The Digiday Podcast Upfront Week recap, Charter-Cox merger, Microsoft’s DSP shutdown + Horizon Media’s David Campanelli on the upfront market ahead
May 20, 2025
David Campanelli, President of Global Investment at Horizon Media, shares his insights on the TV and streaming upfront ad marketplace. Sam Bradley, a senior reporter at Digiday, provides a European perspective on the upfront market. They discuss the recent Charter-Cox merger amidst declining pay-TV audiences and Microsoft's shutdown of its demand-side platform. The duo sheds light on the challenges in ad tech, the evolving dynamics of advertising measurement, and the urgent need for brands to adapt their strategies in a fast-changing landscape.
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Economic Caution Slows Upfront Buys
- Marketers are cautious due to economic uncertainty and take longer to make upfront decisions.
- This extended deliberation adds tension but is typical for this buying cycle.
Nielsen's New Measurement Currency
- Nielsen's shift to a big data plus panel measurement is the first new primary currency in years.
- This change disrupts benchmarks, requiring buyers and sellers to renegotiate based on new data sets.
Charter-Cox Merger Builds Scale
- Charter and Cox merger aims to shore up declining pay TV subscribers with scale.
- Bigger footprint increases leverage over content owners like Disney for carriage fees.