After years of big spending on risky projects that chief executive Larry Page proudly hailed as "moonshots", there are signs Google may be showing signs of financial discipline. The search giant's shares jumped 11pc in after-hours trading after it ended a run of six consecutive quarters in which earnings have missed analyst estimates. The company's consolidated revenue rose 11pc to $17.73bn in the three months ended June 30. Net income climbed 17pc to $3.93bn.

Unveiling the government's green paper on the future of the BBC yesterday, the culture secretary, John Whittingdale, said the BBC's TV, radio and online operations had grown exponentially over the last decade and it was time to ask "whether this particular range of services best serves licence fee payers". The amount of popular entertainment on BBC television channels, including shows such as BBC1's The Voice, was singled out for criticism, along with the corporation's output on Radio 1 and Radio 2.

Amazon Prime Day netted the e-commerce giant an 80% boost to sales in the US, and a 40% increase in Europe, according to online retail tracker ChannelAdvisor. While Amazon has not released official sales figures it did say "peak order rates" surpassed those of Black Friday 2014. It might come as a surprise, given the hashtag #AmazonPrimeFail led to full blown mockery across Twitter as people revealed the most obscure products they had found on the site.

HSBC's global head of marketing Amanda Rendle raised eyebrows after claiming that ad agencies are facing a threat from management consultancies pitching to brands. Rendle, admitting that KPMG had offered its services on advertising to HSBC "for nothing" up front on several occasions, warned that agencies must ensure that they bring "true value" consistently to brands or face being dropped. Speaking exclusively to Marketing Week she explains why agencies should not be seen as suppliers but partners.

You can't often get through a marketing conference without a panel of experts waxing lyrical about the benefits of buying ads programmatically. Rarely, however, do you get solid evidence of the 'right person, right time, right message' that is decreed on stages so often. During a panel at Jellyfish's Digital Journeys conference in Brighton today, Nestl, Daily Mail and Jellyfish gave examples where this automated data-driven approach can sell-out products by targeting the right person. N

William Hill has launched a "gambling industry first" accelerator programme for startup businesses with its director for corporate development and innovation Crispin Nieboer calling it a "disruptive move" amid rival gambling brands "playing it too safe". WHLabs, which has been set up in partnership with technology entrepreneur Stuart Marks' investment fund L Marks, is offering up to eight technology startups a place on a 12-week accelerator programme that will run from September to December.

As technology continues to shape modern marketing, the relatively new role of chief marketing technologist (CMT) is moving into prominence causing the traditional marketing hierarchy to shift. So much so, in fact, that 35% of UK marketers believe the CMT will soon replace the traditional CMO role entirely, according to research by programmatic marketing platform DataXu. 70% of the 250 marketers surveyed believe brands will be recruiting more tech-focused marketers over the next five years.

While the first 20 years of Amazon were about goods and logistics, the next ten years will be about data and content as the aging business paves its way to profitability. From its humble beginnings as the original online bookstore to its transformation into a tech giant, Amazon's milestone comes at a time of wary optimism for the future. Yesterday's Prime Day belies a retailer keen to mitigate some of the volatility it has endured in the past with a focus on boosting membership to the premium service instead of boosting sales.

Reed Hastings had no doubt last night about what lies behind the irresistible rise of Netflix. As the video streaming company announced that it had added 3.3 million new subscribers in the last quarter, bringing its total to 65 million, its chief executive pointed squarely at its original content. Netflix has made its name showing established hits, such as House of Cards and Orange is the New Black, to new series, including Grace and Frankie and Better Call Saul. Mr Hastings promised more of the same.

The president of international at The New York Times has played down the significance of the title's staff growth in the UK - but said the size of its London operation could increase further. The US title currently employs 65 people in London, including 35 in editorial (newsroom and opinion), and has office space for 100. And Stephen Dunbar-Johnson told Press Gazette: "I feel that we may end up needing even more space." But he said that London, along with Hong Kong, is being made into a digital hub for the title.