Observed Signal · Apr 28, 2026 · Market Update · Source: VideoWeek · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
AI, TV OS Entrants, and UK M&A Rebound
VideoWeek's Week in Charts (28 April 2026) highlights industry trends: behavioral-advertising commentator Rory Sutherland reflects on AI reshaping the ad industry; Omdia projects incumbents (Google Android, Samsung Tizen, LG WebOS) will lose share as new TV OS entrants VIDAA, Titan and TiVo gain ground, collectively forecast to reach about 30% of European TV OS shipments by 2030; Moore Kingston Smith reports UK media and marketing M&A rebounded in Q1 2026 with 118 deals, including Publicis’ acquisition of AdgeAI and several Havas purchases; the World Federation of Advertisers survey finds rising short-termism among senior marketers (70% prioritise immediate objectives, up from 61% in 2025); separate research from WARC/GWI shows roughly half of internet users support age verification on social platforms. The newsletter also lists recent stock moves across agencies, TV, publishers, ad tech and tech names.
Market roundup combining vendor forecasts (Omdia TV OS projections), sector M&A data (MKS Q1 deals) and marketer survey results (WFA) — useful for CTV/AdTech market watchers but not a platform policy or major technical release.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Omdia projects Google’s Android TV OS share in Europe to fall from a 33% peak in 2024 to 26% by 2030.
- Omdia forecasts new entrants VIDAA, Titan and TiVo will together account for about 30% of the European TV OS market by 2030.
- Moore Kingston Smith recorded 118 media and marketing M&A deals in the UK in Q1 2026, the highest quarterly total since Q1 2023.
- Publicis acquired Israeli predictive creative analytics platform AdgeAI; Havas completed four acquisitions in Q1 2026, per MKS reporting.
- WFA Global Risk Barometer: >90% of senior marketers see the business environment as less predictable; 70% say they are more focused on immediate objectives (up from 61% in 2025).
Connected Companies & Entities
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Week in Charts: CTV Shares, Retail Media Shift, AI Ads
VideoWeek’s 'Week in Charts' highlights industry data and market moves: Pixalate data shows Samsung held the largest share of open programmatic CTV impressions in the UK (31%) in Q1 2026 while Roku led the US (36%), with Amazon Fire TV second in both markets. eMarketer forecasts China’s share of global retail media ad spend to fall from 44% (2026) to 42% by 2029 while the rest of the world rises from 20% to 22%; the US is expected to remain at ~36%. An IAB UK/MTM survey found half of UK consumers comfortable with AI-generated background images, but a majority uncomfortable with fully AI-generated people in ads. TiVo research shows in-car video is most commonly used to entertain children and is watched more often when parked (41.8%) than moving (31.7%). The piece also summarises recent stock movements affecting adtech and media companies.
CTV & AI Growth; Video to Counter AI Threat
Week in Charts flags CTV and AI as the main growth areas in IAB Europe’s Attitudes to Digital Advertising, with agencies (76%), publishers (54%), and ad tech (81%) naming CTV and 60% of advertisers citing AI as growth drivers. Reuters Institute notes publishers will focus more on video in the AI era, citing declines in traffic referrals from AI search results. Ampere Analysis forecasts global content investment reaching $255 billion in 2026, up 2% from 2025, led by streaming with spend rising 6% to $101 billion while broadcasters stagnate or decline. CoComelon tops end-of-year video streams, led by The Wheels on the Bus, with Bruno Mars songs in second and third and Golden from Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters in fourth. The Week in Stocks section highlights movements in Roku, The New York Times, and Adobe, and the piece weaves in signals around AI, M&A, pricing, and measurement shaping the ad tech and video ecosystem.
CTV Growth Soars as UK Trust in TV Ads Rises
VideoWeek’s 'Week in Charts' roundup highlights multiple industry data points: Netflix’s UK ad-tier households grew 13.11% quarter-on-quarter in Q4 2025 (Barb’s Establishment Survey), driven by the Stranger Things finale; Disney+’s ad tier grew ~13% while Amazon Prime’s was largely flat. UK research shows rising trust in advertising across channels — TV trust rose from 33% in 2021 to 46% in 2025 (Credos) — while influencers remain the least trusted (25%). CTV viewers value convenience features such as starting a show from the beginning (77%), resuming where they left off (76%) and instant 'watch next' episode playback (76%) per Oliver & Ohlbaum. A study from the IPPR found BBC News is notably absent from ChatGPT answers. The roundup also notes broad downward pressure on agency and ad-tech stocks, Comcast’s relative resilience after Q4 results, Thomson Reuters’ 5% YoY Q4 revenue growth, Apple overtaking Google in market cap, and Amazon’s 14% stock fall after a large capex forecast.
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