The Digiday Podcast: "The Trade Desk Under Pressure"

Date: October 7, 2025
Host(s): Kimiko McCoy (Senior Marketing Reporter, Digiday), Tim Peterson (Executive Editor, Digiday)
Guests: Seb Joseph (Executive News Editor, Digiday), Ronan Shields (Senior Ad Tech Reporter, Digiday)

Overview

This episode of The Digiday Podcast dives deep into the state of The Trade Desk (TTD), one of ad tech’s most influential demand-side platforms (DSPs). The panel examines how TTD’s once-unquestioned dominance is being actively challenged by competitors, most notably Amazon Advertising, and explores the implications of this shifting landscape for marketers, agencies, and the ad tech ecosystem overall. Supplemental discussions cover other major news stories, including OpenAI’s latest launches, Meta’s data use for advertising, and the acquisition of the Free Press by Paramount.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. News Rundown: AI, Media, and Advertising (00:25–21:33)

• AI Ecosystem Changes:
  • OpenAI launches a ChatGPT "app store" and Sora, a TikTok-like AI video platform with the "Cameos" feature.
  • Concerns raised about copyright, IP rights, and disinformation with Sora and OpenAI’s unclear policies on opt-ins and revenue sharing for rights holders.
    • “We will give rights holders more granular control over generation of characters similar to the opt in model for likeness but with additional controls.” — (Sam Altman quoted by Tim Peterson, 08:00)
• Advertising and Targeting:
  • Meta to use AI chatbot conversation data for ad targeting starting December 16; no opt-out for users.
  • “Everyone with tinfoil hats, now is your time to shine. You’ve finally been vindicated.” — Kimiko McCoy (14:07)
• Media Moves:
  • Paramount acquires The Free Press; Bari Weiss named CBS News editor-in-chief—an influencer model for mainstream media.
    • “It would be akin to if Paramount tapped Mr. Beast to run Paramount Studios.” — Tim Peterson (17:43)
    • “She speaks to the hundredth of one percent, and they’ll listen.” — Tim Peterson quoting New York Times (18:58)

2. The Trade Desk: From Market Leader to Challenged Incumbent (21:46–47:31)

Backdrop: The Changing DSP Competitive Landscape

• Rising Competition:
  • Amazon’s DSP has rapidly gained scale, partnering with major publishers like Spotify and becoming more open.
  • Google’s DV360 remains a giant, while Yahoo DSP and others innovate on price and service.
  • TTD’s stock has dropped almost 60% in 2025, largely after missed Q4 2024 results and losing exclusivity deals.
    • “Since [missing Q4 2024 numbers], what had been slow-building headwinds—competition, pricing pressure, market saturation—suddenly came into focus.” — Seb Joseph (24:53)

Key Events & Turning Points:

• Inventory and Data Access:
  • Amazon and Spotify deal: Spotify’s inventory (audio/video) now available on Amazon DSP, signaling a more open approach among major DSPs.
    • “That access to inventory is becoming a scale advantage for larger DSPs now.” — Seb Joseph (24:53)
• Loss of Walmart Data Exclusivity:
  • Walmart removes TTD’s exclusive hold on its shopper data and inventory, weakening TTD’s differentiation.
    • “Losing Walmart, it’s not going to bolster confidence of the market any, that’s for sure.” — Ronan Shields (28:40)
• Pricing, Flexibility, and Customer Service Issues:
  • TTD is criticized by agency buyers for inflexible deals and higher fees, earning the nickname “Spirit Airlines of DSPs.”
    • “The Trade Desk got to a point where Wall Street became more important to them than Madison Avenue.” — Ronan Shields (33:15)
    • Notable for not being willing to renegotiate or roll quarterly commit shortfalls.
  • Amazon and Google are actively undercutting TTD on price and providing more flexible terms.

DSPs Become Commoditized:

• Private marketplace (PMP) buying and programmatic guaranteed means brands/agency partners now drive inventory access, not DSP exclusivity.
• DSP selection increasingly dictated by exclusive data advantages (Amazon, Google), not technology alone.
  • “The way [buyers] look at DSPs comes down to what's the data. Amazon and Google—that’s clear.” — Tim Peterson (40:46)

Challenges and Future Strategic Moves for The Trade Desk:

• Ventura and Upstream Moves:
  • TTD is betting on Ventura, a CTV operating system, to regain upstream leverage and rebuild a strategic ‘choke point’ in the CTV ecosystem.
    • Custom rollout with DirecTV; targeting hotel and restaurant installs.
    • Rollout has been rocky—unveiled ahead of schedule, recently pivoted with more targeted use cases.
    • “Maybe expect the trade desk to maybe look to acquire more to shore up those links.” — Ronan Shields (44:12)
• M&A Possibilities:
  • Potential TTD could acquire more companies to strengthen its position.
  • Speculation that TTD itself could be an acquisition target, possibly for OpenAI, as a fast way to build ad infrastructure.
    • “Could OpenAI acquire The Trade Desk, like Google did DoubleClick?” — Tim Peterson (45:19)
    • “The need to spin up an ads business quick time gets more intense by the quarter, so going on the M&A trail is the kind of fastest way to do that… there are worse businesses you can buy out there than the Trade Desk.” — Seb Joseph (46:08)

The “Moat” Has Dried Up:

• TTD’s historical edge—exclusive inventory, early mover to CTV, open ecosystem—has eroded.
  • “It’s fair to say they don’t really have a moat anymore.” — Seb Joseph (38:40)
• Retail media networks and CTV sellers use TTD as “training wheels,” learning from its tech, before going direct or building their own paths.
• Agencies are building direct deals with SSPs (supply-side platforms) like Magnite and Pubmatic, bypassing DSPs where possible.

International and Diversification Prospects:

• TTD still has international runway where Amazon and Google DSPs are not dominant.
• May need to drop fees, increase flexibility, and find new data/inventory sources to compete.

3. Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "If Amazon is getting into your business, it's time to get out of your business." — Ronan Shields (28:40)
• “It’s a real, real good conversation. Juicy, if you will.” — Kimiko McCoy (21:33)
• “Now Walmart’s going more direct, it’s stepped away from [TTD] exclusivity… They don’t really have a moat anymore.” — Seb Joseph (38:40)
• “The Trade Desk got to a point where Wall Street became more important to them than Madison Avenue.” — Ronan Shields (33:15)

Timeline of Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |-----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------| | 00:25 | Opening, state of news, OpenAI updates, AI’s impact on advertising | | 06:10 | Sora’s copyright/IP and opt-in controversy | | 10:32 | OpenAI, ads, monetization strategies | | 13:08 | Meta uses AI chats for ad targeting | | 16:15 | Paramount acquires Free Press, Bari Weiss as CBS News EIC | | 21:46 | Main discussion: The Trade Desk under pressure | | 24:53 | Seb Joseph details TTD’s Q4 miss, Amazon’s advantage | | 28:40 | Ronan Shields: loss of Walmart, Amazon’s pricing attack | | 30:40 | The original TTD narrative and how it got disrupted | | 33:15 | TTD’s internal/execution missteps, “Spirit Airlines” analogy | | 35:18 | Buyer feedback: inflexible deals and competition | | 37:18 | The loss of TTD’s CTV moat | | 40:46 | Agency view: DSPs judged by exclusive data, TTD lags | | 41:22 | SSPs’ growing role, agencies building their own deals | | 42:47 | TTD attempts at reinvention with Ventura | | 44:08 | Discussion of potential M&A moves (by or for TTD) |

Conclusion

The episode underscores a pivotal moment for The Trade Desk and the wider programmatic advertising ecosystem. TTD’s fabled position is far from a collapse, but it’s under acute and growing pressure as competitors wield their scale, exclusive data, and pricing—a clear wake-up call for how even dominant digital platforms must continually adapt. The roundtable’s insights are essential listening for marketers, agencies, and ad tech professionals monitoring the battle for ad dollars across media and new technologies.

Useful for those who haven’t listened:
This summary offers a deep breakdown of why The Trade Desk is struggling, how Amazon and others are changing the game, and what this means for technology-driven advertising—putting the original voices and most important quotes directly in context.