Blavity

Disney, Anthropic, and Perplexity Transform Content and AI Monetization

The Digest reports three developments shaping content licensing, copyright, and AI usage monetization. Disney and German public broadcaster ZDF announced a collaboration to host a curated ZDF Films and Series collection on Disney+ across Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, totaling more than 3,000 episodes and films by year-end. The content will bear the ZDF branding under a 'ZDF Films and Series' banner, with new seasons of select ZDF titles arriving on Disney+ months after their linear broadcast. In a separate matter, Anthropic settled a class-action copyright lawsuit alleging Claude AI models were trained on pirated books, avoiding trial. Finally, Perplexity unveiled a publisher-revenue model that pays publishers for articles used by its AI, backed by a USD 42.5 million revenue pool funded by Comet Plus subscriptions, with publishers receiving 80% of the revenue.

Black-Owned Publishers Embrace Programmatic Guaranteed for Control

Programmatic can be a mixed bag for Black-owned media companies. It boosts efficiency but is hindered by keyword blocking and the ad tech tax, and many minority-owned publishers find it less effective than direct buys for reaching diverse audiences. Revolt, a Black-owned TV/media network, eschews programmatic entirely. Others are adopting programmatic guaranteed (PG), a hybrid that automates campaigns while preserving publisher oversight. Blavity Media Group and Black Enterprise are leaning into PG; PG avoids bidding, giving publishers control over budget pacing. Black Enterprise notes about 20% of its inventory is sold via PMPs or open exchanges, with the remaining 80% through direct deals including PG, and it encourages clients to shift more spend into PG. Black Enterprise also licensed Prebid.js from Aditude to work with SSPs such as PubMatic and Index Exchange. Keyword blocking remains a problem, as brand-safety blocklists can suppress culturally relevant terms. PG is seen as a way to balance targeting, spend and cost versus managed services.

For Publishers, There’s No Cookie-Cutter Approach To Sustainable Revenue

Publishers face a post-cookie world and uncertain macro conditions, and there is no one-size-fits-all path to sustainable revenue. The piece argues that publishers should experiment with revenue models while prioritizing first-party data. Bloomberg is using subscriber-derived first-party data to build lookalike audiences for potential new subscribers and has announced plans to discontinue open web programmatic display advertising on its properties. For smaller publishers, diversification is key; Blavity’s Jeff Nelson suggests focusing on user experiences and obtaining voluntary data while expanding revenue streams beyond ads. Dotdash Meredith’s Daniel Papalia emphasizes tighter, onsite ad experiences and performance, moving away from open exchanges. The article also notes that programmatic budgets were among the first cuts during the 2020 recession and recommends monitoring programmatic revenue. Beyond advertising, first-party data can unlock opportunities in other business areas, including talent acquisition and commerce-related use cases.