The Digiday Podcast—"The Summer Things Turned Messy"

Release Date: September 2, 2025
Host(s): Kimiko McCoy (Senior Marketing Reporter), Tim Peterson (Executive Editor), with guest Sarah Jeudy (Managing Editor)
Main Theme:
A look back at the frenzied, tumultuous summer of 2025 in media, marketing, and digital business—as streaming, AI developments, corporate shifts, and global policy changes set up an equally messy fall.

Episode Overview

This episode centers on a lively conversation between the Digiday team about how the summer of 2025 upended expectations for a seasonal media lull. Instead, the industry faced rapid change in streaming, an AI arms race, landmark legal battles (particularly around Google), agency shakeups, and the looming "Trump effect" on tariffs and platforms—creating uncertainty that will carry into the fall. The tone is candid, lightly humorous, and appropriately skeptical about whether the chaos will subside.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. A “Messy” Summer: Setting the Stage

• The hosts note the relentless pace and overlapping crises in summer 2025: everything from the streaming wars to AI disruption and corporate shakeups (01:21, 02:29).
  • Quote [02:29, Kimiko McCoy]: "If you thought the summer was busy, there are expectations for an equally as busy, messy fall. So if you don't already have your seatbelt on, may want to put that in place."
• Google’s antitrust case looms, with the possibility of drastic remedies—divestitures or massive fines (02:45, 03:48).

2. Streaming: The Great ‘Rebundling’

(Primary segment: 05:15–14:44)

Major Shifts and Launches

• Paramount Global’s acquisition by Skydance Media (David Ellison) finally closes after a year of regulatory and legal hurdles, including a Trump lawsuit settlement (06:13).
• Warner Bros. Discovery splits its studios and streaming from cable TV networks.
• Disney folds Hulu into its main app—heralding the end of Hulu as a standalone streamer, even as the brand persists (06:13).
• ESPN (Disney) and Fox both launch standalone streaming services, accelerating the decline of traditional pay TV (06:13–08:52).

“Back to Bundling”

• Hosts note the irony: the splintering of TV is cycling right back toward cable-style bundles, only now they cost more (10:01).
  • Quote [12:19, Kimiko McCoy]: "By the end of it, you're looking at like a $200 bill."
  • [Tim Peterson describes it as a “720 degree turn...not even a 360 anymore. It just feels like a loop de loop.” (12:19)]
• Consumers weigh whether to return to cable for cost efficiency; streaming’s promise of à la carte has become expensive and confusing.
  • Quote [09:51, Sarah Jeudy]: "I feel like a lot of people are in the same boat about considering going back to cable ... everything's getting so expensive."

Ad-Free Streaming & Younger Audiences

• Sarah shares a generational anecdote: her young nephew's intolerance for ads ("media is ruined" for the next generation, 08:52).
• Subscriptions and bundling incentives proliferate; price hikes continue (Apple TV+ rises to $13/month) (10:53).
• The challenge: consumers increasingly “churn” between services for select content, leading to industry-wide volatility.

3. AI: Lawsuits, Licensing, and Publishers’ Response

(Primary segment: 14:44–24:28)

Agencies & Legacy Media Prepare for the AI Era

• Leadership shakeups (e.g., WPP’s CEO from Microsoft) indicate agencies are bracing for AI’s transformative effect (16:10).
• The initial "hype cycle" gives way to real, must-have integration—companies must either adapt or risk falling behind (16:10).

Publishers vs. AI Platforms: Fight for Value

• Publishers attempt to band together (IAB Tech Lab meetings) to negotiate with AI firms on how content is used/trained (17:09).
  • Quote [17:09, Sarah Jeudy]: “This is a publisher space trying to come together and achieve some sort of scale and really voice in the room.”
• The effectiveness of these alliances remains in question, given industry infighting and differing approaches.
  • Quote [23:55, Sarah Jeudy]: "If you are going to negotiate en masse, you need a vision and you need a thesis. And there are too many views and differing perspectives ... for publishers to actually get their shit together and bring about change."
• Major publishers (Condé Nast, Hearst, New York Times) ink content licensing deals (Amazon, AI companies), while smaller players are largely left out (18:57).
  • Tim speculates on usage-based licensing—but notes “black box” problems around tracking and compensation (20:56).

Legal Landscape

• Recent copyright lawsuit verdicts (against Anthropic and Meta) favor AI companies—authors failed to prove damages (23:00).
  • The precedent: publishers may face uphill battles in court.

4. Google Antitrust & The Battle for Chrome

(Primary segment: 24:28–30:12)

• The Google search antitrust case may force divestiture of Chrome or block exclusive search deals (02:45, 24:28).
• Tim and Sarah debate potential buyers (Perplexity, OpenAI, Meta), but question their capacity to sustain Chrome’s scale (26:42, 28:05).
  • Quote [26:07, Sarah Jeudy]: "Are you then just passing the crown to another player to rule the monarchy? ... we are just passing the baton to someone else who will then sort of rule the roost when it comes to digital advertising."
  • Quote [28:34, Kimiko McCoy]: “Do they have the infrastructure to be able to do this? Because when you look at OpenAI...the backing and the infrastructure to be able to maintain what Google has…if you pass the baton to somebody who can't catch it and now what?”
• The Chrome decision’s ripple effects: possible market “reshuffling” but perhaps not true decentralization of search/ad dominance.

5. The “Trump Effect” and Market Uncertainty

(Primary segment: 30:29–34:07)

• The ambiguous, anxiety-provoking impact of renewed tariffs and possible TikTok bans.
• Tariffs’ effects on costs remain unseen; companies have pre-stocked and adjusted strategies in anticipation (33:14).
  • Quote [31:35, Kimiko McCoy]: "A lot of this is just like things that haven't happened and just this ominous overcast, you know, about what could happen."
• Marketers sped up back-to-school campaigns, but the real Q4 impact is unknown (32:21).
• Walmart and others look to ad businesses to offset increased import costs (33:14).

6. Looking Ahead: “Set-Up for a Messy Fall”

(34:07–35:23)

• Virtually none of the summer’s seismic changes have produced tangible results yet; instead, they serve as the volatile backdrop for an even more uncertain fall.
  • Quote [34:07, Tim Peterson]: “All these things that have transpired this summer have been more setup than necessarily results. Like we still have to see what's going to happen with Paramount…with this Google antitrust remedies decision…what's going to happen when it comes to WPP's new CEO…publishers coming out of the IAB Tech Lab meeting…tariffs and whatever else this administration is going to do.”
• The trio expects to revisit these stories as consequences play out.

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• "[12:19, Kimiko McCoy]: By the end of it, you're looking at like a $200 bill."
• "[15:14, Kimiko McCoy]: Too close to the Uncanny valley for my comfort."
• "[23:55, Sarah Jeudy]: If you are going to negotiate en masse, you need a vision and you need a thesis. And there are too many views and differing perspectives ... for publishers to actually get their shit together and bring about change."
• "[31:35, Kimiko McCoy]: A lot of this is just like things that haven't happened and just this ominous overcast, you know, about what could happen."
• "[34:07, Tim Peterson]: ...all these things that have transpired this summer have been more setup than necessarily results. ...I think it's going to give us a lot to be covering on the show."

Important Segment Timestamps

• Summer Recap & Streaming Takeover: 05:15–14:44
• AI and Publisher Dynamics: 14:44–24:28
• Google Antitrust & Chrome: 24:28–30:12
• Tariffs, TikTok & the Trump Effect: 30:29–34:07
• Conclusion/Looking Forward: 34:07–35:23

Summary

The Digiday crew candidly dissects how 2025’s summer brought nothing resembling a “media lull”—instead, the industry faces relentless change and existential questions. Streaming is rebundling even as prices spiral, AI’s disruptive ripple effects shape business models and legal fights, Google’s antitrust fate could upend search’s status quo, and tariffs cast a shadow over global markets. Above all, every earthquake feels unresolved, setting the stage for a potentially even messier fall. The hosts close with a sense of both exhaustion and anticipation—ready (perhaps reluctantly) for the challenges ahead.