The case for and against publishers blocking Google

More from The Digiday Podcast

1. 

   15 Sep 2026 · 23 min

   As more surfaces become ad inventory, the economics get complicated

   Ads are coming for smart refrigerator screens, car dashboards and AI search results. So what happens when everything becomes ad inventory? On this episode of the Digiday Podcast, hosts Tim Peterson and Kimeko McCoy dig into how far advertising can expand before the business of selling attention starts to break down.

2. 

   8 Sep 2026 · 32 min

   The Amazon-FTC case and the myth of ad auction transparency

   The U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s lawsuit against Amazon’s on-platform search advertising business appears to be a tempest in a teapot. Amazon’s alleged opaque ad auction dynamics aren’t exactly beyond the pale when it comes to what ad buyers experience across platforms and the programmatic ad marketplace today. In this week’s episode, Digiday executive editor of news Seb Joseph joined the show to break down how ad buyers are reacting the Amazon-FTC case, what the situation reveals about modern ad auctions and how AI-powered ad platforms stand to remove even more transparency and control…

3. 

   1 Sep 2026 · 36 min

   5 questions facing advertisers, publishers and creators heading into fall

   A lot can happen in a few months. A few months ago, NBCUniversal was secure within Comcast, LiveRamp was an independent ad tech company, Hank Green was unbesmirched, and publishers’ complaints about Google were simply that. Then this summer happened. In this week’s Digiday Podcast episode, hosts Kimeko McCoy and Tim Peterson recap the season’s biggest developments in the media and marketing industries and the questions they raise for the final stretch of 2026.

4. 

   18 Aug 2026 · 26 min

   AI is reshaping agency work, but where's the line?

   Agencies are pushing AI deeper into everyday work while still figuring out what should and shouldn't be automated. Digiday caught up with agency leaders and early-career marketers about AI, automation and where they're drawing the line.

5. 

   11 Aug 2026 · 36 min

   How much control should AI have over media buying?

   Butler/Till is quickly moving its AI agent media buying work from experimentation to implementation across more clients, platforms and channels. Controls, however, look different from client-to-client and channel to channel. In this episode of the Digiday Podcast, Scott Ensign, chief strategy officer at Butler/Till, joins the Digiday Podcast to discuss how the agency is putting agentic media buying into practice.

6. 

   4 Aug 2026 · 42 min

   Inside’s Stagwell’s AI media curation marketplace

   Inventory access has become a tug-of-war between agencies and ad tech companies. In this episode, Matt Adams, global CEO of Stagwell Media Platform, joins the Digiday Podcast to talk about why Stagwell is building its own inventory marketplace and what agencies hope to gain by moving closer to supply.

7. 

   6 Oct 2026 · 43 min

   Which Golden Girl is WPP most like?

   Is Omnicom to the ad industry what The Brooklyn Nets are to basketball? Or maybe Omnicom is more like Blanche Devereaux of The Golden Girls. Depends on who you ask. On this episode of the Digiday Podcast, executive editor of news Seb Joseph and senior editor, media buying and planning Michael Burgi took a look at the current ad agency landscape, including Omnicom's IPG takeover, WPP's attempted comeback, Publicis dominance and Dentsu's comeup, through the lens of sports analogies and The Golden Girls.

8. 

   29 Sep 2026 · 29 min

   Can OpenAI build a $1 billion ad empire?

   OpenAI has billion-dollar goals for its ChatGPT ads by the end of this year. Just seven months after its initial launch, OpenAI’s ad business is running at a $1 billion annualized revenue run rate. By the end of the year, the tech company projects its ads business will rake in $.25 billion in ad revenue. That projection surges to $100 billion by 2030. The question is: Can OpenAI woo advertisers enough to make good on those ambitions?

9. 

   22 Sep 2026 · 26 min

   How Semafor is redefining the head of video role

   Semafor technically had had a head of video before Adam Banicki stepped into the role this summer. But the role has changed with Banicki’s appointment. Instead of being strictly a newsroom role, Banicki’s position spans the editorial and business sides of Semafor.“I feel like I have like a really fun job where I get to talk to Ben [Smith, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Semafor] every day about all the things that are going on in the newsroom, but then taking back a lot of that almost like programming to the commercial side and saying like, ’What can we do with this? How do we build out a…

10. 

    28 Jul 2026 · 35 min

    WTF is the IAB's Redefining Media Types standard?

    The IAB has a new acronym—the RMT, short for Redefining Media Types Standard. But this acronym could actually matter. In this episode of the Digiday Podcast, Jamie Finstein, vp of media center at the IAB, unpacks what the proposed framework means for advertisers, agencies and media buying.

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