PPF Group

Publicis Wins $10B; Sports Spend Rises; Viaplay Soars

VideoWeek’s Week in Charts reports that Publicis generated $10 billion in new client billings. ANA data shows 22% of US marketers who use principal media allocate more than 25% of their media budgets to it, with a growing share now spending 5–10% in the lower range. Research from Altman Solon forecasts sports rights will account for 26% of major media companies’ content spend by 2027 (up from 20% in 2019), reflecting a shift to live and hybrid SVOD/AVOD models. Viaplay’s shares have risen about 50% over the past three months and jumped 6% after reports Canal+ and PPF may seek to take it private. IAB and Sonata Insights found Gen Z holds more negative sentiment toward AI‑generated ads than Millennials. The Trade Desk’s shares fell after reports Publicis advised clients to avoid its DSP following a third‑party audit failure.

Viaplay Takeover Talks and Media Concerns Dominate AdTech News

This Week in Review covers a range of industry developments: Canal+ and investment group PPF are reportedly exploring a take-private of Nordic streamer Viaplay after both acquired ~29.3% stakes in a 2024 recapitalisation. An ANA study finds 90% of marketers unsure whether principal media arrangements serve client interests, even as use of principal media rises. The UK government has stepped back from a preferred plan to enable AI developers to train on copyrighted works, following wide creative-industry opposition. Other notable items include whistleblower claims that Meta and TikTok elevated harmful content to boost engagement, the FCA finding over 1,000 illegal financial ads on Meta in one week, a FIFA–YouTube preferred-platform tie-up for the 2026 World Cup, ByteDance pausing the Seedance 2.0 launch after legal threats, and Gracenote suing OpenAI for alleged copyright infringement.

MFE ProSieben Stake Up; Linear TV Ad Share Falls

European media group MFE-MediaForEurope has raised its stake in ProSiebenSat.1 to 75.61%, giving it a majority and the ability to pursue a domination agreement and tighter financial consolidation. The milestone follows PPF’s sale of its stake to MFE, signaling a clear path to full integration. ProSieben’s CEO Bert Habets acknowledged the collaboration and thanked PPF for its contributions. In TV advertising, WARC’s Global Ad Trends shows linear TV ad spend falling to 12.4% of global spend, with linear budgets forecast to drop from $143.9B this year to $139.2B next year, while connected TV surges toward $39.9B and $44.7B respectively. TF1+ announced ad-free micropayments starting this autumn, charging €0.69 for ad-free episodes or early access; the feature aims to diversify revenue beyond subscriptions and support ad-financed content creation.