ExchangeWire on MENA Digital Advertising, Google vs. CMA, and UK Ad Exports

In this episode of The MadTech Podcast, ExchangeWire's head of marketing, Grainne Reid, is joined by COO Lindsay Rowntree and John Still, head of content.

The first story this week is MENA becoming the world's fastest-growing digital advertising market. The team discuss the biggest categories in the region and their expectations for future growth. The second covers the CMA imposing new measures on Google search, and whether this affords publishers greater protection in the AI era.

Finally, UK ad exports recorded a £19.4bn milestone in 2025. Is the UK proud enough of its advertising industry, and what's being done to further promote it?

•••
July 8th, Sands Expo & Convention Centre. ATS Singapore 2026. This year marks fifteen years of ExchangeWire bringing together the people who actually run this industry in APAC. We’ve got some great speakers lined up, including Index Exchange CEO Andrew Casale, on stage in conversation with Ciaran O’Kane.

That's before you factor in the rest of the people on stage and in the room: senior buyers, sellers, traders, and decision-makers. This is where the industry figures out what it's going to do next, and you need to be in the room.

Secure your ticket now → https://events.exchangewire.com/ATSSingapore2026 
•••

0:00 Introduction
0:53 MENA digital advertising spend hits $8.185bn
6:35 Maturity of MENA ecosystem vs. other markets
9:05 CMA imposes conduct requirement on Google
18:16 Is Google being made an example of?
21:08 ATS Singapore 2026 speaker lineup
22:58 UK ad exports hit £19.4bn