The 10 things in advertising you need to know today
1. Facebook is being accused of spying on Belgian citizens like the NSA. The accusations came from lawyers representing the Belgian privacy commission. Facebook has repeatedly denied the claims.
2. The ad tech industry is waging a secret war on Google. An obscure and hacky technical workaround called "header bidding" is letting ad tech companies nibble away at Google's dominant position, and in the process it has become the hottest topic in digital media.
3. There's a "massive difference" between this tech bubble and the last one. That's according to Goldman Sachs COO Gary Cohn, who said the heady valuations enjoyed by technology companies now are different from those experienced in the first dotcom boom.
4. Netflix CEO Reed Hastings has predicted when cable TV will die for good. He believes that in the next 20 years, all TV will be on the internet.
5. Former Subway spokesman Jared Fogle is seeking treatment for his sexual interest in minors. Fogle was charged last month with possessing and distributing child pornography and traveling across state lines to have sex with minors.
6. Wal-Mart needs a "transformational change" to stop competitors from eating into the largest part of its business, according to Wayne Hood at BMO Capital Markets. Its competitors have invested in evolving customer lifestyle trends and improving customer service, which indicate that Wal-Mart is beginning to lose market share in the US grocery industry.
7. Ad blocker users are the new hot ad targeting segment, according to Digiday. The demographic is young, male-skewing, and tech-focused, which is an attractive audience to some advertisers.
8. Global media agency Carat has lowered its 2015 worldwide ad spending forecast from 4.6% to 4% growth, AdExchanger reports. Carat says global ad spend will reach $529 billion by the end of this year.
9. Ad buyers have picked their top shows for the new season. The Wall Street Journal says US advertisers are looking forward to "Empire" on Fox and "Quantico" on ABC.
10. Emmy ratings plummeted 20% from last year's award show. Fewer than 12 million people tuned in this time around.