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Blasto Unveils 2025 Results: New DSP and Supply Control

Blasto published its 2025 operational results detailing a shift from surface-area expansion to tighter workflow clarity, controllability and measurable supply quality. The company launched a new DSP aimed at small and mid-sized agencies to lower barriers like high minimums and complex integrations while providing access to premium supply paths. Blasto expanded embedded verification and monitoring across its stack via deeper integration with HUMAN, alongside existing ties to Pixalate and MediaTrust, to support fraud detection, app-level compliance and supply quality assessment. The firm also formalised service ownership, improved onboarding and was shortlisted for Best Customer Service at VideoWeek. Blasto plans to prioritise ecosystem connectivity and supply discipline in 2026.

CTV Market Shifts: Demand Surges Amid Fragmentation Challenges

ADZINE interviews Marion Kölling about Connected TV (CTV) in Germany. She reports rising demand and growing supply as more households adopt streaming. Inventory on their platforms includes SevenOne with Joyn, RTL, Visoon, Pluto, DAZN, Rakuten, Waipu, with Disney expected to join; Netflix inventory is sold exclusively via I/O and programmatic. The market has embraced Netflix’s AVOD approach, with advertisers seeking deeper integrations beyond spots—longer spots, single-title sponsorships, Keep Watching Ads in beta, and Pause Ads during paused content. Netflix emphasizes measured ad experiences with frequency capping and not converting existing subscribers into ad viewers; Netflix reportedly has over 23 million active users globally. Kölling notes demand exceeds supply in Germany, especially in Q4. She highlights fragmentation and measurement challenges, calls for brand-safety/targeting solutions, and believes 2024 has already seen CTV accelerate, with anticipated consolidation among AVOD providers.

Criteo and Microsoft Unite to Transform Retail Media Landscape

Retail Media remains a high-growth yet fragmented area in digital advertising. Criteo and Microsoft Advertising intend to collaborate more deeply by extending their partnership into Retail Media, aiming to transfer demand from Microsoft Advertising to Criteo’s global network of 225 retailers active in Retail Media. Criteo has evolved from a retargeting-focused company into a Commerce-Media platform that connects shops, brands, and publishers with performance-oriented solutions. Microsoft Advertising, built on technology from Xandr (formerly AppNexus), operates on both the demand and supply sides. The collaboration includes making Criteo the preferred onsite media partner and encouraging Microsoft's clients to adopt Criteo technology, with the goal of a more unified Retail Media ecosystem. The integration is expected to roll out in the second half of 2024, though access for other players remains undecided.