Barclays Launches Amazon Branded Credit Card; IAB Introduces Digital Ad Compliance Platform; Paris Olympics Sets BBC Streaming Record

by Aimee Newell Tarín on 14th Aug 2024 in News

On today’s news digest: Barclays Launches Amazon Branded Credit Card; IAB Introduces Digital Ad Compliance Platform; Paris Olympics Sets BBC Streaming Record

Amazon is expanding into unchartered territory through its latest collaboration with Barclays with the launch of the Amazon Barclaycard. The credit card is the first and only co-branded personal credit card currently offered by Amazon in the UK. It allows users to earn rewards on their everyday spending, which can be redeemed for Amazon gift cards. Users of the card can earn 1% rewards on all Amazon purchases and 0.5% rewards on everyday spending outside Amazon for the first year, halving to 0.25% after this. Those who have an Amazon Prime membership will get 2% back from all spending with Amazon during designated shopping event days such as Prime Day and Black Friday. The card does not have any annual fees.

Meanwhile, the IAB has launched the IAB Due Diligence Platform, which offers advertisers a solution for privacy due diligence. With its development first announced back in January, the platform will now be available to the whole digital advertising ecosystem, including ad tech companies, publishers, brands and agencies. It aims to give industry members the tools it needs to successfully navigate privacy challenges. Key features of the platform include advertising industry-specific questions, efficiency and scalability, as well as comprehensive compliance. According to the IAB’s CEO, David Cohen, the main takeaway is that the industry should get ahead of legal requirements and be proactive rather than reactive.

With the Paris 2024 Olympics having wrapped up a few days ago, the BBC has announced setting a new streaming record thanks to the games. The broadcaster’s coverage of the games was streamed 218 million times online, a figure which more than doubles that of the last Olympic games in Tokyo which gained 104 million streams. Over 12 million viewers were signed into their BBC iPlayer accounts while watching the coverage. The most watched event was Keely Hodgkinson’s gold-medal performance in the women’s 800 metres final, with more than 9 million viewers tuning in on both BBC One and the iPlayer. Meanwhile in the US, an average of around 30.6 million people tuned into the games on Comcast’s US media outlets each day – an increase of 82% from the Tokyo Olympics. This figure includes the NBC broadcast network, cable channels, and the Peacock streaming service. Records were also set in Europe: 215 million viewers tuned into Warner Bros Discovery’s coverage, with a 77% increase in paid streaming subscribers compared to Tokyo.