AI Ad Revenue Drama Sweeps Davos; A Higher Threads Count

Recorded: Jan. 22, 2026, 1:03 p.m.

Original

Summarized

AI Ad Revenue Drama Sweeps Davos; A Higher Threads Count | AdExchanger

image/svg+xml:

Topics
Latest
Marketers
Agencies
Publishers
Technology
Platforms
Identity
Measurement
Data Privacy
Artificial Intelligence
CTV
Commerce
AdExplainer
Exclusive Report
Daily News Roundup

Opinion
All Columns
Data-Driven Thinking
On TV & Video
The Sell Sider
Content Studio
Comic
Contributor Guidelines

About Us
Advertise
Newsletter
AdExchanger Advisory Board
About Us
Contact Us

Events
Programmatic AI Las Vegas
AdExchanger Awards
Webinars
All Events
Network Events

Podcasts
AdExchanger Talks
The Big Story
Inside the Stack

NEW! Programmatic AI 2026

Become an AdHero

Topics
Latest
Marketers
Agencies
Publishers
Technology
Platforms
Identity
Measurement
Data Privacy
Artificial Intelligence
CTV
Commerce
AdExplainer
Exclusive Report
Daily News Roundup

Opinion
All Columns
Data-Driven Thinking
On TV & Video
The Sell Sider
Content Studio
Comic
Contributor Guidelines

Events & Awards
Programmatic AI Las Vegas
AdExchanger Awards
Webinars
All Events
Network Events

Podcasts
AdExchanger Talks
The Big Story
Inside the Stack

Subscribe Free
Sign Up

About Us
Advertise
Newsletter
AdExchanger Advisory Board
About Us
Contact Us

CONNECT

Home Daily News Roundup AI Ad Revenue Drama Sweeps Davos; A Higher Threads Count

Daily News Roundup
AI Ad Revenue Drama Sweeps Davos; A Higher Threads Count By AdExchanger

Thursday, January 22nd, 2026 – 12:03 am
SHARE:

Fighting In Switzerland
The news from Davos this week has, unsurprisingly, focused on President Donald Trump’s latest will-they-won’t-they. As in, will the US seize Greenland?
But there’s also another saga unfolding over whether AI startups and research companies can justify their sky-high valuations and spending sprees with meaningful revenue.
Some argue that OpenAI has already missed the boat, having waited too long to enter the ad market and thereby giving Google’s Gemini time to catch up and establish a large and growing pool of AI search ad revenue.

Others, however, think OpenAI moved too soon.
“It’s interesting they’ve gone for that so early,” Demis Hassabis, CEO of Alphabet-owned DeepMind, told journalist Alex Heath earlier this week regarding OpenAI’s decision to introduce ads in ChatGPT. “Maybe they feel they need to make more revenue.”
Um, duh?
Must be nice to have Google’s ad revenue to help pay the bills for an ostensibly purer, ad-free research lab.
“Early is a weird word,” OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar retorted later at Davos. “In ad models, you have to be at scale. Sub-scale ad models don’t work, so that would be early.”
As Friar put it, “when you have 800 million weekly active users, you’re really far beyond many of the companies who started in that model.”
Threading The Needle
And, speaking of platforms adding ads, Meta just announced that all Threads users will begin to see ads next week.
This one is less of a surprise (not that we were particularly surprised by OpenAI either).
Threads first launched its ads business last January with a small group of advertisers and began expanding to all buyers globally in April, “with initial delivery to users in select markets.” (Meta neglected to mention exactly which markets.)
Ads on Threads are powered by Meta’s personalized AI system, so advertisers can likely expect targeting that’s similar to what they get on Facebook and Instagram. The ads appear natively in the Threads feed and come in several formats, including multiple aspect ratios, carousel units and Meta Advantage+ catalog ads that show people products tailored to their interests and behavior.
Meta says the expansion will be “gradual,” with ad delivery “initially remaining low.”
We’ll see how long that lasts.
In The Ring
Paramount Skydance increasingly relies on sports as the anchor for its streaming business.
Like other major broadcasters with a streaming business, it shells out hundreds of millions for sports streaming rights – which is a very compelling wallet opener for streaming subscribers.
Case in point: Over the summer, Paramount signed a $7.7 billion deal for seven years of US airing rights to UFC events, Variety reports.
But sports are also the main attraction for advertisers. On Wednesday, Paramount introduced programmatically enabled ads for select live sports inventory on Paramount+. The ad units, within what Paramount calls its “marquee sporting events,” will debut in a UFC match on January 24.
Meanwhile, Paramount is fighting outside of the octagon, too – locked in a heated bidding war with Netflix over who gets to acquire Warner. Bros. Discovery.
Sports rights could prove decisive. So, let the real battle begin.
But Wait! There’s More!
Remember back in November when Meta was cleared of allegations that it holds an illegal social networking monopoly? Well, the FTC is appealing the decision. [Ars Technica]
Accessibility for disabled people is no longer optional for advertisers. [PR News]
Expect prices to finally start going up as vendors run out of pre-tariff inventory stockpiles, says Amazon CEO Andy Jassy. [Business Insider]
TikTok is planning a big ecommerce push. [The Information]
In 2025, consumers spent more on non-game mobile apps than games for the first time, thanks in no small part to AI chatbots. [TechCrunch]
Yet another study shows that CEOs and employees disagree on whether AI is making them more productive. [WSJ]
Here’s an interesting use case for AI: making sure your co-workers aren’t mad at you. [Bloomberg]
Following intense artist backlash, San Diego Comic-Con has banned the display of AI-generated images within the convention’s art show. [404 Media]
You’re Hired!
Advertising resource management platform MINT appoints Louisa Wong as CEO. [release]
Go-to-market firm Marketbridge hires Mike Swartz as chief growth officer and Ellie Ahmadi as SVP of global corporate marketing. [release]
Will McGivern-Smith joins attribution platform Fairing as SVP of strategic partnerships. [release]
Media intelligence startup Guideline appoints three new senior leaders. [release]
Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.

Next In Daily News Roundup

Can Amazon Be Luxurious?; The Declaration Of Dependence

Related Stories

Daily News Roundup
ChatGPT’s Leaky Codebase; A Young French Frankenstack

Daily News Roundup
Disbanding The Group(M); TikTok Struts Its Stuff At NewFronts

Daily News Roundup
Primed For Context; Streamers Turn A Profit, But Will It Last?

Daily News Roundup
Platforms Dial Back The Slop; Bullying The Media

Must Read

Commerce
Hershey’s Undergoes A Brand Update As It Rethinks Paid, Earned And Owned Media

This Wednesday marks the beginning of Hershey’s first major brand marketing campaign since 2018

Programmatic
A Win For Open Standards: Amazon’s Prebid Adapter Goes Live

Amazon looks to support a more collaborative programmatic ecosystem now that the APS Prebid adapter is available for open beta testing.

Publishers
Gamera Raises $1.6 Million To Protect The Open Web’s Media Quality

Gamera, a media quality measurement startup for publishers, announced on Tuesday it raised $1.6 million to promote its service that combines data about a site’s ad experience with data about how its ads perform.

AI
CES 2026: What’s Real – And What’s BS – When It Comes To AI

Ad industry experts call out trends to watch in 2026 and separate the real AI use cases having an impact today from the AI hype they heard at CES.

Commerce
New Startup Pinch AI Tackles The Growing Problem Of Ecommerce Return Scams

Fraud is eating into retail profits. A new startup called Pinch AI just launched with $5 million in funding to fight back.

Commerce
CPG Data Seller SPINS Moves Into Media With MikMak Acquisition

On Wednesday, retail and CPG data company SPINS added a new piece with its acquisition of MikMak, a click-to-buy ad tech and analytics startup that helps optimize their commerce media.

Popular

Programmatic
A Win For Open Standards: Amazon’s Prebid Adapter Goes Live

Amazon looks to support a more collaborative programmatic ecosystem now that the APS Prebid adapter is available for open beta testing.

Measurement
A Jury Orders EDO To Pay $18.3 Million To iSpot Over Data Misuse

A jury in California awarded $18.3 million to video measurement firm iSpot to resolve its lawsuit against EDO, a measurement company co-founded by actor Ed Norton.

Publishers
Gamera Raises $1.6 Million To Protect The Open Web’s Media Quality

CTV
Netflix Doubled Its Ad Revenue Last Year – And Expects To Do The Same In 2026

Netflix beat its revenue expectations for last year, ending 2025 with $42.5 billion in revenue, a 16% year-over-year jump. Of that, $1.5 billion came from advertising.

AI
CES 2026: What’s Real – And What’s BS – When It Comes To AI

Ad industry experts call out trends to watch in 2026 and separate the real AI use cases having an impact today from the AI hype they heard at CES.

Join the AdExchanger Community
Join Now

Your trusted source for in-depth programmatic news, views, education and events.
AdExchanger is where marketers, agencies, publishers and tech companies go for the latest information on the trends that are transforming digital media and marketing, from data, privacy, identity and AI to commerce, CTV, measurement and mobile.

NEXT EVENT
Convergent TV World
March 5-6, 2026The Times CenterNew York, NY
Learn More

ABOUT ADEXCHANGER
About Us
Advertise
Contact Us
Events
Subscribe
RSS
Cookie Settings
Privacy & Terms
Accessibility
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging

CONNECT

The digital landscape of advertising is currently experiencing a significant period of disruption and debate, as evidenced by the events unfolding at this week’s Davos Forum and beyond. Several key narratives are emerging, centering around the valuation of artificial intelligence companies, the early adoption of programmatic advertising by platforms like OpenAI and Meta, and the increasingly complex strategies being employed by media companies to generate revenue.

OpenAI’s decision to integrate advertising into ChatGPT is a focal point of discussion. CFO Sarah Friar’s justification—that “sub-scale ad models don’t work”—highlights the immense financial pressure the research lab faces due to its operational costs. The company’s pursuit of revenue, even at an early stage, reflects a broader trend among AI startups seeking to demonstrate viability and justify their substantial investments. Demis Hassabis, CEO of DeepMind, offered a contrasting view, questioning the timing, suggesting OpenAI’s prioritization of revenue over research is a strategic misstep.

Meta’s imminent rollout of ads across its Threads platform reflects a pragmatic approach to expanding its advertising ecosystem. Following a limited test launch in January and a subsequent global expansion in April, Meta is preparing to introduce targeted advertising to its rapidly growing user base. The phased approach, combined with a low initial delivery rate, suggests a cautious strategy aimed at minimizing disruption and maximizing engagement. The reliance on Meta’s personalized AI system for targeting mirrors the established methods employed on Facebook and Instagram, indicating a desire for a familiar and seamless user experience.

Beyond the immediate concerns of AI-driven advertising, traditional media companies are adapting to a changing revenue environment. Paramount Skydance’s heavy investment in sports rights, exemplified by its $7.7 billion deal for UFC broadcasting rights, underscores the continued importance of live sports as a draw for both subscribers and advertisers. The introduction of programmatically enabled ads within “marquee sporting events” represents a crucial step towards leveraging data and automation within this high-value content category. However, this is occurring amidst a fierce bidding war with Netflix over the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, a conflict that highlights the strategic importance of sports rights in the current media landscape.

Several ancillary developments are adding to the complexities. The FTC’s appeal of its previous ruling clearing Meta of antitrust violations signals a continued scrutiny of social media platforms and their potential market dominance. The increasing demand for accessibility and inclusivity in advertising, exemplified by the lawsuit against EDO, reflects a growing awareness of social responsibility and the need to cater to diverse audiences.

Finally, broader market trends are influencing the advertising industry. Consumer spending on non-game mobile apps is surpassing games, driven in part by the rise of AI chatbots. The struggles between CEOs and employees regarding the impact of AI on productivity continue, mirroring the anxieties and uncertainties surrounding this transformative technology. Novel startups like Pinch AI are emerging to combat the growing problem of e-commerce return fraud, illustrating the ongoing challenges of online retail.

In conclusion, the advertising landscape is characterized by rapid innovation, intense competition, and a significant degree of uncertainty. The strategies being employed by companies like OpenAI, Meta, and Paramount Skydance are shaped by a complex interplay of technological advancements, market dynamics, and regulatory pressures.