Bonded Bitesize - Your Midweek Roundup

Sky in talks to buy ITV for £1.6 billion

Sky, owned by Comcast, is reportedly in early discussions to acquire ITV’s television business in a deal valued around £1.6 billion, excluding ITV Studios.

The merger would combine Sky’s pay-TV and streaming services with ITV’s free-to-air channels and ITVX, creating a major competitor to streaming giants like Netflix, Amazon, and Disney. It would also hold a dominant share of the UK TV advertising market (70%), triggering potential regulatory scrutiny. Media planners should watch this closely as such consolidation could alter inventory dynamics, pricing and premium TV-advertising supply in the UK.

IPA Bellwether Q3 reveals ad spend growth driven by brand and events

The latest IPA Bellwether Report (Q3 2025) shows UK marketing budgets continuing to grow modestly, with a net balance of +5.2% of companies increasing spend. The strongest gains came from brand building, events, and main media, while sales promotions and direct marketing saw slight slowdowns. Despite economic uncertainty, optimism for 2026 remains steady, with advertisers prioritising long-term brand resilience and customer experience.

For media planners, the report highlights a cautious yet positive shift as marketers are rebalancing spend between performance and brand channels, signalling opportunities across digital display, VOD and experiential formats.

Global online ad market size surpasses USD 298 billion

A recent market study reports that the global online advertising market has broken the USD 298 billion mark, covering more than 20 major platforms including Google, Meta, Amazon Ads, TikTok and Adobe. The benchmarking review highlights shifting platform dominance, evolving pricing models and increasing tech innovation. For UK media planners, this confirms the scale of opportunity but also the intensifying competition as securing premium placements and optimising for cross‑platform efficiency are now more critical than ever.

TikTok advertisers report strong AI innovation impact

According to a new study by TikTok and NewtonX, 78% of advertisers using TikTok say that recent AI‑driven tools and automation features have improved campaign outcomes. The findings suggest that TikTok’s investment in AI (e.g., creative optimisation, targeting signals) is resonating with marketers. For media planners, this means TikTok may now offer better performance entry points however, creative quality, targeting control and cost efficiency remain key for scaling effectively.

Google to expand ads in AI Overviews

An article from Mackerel Media triggers a major alert: Google LLC is reportedly planning to expand ads within its AI‑generated Overviews (the summary boxes powered by generative AI) into more English‑speaking markets. This suggests advertisers will soon compete not only in traditional search results but also in AI‑driven discovery moments. For SEO, it means content must optimise for AI extractability; for paid search, it signals new inventory and bidding opportunities. Budget planning should prepare for this shift in the discovery‑to‑conversion journey.

Bonded Bitesize – Your Midweek Roundup