SODP Dispatch - 23 October 2025

Ezoic Open Video Review for 2025

By Kamalpreet Singh

Video monetization remains one of publishing's most complex technical challenges, with publishers losing potential revenue to suboptimal ad delivery and viewer experience issues. Ezoic Open Video is a comprehensive video player solution designed specifically for publishers seeking to maximize both advertising revenue and user engagement.

The platform combines advanced ad insertion capabilities with sophisticated analytics, offering server-side ad insertion (SSAI) that prevents ad blocking while maintaining seamless playback. Built on open-source Video.js framework, it provides flexibility for customization while ensuring compatibility across devices and browsers.

With features including dynamic ad pod optimization, real-time bidding integration, and detailed viewer analytics, Ezoic positions itself as an enterprise-grade solution for publishers prioritizing video revenue optimization—though implementation complexity and custom pricing may challenge smaller operations evaluating their video strategy.

🎯 PubTech 2025: Smarter Workflows, Safer Platforms, Stronger Connections

17-19 November 2025 | 4 PM & 5 PM CET | 10 AM & 11 AM ET | Online Event

AI is moving from experimentation to becoming embedded in news operations. Meanwhile, misinformation, deepfakes, and unsafe ad placements have pushed brand safety to boardroom priority, while zero-click environments make it harder to control content discovery. Over three days, industry leaders and technologists will gather for targeted sessions and practical workshops. Topics include Next-Gen PubTech trends for 2026 with IBM's Anabelle Nicoud, automation blueprint workshops, brand safety in synthetic content, privacy and digital identity strategies, zero-click world optimization, and designing future publishing stacks with Stanford's Eric Ulken. The event features 10+ panelists and expects 300+ digital publishing professionals from around the world.

Register here ▸

💂 PubTech Dinner London 2025

Monday, November 17, 2025 | 6:00 PM GMT | Cornus Restaurant, London

We're bringing together senior publishing leaders for an intimate dinner on product, design, and AI innovation. Mel McVeigh, who led transformation at Condé Nast and now advises global media organizations, will share how publishers can unite product and design teams to build scalable transformation roadmaps. This is a high-trust, off-the-record conversation—no pitches, no slides, just honest discussion about what's working and what's not. The format is simple: dinner, drinks, and the kind of strategic conversations that don't happen in public forums.

Reserve your spot ▸

🍽️ SODP California Dinner Event 2025

Thursday, November 13, 2025 - 6 PM | Rustic Canyon Restaurant, Santa Monica

Join senior media publishing leaders and executives for an in-depth conversation on audience monetization and growth playbooks. Share your biggest challenge, participate in facilitated group conversations with executive-level professionals, and obtain strategic insights not publicly available. The dinner is high-trust, collaborative, and off-the-record, focused on sharing what's working and what's not across markets. Invite includes dinner, drinks, and post-evening discussions. Seats are limited.

Reserve your seat ▸

By Vahe Arabian

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 LinkedIn is becoming the new TikTok for publishers, because it's where content goes viral now.

In Australia, publishers are seeing a surge in reach through LinkedIn posts, not just from growing followers, but from executives posting direct and authentic content. Recently, Australian CEOs increased their posting by 23% since 2023, earning four times more impressions than average, and video formats drive 1.4× more engagement than other content types. That shift shows social platforms are no longer just for job posts; they're real publishing channels.

Social signals (likes, shares, comments) aren't direct SEO ranking factors, but they drive visibility. These interactions boost brand authority and lead to more traffic, backlinks and credibility which are key elements under Google's E-A-T model (Expertise-Authoritativeness-Trustworthiness).

Tactics Publishers Should Use

Executive-led storytelling
Encourage editors, reporters, and executives to post insights in their own voice. A story framed as "Here's what we learned when…" feels more authentic than corporate announcements.

Data-backed visuals and carousels
Complex reports or survey findings perform better when broken into short, visual takeaways that readers can swipe through or share.

Debate-driven polls
Simple, timely polls tied to industry challenges (e.g., "Should publishers build in-house AI tools?") spark discussions and double comment rates.

Personal and direct language
LinkedIn engagement studies consistently show that posts using "I" and "you," alongside personal anecdotes, outperform jargon-heavy, overly polished updates.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Cross-posting TikTok-style clips or memes: Native text, data-led infographics, and professional video formats perform far better than entertainment-first content repurposed from other platforms.

Over-branding: A feed filled only with logos, press releases, and headlines doesn't resonate. Audiences engage more with real people behind the brand.

Here are the key takeaways

1. Virality ≠ vanity. Sustainable LinkedIn growth comes from subject-matter authority, not quick hooks.

2. Employees are amplifiers. Encourage teams to share branded content authentically—it boosts algorithmic trust.

3. Social signals build modern visibility. Engagement accelerates brand authority and indirectly supports SEO.

4. Clear, human voices win. Direct, helpful posts consistently outperform jargon-heavy announcements.

LinkedIn is no longer just a recruitment platform; it's the new publishing stage where authority, trust, and authentic voices drive growth. For publishers, the opportunity lies in empowering individuals within their organisation to post, share, and lead conversations.

Reddit emerges as second most-cited platform by AI engines | Axios

Profound analyzed over 1 billion citations across ten AI engines between September 14 and October 14, finding Reddit is the second most-cited platform behind YouTube (2.9%) at 2.5% of total citations. Reddit ranks as the most cited by Perplexity (6.3%), second by Google AI Overviews (2.3%) and ChatGPT (1.2%). The platform's licensing deals with OpenAI and Google mean its content regularly appears in LLM outputs. Reddit chief communications officer Adam Collins notes over 100 million daily users engage in organic conversations about companies and commerce, making it a tailor-made opportunity for communications professionals who add value authentically.

Read more ▸

Italian news publishers demand investigation into Google's AI Overviews | The Guardian

FIEG, Italy's federation of newspaper publishers, filed a formal complaint with Agcom arguing Google's AI Overviews is a "traffic killer" threatening publisher survival. Coordinated by the European Newspaper Publishers' Association, similar complaints aim to push the European Commission to investigate under the EU Digital Services Act. UK-based Authoritas claimed AI Overviews caused up to 80% fewer clickthroughs, while Pew Research found users clicking a link under AI summaries only once every 100 times. Google disputed the studies as inaccurate. AI Overviews arrived in Italy in March 2025.

Read more ▸

The impact of AI Mode on SEO: analysis of 10 studies | Search Engine Journal

Google's AI Mode takes information from multiple sources and presents them through a chatbot interface, fundamentally changing how users interact with search results. Analysis of ten studies reveals dramatic shifts in content surfacing and consumption, with AI Mode presenting integrated responses rather than traditional result lists. Publishers face challenges optimizing for these new patterns, as traditional SEO metrics like rankings and impressions become less predictive of actual traffic. The research highlights the need to adapt content structure, metadata, and technical implementation for AI-mediated search environments.

Read more ▸

A wave of patent lawsuits is hitting big news publishers | Business Insider

Rich Media Club LLC filed patent infringement lawsuits against Comcast, Guardian Media Group, Gannett, News Corp's News Group Newspapers, and MediaNews Group over ad technologies like "ad refreshing" and "lazy loading." Two legal experts described the suits as showing hallmarks of "patent trolling," noting they target end users rather than technology companies. Fighting such suits could cost publishers over $1 million each. Daily Mail's DMG Media settled a similar lawsuit in April 2025. Stanford professor Mark Lemley noted the strategy often seeks "relatively cheap settlements based on the cost and uncertainty of litigation."

Read more ▸