DIGIDAY+ MEMBER EXCLUSIVES
Media Briefing: Overheard at the Digiday Publishing Summit, March 2026 edition
With no sign of search traffic returning, publishers are doubling down on subscriptions to build direct reader revenue — but it’s not easy.
Media
Joint signings highlight growing convergence between creator and Hollywood agencies
What a spate of joint signings between Reign Maker Group and Paradigm Talent Agency tells us about diversifying talent and owning media in the creator economy.
News/Media Alliance signs AI licensing deal to unlock recurring RAG revenue for small and mid-sized publishers
The News/Media Alliance has signed an AI licensing deal that lets its 2,200 publisher members opt in to monetizing RAG-driven enterprise demand.
Why Parker Thatch transformed its strip-mall storefront into a livestreaming studio
Parker Thatch recently remodeled its store to serve as a hybrid customer-facing retail experience and broadcast studio.
Marketing
Amid competition for sponsors, top sports clubs are investing in social media operations
Sponsors used to want hospitality access and pitch-side banners. Now they want access to a club’s social following.
Rising gas prices could be the straw that breaks consumer spending
The rising fuel costs have experts predicting a rapid ripple effect on the U.S. retail industry.
Alibaba targets $100B in AI and cloud revenue over 5 years as its vision for the agentic era comes into focus
During its latest quarterly earnings report on Thursday, Alibaba reported revenue that fell below analyst expectations.
Future of TV
Future of TV Briefing: How Netflix is shaking up the upfront deal model
This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at Netflix’s single- and multi-year deals with advertisers that extend beyond the scope of traditional upfront commitments.
Future of TV Briefing: OpenX adds attention targeting for CTV ads backed by TVision
This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at a new ad targeting option for CTV advertisers wary of people staring at their phones while an ad airs.
Long-form creators eye taking over TVs – and chasing bigger brand budgets
Long-form episodic creator content is drawing in large numbers of highly engaged viewers, but ad budges are lagging behind. We explore why.
Media Buying
What happens when agency execs negotiate against AI agents
I created a game that has AI agents represent buyers and sellers in an ad deal. Then I asked Wpromote’s Skyler McGill and Butler/Till’s Ryan Lammela to test it out.
Publicis vs. The Trade Desk isn’t really about transparency – it’s about who gets the margin
As audit fallout escalates, the deeper conflict points to a structural power shift in programmatic advertising.
Media Buying Briefing: Horizon’s Bob Lord on the ways agencies have to adapt to survive today
Lord believes the lack of transparency across the agency world is something that AI can improve upon.
Annual research reports
Podcasts
Research
Graduation and the nostalgia around senior year are the themes of Hollister’s latest campaign, which stars 26-year-old singer-songwriter Gigi Perez. The anchor of the campaign is a music video, in which Perez performs Green Day’s 1997 hit “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).” The brand called the video “the first time [Green Day has] allowed a partner and another artist to approach the song at this level.”
Graduation and the nostalgia around senior year are the themes of Hollister’s latest campaign, which stars 26-year-old singer-songwriter Gigi Perez. The anchor of the campaign is a music video, in which Perez performs Green Day’s 1997 hit “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life).” The brand called the video “the first time [Green Day has] allowed a partner and another artist to approach the song at this level.”
TikTok Shop logged more than 103 billion U.S. searches with e-commerce intent in 2025, while total transaction volume rose nearly 80% year over year.
TikTok Shop logged more than 103 billion U.S. searches with e-commerce intent in 2025, while total transaction volume rose nearly 80% year over year.