Blue Tiger Engage August 2026
BT Engage: August Newsletter
Welcome to Blue Tigers monthly newsletter Engage, bringing you all the latest news, trends and updates from across the media landscape. In this month’s edition we look at the major news stories that captured the headlines as we head into Autumn.
Will YouTube’s new definition of a ‘view’ undermine its effort to tap into TV budgets?
YouTube has announced it is changing how it measures public video views across its platform globally.
From 24 August, YouTube will count a view “the moment a video begins to play, from the very first frame.”
The standard will apply across all formats, including long-form video, short-form video on YouTube Shorts, and livestreams. Previously, YouTube used different audience measurement standards for long-form video than for short-form video.
YouTube has never publicised how it previously measured long-form views, with industry estimates ranging from eight to 30 seconds of watch time required for a view to count.
Since March 2025, YouTube has measured Shorts views as any time a Short has played, with no minimum watch requirement. This matches how Instagram Reels and TikTok measure views on their platforms.
“Historically, we’ve used multiple view counting systems across different formats. However, we’ve heard that creators want to eliminate this metric confusion and accurately understand their true exposure, which is why we’re making this update!” a spokesperson for YouTube reasoned.
The older viewing metric will survive in YouTube Analytics as the retitled “Engaged views”, meaning creators (but not the public) can still access more granular viewing engagement figures.
The lowered standard for views will almost certainly result in higher public view counts across the video-sharing platform. After all, what is communicated to consumers as a “view” will essentially become equivalent to an impression.
Importantly, the change comes even as YouTube has sought to position itself as a TV buy rather than a social buy as part of an effort to access more lucrative TV advertising budgets.
In an interview this summer, YouTube managing director Kim Larson said that YouTube should “absolutely” be considered TV. When asked whether YouTube should be held to the same measurement standards as TV companies, Larson responded: “Tell me where you think we’re not held to the same standards.”
When it was pointed out YouTube does not maintain the same viewing standard as TV joint-industry currencies (JICs), Larson added: “There’s always been a debate about what constitutes a view. We’re always trying to get to an industry standard, because it should be a common language that agencies, advertisers, and creators can use. So I think we’re all looking for that commonality.”
The latest change in how YouTube measures a view undermines that assertion. After all, YouTube is now moving to measure views the same way as other social platforms, away from standards agreed upon by television companies.
OpenAI’s ChatGPT ads business hits $1 billion run rate as Europe gets self-serve access
OpenAI’s ads business is now running at a $1 billion annualised run rate, just six months after launch.
That figure comes from multiplying current monthly ad revenue by 12, so it’s a snapshot of where things stand today rather than money already booked over a full year.
“We’re at the beginning of a new chapter for advertising, with AI creating entirely new ways for businesses and people to discover one another,” said Dave Dugan, VP of global ad solutions. “Reaching $1 billion in ARR in under 200 days shows the scale of the opportunity ahead.”
The milestone comes as OpenAI pushes into Europe (they were launched across 31 markets there earlier this month) with the next stage of its rollout of ads in the ChatGPT app.
ITV reports ‘solid’ H1 in first results since Sky deal announcement
ITV Group has reported 2% year-on-year revenue growth to £1.9bn for the first half of 2026, with CEO Carolyn McCall describing it as a “solid performance”.
The results are the first since ITV announced the intended sale of its Media and Entertainment (M&E) business to Sky last month.
The M&E division and ITV Studios also each recorded 2% year-on-year revenue growth, to £975m and £912m respectively.
Group adjusted Ebita, the company’s measure of profit, was flat at £146m, as growth in advertising was offset by a decline in profitability at ITV Studios.
Total advertising revenue increased 3% to £850m, including a 27% growth in digital advertising revenue. This was helped by the FIFA Men’s World Cup, which drove 8% year-on-year revenue in Q2, although the uplift was lower than its forecast of 10%.
Nonetheless, ITV said the quarter final match between England and Norway delivered the biggest commercial audience so far with a peak audience of 18.4m viewers. The broadcaster said it attracted around 200 advertisers to the tournament across multiple categories, with 70 brands advertising around football for the first time.
On ITV’s earnings call, chief financial officer, Chris Kennedy, said that “it hasn’t all been about football”, pointing to the drama Gone, quiz show The 1% Club, and reality show Love Island as strong commercial performers. The combination helped drive ITVX monthly active users up 10% year-on-year to reach 17.9m.
ITV also claimed the less healthy food (LHF) restrictions reduced advertising revenue by around £20m, although it said it was working “closely with advertisers to mitigate the impact”. The rules became law on 5 January, but ITV has voluntarily implemented them since October 2025.
Despite the FIFA World Cup ending in July, ITV expects total advertising revenue to fall by around 5% in Q3, reflecting what McCall describes as the current “macroeconomic headwinds”.
That would leave advertising revenue broadly flat for the nine-months results. McCall pointed to the change in Prime Minister, the conflict in the Middle East, the cost of living and inflation as factors effecting the market, but argued that a flat performance with those headwinds is “a very strong performance” and showed that ITV has “definitely outperformed”.
Kennedy said it was too early to give a view on Q4, noting that last year’s total advertising revenue “reflected a notably challenging U.K. economic backdrop”.
For further information, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Blue Tiger Marketing, we’re here to help you navigate the changing landscape effectively, leveraging new opportunities while mitigating potential risks.
Sources:
The Media Leader, ITV, Radiocentre, Tech Crunch, Video Week, Adexchanger, The Drum, Campaign, ipa.co.uk, The Guardian, Reuters
