Omnicom-Interpublic Merger In Review, Newsy Week Illustrating Strategic Directions For TV/Video Business
Madison and Wall: Saturday Summary for December 14, 2024
Each week on the M&W Podcast, we discuss Madison & Wall’s latest research and walk listeners through how the advertising business works. Episode 14 of the Madison & Wall M&W Podcast is now available on Spotify, Apple, or wherever you get your podcasts.
What a week!
If it felt long and busy, that’s because it was. News of Omnicom’s merger with Interpublic emerged on Sunday and we provided extensive analysis of the pros and cons of the combination as well as some country-level market share analyses hours after the Wall Street Journal published its scoop. More of our work followed the investor call formally announcing the agreement on Monday.
Although some of our analysis was included in various podcasts here, here and here (with more to come next week) more comprehensive details of our perspective and data are available to advisory clients and corporate subscribers. Please reach out to us if you would like more information.
Separately, we (Madison and Wall, along with Fusion Front Media) co-released a new podcast of our own, Agency Business. Our first guest, Canvas Worldwide CEO Paul Woolmington, provided a deep dive on his agency and important insights on the evolution of the overall agency business.
We also provided an extended analysis of some of big announcements, data and important news made by the likes of Comcast (including NBCU and Sky), Warner Bros. Discovery, Fox, Charter and Nielsen, including:
Comcast’s new distribution agreement with WBD and Charter’s launch of ad-supported Max both illustrated the ways in which streaming services and distributors are increasingly working together, with consumers increasingly able to expect that traditional video services will bundle ad-supported equivalent streamers with these offerings
New data from Nielsen’s The Gauge which allowed us to calculate November’s share of US TV advertising gross ratings points (GRPs) in streaming environments as well as the much higher levels of spending share relative to the GRP share for CTV
WBD’s reorganization announcement, which we described in some detail as putting the company in a much weaker position relative to an already weak status quo
WBD’s international priorities, as described at this week’s UBS investor conference
Fox’s commentary on the impact of a prospective ban on pharmaceutical advertising on the total company, which we extended to an analysis of the company’s national networks and Fox News.