliance, a coalition led by technology trade group TechNet that will advocate for policies affecting streaming, digital entertainment and investment in live sports. The timing is notable: the Justice Department and FCC are examining the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which allows professional leagues to pool and collectively sell television rights, as regulators consider how the law applies to a market where more premium games are moving to streaming. Each founding member already holds significant NFL inventory, with Amazon carrying Thursday Night Football, YouTube distributing NFL Sunday Ticket and Netflix expanding its package of exclusive NFL games. The coalition gives the three competitors a shared policy platform as the lines between traditional television, streaming, and live sports distribution continue to narrow.

Streaming is starting to look a little more like the bundled TV model it once disrupted. Prime Video has launched its first five-service streaming bundle in the U.S., combining AMC+, BritBox, MGM+, PBS Masterpiece and Starz for $29.99 per month. Amazon says the package costs nearly 39% less than subscribing to the five services individually and brings them together under a single Prime Video subscription and bill. The bundle spans programming including The Walking Dead, Outlander, P Valley, FROM, Agatha Christie adaptations and PBS dramas, giving several smaller premium streaming services a shared distribution point inside one of the largest video platforms. It marks the first time all five services have been sold together, as Prime Video continues building its Channels business around aggregating subscriptions that viewers would otherwise purchase separately.