NEW YORK: US wireless carriers Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. said on Wednesday they have suspended digital advertising on Google’s YouTube and other advertising platforms not related to search over concerns that their ads may have run next to extremist videos.
Verizon and AT&T joined a list of well-known British brands such as retailer Marks and Spencer Group Plc deserting Alphabet Inc. Google. Google is under fire in Europe from politicians and brands angered by ads appearing alongside videos on its YouTube platform carrying homophobic or anti-Semitic messages.
Google on Tuesday vowed an overhaul of its practices. The company must act swiftly to ensure that more advertisers do not pile on, analysts say.
As advertisers revolt, the search giant faces both a short-term loss of revenue and a long-term danger that companies will lose faith in the automated placement of ads upon which Google has built its empire, said analyst Jan Dawson of Jackdaw Research.
“The bigger risk is this seems to be a backlash against programmatic advertising in general,” Dawson said. “There’s this worry that you no longer have control over where ads appear.”
AT&T is removing ads from the non-search inventory on Google because its “ads may have appeared alongside YouTube content promoting terrorism and hate,” the company wrote in an e-mail.
Verizon said it had suspended all digital advertising not related to search after saying earlier on Wednesday that it had only suspended advertising on Google’s non-search platforms. It took the action after its ads were appearing on “non-sanctioned websites,” a spokeswoman wrote in an e-mail.
“We are working with all of our digital advertising partners to understand the weak links so we can prevent this from happening in the future,” the spokeswoman said.
Google declined to comment on individual customers but said it has begun a review of its advertising policies. The news that AT&T and Verizon were suspending Google ads was first reported by Britain’s The Times newspaper.
Other big brands, such as Mondelez International Inc., were keeping an eye on the situation. While Mondelez has not seen evidence that its ads have appeared alongside inappropriate content, it is in “constant discussion with both Google and YouTube and will be monitoring the issue closely,” a spokeswoman said.
YouTube has been a key driver of growth for Google as its traditional business of search advertising matures. Google’s net ad revenue worldwide from YouTube was $5.58 billion last year, according to New York-based research firm eMarketer. It is expected to hit $7 billion in 2017, according to a forecast by eMarketer made before the recent controversy.
One question many people are asking is whether advertisers will reallocate the marketing dollars they have devoted to YouTube to other platforms, said Brian Wieser, an analyst at Pivotal Research. Wieser, however, thinks that if the boycott is widespread enough, no one else will benefit.
“If you know all of your competitors are reducing their spending too, then you don’t need to spend more,” he said.
Google must walk a fine line between giving advertisers more control and alienating the massive community of content creators who have made the site a top destination for coveted young viewers. One likely path forward for Google is to tighten controls on which videos are eligible for advertising, perhaps by the channel’s track record or number of viewers, said Dawson. But any such restrictions risk hurting artists with small followings.
“Google is caught between a rock and a hard place here between its creators and its advertisers,” Dawson said.
Verizon, AT&T suspend ads from Google over offensive videos
Verizon, AT&T suspend ads from Google over offensive videos
Saudi Arabia’s cultural sector is a new economic engine between Riyadh and Paris, says ambassador
RIYADH: Culture has become a fundamental pillar in bilateral relations between France and Saudi Arabia, according to the French Ambassador to the Kingdom, Patrick Maisonnave.
Maisonnave noted its connection to the entertainment and tourism sectors, which makes it a new engine for economic cooperation between Riyadh and Paris.
He told Al-Eqtisadiah during the opening ceremony of La Fabrique in the Jax district of Diriyah that cultural cooperation with Saudi Arabia is an important element for its attractiveness in the coming decades.
La Fabrique is a space dedicated to artistic creativity and cultural exchange, launched as part of a partnership between the Riyadh Art program and the French Institute in Riyadh.
Running from Jan. 22 until Feb 14, the initiative will provide an open workspace that allows artists to develop and work on their ideas within a collaborative framework.
Launching La Fabrique as a space dedicated to artistic creativity
The ambassador highlighted that the transformation journey in the Kingdom under Vision 2030 has contributed to the emergence of a new generation of young artists and creators, alongside a growing desire in Saudi society to connect with culture and to embrace what is happening globally.
He affirmed that the relationship between the two countries is “profound, even cultural par excellence,” with interest from the Saudi side in French culture, matched by increasing interest from the French public and cultural institutions unfolding in the Kingdom.
Latest estimates indicate that the culture-based economy represents about 2.3 percent of France’s gross domestic product, equivalent to more than 90 billion euros ($106.4 billion) in annual revenues, according to government data. The sector directly employs more than 600,000 people, making it one of the largest job-creating sectors in the fields of creativity, publishing, cinema, and visual arts.
Saudi Arabia benefiting from French experience in the cultural field
Maisonnave explained that France possesses established cultural institutions, while Saudi Arabia is building a strong cultural sector, which opens the door for cooperation opportunities.
This comes as an extension of the signing of 10 major cultural agreements a year ago between French and Saudi institutions, aiming to enhance cooperation and transfer French expertise and knowledge to contribute to the development of the cultural system in the Kingdom.
He added that experiences like La Fabrique provide an opportunity to meet the new generation of Saudi creators, who have expressed interest in connecting with French institutions and artists in Paris and France.
La Fabrique encompasses a space for multiple contemporary artistic practices, including performance arts, digital and interactive arts, photography, music, and cinema, while providing the public with an opportunity to witness the stages of producing artistic works and interact with the creative process.
