In today’s Digest, we discuss 58% of ad executives expecting agentic buying to scale within a year, Apple and Amazon facing a renewed UK consumer case, and A24, Sony and The New York Times circling Letterboxd.

58% of ad execs see agentic buying scaling

New research from IAB Europe suggests that ad executives are making plans for the agentic era. Surveying 50 ad executives across 44 European markets, the study found that 58% now expect agentic buying to reach operational scale within a year. 

That confidence isn't evenly distributed: at larger organisations with 500 or more employees, 86% already run advanced systems where people and AI agents plan and execute work together, while at smaller companies that figure drops to under half. Views on how far the technology will ultimately go remain split too roughly three in ten expect AI agents to become a dominant way of buying and selling ads in some markets, while a similar share expect only steady, more modest use.

Apple & Amazon face renewed UK consumer case

Apple and Amazon are facing a revived consumer lawsuit in the UK, after Britain's Competition Appeal Tribunal ruled Monday that part of a long-running case against the two companies can move forward. The suit alleges that Apple and Amazon struck an agreement in 2018 restricting which sellers could offer Apple and Beats-branded products on Amazon's UK marketplace, a move claimants say reduced competition among independent resellers and pushed prices higher. 

The three-judge tribunal allowed the claims tied specifically to Apple products bought through Amazon's marketplace to proceed, calling them "plausible, credible and grounded in the facts." It rejected a broader claim covering products purchased directly from Apple or other retailers, ruling there wasn't sufficient evidence that the alleged conduct affected prices outside Amazon's platform. The portion of the case still alive could be worth between £289m and £306m, including interest, according to the claimant.

A24, Sony and NYT circle Letterboxd

Letterboxd may soon be changing hands. According to The New York Times, A24, Sony Pictures and The New York Times Company are among the parties circling the platform as Canadian holding company Tiny explores selling its 60% controlling stake. Bidding is expected to value Letterboxd at more than USD$300m (£225m), roughly twenty times its projected 2026 revenue of about USD$15m (£11.25m).

A24 buying the platform would be, as one industry commentator put it, almost too on-brand to be true. Sony's interest also fits a broader pattern of studios pushing beyond traditional production and distribution into owning fan-facing platforms directly.