Hong Kong's advertising expenditure in the second quarter of 2026 reached HK$8.77 billion, up 5% year-on-year. Monthly growth was 5% in April, 2% in May and 9% in June, driven by the World Cup. Social media led ad spending, followed by TV, mobile, search engine marketing and outdoor advertising. Magazine ads rose 22%. The banking, credit card and investment services sector saw a 19% increase, with HSBC and Hang Seng Bank posting 15% and 52% growth respectively. Insurance jumped 56% from 13th to 8th place.
Japan's Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) held an expert meeting on February 27 to discuss online issues including fake advertisements, defamation, and youth protection. The meeting summarized demands for SNS operators to take preemptive measures such as warnings before harmful content spreads, while avoiding excessive restrictions. The meeting noted that individual post-event remedies are limited and called for a mechanism for authorities to grasp the situation. It named Google, Meta, X, and Dwango for passive information disclosure. The MIC will check operators based on the Information Distribution Platform Act and discuss legal revisions.
NBCUniversal's streaming service Peacock will make all its content available on YouTube Premium from early next year in the US, including NBC Sports NFL and NBA games, Universal movies, and Peacock originals. YouTube Premium ad-free costs $8.99 per month, while Peacock Premium is $10.99. YouTube Premium has over 125 million global subscribers, and Peacock reported 48 million paid subscribers as of June 30, turning profitable in the recent quarter. The deal also extends NBCUniversal's distribution agreement with YouTube TV.
Meta Platforms reported second-quarter revenue of $60.8 billion, up 28% year over year, and adjusted earnings per share of $6.18. Adjusted operating profit reached $22.355 billion, up more than 9%, after excluding $2.4 billion in legal costs and $1.18 billion in severance. Instagram daily active users hit 2 billion, Threads surpassed 500 million monthly active users, and other app family revenue reached $1 billion for the first time, up 73%. Reality Labs saw growth from AI glasses offset by Quest headset declines.