Media Briefing: A solid Q4 gives publishers breathing room as they build revenue beyond search

This week’s Media Briefing will explore how a strong Q4 of 2025 gave publishers’ advertising businesses momentum, even as AI and traffic shifts force them to rethink where they can unlock future growth.

  • Publishers see Q4 gains, but pressure remains
  • The Washington Post’s workforce decimated, IAB proposes law to stop AI scraping without compensation, and more.

Publishers see Q4 gains, but pressure remains

After a long stretch of belt-tightening, Q4, 2025 gave publishers something they haven’t had in a while: a win. 

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The case for and against pre-game Super Bowl ads 

Super Bowl ads seem to be going the way of holiday ads. Brands are rolling out teasers and full ads earlier and earlier every year.  At this point, pre-game rollouts have gone from a brand marketing trend to table stakes, but is the pre-game hype worth it?

Ad slots have been sold out since last fall, according to NBCUniversal. Around the same time, brands like spirits company Sazerac, Liquid Death and Ferrara Candy-owned Nerds announced Super Bowl ad plans. By late January and early February, Pepsi, Budweiser, Kellogg’s Raisin Bran, Mars-owned Pringles, and the list goes on, had released their full ad spots. 

“It’s important to build a really solid 30 days around Super Bowl—if you think about some of it happening before and then how you continue to tell your story after,” said Diane Sayler, senior director of full funnel marketing for salty snacks at Mars Snacking. 

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