The Digest is back! In our first edition of 2026 we cover Meta acquiring Manus, ITV investing in The Body Coach app, and Adform acquiring Splicky…

Meta acquires Manus

Meta is set to acquire the AI agent Manus. The social media giant plans to operate and monetise Chinese platform Manus while integrating its capabilities into existing products, including the Meta AI chatbot. 

The financial terms of the deal have not been made public.

ITV invests in The Body Coach app

ITV has taken a stake in The Body Coach, founded by Joe Wicks, as part of its media-for-equity strategy. The broadcaster is committing up to £3m in return for advertising space across its channels and streaming service ITVX, further broadening its portfolio of digital and direct-to-consumer businesses. 

The partnership launched its first campaign on 1st January 2026, featuring commercial spots during Wicks’ New Year’s Day special on ITV1 and ITVX.

Adform acquires Splicky

Adform has moved to expand its presence in German-speaking markets with the acquisition of Splicky, the programmatic digital out-of-home (DOOH) specialist. The demand-side platform (DSP) will integrate Splicky’s expertise, broadening its capabilities beyond display, video, audio, and connected TV to offer a fully omnichannel media buying solution.

Splicky brings established, long-term partnerships across the DACH region, providing Adform with immediate scale and deeper penetration in markets where it already has a presence.