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What Paramount-WBD means for Europe’s tangle of broadcast, pay TV and streaming inventory

A potential Paramount–WBD merger could reshape Europe’s fragmented TV and streaming landscape, consolidating broadcast, pay TV and digital inventory while raising new questions for advertisers navigating a rapidly shifting market.

Chris Stokel-Walker

Across the internet

Streaming gains

Germany's RTL Group reported a 19% increase YoY in streaming subscribers, as its traditional TV business faces headwinds.

Nice bot energy

A new study finds ChatGPT is nicer to brands than Google’s AI Overviews.

Media consolidation

German media giant Axel Springer agreed to buy Britain’s The Telegraph.

Switch off

Canal+ will shutter Showmax, Africa's largest homegrown streaming service, following its acquisition of parent company MultiChoice last year.

Protecting youth

China moves to designate large online platforms serving minors, as several countries eye social media bans for teens.

Paramount poach

Paramount Skydance hired a former Amazon live sports exec to lead its U.S. ad sales business.

Ad tech is joining LLMs

Criteo joins OpenAI's ChatGPT ad pilot as its first ad tech partner.

EU regulation

Belgian antitrust authorities open probe into Google's online ad price practices.

AI fraud scheme

Google pulled 115 android apps tied to an ad fraud operation impacting 25 million devices.

Formula Win

In a major deal, both Netflix and Apple TV will stream the eighth season of Formula 1: Drive to Survive, and Netflix will also stream the 2026 Canadian Grand Prix in the U.S.

Opinion

Graph titled, "A spike in Black Friday offline sales YOY by region"

The Readout

Black Friday offline sales jumped 21% from last year as shoppers sought in-person discounts

Sales data shows that shoppers flocked to physical stores on Black Friday more so than last year, particularly discount retailers, suggesting the value of an omnichannel advertising strategy.