{"id":251225,"date":"2026-01-22T06:09:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-22T06:09:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/251225\/"},"modified":"2026-01-22T06:09:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-22T06:09:08","slug":"ai-ad-revenue-drama-sweeps-davos-a-higher-threads-count","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/251225\/","title":{"rendered":"AI Ad Revenue Drama Sweeps Davos; A Higher Threads Count"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Fighting In Switzerland<\/p>\n<p>The news from Davos this week has, unsurprisingly, focused on President Donald Trump\u2019s latest will-they-won\u2019t-they. As in, will the US seize Greenland?<\/p>\n<p>But there\u2019s also another saga unfolding over whether AI startups and research companies can justify their sky-high valuations and spending sprees with meaningful revenue.<\/p>\n<p>Some argue that <a href=\"https:\/\/digiday.com\/media-buying\/bold-call-openais-ads-pivot-may-come-too-little-too-late\/\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">OpenAI has already missed the boat<\/a>, having waited too long to enter the ad market and thereby giving Google\u2019s Gemini time to catch up and establish a large and growing pool of AI search ad revenue.        &#13;\n        <\/p>\n<p>            <img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"alignnone\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/advertisement2.png\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Others, however, think OpenAI moved too soon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s interesting they\u2019ve gone for that so early,\u201d Demis Hassabis, CEO of Alphabet-owned DeepMind, <a href=\"https:\/\/sources.news\/p\/googles-ai-boss-no-plans-for-ads\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">told journalist Alex Heath earlier this week<\/a> regarding OpenAI\u2019s decision to introduce ads in ChatGPT. \u201cMaybe they feel they need to make more revenue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Um, duh?<\/p>\n<p>Must be nice to have Google\u2019s ad revenue to help pay the bills for an ostensibly purer, ad-free research lab.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEarly is a weird word,\u201d OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar retorted later at Davos. \u201cIn ad models, you have to be at scale. Sub-scale ad models don\u2019t work, so that would be early.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As Friar put it, \u201cwhen you have 800 million weekly active users, you\u2019re really far beyond many of the companies who started in that model.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Threading The Needle<\/p>\n<p>    <a class=\"d-block float-end font-heading btn btn-sm btn-primary ms-2 text-bg-primary\" role=\"button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.adexchanger.com\/newsletter\/?utm_campaign=subscribe&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;utm_source=ad&amp;utm_term=house&amp;utm_content=subscribe\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\"><br \/>\n        Subscribe<\/p>\n<p>    <\/a><br \/>\n    AdExchanger Daily<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-0\">Get our editors\u2019 roundup delivered to your inbox every weekday.<\/p>\n<p>And, speaking of platforms adding ads, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/business\/news\/ads-on-threads-one-year-in\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Meta just announced<\/a> that all Threads users will begin to see ads next week.<\/p>\n<p>This one is less of a surprise (not that we were particularly surprised by OpenAI either).\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Threads first launched its ads business last January with a small group of advertisers and began expanding to all buyers globally in April, \u201cwith initial delivery to users in select markets.\u201d (Meta neglected to mention exactly which markets.)<\/p>\n<p>Ads on Threads are powered by Meta\u2019s personalized AI system, so advertisers can likely expect targeting that\u2019s similar to what they get on Facebook and Instagram. The ads appear natively in the Threads feed and come in several formats, including multiple aspect ratios, carousel units and Meta Advantage+ catalog ads that show people products tailored to their interests and behavior.<\/p>\n<p>Meta says the expansion will be \u201cgradual,\u201d with ad delivery \u201cinitially remaining low.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll see how long that lasts.<\/p>\n<p>In The Ring<\/p>\n<p>Paramount Skydance increasingly relies on sports as the anchor for its streaming business.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Like other major broadcasters with a streaming business, it shells out hundreds of millions for sports streaming rights \u2013 which is a very compelling wallet opener for streaming subscribers.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Case in point: Over the summer, Paramount signed a $7.7 billion deal for seven years of US airing rights to UFC events, <a href=\"https:\/\/variety.com\/2026\/tv\/news\/paramount-ufc-programmatic-live-ad-sales-sports-events-1236636316\/\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Variety<\/a> reports.<\/p>\n<p>But sports are also the main attraction for advertisers. On Wednesday, Paramount introduced programmatically enabled ads for select live sports inventory on Paramount+. The ad units, within what Paramount calls its \u201cmarquee sporting events,\u201d will debut in a UFC match on January 24.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Paramount is fighting outside of the octagon, too \u2013\u00a0locked in a heated bidding war with Netflix over who gets to acquire Warner. Bros. Discovery.<\/p>\n<p>Sports rights could prove decisive. So, let the real battle begin.<\/p>\n<p>But Wait! There\u2019s More!<\/p>\n<p>Remember back in November when Meta was cleared of allegations that it holds an illegal social networking monopoly? Well, the FTC is appealing the decision. [<a href=\"https:\/\/arstechnica.com\/tech-policy\/2026\/01\/zuck-stuck-on-trumps-bad-side-ftc-appeals-loss-in-meta-monopoly-case\/\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Ars Technica<\/a>]\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Accessibility for disabled people is no longer optional for advertisers. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewsonline.com\/the-new-reality-of-advertising-communications-why-accessibility-is-no-longer-optional\/\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">PR News<\/a>]\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Expect prices to finally start going up as vendors run out of pre-tariff inventory stockpiles, says Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/amazon-ceo-says-tariffs-are-starting-to-creep-into-prices-2026-1\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Business Insider<\/a>]\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>TikTok is planning a big ecommerce push. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theinformation.com\/articles\/tiktok-plans-big-shopping-push\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">The Information<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>In 2025, consumers spent more on non-game mobile apps than games for the first time, thanks in no small part to AI chatbots. [<a href=\"https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2026\/01\/21\/consumers-spent-more-on-mobile-apps-than-games-in-2025-driven-by-ai-app-adoption\/\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TechCrunch<\/a>]\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Yet another study shows that CEOs and employees disagree on whether AI is making them more productive. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wsj.com\/lifestyle\/workplace\/ceos-say-ai-is-making-work-more-efficient-employees-tell-a-different-story-6613ce9d\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">WSJ<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s an interesting use case for AI: making sure your co-workers aren\u2019t mad at you. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2026-01-21\/white-collar-workers-use-ai-to-have-tough-conversations-at-work\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Bloomberg<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Following intense artist backlash, San Diego Comic-Con has banned the display of AI-generated images within the convention\u2019s art show. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.404media.co\/comic-con-bans-ai-art-after-artist-pushback\/\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">404 Media<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>You\u2019re Hired!<\/p>\n<p>Advertising resource management platform MINT appoints Louisa Wong as CEO. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.einpresswire.com\/article\/884612178\/mint-appoints-louisa-wong-as-chief-executive-officer-to-lead-new-era-of-advertising-resource-management\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">release<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Go-to-market firm Marketbridge hires Mike Swartz as chief growth officer and Ellie Ahmadi as SVP of global corporate marketing. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20260121818880\/en\/Marketbridge-Strengthens-Executive-Leadership-to-Drive-Next-Phase-of-Growth\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">release<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Will McGivern-Smith joins attribution platform Fairing as SVP of strategic partnerships. [<a href=\"https:\/\/fairing.co\/blog\/will-mcgivern-smith-as-svp-of-strategic-partnerships\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">release<\/a>]\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Media intelligence startup Guideline appoints three new senior leaders. [<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/guideline-strengthens-senior-leadership-team-with-three-strategic-appointments-302666302.html\" data-wpel-link=\"external\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">release<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s today\u2019s AdExchanger.com news round-up\u2026 Want it by email? Sign up<a href=\"http:\/\/www.adexchanger.com\/newsletter\" data-wpel-link=\"internal\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"> here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fighting In Switzerland The news from Davos this week has, unsurprisingly, focused on President Donald Trump\u2019s latest will-they-won\u2019t-they.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":251226,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[5472,4193,12247,13183,2257,85,1114,46,133926,1430,133921,73525,133922,1748,4523,86818,133923,7607,76379,133924,125,9536,133925,9483],"class_list":["post-251225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-alphabet","tag-chatgpt","tag-deepmind","tag-demis-hassabis","tag-facebook","tag-il","tag-instagram","tag-israel","tag-marketers","tag-meta","tag-meta-advantage","tag-monetization","tag-netfix","tag-openai","tag-paramount","tag-paramount-skydance","tag-programmatic-sports-ads","tag-revenue","tag-sarah-friar","tag-sports-advertising","tag-technology","tag-threads","tag-threads-ads","tag-warner-bros-discovery"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=251225"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/251225\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/251226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=251225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=251225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=251225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}