On this MadTech Podcast episode, ExchangeWire head of content John Still is joined by COO Lindsay Rowntree and Charlie Glyn, ad tech leader at Channel 4 Sales, to discuss the latest in ad tech. 

They look at Netflix’s audience reach overtaking BBC1’s for the first time, the popularity of Disney’s streaming service’s ad tier, and Meta’s decision to terminate its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programmes. 

Netflix’s UK Audience Reach Overtakes BBC1 (Deadline) 

Netflix was the most-watched TV service in the UK for three months last year, overtaking dominant domestic network BBC1 for the first time, a Deadline analysis calculates. Viewing figures from BARB, the UK’s official ratings body, showed that Netflix’s audience reach overtook BBC1 in September, October, and November 2024. During these months, Netflix’s average audience reach stood at 43.2m, compared with BBC1’s 42.3m viewers. 

Disney reaches 157m global MAU for streaming ad-tiers (Advanced Television) 

At CES, Disney revealed that the company’s ad-supported monthly active users have reached an estimated 157m globally, including 112m domestically (US and Canada), on average per month over the last six months. 

Meta terminates its DEI programs (The Guardian) 

Meta has decided to terminate its diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes. Meta claims that the company is implementing these changes because the “legal and policy landscape surrounding diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the United States is changing”. Meta will no longer enact specific diverse hiring practices. It will also end its equity and inclusion training, and disband a team focused on DEI.