The Digiday Podcast

The Digiday Podcast

The Digiday Podcast is a weekly show on the big stories and issues that matter to brands, agencies and publishers as they transition to the digital age.

Episodes

The top AI platforms for publishers, ranked

January 20, 2026 • 60 mins
Two years after OpenAI signed its first content licensing deal with Axel Springer, the field of AI platforms doing business with publishers has expanded exponentially. Especially just in the past year. But then the publishers have to evaluate those options. Fortunately Digiday senior media editor Jessica Davies and senior media reporter Sara Guaglione have done a lot of that legwork in drafting a scorecard of the major AI platform...
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CES 2026: Agentic AI hype vs. media buyers' pragmatism

January 13, 2026 • 32 mins
This year's CES was all about agentic AI and little else. Digiday executive editor Joseph was boots-on-the-ground for this year's show in Las Vegas. He joins this episode of the Digiday Podcast to make sense of this year's event, and what it means as 2026 gets underway.
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'The year where the dust settles': Digiday editors share 2026 predictions

January 6, 2026 • 48 mins
This week's episode takes a look at how 2025's cliffhangers—everything from Netflix's planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery to the ripple effects of the Omnicom-IPG merger—and how it all could play out in 2026. Digiday managing editor Sara Jerde and executive editor of news Seb Joseph join hosts Tim Peterson and Kimeko McCoy to try and read the 2026 tea leaves.
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‘A year of loose ends’: Digiday editors share top takeaways from 2025

December 23, 2025 • 41 mins
This year was filled with major developments, from Netflix’s planned WBD deal to Omnicom’s acquisition of IPG to the introduction of AI-only video feeds. But there were also developments that didn’t really happen, like the U.S. spinoff of TikTok and Google’s third-party cookie deprecation. Digiday editors Sara Jerde and Seb Joseph joined hosts Kimeko McCoy and Tim Peterson to recap the year that was (and wasn’t).
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The Disney-OpenAI deal and generative AI copyright concerns

December 16, 2025 • 51 mins
This week’s episode recaps Disney’s deal to open up its character library to OpenAI and Google’s reported plan to roll out ads in its Gemini chatbot. Then Davis Wright Tremaine partner Rob Driscoll joins the show to delve into the copyright concerns and potential trademark issues surrounding brands’ use of generative AI tools (16:40).
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The case against AI agents for programmatic ad buying

December 9, 2025 • 58 mins
This week’s episode unpacks two major developments in the media and entertainment industries. Digiday’s executive editor of news Seb Joseph joins to analyze Netflix’s plan to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery’s studio and streaming business (3:43) as well as Meta’s foray into signing content licensing deals with publishers for its AI chatbot (25:37). Then this week’s featured segment is a live recording from last week’s Digiday Pro...
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Can a new CEO and massive AI bet turn WPP's sinking ship around?

December 2, 2025 • 48 mins
On this week's episode, the smoke is clearing in the Omnicom-IPG merger with a clearer look at how its media, tech and creative will operate going forward coming into focus. Plus, another ripple in OpenAI's author lawsuit begins to surface. Then (16:30), Digiday's senior marketing reporter Sam Bradley joins the show to discuss WPP's turbulent 2025, and what it'll take to turn things around in 2026.
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How Black Friday could 'fast track' OpenAI's ad plan

November 25, 2025 • 50 mins
This week’s episode recaps the who’s who of Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition bids, the end to Meta’s antitrust case, the Omnicom-IPG deal’s final hurdle and why Adobe acquired Semrush. Then (13:40), Digiday’s platforms reporter Krystal Scanlon joins the show to discuss how OpenAI could seriously pursue an ad business.
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The ‘is a hot dog a sandwich’ problem in AI advertising

November 18, 2025 • 56 mins
This week’s episode recaps Paramount raising new ad arbitrage questions, Amazon and Google unveiling new ad agents and IAB Tech Lab introducing its Agentic RTB Framework. Then Digiday’s executive editor of news Seb Joseph and senior ad tech reporter Ronan Shields join the show to outline how, with the introduction of Ad Context Protocol and ARTF, the ad industry is laying the pipes for programmatic advertising’s intersection with A...
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How to build an AI-generated focus group

November 4, 2025 • 52 mins
This week’s episode recaps the YouTube TV-Disney distribution standoff (5:50), Netflix’s interest in acquiring Warner Bros. Discovery (14:50) and the rising revenue Google and Meta are reaping from their respective short-form video platforms (20:00). Then Tracy Yaverbaun, gm of The Times and Sunday Times, joins the show to talk about the British news publisher’s work with Electric Twin to create a synthetic audience research panel ...
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How Kalen Allen navigates brand safety and cultural polarization in the creator economy

October 28, 2025 • 55 mins
On this week's episode, digital creator and actor Kalen Allen talks navigating brand safety and the so-called culture wars in the creator economy (24:50). Plus, what WPP Open Pro launch says about the agency AI arms race, Reddit’s Perplexity lawsuit and the future AI framework, and the latest on the Warner Bros. Discovery possible sale.
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How brand-creator deal dynamics need to evolve

October 21, 2025 • 55 mins
This week's episode pours one out for Google's Privacy Sandbox as the saga comes to an end and takes a look at the rise of agentic AI while Pinterest tries to curb its AI slop. Then (21:24), David Huntzinger, an agent at talent management firm Night, joins the show to make sense of how the creator economy is positioning itself as a media channel.
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The Sora-TikTok U.S. era of short-form video

October 14, 2025 • 46 mins
This week’s episode recaps Instagram eyeing the launch of a CTV app and Perplexity putting its ad business on pause. Then Digiday platforms reporter Krystal Scanlon joins the show to to discuss the state of the short-form video market as all-AI entrants like OpenAI’s Sora and Meta’s Vibes enter the fray alongside the impending TikTok U.S.
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The Trade Desk under pressure

October 7, 2025 • 50 mins
This week’s episode unpacks OpenAI’s launch of the Sora app and what it reveals about the company’s push into advertising (2:39). We also dive into Meta’s plan to use AI chatbot data for ad targeting (12:59), and Paramount’s acquisition of The Free Press, with founder Bari Weiss set to lead CBS News as editor-in-chief (16:14). Then, Digiday’s Seb Joseph and Ronan Shields join the show to discuss The Trade Desk’s growing challenge...
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OpenAI’s ad plan, Meta’s Vibes + a day in the life of Eater’s Stephanie Wu

September 30, 2025 • 56 mins
This week’s episode recaps OpenAI’s latest steps towards launching an advertising business (2:25), new details about ByteDance’s reported involvement in TikTok U.S. (10:21) and Meta’s introduction of an all AI-generated content platform with Vibes (14:34). Then Eater’s editor-in-chief Stephanie Wu joins the show to share her systems and tips for getting through the average work day (23:58).
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TikTok U.S., Disney-Kimmel + WTF is a chief AI officer with The Washington Post’s Sam Han

September 23, 2025 • 47 mins
This week’s episode recaps the deal for a U.S.-only version of TikTok (4:15), Disney’s Jimmy Kimmel controversy (10:27) and Meta’s talks to license content from publishers (18:21). Then The Washington Post’s Sam Han joins the show to explain what the role of chief AI officer actually entails and why a media company would want to appoint an AI overseer (26:26). Related stories Even with a new U.S. TikTok deal in sight, marketers...
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Ferrero's Danielle Sporkin breaks down the reality behind retail media’s full-funnel promise

September 16, 2025 • 41 mins
Retail media networks have been striking deals and inking partnerships with social and streaming platforms to open up ad inventory across the internet. It’s a push to get advertisers to see RMNs as full funnel marketing channels as opposed to a search and display one trick pony. Now, if advertisers like Ferrero see it as such, that’s still up for debate (18:29). Also on this episode, why Paramount Skydance is eyeing a bid for War...
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How AI rewrites search for publishers

September 9, 2025 • 50 mins
This week's episode goes inside the search wars. More people are starting their online search with AI-powered chatbots and publishers are feeling the effects. To breakdown what AI search means for publishers (15:22), Digiday staffers Jessica Davies, senior media editor and Sara Guaglione, senior media reporter, join the show. Also on this episode: Google won't have to sell Chrome after all (1:27), Apple plans its own AI-powered s...
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The Summer Things Turned Messy

September 2, 2025 • 37 mins
This week’s episode recaps what ended up being a messy summer, from corporate changeovers and AI existentialism to fresh competition for Google and a return to the TV bundle for streaming. Oh, and tariffs; we can’t forget tariffs. As stated, the season was kind of a mess, and Digiday managing editor Sara Jerde joined the show to help make sense of the events that transpired and what they portend for the rest of 2025. Related stori...
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Why AI is agencies’ frenemy

August 26, 2025 • 54 mins
This week’s episode recaps xAI’s lawsuit against Apple and OpenAI (3:58), retail media’s recent boom that could be a bubble (11:11), and publishers’ push to usage-based pricing in their AI deals (15:23). Then (18:50) Digiday editors Seb Joseph and Michael Bürgi join the show to discuss how generative AI technologies could spur agencies to lose client relationships or push brands to rely on agencies even more for AI access. Relat...
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