The Brief – Wednesday 10th June: Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, ITV set for World Cup ad record, Amazon Ads launches Ads Agent AI assistant

📺 The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has opened a probe into Paramount Skydance’s $110bn acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery. The CMA has set an initial deadline of 7 August for a ruling. (Bloomberg)

💼 Meanwhile, Paramount is considering candidates for a business-side counterpart to CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss, suggesting Weiss, whose leadership has been widely criticised by CBS journalists and staff, would oversee all news editorial across CBS and CNN should Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery go through. (Axios)

⚽ ITV is set for a record World Cup advertising windfall, with ad revenue about 30% higher than the last major football tournament. The boost has been linked to the expansion of the tournament and high demand from AI companies. (FT)

🤖 Amazon Ads has launched its Ads Agent AI assistant in the UK. The tool aims to help advertisers plan, launch and optimise creative and media decisions in Amazon DSP. (Amazon)

📰 The BBC is the most-visited news website in the world in any language, according to Similarweb data. The UK broadcaster saw 894.7m visits in May 2026, ahead of second-place Yahoo News in japan (815.4m). (Press Gazette)

🎧 Bauer Media Audio has partnered with Amazon Fire TV to become an official launch video content partner for Fire TV Channels. As part of the collaboration, several of Bauer Media Audio’s brands and podcasts will be available, including Hits Radio, KISS, and Pete Wicks’ Man Made. (Bauer Media)

👤 BBC Studios Digital Brands has appointed former VCCP media managing director Lindsay Turner as VP digital growth and strategy, a newly created role focused on accelerating commercial partnerships, advertising growth and branded content opportunities. (BBC Studios)