Can Google help small publishers survive algorithm shifts?
by Luis Rijo
USA TODAY Co. Q1 2026: AI licensing with Meta and Microsoft plus digital subscriptions push adjusted EBITDA up 45% and revenue to best trend in four years.
Google is testing a Partners control inside Performance Max that lets advertisers choose the Search Partner Network and Google Display Network independently.
Meta up 33%, Google Search up 19%, Amazon up 24%: millions of SMBs outside agency chains, not large brands, are fuelling platform advertising growth in Q1 2025.
Amazon's Prime Video today detailed its May 2026 slate: new originals, live sports across five leagues, and Amazon Music festival livestreams for US viewers.
Alphabet posts $109.9B in Q1, X replaces its entire ad stack, Omnicom runs live agentic buys, and OpenAI formalizes advertiser data-sharing in one dense week.
Walmart Connect launches Connect Select CTV marketplace in Walmart DSP with Magnite, PubMatic, FreeWheel, and first-party shopper data for all advertisers.
OpenAI updated its US privacy policy on April 30 to formalize advertiser data sharing, purchase data receipt, and user targeting through marketing partners.
Norwegian DPA warns Schibsted's 39-krone privacy fee could harm vulnerable users and raises GDPR consent questions across Aftenposten, VG, Bergens Tidende.