In today’s Digest, we cover digital publisher revenues falling 4.55% in Q1 2026 as AI disruption bites, Shein swinging to a US$99m quarterly loss ahead of its Hong Kong IPO, and Amazon Ads and Octave striking a deal to bring News UK’s audio brands to Amazon DSP. 

Digital publisher revenues fall 4.55% 

Digital publisher revenues dropped 4.55% year-on-year in the first quarter of 2026, breaking a streak of four consecutive quarters of growth, according to the latest Digital Publishers' Revenue Index from the Association of Online Publishers and Deloitte. Total revenues fell to £152.91m from £160.20m a year earlier, as a 5.06% rise in display advertising wasn't enough to offset weakness across smaller revenue streams and subscription growth that came in nearly flat at just 0.63%. The figures mark a notable role reversal from previous quarters, when subscriptions had typically stepped in to cushion softer display advertising; this time, display carried almost the entire burden of growth on its own. 

The results also point to a broader shift in how publishers are prioritising their strategies. All respondents now rank advertising revenue growth as a high priority, up from 75% a year earlier, while the proportion prioritising non-advertising revenue has fallen sharply, from 100% down to 50%.

Shein swings to $99m quarterly loss 

Shein has posted a USD$99m (£74.43m) loss for the first quarter of 2026, a sharp reversal from the USD$395m (£297m) net income it recorded a year earlier, according to pre-IPO financial filings released Sunday. The loss stems largely from slowing sales following the US removal of an import duty exemption on small packages, compounded by a substantial one-time accounting charge. 

The filing lays the groundwork for investor roadshows and formal bookbuilding ahead of Shein's Hong Kong listing. 

Amazon Ads and Octave strike deal 

Amazon Ads has struck a new programmatic partnership with Octave that folds News UK's roster of digital audio brands directly into Amazon DSP, with the integration live starting immediately. The tie-up broadens the audio inventory available through Amazon's platform by tapping into Octave, News UK's dedicated audio-visual ad platform, which draws in more than 15.5 million connected listeners across the UK on a monthly basis. As a result, advertisers running campaigns on Amazon DSP can now reach audiences across News UK's full audio lineup, from talkSPORT's sports programming to podcast offerings tied to The Times and The Sunday Times.

The partnership also opens the door for advertisers to layer Octave's audience data on top of Amazon's own first-party insights, which are built from trillions of shopping, browsing, and streaming signals. Combined with Amazon Ads' measurement suite, including access to third-party tools, brands will be able to assess how their audio campaigns are contributing to a wider full-funnel advertising strategy.