The Brief – Friday 12 June: ITV’s ‘six-week Super Bowl’, MiQ expands Sigma, Spotify removes thousands of phony podcasts

⚽ ITV expects the World Cup to be the most lucrative sporting event the broadcaster has ever aired, likening it to a “six-week summer Super Bowl”. Commercial MD Kelly Williams has said its ad revenues for the football tournament are currently running 30% above the 2024 Euros. (The Guardian)

🤖 MiQ has expanded Sigma, its AI-powered advertising technology, with new capabilities. These include Sigma Total Measurement, an improved outcomes measurement service, and Browsing Intelligence, which is aimed at helping reach consumers in the consideration phase. (MiQ)

📱 Elon Musk’s X will face no action from the Government to remove posts inciting violence in Northern Ireland for at least two months, despite widespread concern over how the platform, and Musk’s own posts, are fuelling unrest against ethnic minorities in Belfast. Ofcom has issued a warning to platforms over the matter, ordering them to adopt measures to curb the spread of illegal content. (The Guardian)

🎙️ Spotify has removed tens of thousands of phony podcasts promoting illegal online pharmacies selling durgs like Adderall and Oxycontin, in some cases without a prescription. It follows an investigation that began last May by US Senator Maggie Hassan, who has said the streaming giant should have acted faster to take the podcasts down and inform law enforcement. (CNN)

➡️ Andrew Neil is returning to News UK to launch a standalone weekly show, The Andrew Neil Report, which will be released on YouTube and podcast platforms every Thursday. (News UK)

💻 Teads has launched a “unified publisher feed operating system”, Teads EngageOS. The OS treats every user session as a whole, combining editorial recommendations and ads into one auction. Strategic partner Magnite will integrate third-party publisher programmatic demand via its demand server. (Teads)

🎮 Microsoft’s Xbox is reportedly planning significant cuts to staff under new CEO Asha Sharma. The forthcoming redundancies have been rumoured to exceed 1,000 roles and include budget cuts to marketing. (Bloomberg)

👐 Bluesky is introducing a communities feature later this year, aimed at providing “smaller spaces where you can go deeper and hang out with people who care about the same stuff.” (Alex Benzer/Bluesky)