On this week's episode of the MadTech Podcast, James Florence, head of advertising technology, Immediate Media, joins ExchangeWire CRO Anne-Marie Sheedy and research lead Mat Broughton to discuss Disney+, made for advertising (MFA) sites, X, and more.

Disney to launch ad-supported tier in the UK

Is ad-supported TV the future? Is the current streaming market sustainable?

Disney+ plans to launch an ad-based streaming tier in the UK in November as profits continue to fall at the business. The new tier will cost £4.99 per month in the UK. 

Disney faces a range of issues; poor film performance and a steep drop in ad sales through its linear TV business. It also plans to crack down on password sharing, following similar action taken by rival Netflix.

Overall, revenue at the company grew by 4% year-on-year in the three months ending 1 July, but it posted a loss of USD$460m (~£361m), compared to a USD$1.4bn (~£1bn) profit in the same period last year.

The case for and against MFA sites

Is there a case for MFA? What can the industry do to guarantee value for advertisers and marketers?

Following a feature from Digiday this week, there’s been debate over the state of MFA advertising. To quote: “MFAs are not quite criminals, but not exactly angels either. They straddle the line between authenticity and potentially Invalid Traffic (IVT). And well, that leaves just enough wiggle room for marketers to do the mental contortions necessary to swallow this bitter pill.”

The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) recently carried out its first probe into the transparency of the programmatic media supply chain. The report revealed that over a fifth (21%) of ad impressions are gathered on made-for-advertising (MFA) websites, and that 15% of ad spend is currently directed to them. The study also found that the average campaign runs across 44,000 websites.

X chief Linda Yaccarino revives ‘client council’ in effort to woo advertisers

Can X rebuild its standing among advertisers? Can Yaccarino help advertisers see beyond Elon Musk?

X chief Linda Yaccarino is back on the charm offensive, in the latest attempt to rebuild brand relationships with the platform. “Excited to continue momentum in our business and we are officially bringing back the client council in the fall,” Yaccarino tweeted (X’d??) on Thursday. 

Client councils have traditionally helped bring in advertising dollars, providing exclusives and canvassing the opinion of top advertisers around platform changes and innovations.

The platform has not determined who will be in the revived network. Yaccarino, in her first live television interview since taking the helm at the company in May, told CNBC that some brands including Coca-Cola and Visa had returned to the platform.