Each day, New Digital Age gathers the most interesting digital marketing industry news from around the web…
M&A
AdExchanger – Allison Schiff, 6th August 2026 (also in WSJ, Digiday, Advanced Television, Bloomberg, Campaign Asia, Performance Marketing World, Deadline, MediaShotz, Variety, MediaPost)
Nielsen Is Acquiring DoubleVerify For $2.15 Billion
Less than a year ago, Integral Ad Science was taken private by PE firm Novacap for $1.9 billion. Now, its biggest competitor will soon be gone from the public markets, too.
PODCAST
The Media Leader – Charli West, 7th August 2026 (also in Advanced Television, Little Black Book, Radio Today, Retail Gazette)
Government urged to block BBC podcast advertising plans
A coalition of media businesses, including broadcasters, audio producers and news publishers, has urged the Government to drop plans that would allow the BBC to carry advertising on its podcasts and audio content in the UK for the first time.
AI
Digiday – Sam Bradley, 7th August 2026
Clients are hungry for AI visibility aids, but buyers are skeptical of specialized markdown ads
Publishers have begun offering ad inventory specifically designed to be seen by AI agents. With clients desperate to improve their AI search visibility, some media buyers say it’s worth a shot. Others regard it as magical thinking.
Advanced Television – 6th August 2026
Study: AI slop poses growing risk to brand trust
DoubleVerify (DV), the software platform to verify media quality, optimise ad performance and prove campaign outcomes, has released the EMEA edition of its 2026 Global Insights: Media Quality in the Age of AI report, examining consumer and marketer attitudes toward AI’s growing role in content and digital advertising, from low-quality AI content and AI-generated ad creative to advertising within AI chat experiences.
MEASUREMENT
Digiday – Seb Joseph, 7th August 2026
The Trade Desk is betting part of its recovery on measurement nobody can argue with
The Trade Desk missed its second-quarter forecast. Advertisers buying on price, not value, are a big part of the reason why. So now it’s betting on measurement so clear they can’t keep doing it.
RETAIL
Retail Week – Hugh Radojev, 7th August 2026
Heatwave keeps consumers at home as retail footfall falls
Total UK footfall fell in July, as searing hot temperatures kept consumers at home and off the high street.
PARAMOUNT
Deadline – Jake Kanter, 6th August 2026
Paramount’s Takeover Of Warner Bros. Cleared By UK Authorities
Paramount‘s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) has been given the green light by UK authorities.
HOLDCOS
Digiday – Sam Bradley, 6th August 2026
‘It will take a few years’: WPP CEO Cindy Rose says outcome-based pay is still years away
Loud as the chatter about outcome-based remuneration is across the holdco space, the reality of it is still some way off, according to one of its most vocal proponents, WPP CEO Cindy Rose.
MARKETER
Performance Marketing World – Joseph Arthur, 6th August 2026
Over half of marketers are failing to use data insights to improve campaigns – report
Delays in reporting times and an inability to unify data resources remain pain points for marketers, and AI hasn’t yet been able to help.
ROUND UP
ExchangeWire – Sheila Obeng-King, 6th August 2026
Digest: Apple Expands OpenAI Data Theft Claims; Grubhub & 40 Brands Test ChatGPT Ad Measurement
In today’s Digest, we discuss Apple’s escalation of its OpenAI trade secrets case, including its request for an injunction and expedited discovery, OpenAI’s integration with AppsFlyer to bring in-app measurement to ChatGPT Ads and, Snapchat’s push to attract small businesses with a more focused advertising platform.
