Netflix-WBD Analysis, Consumer Video Spending Trends, Omnicom's New Structure and More
Madison & Wall: Saturday Summary for December 6, 2025
Catch us at an upcoming event! On Monday, December 8, Madison & Wall will debut its newest advertising forecast at the UBS Global Media and Communications Conference in New York for its institutional investor clients. Also on Dec. 8 in Toronto we will be speaking at Campaign’s “Year Ahead” conference.
Separately, on the heels of Roku’s newly released Predictions report, we are talking about the forecasts at an industry event hosted at Roku’s NYC offices on Tuesday Dec. 9 from 5-7pm. While the event is already fully booked and we aren’t taking new registrations, we’re looking forward to seeing the many of you who already RSVPd.
On this week’s M&W Podcast Luke Stillman and Brian Wieser review our work of the week. Separately, on Agency Business from Madison & Wall and Fusion Front Media, Olivia Morley and Brian interview Tombras’ President Dooley Tombras.
Weekly Work:
Netflix-WBD: Implications For Media and Advertising
3Q25 CTV Ads Up, Replaces Linear Ad Spending + US Consumer Video Services Spend Up 1.2%
Roku: Reaction to 2026 Predictions
Omnicom’s New Structure: Implications For Agency Sector
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More Context:
Mergers, both announced and completed, were the big news of the week. Beyond operating in adjacent industries, a common thread for both transactions relates to the trade-offs to be considered in terms of maintaining complexity vs. pursuing simplicity.
While Netflix’s agreement to purchase the studios and HBO division of Warner Bros. Discovery is far from certain to close, an important issue to consider is what a future streaming service would look like – a single unified brand or a portfolio of distinct brands. That choice will then lead to questions around pricing, bundles and other strategic choices. Will Netflix make access to HBO Max and its content available through offerings that are branded, priced and sold separately? Or will all content get offered to all consumers through separate tiers of services, some of which are ad-supported and some of which are not?
Coincidentally, the announcements this week following Omnicom’s completion of the acquisition of Interpublic at the end of November indicated that Omnicom will maintain most of its brands as distinct entities. There can be good reasons to maintain multiple brands, with the best argument we have heard relating to the idea that those individual agency brands are better able to attract people, at least relative to agencies that are more monolithic.
While maintaining multiple brands helps ease transitions and sustain existing revenue streams, it can lead to product confusion in the minds of consumers and add bureaucracy for employees. Decision-making can become more political than it otherwise should be, and ultimately the best offerings can take longer to get to market.
Radical simplification can cost employee satisfaction and consumer comfort in the near term, and choosing the best compromise between complexity and simplicity is ultimately more of an art than a science. But over time, more focused operating models usually win. They deliver clearer offerings to customers, create fewer internal bottlenecks, and ultimately attract stronger talent.