Google has been hit with three anti-trust lawsuits challenging its alleged ad-technology monopoly. The media firms that are suing Google include The Atlantic, Vox Media and Penske Media, The Verge reports. Vox Media is The Verge’s parent company. 

Retail and CPG data company SPINS has acquired MikMak, a click-to-buy ad tech and analytics startup. The companies began discussing a potential partnership last year, with SPINS looking to expand into MikMak’s media space, AdExchanger reports. 

Potential trade buyers and private-equity suitors have walked away from talks to acquire Dentsu’s international operations, leaving Dentsu’s efforts to sell in collapse, the "Financial Times" reports. However, Bain Capital is still interested. Dentsu Group Inc. is an international advertising and public relations company structured as a holding company.

Fanatics, a sports merchandising firm, has launched Fanatics Studios, a joint venture with OBB Media, CNBC reports. The new media and entertainment studio will create and distribute content about sports and culture. 

SuperAwesome, a youth-oriented ad company, has acquired Starglow Media, a podcast company, Deadline writes. Starglow is behind such podcasts as Mysteries About True Histories and audio shows based on Paramount’s kid shows. 

A New Jersey bill set for passage would prevent media companies from promoting content that could fuel eating disorders in children. This would include diet product ads, New Jersey Monitor reports. Violating the bill could lead to penalties of up to $250,000 per violation. 

Platform updates announced at CES 2026 showed that retail media players are spending on fundamental capabilities like measurement, data access and intelligence, eMarketer writes. Brands like Albertsons, DoorDash, Instacart, and Walmart Connect signaled an evolution from chasing more inventory or novel formats. 

Penske Media -- publisher of New York magazine, Rolling Stone and other titles -- has sued Google, accusing the digital giant of costing it billions of dollars in revenue by monopolizing the digital advertising market, The Wrap reports. The complaint, filed in federal court in New York, alleges that Google allowed its own exchange to see rivals’ bids, enabling it to win auctions with artificially low prices.   

AI search summaries and chatbots mean the “end of the traffic era,” publishers fear, according to a new study by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. Media bosses foresee that web referrals will plunge and that journalists should emulate content creators, The Guardian reports.     

Google has formally unveiled a personalized advertising capability that will allow brands to provide exclusive offers to shoppers, Financial Times reports. In its announcement on Sunday, Google said its AI mode is powered by its Gemini model.