"Festive forecasts are looking bright for the UK ad market. According to the latest Advertising Association/WARC Expenditure Report, ad spend is set to surge 7.3% year-on-year to £12bn in Q4 2025, a robust £814m increase on last year's total. Video-on-demand is driving much of this growth, helping lift full-year ad spend to £46bn, with a further 6.6% boost expected in 2026."
"In the AI landscape, OpenAI has hit a USD$500bn (£370bn) valuation following its restructuring into a public benefit corporation, with Microsoft retaining a 27% stake worth roughly USD$135bn (£99.9bn). At the same time, OpenAI is embedding PayPal's services into ChatGPT, announcing plans to integrate wallet payments directly into the platform by 2026 via the Agentic Commerce Protocol and new Instant Checkout feature."
"Elon Musk unveiled Grokipedia, an AI-powered encyclopedia designed as a rival to Wikipedia. Musk claims the project will counter "ideological bias" and "purge propaganda," a familiar refrain that underscores his push to reshape online information ecosystems through his xAI venture. Meanwhile, turmoil continues at X as John Nitti, global head of revenue operations and ad innovation, exited after just ten months. It's another high-profile departure that deepens uncertainty around the platform's ad business."
Bending Spoons acquired AOL for $1.5bn. WPP's new CEO issued a profit warning amid sector headwinds. Meta's ad revenue rose 26% in Q3. UK ad spend is forecast to jump 7.3% year-on-year to £12bn in Q4 2025, boosting full-year spend to £46bn and prompting a projected 6.6% rise in 2026, driven largely by video-on-demand. OpenAI reached a USD$500bn valuation after restructuring as a public benefit corporation, with Microsoft holding a 27% stake. OpenAI will integrate PayPal services and wallet payments into ChatGPT by 2026. Elon Musk launched Grokipedia to rival Wikipedia. X experienced senior ad-team departures. The Observer partnered with Particle for AI-driven aggregation.
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