DIGIDAY+ MEMBER EXCLUSIVES
The Economist prepares for a two‑track internet: one for humans and one for AI agents
The Economist is testing agent-readable versions of content that already sits outside its paywall, as it prepares for “two versions of the web.”
OpenAI's ads program matures
Media
Mail Metro Media shifts ad strategy toward PMPs and fewer ads as it unifies stack
Mail Metro Media wants to drive 300% PMP growth over the next three years as part of plans to turn a high-volume digital direct business into an outcomes shop.
MrBeast’s creator platform signals a more programmatic creator economy
MrBeast’s first-ever Upfront revealed Beast Industries’ forthcoming creator platform, an infrastructure play that will elevate the company’s offerings.
The case for and against agentic media buying
Agentic media buying promises a reinvention of the programmatic ecosystem, but experts are divided on whether it could help – or hinder – accountability.
Marketing
TikTok launches MCP server to let AI agents run campaigns
The platform launched its own model context protocol (MCP) server during its sixth annual TikTok World event.
Ad tech is lining up behind OpenAI (it’s been here before)
OpenAI needs ad tech. Ad tech knows it won’t always.
Why Target killed its creator program, launched 2 new ones
Target has launched Club Target and Target Ambassadors. Club Target is designed for smaller creators or enthusiastic Target shoppers.
Future of TV
Future of TV Briefing: Inside Warner Bros. Discovery’s programmatic upfront pitch
This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at how WBD’s programmatic advertising business has evolved with programmatic playing a bigger part in its upfront deals.
Future of TV Briefing: The upfront glossary, 2026 edition
This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at the terms on the tips of ad buyers’ and sellers’ tongues when talking about the upfront market.
Future of TV Briefing: Ad tech’s pod bidding push moves CTV toward advancing the live sports ad model in 2026
This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at how ad tech companies including Comcast’s FreeWheel, Index Exchange and The Trade Desk are preparing CTV’s programmatic supply chain for upgraded auction dynamics amid an influx of live sports ad inventory.
Media Buying
By the numbers: Ad tech’s quarter of mixed fortunes
AI and CTV raise investors’ hopes, although underlying tensions persist.
Ad Tech Briefing: Accountability in adland’s agentic era?
Contractual clarity and guardrails are non-negotiable when the machines take over running ad camppigns.
Amazon positions live sports portfolio as leverage to pry open upfront dollars
Amazon touted its combination of commerce targeting data and NBA and NFL inventory as a solution to marketer wariness during upfront negotiations.
Annual research reports
Research
Upfronts
‘There’s a big shift’: Amazon is turning the upfront into a pitch for its ad tech, not just primetime
The upfront is no longer just a shop window for content Amazon owns, it’s now one for its ad tech too.
As upfront negotiations near, buyers chart path through complex sports market
The DOJ’s NFL probe highlights how sports rights complexity can be ‘good for pricing, but hard on strategy’ for brands and buyers.
How publishers are playing a more active role in the agentic era
The agentic era is already here, and it’s moving fast. The media industry has gone from concept to live campaigns in record time. Yet nearly one-third of publishers have no immediate plans to invest in agentic solutions, putting them at risk of falling behind. For publishers with strong first-party data, robust identity infrastructure and established […]
Simkhai is preparing to launch a separate AI-powered e-commerce site designed to bring more of its in-store styling experience online.
-
Member ExclusiveGlossy+ Research: Marketers’ AI use rises, but tech skills stall
Simkhai is preparing to launch a separate AI-powered e-commerce site designed to bring more of its in-store styling experience online.
Joy Mangano, inventor of the MiracleMop, is seeing sales spike for her new brand, CleanBoss, thanks to the nostalgic direct-response TV ads it runs across cable channels. “TV shopping is not just my history, it’s my best-kept secret,” Mangano told Modern Retail.
Joy Mangano, inventor of the MiracleMop, is seeing sales spike for her new brand, CleanBoss, thanks to the nostalgic direct-response TV ads it runs across cable channels. “TV shopping is not just my history, it’s my best-kept secret,” Mangano told Modern Retail.