MadTech Daily: Meta acquires Manus; ITV Invests in The Body Coach App; Adform Acquires Splicky

On today’s MadTech Daily, we cover the UK enforcing a ban on junk food TV ads before 9pm, Omnicom Media working with Google on a new insights tool, and OpenAI going all-in on audio with an audio-first device expected to launch this year. 

In our first MadTech Daily of 2026, we cover Meta acquiring Manus, ITV investing in The Body Coach app, and Adform acquiring Splicky

Today’s MadTech Daily discusses Larry Ellison giving his personal backing to Paramount’s hostile bid for Warner Bros Discovery, Instacart deciding to terminate price tests on its platform following pushback from customers, as well as Netflix's latest moves in the video podcast space.

Today’s MadTech Daily covers Google suing SerpApi over its web scraping activity, ByteDance boosting benefits for staff to attract and retain top AI talent around the globe, plus Facebook carrying out a test which limits the number of links creators and businesses can post on the platform. 

In this special episode of the MadTech podcast, ExchangeWire's head of content John Still is joined by CEO Rachel Smith, COO Lindsay Rowntree, and co-founder & advisor Ciaran O’Kane to share their big industry predictions for the year ahead. They look at the impact of AI search on brands and publishers, how the Omnicom-IPG deal will change the global agency landscape, and a reframing of ad tech amid the contraction of the open web. 0:00 Introduction 1:52 Rachel: “Publishers become brands, brands become publishers” 20:10 Lindsay: “Agencies” 29:54 Ciaran: “A reframing of ad tech”

In today’s MadTech Daily, we cover DoorDash partnering with OpenAI to enable grocery ordering in ChatGPT, the WBD board rejecting Paramount’s offer, and the FTC probing Instacart’s Eversight dynamic pricing algorithm.

In today’s Digest, we cover Amazon in talks to invest over USD$10bn in OpenAI, and OpenAI hiring George Osborne to lead its global ‘Stargate’ expansion. We also discuss the Trump administration threatening Spotify over EU tech rules, and an IAB report highlighting how digital ads shape today’s media.

In today’s Digest, we cover Meta tolerating China-linked ad fraud to protect revenue, the US suspending a tech deal with the UK amid trade frustrations, and AI becoming Santa’s helper for 2025 Christmas shopping.

In today’s MadTech Daily, we cover BBC Studios accelerating digital growth in EMEA, Reddit challenging Australia’s under-16 social media ban in court, and Amazon planning to invest over USD$35bn in India’s AI sector.

In today’s MadTech Daily, we cover YouTube TV launching genre-based plans, expanding its sports streaming push, and increasing ads on Shorts. We also cover Pinterest buying tvScientific to expand performance ads to CTV, and Meta reportedly using Alibaba’s Qwen in its ‘Avocado’ model.