Channel Factory

Fritz Strobl to Expand Channel Factory in Austria

Adtech firm Channel Factory is expanding its presence in Austria by appointing Fritz Strobl as Commercial Lead Austria, a newly created role effective immediately. Strobl will develop business with media agencies and advertisers and reports into the DACH organization under Managing Director Patrick Edlefsen. Strobl previously spent about six and a half years at Showheroes, led the company's 2019 market entry into Austria, and from 2022 served as Head of Sales for Austria and later Switzerland; earlier roles include Vice Media, Kurier Digital, Forbes Austria and Verlagsgruppe News. He is active on the IAB Austria board, focuses on video/CTV and cookieless advertising, and has led an IAB working group on Big Screen Advertising since 2023. Channel Factory emphasizes contextual and environment-quality video advertising, brand safety/suitability and CTV work across walled gardens and is present in 54 countries.

UK to Ban Under‑16s from Social Media

The UK Government announced a law to ban under-16s from accessing social media services (named include Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat), with the legislation due to come into force next year. VideoWeek published reactions from five industry experts on June 16, 2026, who discussed implications for child welfare, platform design, advertising, and media strategies. Contributors included leaders from the Conscious Advertising Network, VML, UpTalkTV, Mantis and Channel Factory. The piece cites Ofcom research that 52% of 12–15 year‑olds say they find news on social media trustworthy. Experts frame the ban as likely to shift how brands reach younger audiences (toward gaming, TV/broadcasters, experiential and first‑party channels) and raise questions about platform responsibility, the attention economy, and advertiser measurement and targeting.

Meta Adds Content Block Lists for Threads Ads

Meta has rolled out third‑party Content Block Lists for Threads feed ads to improve brand safety for advertisers. The feature — already used on Facebook and Instagram — lets advertisers prevent their ads from appearing beside unsuitable content and can be applied alongside Meta’s existing first‑party inventory filters. Third‑party partners supporting the rollout include DoubleVerify, IAS, Scope3 and Zefr; the block lists are available in dozens of languages and can be deployed directly with those vendors. Meta states that more than 99% of ad‑adjacent content is now classed as brand‑safe. Threads reaches more than 400 million monthly users and ads are available in key markets; Meta will also offer additional verification and brand suitability options via Channel Factory and Protected by Mediaocean.