Behind Headlines: 180 Seconds in Ad Tech — Ads on Disney+ & AMP Unplugged

Hello there! This is Ari at Sharethrough here with a brand new episode of Behind Headlines. In this episode I'll be giving you a 180-second recap of what happened the week of March 7th in ad tech. Without further ado, let’s get into it!

First up, Disney+, the streaming service that captured people’s hearts and subscriptions with Baby Yoda’s cuteness, will be adding an ad-supported subscription tier, available this year in the US, and everywhere else after 2023. Although a Disney+ subscription is one more of the more affordable options, albeit unsustainable, was an intentional move on Disney’s part to capture market share. But why go ad-supported after all this time? Shares fell for Disney recently, and the move to become an ad-supported streaming service is a way for them to reach their goal of minimum 230 million subscribers by 2024. That’s nearly double their subscription count. Do you think introducing an ad-supported tier will help? (Source: AdExchanger, The Information, NYTimes, AdAge)

Speaking of more programmatic TV offerings, Procter & Gamble (P&G), the consumer packaged goods giant with brands like Charmin and Old Spice, says that it’s going to be moving away from the traditional TV upfront buying process, and rethinking how it does TV ad-buying. P&G states that inefficiencies in audience forecasting and guarantees are a big reason for the shift away from upfronts. What P&G is doing now is looking for ways to apply programmatic advertising to linear TV inventory, to match ad supply with viewing demand, for when people are actually watching. (Source: AdAge, AdExchanger, MediaPost)

More on the streaming front, a number of Hulu’s more popular streaming shows are making their way back to Peacock. The contract between Disney and Comcast, Hulu’s and NBCUniversal Peacock’s respective parent companies, was terminated because Hulu won’t be paying for some of NBC’s titles like Saturday Night Live and The Voice. But this isn’t all bad, considering both companies have something to gain from this. The terminated contract now frees funds for Hulu to create more original programming and Peacock can bring popular shows to its own platform, allowing both companies to better compete in the competitive streaming landscape. (Source: The Verge)

Next, the deal between Hulu and Peacock may not be the only thing that’s ending as more publishers are reevaluating their use of Google’s Accelerated Mobile Pages (AMP.) In a recent survey by DigitalContentNext (DCN) reveals that although 96% of publishers currently or  previously used Google’s AMP, over half of them are reevaluating its use and some have already stopped using it. It started off with good intentions, as most things do, when Google AMP promised publishers better load times and search results. But in light of Google’s recent allegations of prioritizing AMP links and slowing down non-AMP sites, publishers are growingly distrustful of Google’s practice. Vox and Buzzfeed are already testing out their own alternatives to AMP, with potentially more publishers following suit. (Source: AdExchanger, Wall Street Journal, DigitalContentNext, Texas Attorney General)

And last but not least, American Eagle, the apparel brand, will allow Livetopia players in Roblox to enter the “AE Members Always Club” and dress their characters in American Eagle’s spring lineup. Just another move on the company’s part to be at the forefront of metaverse marketing and reach top-of-mind for Gen Z. American Eagle isn’t the first to advertise in the metaverse, like Ralph Lauren and Forever 21 on Roblox, nor is it the company’s first initiative at experimenting with new tech like Snap’s AR, NFTs, and NBA2K in-game store items. The brand hopes to capture the attention of Gen Z before the metaverse becomes oversaturated with advertisers. Could the metaverse be more than a pipe dream? (Source: Digiday)

Thanks for tuning in! Let us know what you think by leaving a comment on our LinkedIn page or send us an email to marketing@sharethrough.com. For more in-depth information or to subscribe to these weekly updates, check out the links in our blog. This has been Ari at Sharethrough for our weekly 180 second-recap in Ad tech. Until next time!