Below is a roundup of last week’s notable industry news, with summaries and our opinions. It’s a special holiday edition!

The Trade Desk cuts dozens of roles, impacting sales and client services teams🔒
Source: Adweek
December 17th, 2025

Summary: The Trade Desk cut an estimated 35 employees from sales and client services teams in mid-December, representing about 1% of its 3,500-person workforce. 

The independent demand-side platform (DSP) said the cuts ensure that it has "the right skills and experiences" for a "fast-evolving ad tech environment," noting it has hired nearly ~750 people this year, especially in senior leadership positions. CEO Jeff Green posted about it on LinkedIn.

The layoffs come as The Trade Desk deals with grumblings and some media agencies pulling or pausing spend from its OpenPath🔒product over transparency concerns. OpenPath, launched in 2022, connects advertisers directly with thousands of publishers without a supply side platform (SSP) in between. Publishers pay around 5% to monetize their inventory through OpenPath, but agencies say the cost breakdown is unclear.

One holding company exec said their firm stopped spending via OpenPath entirely. Another buyer estimated TTD applies a 10%-15% premium on transactions through OpenPath. Not all agencies share these concerns, however, with some saying they're increasing OpenPath investment and seeing good results. 

TTD's stock has dropped 72% from its all-time high last December as it faces intensifying competition from Amazon. The OpenPath issues add to existing tensions with agencies over reseller definitions and the Kokai rollout.

Opinion: Oh, the irony! TTD built its brand partly on being the "good guy" DSP that fights for transparency and fairness in programmatic. Now agencies are pulling spend because they can't explain OpenPath costs to clients.

2026 will be an interesting year for TTD. They are facing a lot of headwinds, in the form of AI, a shrinking open web, growth of CTV walled gardens, competition from Amazon’s ad tech business, and the aforementioned concerns about transparency. The strategic path forward is a bit murky, with no clear, winning bets.

A Google ad tech breakup could be gift they need!

TikTok owner ByteDance signs binding deal to create U.S. joint venture - TikTok has officially secured its future in the United States with a binding agreement creating an American version of the platform. The new entity is majority-owned by US investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, and UAE-based MGX. This structure satisfies the bipartisan law that required ByteDance to divest majority ownership or face a ban due to national security concerns about the Chinese government's potential access to American user data. The US joint venture will oversee data protection, algorithm security, and content moderation. The deal will close on January 22nd. US TikTok users, time to start dancing!

Oscars heading for YouTube after more than 50 years on ABC - The Academy Awards is making a historic leap from traditional television to streaming. Beginning with the 101st Oscars ceremony in 2029, YouTube will hold exclusive global rights to broadcast the show through 2033, making it the first time the event has left ABC since 1976. The show will be available live on YouTube's free app globally and on YouTube TV in the U.S., making it accessible to more than 2 billion people worldwide. The deal also includes red carpet coverage, behind-the-scenes content, nomination announcements, and other Academy Awards-related programming. This move follows a broader trend of awards shows migrating to streaming platforms as traditional TV viewership declines—the SAG Awards moved to Netflix in 2024, and the Academy of Country Music Awards shifted to Amazon Prime Video in 2022. Streaming is becoming mainstream.

Paramount beefs up its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery with new Larry Ellison guarantee - Paramount is doubling down on its hostile $108B bid for Warner Bros. Discovery with a significant sweetener: Oracle chairman Larry Ellison's irrevocable personal guarantee of $40.4B. This addresses WBD board concerns about the Ellison family trust backing the deal. Paramount also increased its break-up fee from $5B to $5.8B to match Netflix's offer—one of the largest termination fees ever offered in a merger. Warner Bros. Discovery is already pursuing a deal to sell its television, movie, and streaming assets to Netflix, but Paramount is seeking to acquire the entire company, including CNN.

Lionsgate enters the ads biz with an exclusive ad server - The film and TV studio has expanded its ad inventory by launching new FAST channels. It has tapped Comcast's FreeWheel as its exclusive ad server to manage its supply.

Michael Kassan joins Mediaocean as vice chairman - Kassan is a storied digital advertising vet who founded and operated MediaLink for 20 years before selling it to Ascential in 2017. He now runs 3C Ventures.

Nielsen and Roku renew their vows by sharing even more data with each other - As part of a multi-year deal, Roku will get access to streaming ratings from Nielsen's Big Data + Panel measurement product, which will continue to incorporate Roku's data. 

Broadcast radio is now available through DSPs - Advertisers will be able to buy iHeart’s broadcast radio inventory programmatically through a direct integration with Viant’s DSP. 

Kenvue selects Publicis and WPP after global creative and media agency review🔒- IPG previously oversaw Kenvue’s global media. Now, Publicis will manage Kenvue's media, influencer, commerce, healthcare professional support and tech. Kenvue brands include Neutrogena, Tylenol, Aveeno, Band-Aid, and many more.

Happy Holidays!!!

The U of Digital Weekly Newsletter is intended for subscribers, but occasional forwarding is okay!

To subscribe visit Uof.Digital/Newsletters or contact us directly for group subscriptions.

And remember, U of Digital helps teams drive better outcomes through structured education on critical topics like programmatic, privacy / identity, CTV, commerce media, AI, and more. Interested in learning more about how we can supercharge your team?