News from the open internet | The Current

News from the open internet

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The Current News Break

Streaming|August 6

Disney is supersizing ESPN for streaming with NFL, WWE

Disney this week announced new deals with the NFL and WWE, as it prepares to launch its new ESPN streaming service this month.

Across the internet

Top of the mountain

Skydance finally closed its acquisition of Paramount after a lengthy, tumultuous process.

Disney+, Hulu tie the knot

Disney announced that it will fully integrate Hulu into Disney+, with a single unified Disney+ app coming in 2026.

Omnicom-IPG

The U.K. competition watchdog cleared the mega-merger, paving the way for agency consolidation.

Pivot to health care

After X, Linda Yaccarino is the new CEO of eMed Population Health.

Howdy, neighbor

Roku launched an ad-free subscription streaming service called Howdy that will cost only $3 per month.

For Fox sake

Fox's new streaming service, Fox One, will launch this month ahead of the NFL season and cost $20 per month.

Google sued again

Adweek reports that OpenX, an SSP, is suing Google, accusing it of preventing publishers from setting price floors that would incentivize competition.

First down feeling

In a seismic deal, ESPN will gain access to RedZone and NFL Network programming while the NFL gets an equity in ESPN.

Google earnings

Alphabet reported 14% increase in revenue this quarter, but its network ad business saw a 1% decline

FanDuel hire

Jim Keller, an ad sales veteran of WBD, Hulu and NBCU, has been hired as EVP of advertising and sponsorship sales at FanDuel Sports Network.

Graph showing how U.S. sports viewers are watching sports.

70% of U.S. sports viewers watch via streaming

Sports fans in the U.S. tend to watch games and matches on streaming platforms more often than not, and a small fraction watch exclusively via traditional broadcast or cable.

Video

5 Minutes with Gautier Picquet, CEO, Publicis Connected Media

Data is at the center of Publicis’ value with clients, says Gautier Picquet

Publicis has won major accounts with Mars, Coca-Cola, Subway, Pfizer and Hershey in the past year. Picquet shares how data is center stage for its clients.

For Context: The evolution of audio

The Current: From Radio to Spotify: The evolution of audio.

Billie’s Anna Stallings thinks DTC brands should focus more on brand loyalty than on transactions

5 Minutes with Anna Stallings, Sr. Director, Growth Marketing, Billie

For Context: From cable to connected TV: Live sports on screen

For Context: From Cable to connected TV: Live sports on screen.

Writers

Ilyse Liffreing

IAB Tech Lab warns: Don’t let AI browsers ‘strip-mine’ the open internet

Audio’s big moment is now. Are you listening?

Chris Brooklier

How Google built an ad tech giant — and ended up in court: Ari Paparo’s Yield

AI is helping marketers master the open web — even as it rewrites the rules

Disney is supersizing ESPN for streaming with NFL, WWE

Tharshini Tharma-Asokan

Why Cloudflare’s AI block could safeguard the open internet

Podcast

Trending

Marketing Strategy|July 7
In the face of AI, marketers are rethinking their tech stacks
Chris Brooklier
Opinion|July 1
Stagwell’s Mark Penn on AI, creativity and saving news
Leaders|July 9
MilkPEP’s Miranda Abney and Gale’s Alison Stelzer on rebranding milk for modern women
Streaming|July 7
Gen Z loves premium content, not just YouTube. Here’s the data to prove it.
Travis Clark
Streaming|June 27
As CTV surges in APAC, Netflix bets big on programmatic
Tharshini Tharma-Asokan
Marketing Strategy|June 30
What happens to ad budgets in a world where the website matters less?
Tharshini Tharma-Asokan