Observed Signal · Jun 30, 2026 · Report · Source: VideoWeek · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
WPP Tops Global Billings; AI Usage and Ad Tolerance Rise
VideoWeek’s Week in Charts highlights industry trends including WPP Media leading COMvergence’s 2025 global billings with $63.9 billion, narrowly ahead of Publicis Media. Omnicom-owned OMD led individual agency rankings with $26.9 billion. The piece reports rising AI use in Cannes Lions entries, growing ad tolerance among US consumers (those who prefer watching ads to save money rose from 58% to 69% over five years), and that theatrical releases dominated streaming top‑ten lists per Nielsen/VAB analysis. Market moves noted include Stagwell integrating Microsoft’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) into live media campaigns, Viant completing its acquisition of TVision, Comcast announcing plans to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky, and stock movements for Thomson Reuters and Nvidia. The article was published by VideoWeek on 2026-06-30.
Provides industry charts and discrete company developments (agency billings, consumer ad-tolerance trend, integrations and M&A). Useful for market monitoring and competitive context but not a sector-shifting policy or platform technical release.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- WPP Media reported $63.9 billion in global billings in COMvergence’s 2025 rankings.
- Publicis Media reported $62.4 billion and Omnicom Media $48.5 billion in global billings; Omnicom-owned OMD topped individual agency rankings with $26.9 billion.
- US consumer ad tolerance rose: preference to watch ads to save money increased from 58% to 69% over five years; those who "can't tolerate" ads fell from 17% to 11% (Hub Entertainment Research).
- Stagwell announced integration of Microsoft’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) into live media campaigns.
- Viant completed the acquisition of TV viewing insights firm TVision, coinciding with a rise in its share price.
Connected Companies & Entities
13 Entities mapped“WPP Media brought in$63.9 billion in global billings last year, according to COMvergence, edging out Publicis Media ($62.4 billion) and well...”
“WPP Media brought in$63.9 billion in global billings last year, according to COMvergence, edging out Publicis Media ($62.4 billion) and well...”
“WPP Media brought in$63.9 billion in global billings last year, according to COMvergence, edging out Publicis Media ($62.4 billion) and well...”
“However, Omnicom-owned OMD topped the individual agency rankings with $26.9 billion....”
“More than half (52 percent) of British football fans expect to mainly watch their home nation’s World Cup games at at home with household me...”
“Only two of the top ten movies on streaming services (by minutes viewed) in H1 last year were streaming-only releases, according to VAB anal...”
“Comcast’s share price jumped on Monday when the company announced plans to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky....”
“Comcast’s share price jumped on Monday when the company announced plans to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky....”
“Shares in Stagwell jumped last week after the agency network announced the integration of Microsoft’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) into live...”
“Comcast’s share price jumped on Monday when the company announced plans to spin off NBCUniversal and Sky....”
“Shares in Stagwell jumped last week after the agency network announced the integration of Microsoft’s Model Context Protocol (MCP) into live...”
“Thomson Reuters’ stock price is up 8 percent as its AI-driven legal tools gain traction among US businesses....”
“Viant’s share price is on the rise following the completion of its acquisition of TV viewing insights firm TVision....”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
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WPP AI Platform; NYT Watch Tab; BVOD Inflation
VideoWeek's Week in Review highlights three core developments: WPP unveiled WPP Open Pro, an AI-powered self-serve marketing platform that enables brands to plan, create, and publish campaigns using WPP data, with options to hand campaigns to Open Media Studio or publish directly to major ad platforms. The New York Times launched a TikTok-style Watch tab in its app, presenting a swipeable vertical video hub that aggregates its video portfolio across coverage to boost everyday engagement. The report also notes BVOD ad inventory price inflation at about 5% in 2025, the highest among channels, with CTV outside BVOD roughly flat to +1% and linear TV around +5%. Additionally, Google announced phased withdrawal of several Privacy Sandbox tools due to low adoption, signaling ongoing shifts at the privacy-adjacent edge of advertising technology.
Week in Charts: Netflix & Disney+ Gain Ground; PubMatic Buy-Side
VideoWeek’s Week in Charts reviews multiple ad-tech and streaming trends this week. Barb UK data shows Netflix’s ads tier reaching 6.1 million UK homes and Disney+ at 2.3 million, with Netflix also reporting global ad-product reach of 190 million MAUs and Amazon stating over 315 million ad-supported viewers worldwide. The industry continues to lean on engagement metrics for influencer measurement, with Unilever publicly signaling a plan to allocate up to half of its ad spend to influencer marketing. In ad-tech stocks, PubMatic and Viant post strong connected TV growth in Q3, with PubMatic noting a DSP partner’s reduced spend through its own pipes. Separately, UK data from Croud indicates AI-assisted purchases increase overall spend, particularly for the £40,000–£74,999 income band. The week also notes broader AI-driven headwinds as NVIDIA, Google, Amazon, and Meta see stock declines, reflecting ongoing market caution around AI investments.
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.
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