| Microsoft is getting more personal with Copilot, an “AI companion” built around individual needs. In addition to tasks like making restaurant reservations, the chatbot can now analyze real-time video from users’ phones, answer questions in the context of what it “sees,” track online deals, and more. “Copilot will understand you in the context of your life, and show up, on your terms, in the right way at the right time,” said Mustafa Suleyman, EVP and CEO of Microsoft AI, in a blog post. |
 Meta shared the first models from its latest open source AI intelligence software Llama 4, aimed at enabling people to build more personalized multimodal experiences. Unveiled on Saturday were Llama 4 Scout, Llama 4 Maverick, and Llama 4 Behemoth, which is still in training. “This is just the beginning for the Llama 4 collection. We believe that the most intelligent systems need to be capable of taking generalized actions, conversing naturally with humans, and working through challenging problems they haven’t seen before,” said Meta in a blog post. “Giving Llama superpowers in these areas will lead to better products for people on our platforms and more opportunities for developers to innovate on the next big consumer and business use cases.”
Time hasn’t run out for TikTok yet. President Trump has again extended the deadline for ByteDance to comply with a law that requires the sale of its US operation or face a ban in the country. The popular app, which had faced a cutoff date of April 5, now has until mid-June to reach a deal. Trump’s first extension was granted in January and was set to expire on Saturday.
Gamers are going to have to wait a little longer to order Nintendo’s hotly-anticipated Switch 2. “Pre-orders for Nintendo Switch 2 in the US will not start April 9, 2025 in order to assess the potential impact of tariffs and evolving market conditions,” stated a Nintendo representative. “Nintendo will update timing at a later date. The launch date of June 5, 2025 is unchanged.” No word on whether the console’s price will be raised from the $450 announced shortly before Trump’s tariff news.
Vizrt has partnered with Dubai-based storytelling hub blinx Media: to launch a TikTok Live livestream with advanced extended reality (XR) graphics. The livestream is the first instance of content being created in a virtual studio, with audiences utilizing TikTok’s gifting capabilities to transform the virtual set in real-time.
WPP has acquired InfoSum. The data collaboration platform will join GroupM, WPP’s media investment group, to power the creation of AI-enhanced marketing solutions for clients. “At WPP, we have been building the technology and data infrastructure that will give our clients a unique competitive advantage in the AI era,” said Mark Read, CEO of WPP. “Bringing InfoSum into WPP is a major step forward for our data capabilities and the results we can deliver for our clients. It allows clients to stay in complete control of their first-party data, while also giving them access to vastly greater quantities of high-quality, privacy-compliant data and pioneering technology that is not available anywhere else in the market today.”
Plex has started rolling out its new mobile app to all users. In addition to an expanded use of artwork throughout the app, updates include streamlining the user menu, where users can quickly access personalized details, and a dedicated tab for centralized personal media libraries.
Skai, the omnichannel platform for commerce media, has introduced Celeste AI, a GenAI marketing agent designed to transform how brands and agencies navigate commerce media. Powered by Skai’s proprietary data, Celeste aggregates signals from 200+ publishers, competitive insights, and cross-channel performance to deliver tailored recommendations. “Don’t think of Celeste as just a new tool — it’s an enabling technology that transforms how marketers engage with data, make decisions, and drive growth,” said Gil Sadeh, President of Skai. “As AI becomes the new UI, marketers must look beyond feature comparisons when selecting their tech partners and focus on intelligence.”
Digital data and market intelligence company SimilarWeb has acquired The Search Monitor, an ad monitoring company that supports affiliate compliance solutions for paid search. “Combining The Search Monitor’s capabilities with Similarweb’s rich digital intelligence enables us to deliver a more complete, market-ready solution for performance marketers,” said Maoz Lakovski, Chief Business Officer at Similarweb. “As digital ad environments become more complex, this move allows us to help customers achieve greater control, transparency, and ROI across their paid media investments.”
Social media platforms may be establishing a “new center of gravity” for media and entertainment, drawing more of people’s time spent viewing entertainment, and the money that brands spend to reach them. That’s according to Deloitte’s 2025 Digital Media Trends report, which shares a survey that reveals that media and entertainment companies, including advertisers, are competing for an average of six hours of daily media and entertainment time per person. Age matters: 56% of Gen Zs and 43% of millennials surveyed report that social media content is more relevant to them than traditional content like TV shows and movies. Gen Zs spend 54% more time—or about 50 minutes more—than the average consumer per day on social platforms and watching UGC; and 26% less time—or about 44 minutes less per day—than the average person watching TV and movies. Concludes Deloitte: Get creative and publish to social platforms. Social video can help lift TV and movies. |
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| SPORTS MEDIA AWARDS
Make a Power Play with your Brand
Sponsoring the Cynopsis Sports Media Awards isn’t just a move—it’s the move. With 250+ industry changemakers in the room and exposure to 70,000+ sports subscribers, this is your chance to get on the field with the biggest names in sports media.
– Trophy Sponsor
– VIP Wine Tasting
– Photo Zone
– Private Dinner
– Category Presenter
… and more.
Contact Carley Ashley or Stephanie Cronk for more details or to secure your spot! |
 ADVERTISING |
| Samsung Ads has launched Samsung Game Breaks interactive ad formats, aimed at creating and accessible gaming experiences in different formats within its ecosystem of services and devices. Trivia game “The Six” will be the first of a portfolio of games designed to transform passive ad breaks into brand-driven gameplay, with opportunities for brands to engage audiences through interactive, high-performance ad experiences. “’GameBreaks: The Six’ is just the beginning,” said Travis Howe, VP, Global Head of New Product Solutions. ‘We’re combining our unmatched scale with interactive technology to give brands an entirely new, high-impact way to engage audiences. Over the next few years, advertising opportunities and entertainment will increasingly overlap, for lean-in, exciting, immersive experiences.”
Spotify unveiled the Spotify Ads Exchange, offering marketers more flexibility when buying ads. Advertisers using SAX will be able to place audio, video, and display ads across Spotify’s music library. Also introduced was Gen AI Ads, enabling advertisers to quickly produce scripts and voiceovers at no extra cost.
Wendy’s partnered with Snapchat to test a new ad format, Sponsored Snaps, which delivers a full-screen video Snap directly to users’ chat inboxes – and it drove 52 million impressions in one day. Wendy’s in-app profile increased its organic followers by 55% and generated nearly 12,000 clicks and a 17% overall ad awareness brand lift, according to Snap. Wendy’s secret? They’ve got you. “Since the ad shows up right in a user’s chat feed—where they’re already actively engaging—it felt more like a message from a friend than a traditional ad,” Russ Mischner, Wendy’s VP of Integrated Marketing, told QSR. “That, combined with our distinct voice and creative style, made the experience feel authentic rather than forced.”
Snapchat introduced two new tiers for its Agency Partner Program aimed at smaller independent agencies: The new entry-level “Agency Partner” badge, and a reimagined “Strategic Agency Partner” tier. Both levels come with support from Snap’s team, access to beta products, discounts in the form of coupons, strategic guidance and business opportunities.
Google announced the expansion of Immersive Ads – which give advertisers a way to connect with people in the moment with relevant ads – to more publishers across AdMob and Ad Manager, as well as a partnership with Roblox. Immersive Ads exist within the gaming experience, blending into the game environment. The new partnership between Roblox and Ad Manager will enable Roblox to scale Rewarded Video and other immersive formats to brands.
Fuse Media has partnered with BrightLine to bring interactive CTV ads to advertisers seeking to engage young, culturally diverse audiences through innovative ad formats. “Traditional 30-second ads no longer cut it when engaging with diverse audiences who only watch streaming content,” said Rob Aksman, President, Chief Strategy Officer and Co-Founder of BrightLine. “Partnering with Fuse Media opens new doors, scales our interactive ad capabilities and offers advertisers more opportunities to engage with this sought-after audience through innovative, data-driven ad formats.” |
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| DIGITAL OPPORTUNITIES
Introducing Cynopsis Trailer Park – A New Premier Advertising Opportunity!
Cynopsis Trailer Park grabs attention with sneak peeks of new series, specials, and seasons – while also highlighting the latest in advertising innovation.
This one-of-a-kind opportunity offers:
– Brand new previews promoting must-watch content in an engaging, high-visibility format.
– A showcase for cutting-edge ad solutions.
– Immersive brand messaging – Amplify your promotion with video, text, and infographics for a fully integrated experience.
Be among the first to take advantage of this exclusive promotional platform.
Contact Amy Abbey for more details or to secure your spot! |
| MEASUREMENT |
| IAS has expanded its partnership with Reddit to give advertisers access to increased measurement capabilities across the platform including Viewability and Invalid Traffic Measurement, as part of IAS’s Total Media Quality for Reddit. Advertisers can validate their content adjacency with trusted third-party analysis aligned to industry frameworks, and validate that they are engaging with real users and maximizing campaign spend.
Circana, Paramount and iSpot are collaborating to bring “always-on” sales and conversion measurement to consumer packaged goods advertisers. Starting in 2Q25, all CPG brands advertising on Paramount’s linear and digital channels will have access to continuous, transparent performance measurement, bridging the gap between in-store sales and advertising investment. “Always-on attribution measurement done at scale, across platforms, isn’t just a fast way to track and justify investments, it’s a better way for both the buy and sell side to drive revenue and deliver more impactful ad experiences,” said Lindsey Woodland, SVP of Client Data Science, iSpot. “Outcomes at scale move performance tracking closer to the point of transaction and broaden the tent to include brands and products of all sizes that don’t always have the time and resources to perform a rapid analysis on impact.”
DoubleVerify is extending its gaming measurement suite through a strategic partnership with Roblox. The partnership offers advertisers coverage across all of Roblox’s advertising inventory globally, including Billboard image ads and video ads, which serve in in-game environments. It also includes Rewarded Videos, which will soon appear in high traffic environments such as menus and stores. DV’s coverage also spans across device types such as mobile, desktop and console.
Venture capital firm FirstPartyCapital, specializing in adtech, martech, and digital media, announced a strategic investment from DoubleVerify. “This investment from DV marks a major milestone for our fund,” said Rich Ashton, Managing Partner at FirstPartyCapital. “With this capital injection, DoubleVerify becomes not only one of our largest investors but also a key partner to our portfolio companies as they scale.” |
ACCOUNT DIRECTOR; CTV BRAND PARTNERSHIPS – MID WEST/WEST COAST
FUTURE TODAY
REMOTE
Build, maintain and expand a pipeline of sales targets, contacts, and sales opportunities leveraging your relationships with a heavy focus on new business revenue. Build/nurture relationships with the investment, strategy, precision and digital agencies as well as clients. Also maintain an ongoing knowledge of the streaming media landscape. Full info HERE
DIRECTOR, AD MARKETING & SALES >>
THE SHADE ROOM/REMOTE: Develop and execute a revenue growth strategy to drive direct advertising, branded content, and sponsorship sales as well as lead the development of compelling advertising and branded content offerings tailored for TSR’s audience and cultivate and maintain strong relationships with key advertisers, media agencies, and brand partners. Full info HERE
ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE DIRECT RESPONSE >>
OPPORTUNITY MEDIA/NY(REMOTE/HYBRID): Seeking an energetic achiever with excellent written & organizational skills for role to assist in growing revenue for dynamic Direct Response Team: required: BA Degree, Min 2 yrs DR Experience. Wide Orbit Exp a +. Full info HERE
PROFESSIONAL LECTURER OF COMMUNICATION/SPORTS BROADCASTING >>
MARIST UNIVERSITY/ POUGHKEEPSIE, NY: Teach studio and field broadcasting and new media courses in sports media and journalism as well as be able to teach a studio course on producing a newscast and help students live stream a podcast or produce short-form feature content suitable for social media streaming. Also demonstrate through their teaching, professional activity, and service. Full info HERE
DIGITAL MEDIA PLANNER/BUYER >>
BEACON MEDIA GROUP/ LYNDHURST, NJ: Management of paid social media campaigns, strong written & verbal communication skills, knowledge of various targeting methodologies, and basic understanding of traditional media. Familiarity with media planning and buying software. Proficient in website analytics tools. Experience in pixel implementation and conversion tracking. Full info HERE
VICE PRESIDENT BUSINESS AFFAIRS >>
HEARST MEDIA PRODUCTION GROUP/CHARLOTTE, NC: Focus on FCC compliance, brand integrity for all current series and day-to-day business affairs for development and production. Strategize with management and outside counsel on business issues, and draft, review and execute various short-form business documents. Legal background and/or related media experience is required. Full info HERE
SALES LEAD – AGENCY PARTNERSHIPS
UPWAVE
NEW YORK, NY
Build and manage relationships with our agency partners – mostly targeting media buyers and planners – and help them see the value of adding Upwave measurement to The Trade Desk campaigns. You will both leverage your existing network and open new doors to achieve aggressive but achievable sales targets. Full info HERE |
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