Key Takeaways
- Global ad forecasts now range from 9.4% to 11.5% growth, signaling a stronger ad market in 2026.
- The Fox-Roku deal could reshape CTV buying, targeting, and measurement across television.
- Google’s Smart Bidding update may shift budget allocation across queries and customer segments.
- Rising AI-driven traffic could affect ad delivery, traffic quality, and ROAS accuracy.
- The UK’s proposed under-16 social media ban may change audience-targeting and data-collection practices.
- Audio and TikTok Shop continue to prove their value as performance channels, driving results beyond traditional attribution models.
This week’s PDMI updates highlighted several important shifts for performance marketers.
Ad forecasts climbed, Google changed Smart Bidding, and Fox announced its acquisition of Roku. Meanwhile, AI, regulation, audio, and TikTok Shop all offered new signals that could shape campaign performance in the months ahead.
Here are the stories worth paying attention to.
The Ad Market Is Growing Fast. Is Your Strategy Keeping Up?
WPP and Madison and Wall Both Raise 2026 Forecasts
WPP raised its 2026 global ad growth forecast to 9.7%. Madison and Wall released its first global forecast at 9.4%. Two different firms reached nearly the same conclusion.
WPP credited stronger-than-expected ad spending for the increase. The firm also pointed to AI tools and steady advertiser demand.
WARC Goes Even Higher, With One Warning
WARC raised its 2026 global ad growth forecast to 11.5%. That is the highest forecast released this week. The revision puts WARC well ahead of both WPP and Madison and Wall.
WARC also issued a clear warning. The firm said the ongoing Gulf Crisis could weaken consumer spending and slow growth. If conditions worsen, up to $94 billion in projected ad market growth could be at risk.
Strong forecasts are encouraging, but market conditions can change quickly. Smart marketers should build flexibility into their budgets and media plans.
Takeaway for performance marketers: Ad spending is rising. Scale your top-performing campaigns and keep budget flexibility in reserve. If your competitors spend more while you stand still, they will likely gain share.
The Biggest Deal in CTV: Fox Acquires Roku for $22 Billion
What the Deal Is
Fox is acquiring Roku for $22 billion in a deal expected to close in 2027. The acquisition gives Fox access to Roku’s streaming platform, operating system, and first-party audience data. Together, the companies will reach about 100 million streaming households worldwide.
The deal would give Fox access to roughly half of all U.S. broadband households. Madison and Wall estimates the deal will generate about $9 billion in advertising revenue. It could also account for 16% of U.S. streaming ad spend.
Why This Changes the DRTV Landscape
This deal is about more than content. Fox is gaining a major CTV platform, a large advertising business, and valuable viewing and measurement data. It brings distribution, inventory, and audience insights under one roof.
That could reshape how advertisers buy and measure television media. DRTV campaigns increasingly run across both linear and streaming environments. As the merger moves forward, pricing, targeting, and measurement could all evolve.
At TelNet Agency, we see this as a signal to review CTV strategies before market dynamics shift.
Three Questions to Ask About Your DRTV Campaign Right Now
- How much of your current CTV inventory runs through Roku-connected placements, and how could pricing change after the deal closes?
- Does your measurement framework capture reach and performance across both broadcast and streaming inventory?
- Is your creative built to perform equally well in traditional TV and CTV environments?
Takeaway for performance marketers: The Fox-Roku deal does not change what makes DRTV work. A strong offer, clear call to action, and measurable response still matter most. What changes is where and how you buy inventory.
Google Updated Smart Bidding: Here Is What That Means for Your Campaigns
What Changed
Google expanded Smart Bidding Exploration to Performance Max and Shopping campaigns. The update helps advertisers discover new search categories and reach new customer segments. Google says the change reflects how people search today.
Users are asking longer and more specific questions. Many of those searches now happen through AI-powered experiences. Smart Bidding Exploration adapts to those changing patterns.
The update can also change where campaigns spend money. It looks beyond existing query patterns to find new conversion opportunities. Google also introduced an ROAS tolerance setting to help advertisers reach traffic that may have been excluded before.
Why This Requires Immediate Attention
Campaigns optimized before this update may now overbid or underbid on important search terms. Smart Bidding Exploration can shift budget toward new queries and customer segments. That changes where campaigns spend money and how they perform.
Older campaign structures face the most risk. Accounts that have not been reviewed in months may see the biggest changes.
Takeaway for performance marketers: Run a bidding audit. Review your search term reports and monitor shifts in query distribution. Compare performance against your target acquisition costs. Then adjust your bidding strategy as campaigns explore new opportunities.
AI Agents Are Coming for Ad Network Capacity
What the Data Shows
Cisco found that 73% of organizations expect network capacity constraints within the next two years. Network traffic has already increased 34% over the past year. Companies expect that number to rise by another 96% over the next 12 months.
AI agents are a major reason for the surge. They consume bandwidth on the same networks that power digital advertising. As AI traffic grows, ad delivery systems may face more congestion and latency.
Why This Matters Now, Not in 2028
For advertisers, this is more than an infrastructure story. Network congestion can slow real-time bidding auctions and increase bid timeouts. That can affect campaign delivery and inventory fill rates today.
Traffic quality also deserves attention. If non-human traffic grows faster than human engagement, performance metrics can become harder to interpret. Brands running large display and programmatic campaigns should pay close attention to unexplained changes in efficiency.
Takeaway for performance marketers: Ask your platform partners how they identify and filter AI-generated traffic. Request invalid traffic (IVT) reports for your campaigns. If ROAS has started drifting without a clear reason, traffic quality is worth investigating.
Regulatory Watch: UK Moves to Ban Under-16 Social Media Access
What Is Happening
The UK government plans to ban social media access for users under 16 by early 2027. The proposal covers major platforms, including TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook, and X. The UK joins a growing list of countries pursuing similar restrictions for minors.
The proposal has broad public support. According to the government, 90% of parents who responded to a national survey supported raising the minimum social media age to 16. The government still needs to finalize how platforms will verify users’ ages.
What It Means for DTC Brands
Platforms will need age-verification systems to comply with the new rules. That could change how advertisers target audiences and collect data in the UK. Brands that rely on younger audiences may see changes in inventory and reach.
Takeaway for performance marketers: If you sell in the UK, review any campaigns that target younger audiences. Do not wait for the rules to take effect. Build a backup channel strategy now.
Audio Marketing Turns Up the Volume
Audio is much bigger than podcasts. Speakers from SiriusXM and Southern New Hampshire University noted that consumers spend about 4 hours per day listening to audio. Audio captures roughly 20% to 25% of media consumption time. Yet it receives less than 5% of media spend.
The session challenged a common assumption. Audio is not just a brand awareness channel. Modern attribution tools can measure audio and video together. That makes audio a viable performance channel. For many brands, it remains an underused opportunity.
TikTok Shop’s Halo Effect
A case study from Hustle Butter and Charm.io showed that TikTok Shop does more than drive sales on TikTok. When Hustle Butter reduced activity on the platform, Amazon and website sales also fell. The data showed that TikTok influenced sales beyond the platform itself.
The findings matter for any DTC brand measuring channel performance. TikTok Shop has generated more than $110 billion in lifetime GMV. It reached that scale in just 24 months. Yet its biggest impact may happen after a customer leaves the platform.
Marketers should measure TikTok’s influence across channels, not just platform-native ROAS.
Quick Reference: This Week’s Stories at a Glance
| Story | What It Means | Action |
| WPP raises forecast to 9.7% | Ad spending continues to grow | Scale winning campaigns |
| WARC raises forecast to 11.5%, flags Gulf Crisis | Growth is strong, but macro risks remain | Build contingency plans |
| Fox acquires Roku for $22B | CTV inventory landscape is shifting | Audit Roku-adjacent DRTV inventory |
| Google updates Smart Bidding | Budget allocation may shift across queries | Run a bidding audit |
| AI agents could strain ad networks | Traffic quality and ROAS accuracy may be at risk | Request IVT reports from platform partners |
| UK plans under-16 social media ban | UK audience targeting may change by 2027 | Audit UK campaigns that target younger audiences |
| PDMI Session 4: Audio Marketing | Audio is a performance channel, not just a brand channel | Watch the SiriusXM session |
| PDMI Session 5: TikTok Shop’s Halo Effect | TikTok can influence sales beyond its own platform | Watch the Hustle Butter case study |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does the Fox-Roku acquisition mean for DRTV advertisers?
The Fox-Roku deal gives Fox access to Roku’s streaming platform, operating system, and audience data. As the merger moves forward, one company will control more of the inventory, distribution, and measurement ecosystem. DRTV advertisers should review their Roku-connected inventory and prepare for potential changes in pricing, targeting, and data access.
Why are global ad forecasts rising in 2026?
Global ad forecasts are rising because ad spending remains stronger than expected. WPP, Madison and Wall, and WARC all increased their 2026 forecasts, with estimates ranging from 9.4% to 11.5%. WPP also cited AI-powered optimization and steady advertiser demand. WARC warned that the Gulf Crisis could still slow growth.
What is Smart Bidding Exploration and why does the update matter?
Smart Bidding Exploration helps Google Ads find conversion opportunities beyond existing query patterns. Google expanded the feature to Performance Max and Shopping campaigns as search behavior becomes more complex. The update can shift budget toward new queries and customer segments, so advertisers should review bidding strategies and search term reports.
Should DTC brands be worried about AI agents and ad serving?
Yes. AI-driven traffic is increasing network demand and could affect ad delivery performance. Cisco found that 73% of organizations expect network capacity constraints within two years. Performance marketers should monitor traffic quality, request IVT reports, and investigate unexplained declines in campaign efficiency or ROAS.
What is the UK social media age ban, and when does it take effect?
The UK plans to ban social media access for users under 16 by early 2027. The proposal covers major platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Snapchat, Facebook, and X. Platforms will need age verification systems, which could change audience targeting and data collection practices in the UK.
Agility Is Becoming a Competitive Advantage
Ad spending is rising, platforms are changing how they allocate traffic, and major media deals continue to reshape access to inventory. Simultaneously, AI and regulation are creating new variables that marketers cannot ignore.
Marketers who act early can stay ahead of these changes. Audit your campaigns, monitor channel shifts, and measure performance across the full customer journey.
