Mondadori vs Newsweek

Spotify Expands Audiobooks to Over 180 Markets

Spotify announced a global expansion of its audiobook catalog to over 180 markets, starting October 7, 2026. The rollout will proceed over the coming months, bringing audiobook access to more than 750 million users. Previously, audiobooks were primarily available in English-speaking countries and Germany. The platform now offers over 350,000 titles in more than 120 languages, working with over 300 publishers including Planeta and Mondadori. Spotify Premium subscribers in eligible countries get 12 hours of audiobook listening, while a standalone Audiobook+ subscription offers 15 hours. Since its launch last year, Audiobook+ has gained over 1 million subscribers and generated over $100 million in annual recurring revenue. Audiobook listenership grew 40% and listening hours increased 30% over the past year. Spotify also introduced features like Page Match, Audiobook Charts, and an AI-powered audiobook creation tool with ElevenLabs.

• Spotify expands audiobooks to over 180 markets globally.
• Over 350,000 audiobook titles available in more than 120 languages.
• Audiobook+ subscription has over 1 million subscribers and $100M annual recurring revenue.

Mondadori News: New Press Releases and Product Launches

The news page has been updated with several new press releases, including the record-breaking MypersonalTrainer Days 2026, Interni at Cersaie, Back to School survey, Pordenonelegge, Auto leggendarie, Paranoia Festival, MypersonalTrainer Days announcement, Interni at London, Adolescenti e genitori, AdKaora's new identity, McDonald's & GialloZafferano collaboration, and Festivaletteratura.

Pronti per il Back to school con le nostre case editrici di scolastica

Mondadori announces new press releases including a Back to School initiative, a new bookstore opening in Catania, and other corporate updates.

Publishers Skeptical on Agentic Advertising ROI

At Advertising Week New York, publishers expressed caution about agentic media buying, viewing it as a test-and-learn proposition rather than a proven revenue source. Executives from The Economist, Newsweek, and The New York Times cited uncertainty around ROI, measurement, and investment justification. While agencies are moving agentic buying into real campaigns, publishers prioritize near-term revenue and focus on diversification like sponsorships, B2B, and video. The infrastructure for trustworthy, scalable agentic transactions is still being built, with concerns about oversight and accountability. In other news, Google has improved distinguishing humans from AI scrapers and is injecting bad data into search results to poison rivals like SerpApi, whose lawsuit was refiled. YouTube's VP stated at MIPCOM that the platform does not want to produce content, positioning as a distributor. A court order halted Trump administration ads, and StackAdapt made executive hires.

• Publishers at AWNY express caution on agentic media buying ROI.
• Google has begun injecting bad data into search results to thwart rival AI scrapers like SerpApi.
• Google refiled its lawsuit against SerpApi after the case was dismissed in August.

Podcast: The Hardest KPI in Political Advertising

An AdExchanger Talks podcast episode features Mark Jablonowski, CEO of DSPolitical, discussing the unique challenges of measuring political advertising where the primary KPI is an election outcome decided by secret ballot. DSPolitical, which positions itself as a “meta DSP,” combines offline voter data, privacy-compliant audience modeling, multi-bidder activation and unified reporting. Jablonowski notes that Connected TV is a growing channel for political spend but is often bought with a broadcast mindset rather than using CTV’s targeting and measurement capabilities. He also highlights political advertisers’ advanced CRM and voter-file practices and expresses greater concern about organically spreading disinformation than AI deepfakes.

• Mark Jablonowski is the CEO of DSPolitical.
• DSPolitical describes itself as a “meta DSP” and onboards offline voter data to build privacy-compliant audience segments.
• DSPolitical activates audiences through multiple bidders and consolidates results into a single reporting layer.