
The Digiday Podcast Upfront Week recap, Charter-Cox merger, Microsoft’s DSP shutdown + Horizon Media’s David Campanelli on the upfront market ahead
May 20, 2025
David Campanelli, President of Global Investment at Horizon Media, shares his insights on the TV and streaming upfront ad marketplace. Sam Bradley, a senior reporter at Digiday, provides a European perspective on the upfront market. They discuss the recent Charter-Cox merger amidst declining pay-TV audiences and Microsoft's shutdown of its demand-side platform. The duo sheds light on the challenges in ad tech, the evolving dynamics of advertising measurement, and the urgent need for brands to adapt their strategies in a fast-changing landscape.
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Charter-Cox Merger Builds Scale
- Charter and Cox merger aims to shore up declining pay TV subscribers with scale.
- Bigger footprint increases leverage over content owners like Disney for carriage fees.
Microsoft Exits the DSP Market
- Microsoft shutting down its DSP was driven by lost exclusivity with Netflix and low margins.
- Major DSP competition is consolidating to Trade Desk, Google DV360, Amazon, and Yahoo.
Upfront Deals Are Slower and Complex
- Upfront negotiations now span many months with ongoing discussions since January.
- Complexity and multiple platforms have extended and slowed dealmaking compared to traditional focused weeks.
