News in brief: Meta Tests Ads on Threads; Nielsen to Replace Consumer Panel-Based TV Ratings; Perplexity Submits New Bid for TikTok 

Meta Tests Ads on Threads

Meta has begun to test ads on its Threads platform “with a handful of brands in the US and Japan”. This announcement comes as the app hits over 300 million monthly active users. Testing began on Friday, with image ads appearing in users’ home feed between content posts. For the moment, ads will only appear for a small percentage of users. Brands involved in the testing will be able to extend their existing Meta ad campaigns to Threads. Additionally, Meta will be testing an AI-enhanced inventory filter for ads, so advertisers are able to control the sensitivity level of organic content their ads appear alongside. 

Nielsen to Replace Consumer Panel-Based TV Ratings

Media measurement firm Nielsen has announced an end to its consumer panel-based TV ratings, a product which has served as the standard for measuring US TV ratings for decades. The product, which is used to set ad prices and allows advertisers to know whether they got what they paid for, will stop being sold in the final quarter of 2025.

In its place, Nielsen wants customers to use its newer ratings product called Big Data + Panel, which combines panel-based consumer data with numbers drawn from third-party vendors, such as smart TV makers. Nielsen has been trying to move its customers to this newer product for several years now but received pushback from advertisers. The change will cause a shakeup for customers, with sellers forced to recalculate their pricing and buyers to adjust their plans. The new product has received accreditation from the Media Rating Council, the media industry’s measurement watchdog. 

Perplexity Submits New Bid for TikTok 

AI company Perplexity has submitted a new proposal to merge with TikTok. Submitted to parent company ByteDance, the arrangement would give the US government up to 50% ownership of the new entity, reveals AP. The proposal is a revision of a prior plan submitted to ByteDance just before the law that was meant to ban TikTok in the country went into effect. ByteDance did not respond to the previous proposal. Under the proposed plan, TikTok would not have to cut ties with its parent company, although it would have to allow a “full US board control”. TikTok would also have to remove its proprietary algorithm for US users, which fuels what users see on the app. In exchange, the plan proposes that ByteDance’s existing investors would get equity in the new structure. The US government would not get a seat on the new company’s board. 

Trump has said that he is in talks with "many people" about buying TikTok. Meanwhile, the app is operating illegally in the US, following Trump's executive order to grant it a 75-day extension on the law which banned its operations in the country from 19th January if not divested from ByteDance. Both Apple and Google have removed the app from their app stores in the US to ensure they won't be fined for violating the law (no one new can currently download the app).