In today’s Digest, we look at WPP CEO Read planning to step down amid AI disruption and market strain, findings from WPP Media’s latest report, Amazon adding private auctions to Prime Video, as well as YouTube loosening moderation. 

WPP CEO Read to Exit Amid AI Disruption and Market Strain; WPP Launches Public Attack on Publicis

Mark Read will step down as CEO of WPP by the end of 2025, concluding a 30-year tenure at the advertising giant, including nearly seven years at the helm. The announcement follows sustained share price declines and intensifying pressure from AI-led disruption in ad creation.

Read, who succeeded Sir Martin Sorrell in 2018, led a significant transformation of the group, including agency consolidations and divestitures aimed at streamlining operations and reducing net debt. Despite these efforts, WPP has lost nearly half its market value during his leadership, and more than a quarter in the past year alone. Shares dipped 2% following the news.

Meanwhile, WPP has launched a public attack on its rival Publicis Groupe. In a report distributed to clients, WPP accuses it of trafficking low-quality ad inventory through its supply-side platform, Epsilon, reports AdAge. The report claims the inventory falls below industry norms for viewability and attention.

User-Generated Content to Lead Ad Revenue in 2025

In other related news, WPP Media’s This Year Next Year 2025 mid-year forecast outlines a shifting global ad landscape, with user generated content set to surpass professional content in ad revenue for the first time. The forecast also highlights the continued rise of retail media, which is projected to command 18% of total global ad revenue by 2030, solidifying its role as a core pillar of the digital ad ecosystem.

Elsewhere, social platforms may be poised for an identity shift. More than half (51.6%) of industry experts believe that by 2030, the majority of users will engage primarily in private social interactions, with public feeds increasingly dominated by brand and promotional content.

Lastly, looking at projected ad spend forecasts for the year, India leads the way with a projected growth of 8.4%. China follows with 6.8%. Elsewhere in APAC, Japan is forecast to see growth of just 4%, and Australia 4.1%. The UK is expected to see growth of 6.5%, outperforming most of its Western counterparts. The US, the largest ad market in the world, is forecast to grow by 5.6%.

Amazon Adds Private Auctions to Prime Video

Amazon has introduced private auctions (PAs) for Prime Video inventory, allowing select advertisers to access the platform’s CTV supply via dynamic pricing for the first time. The move, which has quietly rolled out to a handful of buyers for testing in recent weeks, marks a notable shift from Prime Video’s historically fixed CPM model. Under the new structure, advertisers can bid programmatically rather than committing to static price points, such as programmatic guaranteed or private marketplace deals. According to sources who have spoken with AdWeek, marketers who wish to use the feature must ask their account representatives to enable it within the Amazon DSP.

Adam Epstein, president of the adtech firm Gigi, explained, “You’re giving up some delivery guarantees, but gaining more flexibility and lower costs.”

While dynamic pricing is standard in display and open web video, it remains rare in CTV. Amazon’s move signals growing pressure to make premium CTV inventory more accessible and cost efficient for programmatic buyers, amid rising scrutiny over media spend effectiveness.

YouTube Loosens Moderation, Emphasises Public Interest Content

YouTube has reportedly relaxed internal guidelines for content moderation, encouraging reviewers to keep videos live even if they breach certain platform rules, provided they are deemed in the public interest. The shift, which has not been publicly announced, raises the threshold for rule breaking content in public interest videos such as political events or council meetings from 25% to 50% of the video's total content. The new guidance applies to material involving political, social, or cultural discourse.

Sources say the change follows broader industry trends, with platforms facing increased political pressure to scale back content moderation particularly around topics like Covid-19, elections, and public officials. YouTube removed over 192,000 videos for hate and abuse violations in the first quarter of 2025, up 22% year-over-year. Yet critics argue the platform’s revised policy opens the door to a “race to the bottom” in content standards. 

“This isn’t about free speech, it’s about maximising engagement and ad revenue,” said Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate.