Apple rolls out ads for Maps as advertising revenue grows
The new offering will allow marketers to reach consumers using the app’s search function, as well as through a new Suggested Places feature
SA radio stations feature in “Oscars of Radio Awards”
South Africa has eight entries on the New York Festivals (NYF) 2026 Radio Awards shortlist, with seven for Hot 102.7 and one for Metro FM.
From attention to attentiveness: the metric that matters
Attention asks: “Was the ad likely to have been seen?” Attentiveness asks: “Can we prove a human was there?”. For years, we measured reach. Then clicks. Then viewability. Each time, we congratulated ourselves on the sophistication of our analytics and moved on. That is, until someone quietly pointed out that the metric we’d enshrined as ‘gospel’ didn’t actually tell us whether a human being had engaged with the ad in any meaningful way. We are at one of those inflexion points again.
Nearly $100B in global ad growth at risk if energy crisis persists: WARC
The researcher outlined three potential scenarios, with the worst one drawing comparisons to the 1973 oil crisis.
Revived Top Billing return to TV a no-show in March without explanation, SABC says lifestyle magazine show ‘on SABC3 remains in development’
SABC announced that the iconic lifestyle magazine show Top Billing would be returning to SABC3 from March 2026 with several of the former famous presenters, six years after it was cancelled in October 2019. Caroline Phalakatshela, SABC publicist, in response to a media query about Top Billing, told TVwithThinus “The SABC confirms that the return of Top Billing on SABC3 remains in development.
Instagram to sell reels ads for viral TV and movies content, ‘cultural moments’ like NFL Games and Black Friday
Meta‘s Instagram wants to make it easier for marketers to buy ads that tap into viral moments on its short-form Reels videos. Instagram announced that it is expanding Reels trending ads (RTA) inventory to add “TV & movies” as a new trending-content category alongside other new verticals like travel, business, and finance and investments. Instagram also launching new, limited-content lineups for “key cultural moments” such as Fashion Week, Formula 1 races, Black Friday and NFL games.
Platforms under fire, measurement in flux, TV being rewritten. 2026 the story so far…
As we head into the long Easter weekend, The Media Leader thought the time was right to look back at the biggest themes that have emerged in UK media during what has at times been a predictably chaotic Q1.
Gagasi FM unveils exciting new line-up
Gagasi FM proudly unveils its highly anticipated new on-air line-up, marking a bold new chapter for the station. The refreshed line-up reflects station’s commitment to deliver compelling and entertaining content that resonates with the constantly evolving audience.
Social media updates and new features to know this week
This week’s updates include tons of new ad options. Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and Pinterest have all added new ways to promote ads around cultural moments or big events, which should help visibility and reach – we also have more updates coming to LinkedIn, Insta & LinkedIn. Let’s take a closer look.
70% of teens in Australia still access social media despite bans
Although a new report found that about 4.7 million teen social media accounts were removed, deactivated or restricted, children still had access to the apps.