The Media Leader Podcast

Earlier this month, Allwyn’s global media director Ross Sergeant announced he would be joining GB News as its chief revenue officer. The appointment comes amid what Sergeant has referred to as an “inflection point” for the company. GB News has cumulatively lost £131.5m since its inception in 2021, with funding provided by owners Sir Paul Marshall and Dubai-based investment firm Legatum. But losses have been narrowing amid double-digit revenue growth and audiences have been growing as well. According to Barb figures, GB News has beaten both BBC News and Sky News in average audience and audience share in seven of the last eight months. But with growth comes scrutiny – from us here at The Media Leader and elsewhere. An investigation by Alan Rusbridger at The New World last week found that “GB News has essentially become Reform TV”, while broadcasting regulator Ofcom has “more or less given up the ghost”. Not only is GB News regularly airing incendiary, biased political views that align with the Reform Party — including by employing the party's sitting MPs, such as Nigel Farage, as presenters — but it’s also arguably doing so in contradiction of Ofcom regulations that, seemingly, aren’t being enforced. The Media Leader wanted to raise these topics and more with Sergeant, who is now being tasked with selling GB News to advertisers. Many such advertisers, particularly larger brands, have been skittish over concerns around brand safety and suitability and the nascent nature of the fledgling broadcaster. Highlights: 1:43: Sergeant's background in media and why he joined GB News. 13:30: Is GB News 'Reform TV'? 24:40: Flouting Ofcom rules and incendiary rhetoric — does GB News have a brand safety problem? 39:23: GB News's growing audience and Sergeant's blueprint for making the broadcaster profitable. 50:42: Considering the state of the wider TV market and GB News's sales strategy within it. Related articles: Ross Sergeant joins GB News as chief revenue officer amid growth push Twitter on TV: the real reasons why advertisers avoid GB News Screen scandal: How Ofcom lets GB News get away with it (The New World)

The BBC is at a critical moment as it looks to negotiate with the government over the renewal of its charter. This month, it published its response to the government’s consultation in which it highlighted the quote “need for radical reforms to its independence”. Preserving the status quo, the Corporation argued, will quote “not be enough to deliver a BBC that remains recognisable to audiences nor brings benefits to UK society and beyond.” Chiefly, the current funding model quote “cannot maintain the BBC’s public service mission for the future”, they argued. The Corporation is indeed facing a number of headwinds: it is losing an estimated £1bn pounds per year in potential license fee revenue as people evade required payments or forego TV ownership. A lack of funding has necessitated controversial cuts in recent years to a number of BBC services, most notably the World Service, which has seen a 21% drop in budget since 2021. It all comes as the Beeb is looking to hire a replacement for outgoing director-general Tim Davie. The aptly-named Matt Brittin, who led Google’s EMEA business for a decade, has been tightly linked to the opening. Amid it all, The Media Leader hosted the 15th annual Connected TV World Summit in London last week to discuss the future of TV business and TV technology. At the event, Kerensa Samanidis, the general manager of BBC iPlayer, sat down with Jack Benjamin to discuss the future of iPlayer. The pair spoke about the challenges faced by the BBC as it seeks to compete with global streaming giants, whether the BBC would look to partner with other public-service broadcasters on distribution, and the importance of producing distinctly British content for British audiences. Highlights: 1:57: Will iPlayer open up to other public-service broadcasters? 4:03: How iPlayer matches up to global streaming giants by being "all things to all people" 9:10: Remaining prominent 11:11: Considering distribution partnerships: Netflix, YouTube, and cannibalisation concerns 16:23: How the BBC's range extends beyond entertainment and drama Related articles: ‘Be careful who you put in your bed’: Broadcasters urged to partner with platforms cautiously How a butterfly flapping its wings led to a tornado at the BBC BBC must remain ad-free and become more distinctive, Radiocentre analysis says Why advertisers need a strong BBC more than ever --- Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media.  LinkedIn: The Media Leader YouTube: The Media Leader

Digital assets are have for several years been the main growth drivers for most media owners. This is as true of TV – ITV just announced it saw 10% growth in digital revenues compared to flat overall revenue growth – as it is in publishing, as seen in the latest consumer ABC figures, as it is OOH, as it is in, of course, social media and search. So it was little surprise that, according to IAB UK’s latest digital adspend report, in 2025 the UK’s digital ad market grew 10% to £40.5bn pounds. It’s a staggering number, especially when you consider that AA/Warc estimated the total UK ad market reached £46.9bn pounds last year. Adspend on social media grew 21% year on year to £11.5bn, even as industry leaders at both agencies and competing media owners made the case to "turn down the toxic" by divesting from social and reinvesting in more trusted media channels. Elizabeth Lane is the head of insight at IAB UK. She sat down with host Jack Benjamin her to unpack the latest adspend report, and why video in particular was a driving force for digital growth last year. The duo also discussed how AI is changing search to the detriment of publishers, what to watch out for in retail media, and why gaming and digital OOH also saw double-digit growth in 2025. Highlights: 1:21: Toplines from IAB UK's 2025 Digital Adspend Report 3:41: Social's pivot to video helps explain its 20% growth rate 13:39: Search, retail media and gaming: disruption and missed opportunities 24:06: How AI could change digital investment Related articles: UK adspend expected to surpass £50bn for first time in 2026 High-attention media is more profitable, finds Peter Field, Lumen and Newsworks Reddit looks to scale through search, performance and insight Why audio is embracing video — with News Broadcasting’s Dave Wilcox and Russell Pedrick --- Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media.  LinkedIn: The Media Leader YouTube: The Media Leader

In February, the Institute for Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) released its latest Agency Census. The findings showed an agency market in contraction: employment at creative agencies fell 14.3% last year – and that’s before Omnicom completed its acquisition of IPG and subsequently announced it would cut thousands more jobs globally. New hiring dropped over 40%, with young people especially finding careers in media and advertising hard to break into, let alone remain in. However, the Census also registered continued progress in gender representation and ethnic diversity at agencies, even if pay gaps persist and geographical diversity is lacking. Lianree Robinson is the campaigning chair for Women in Advertising & Communications Leadership (WACL). She also works as the CEO of The Marketing Academy Foundation and as a mentor for Who’s Your Momma London. If that wasn’t enough to keep Robinson busy, she’s also begun writing a monthly column for us at The Media Leader. Robinson joins host Jack Benjamin to discuss the findings of the IPA Agency Census, and provide a sense check of the progress the media and advertising industries have made with regard to gender and ethnicity inclusion. Highlights: 5:38: IPA Agency Census toplines 7:16: What has caused the creative agency labour market contraction? 10:20: Challenges faced by under-25s employees 19:24: Progress, but "relatively slow progress", on gender representation and ethnic diversity 24:43: Persistent gender and ethnic pay gaps 27:59: WACL's key priorities 31:33: Geographical diversity needed Related articles: Agency employment declines 6.8% as creative roles hollowed out Why do female-founded agencies remain the exception? I didn’t take the ‘traditional’ route into media. That’s exactly why it worked Ask Nabs Anything: Handling redundancy, rejection and mental health — with Nabs’ Annabel McCaffrey --- Thanks to our production partners Trisonic for editing this episode. --> Discover how Trisonic can elevate your brand and expand your business by connecting with your ideal audience Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media.  LinkedIn: The Media Leader YouTube: The Media Leader

In January, an anonymous group of senior leaders at creative, media and adtech agencies released a memo warning that the industry is failing in its moral and civic duties to society. The memo argued that without an interruption to the status quo, advertising will “be a critical enabler to tech platforms that stoke hatred and division, facilitate hate groups to monetise their content at a time of increasing division in this country and many others, support the social license of the fossil fuel industry and provide broader greenwashing and social-washing services to industries that are under public scrutiny, and roll over in the face of anti-DEI rhetoric and desert those individuals, teams and communities that our industry has made commitments to.” It also argued that British business interests are losing independence to US political interests, that working groups have failed to drive internal change, and that the presence of Big Tech companies at industry-wide events and initiatives has stymied attempts at progress. The memo caused a stir, particularly given its timing just days ahead of the annual LEAD conference convened much of media and advertising's top brass to discuss the importance of trust. Its authors were criticised for remaining anonymous, but they nevertheless succeeded in sparking a conversation and renewed interest in key ethical issues that have arguably been suppressed since Trump’s re-election as US president in late 2024. Ned Younger is the director of Inside Track, the non-profit that was responsible for convening these anonymous individuals and facilitating their production of the memo. He sat down with The Media Leader earlier this month to discuss his takeaways from the group, and whether he thinks they will drive real change in the advertising industry. Highlights: 2:04: What is Inside Track and how did it convene this anonymous group? 6:41: Main concerns expressed by the group 10:27: Future direction, calls to action, and the need for better forums of conversation 15:16: Why remain anonymous? 22:58: The risk of insufficient progress Related articles: Anonymous group of senior ad industry leaders warns of industry-wide moral failing Government plans new powers to tackle online harms: ‘No platform gets a free pass’ Meta admits revenue from fraud and scam ads ‘might’ have accounted for 3-4% of total revenue The crisis in advertising: things we can do today Act Climate Labs launches blueprint to phase out fossil fuel advertising --- Thanks to our production partners Trisonic for editing this episode. --> Discover how Trisonic can elevate your brand and expand your business by connecting with your ideal audience Visit The Media Leader for the most authoritative news analysis and comment on what's happening in commercial media.  LinkedIn: The Media Leader YouTube: The Media Leader