Episode Overview

Podcast: The Digiday Podcast
Episode: "The year where the dust settles": Digiday editors share 2026 predictions
Date: January 6, 2026
Host(s): Kimeka McCoy (Senior Marketing Reporter), Tim Peterson (Executive Editor of Video and Audio)
Guests: Seb Joseph (Executive Editor of News), Sarah Jordy (Managing Editor)

In this prediction-packed episode, the Digiday editorial team dives into the key trends, industry shakeups, and existential questions expected to define media, advertising, and publishing in 2026. With the dust settling after an unruly 2025, panelists debate the fate of industry giants, the impact of an accelerating AI revolution, looming antitrust cases, and the tightrope agencies and publishers must walk in a tech-dominated world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Stage: A Post-2025 Landscape

• 2025 characterized as "unraveling," setting the stage for 2026 as a year for clarity—or at least an attempt at it.

  • Quote: "If last year was the year of a bunch of loose ties, I think this will be the year where the dust settles." — Sarah Jordy [07:47]

• Major recent news cycles set the mood:

  • Mergers and acquisitions (Omnicom and IPG, WPP’s leadership change, Netflix & Warner Bros moves)
  • Implications of the CES tech show and continuous AI advancements.

2. AI’s Growing Impact: Advertising, Entertainment, and Definitions

• OpenAI's Push into Advertising

  • Expectation for ChatGPT to roll out ads during 2026.

  • Ongoing discussions about OpenAI’s first ad products and competition from Google.

    • Quote: "I would be surprised if a year from now, ChatGPT hadn't rolled out ads." — Tim Peterson [02:04]

  • Industry bracing for agency restructuring and billing models to adapt to the AI era.

• AI's Role in Content Creation & Platform Dynamics

  • AI lowering barriers to entry for content (“not necessarily good content but watchable enough”).

  • The Disney/OpenAI deal hints at a future where generative AI allows users to prompt for custom content (e.g., “a new Star Wars movie but a rom-com version”).

    • Quote: "If last year was slow adoption, 2025 was the test and trial phase. This will be the phase where we see tweaks... maybe some layoffs pinned to AI use." — Sarah Jordy [07:47]

  • Fear of personalization eroding creativity versus democratizing content.

    • Quote: "Personalization is going to be the death of us... If users are creating themselves exactly what they want to see, then what could Disney then possibly offer me?" — Sarah Jordy [22:05]

  • Debate over control and brand safety as IP owners hand creative tools to consumers.

    • Quote: "I wonder if this is kind of like the next brand safety sort of crisis..." — Seb Joseph [19:56]
    • Discussion of infamous UGC missteps: "There was even the people doing the Coca Cola advert where, you know, you've got people actually sniffing Coke." — Seb Joseph [20:00]

3. Industry Consolidation and Agency Upheaval

• Major M&As & Their Ramifications
  • Omnicom-IPG merger poised for immediate stress tests in integrated pitches.
  • WPP’s fragility after dropping out of the FTSE 100; all eyes on newly-appointed CEO Cindy Rose.
    • Quote: "If it does turn out kind of badly and they do end up being bought by someone, it'll be the death knell for that kind of Hulko model." — Seb Joseph [05:17]
  • AI’s presence in agency workflow: Will platforms fully automate? Will in-housing take over? Will content move even more toward UGC?

4. Media & Streaming: The Entertainment Chessboard

• Unpredictable Mega-mergers

  • Ongoing battles: Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount’s hostile bid, Disney’s C-suite succession chaos.

    • Quote: “If I am sounding like a madman because I can't make sense of things, yes, that's absolutely the case. Because Netflix, Warner Bros. Discovery, that's going to be the big story of 2026.” — Tim Peterson [09:19]

  • Regulatory and political overhang, especially with 2026 US politics influencing media M&As and coverage.

• The Rise of Algorithmically-Driven Content

  • Disney/OpenAI’s generative partnership signals a turning point.
  • Questions raised: Will consumers prompt for new, on-demand storylines within major franchises?
  • Concerns about fragmentation, the “death of creative,” and risks to beloved IP.

5. Creator Economy: Blurring the Line Between Influencers and Creators

• Monetization and Platform Evolution

  • UGC and creator-generated ads now outstrip traditional TV ad spend (WPP Media data).

    • “2025 was the year when...advertisers were spending more on UGC, on creators than on traditional TV. So like that Rubicon has been crossed.” — Tim Peterson [28:09]

  • Dynamic ad insertions (YouTube pilot), upfront deals, and engagement-based pricing floated as next steps in creator monetization.

    • “Do we see actual upfront style deals with creators in 2026? If and when this YouTube dynamic brand insertion rolls out fully...” — Tim Peterson [29:40]

  • Ongoing debate about influencer vs. creator: distinction narrowing, but potential for new definitions as monetization matures.

  • Usage rights—extension and enforcement—emerging as key battleground for creators.

    • “Usage rights are kind of the silver ticket... charging more around that as that becomes a greater point of not contention but tension between brands and, and creators.” — Kimeka McCoy [35:56]

6. The Publisher’s Dilemma: Pivot or Perish?

• Publisher Adaptation

  • Anxiety over AI siphoning off traffic/content, echoing past dependence on tech platforms (e.g., Facebook, "pivot to video").

    • “Do you think that this becomes a situation where media once again puts its faith in tech overlords?...I almost wonder if it's like a history repeating itself here, just with different players.” — Kimeka McCoy [36:57]

  • Question of building in-house AI tools vs. relying on platform licensing.

  • Prospects for publishers in the IP/licensing wars amid AI-generated content.

7. Ad Tech & Antitrust: Old Problems, New Stakes

• Google Ad Tech Antitrust Case

  • Little expectation of meaningful change from remedies; Google already self-polices and had years to prepare.

    • “The case is like, what, several years, a decade too late at this point...Game set and match with Google, I think on that front.” — Seb Joseph [41:39], [42:38]

  • DSP Market Evolution

    • Trade Desk under siege: Amazon’s inroads, Google’s potential post-antitrust aggression, and speculation about future M&As (Yahoo DSP, OpenAI, Netflix).
    • Shifts towards “meta DSPs” as described by Ellen Savage at Mindgroove [43:03]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “We are only a couple of days in, right. But I do think that there’s a lot in store. We’ve made predictions, a lot of it based off of last year and what happened.” — Kimeka McCoy [01:38]
• “I don't know what's going to transpire by the end of this year. Bob Iger might come off the top rope and try to make a play for Warner Brothers Discovery.” — Tim Peterson [09:17]
• "Personalization is going to be the death of us. I think it's going to be the death of creativity..." — Sarah Jordy [22:05]
• "If you, if I'm a client, I pay WPP to get me out of jams like this, and they can't even get themselves out of a jam. It's not a good look, really, is it?" — Seb Joseph [40:04]
• “As reporters, the worst situation is for things to be boring and they are certainly not that.” — Tim Peterson [47:18]

Key Timestamps for Reference

• [02:04] – Tim’s prediction: ChatGPT ads are inevitable in 2026.
• [04:30] – Seb’s themes: OpenAI's ad strategy and repercussions of the Omnicom/IPG deal.
• [07:47] – Sarah: 2026 as "the year where the dust settles" and the AI/advertising industry matures.
• [09:19] – Tim’s frenzy over streaming consolidation, mergers, and CEO shuffles.
• [14:00] – Discussion of the Disney/OpenAI deal and AI’s disruption in entertainment.
• [19:56] – Seb on the risks around allowing consumers to play with major IP.
• [28:09] – UGC ad spend eclipses traditional TV.
• [35:56] – Usage rights as the next front in creator economics.
• [41:39] – Seb dismissing the impact of Google ad-tech antitrust remedies.
• [43:03] – Trade Desk, Amazon, and the future DSP wars.

Final Thoughts

2026 may not bring perfect calm, but with digital disruption showing no signs of slowing—especially with AI, mega-mergers, and agency reinvention—Digiday’s editors anticipate another transformative, if unpredictable, year for media, marketing, and publishing. For journalists and decision-makers in the trenches, there will be no shortage of stories—or existential challenges—to tackle.