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Streaming Television Industry Conducting Vast Surveillance of Viewers, Targeting Them with Manipulative AI-driven Ad Tactics, Says New Report

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Digital Privacy and Consumer Protection Group Calls on FTC, FCC and California Regulators to Investigate Connected TV Practices

WASHINGTON, Oct. 7, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Connected TV (CTV) video streaming industry in the U.S. operates a massive data-driven surveillance apparatus that has transformed the television set into a sophisticated monitoring, tracking and targeting device, according to a new report from the Center for Digital Democracy (CDD). How TV Watches Us: Commercial Surveillance in the Streaming Era documents how CTV captures and harvests information on individuals and families through a sophisticated and expansive commercial surveillance system, deliberately incorporating many of the data-gathering, monitoring, and targeting practices that have long undermined privacy and consumer protection online.

The report highlights a number of recent trends that are key to understanding today’s connected TV operations:

Leading streaming video programming networks, CTV device companies and “smart” TV manufacturers, allied with many of the country’s most powerful data brokers, are creating extensive digital dossiers on viewers based on a person’s identity information, viewing choices, purchasing patterns, and thousands of online and offline behaviors.

So-called FAST channels (Free Advertiser-Supported TV)—such as Tubi, Pluto TV, and many others—are now ubiquitous on CTV, and a key part of the industry’s strategy to monetize viewer data and target them with sophisticated new forms of interactive marketing.

Comcast/NBCU, Disney, Amazon, Roku, LG and other CTV companies operate cutting-edge advertising technologies that gather, analyze and then target consumers with ads, delivering them to households in milliseconds. CTV has unleashed a powerful arsenal of interactive advertising techniques, including virtual product placement inserted into programming and altered in real time. Generative AI enables marketers to produce thousands of instantaneous “hypertargeted variations” personalized for individual viewers.

Surveillance has been built directly into television sets, with major manufacturers’ “smart TVs” deploying automatic content recognition (ACR) and other monitoring software to capture “an extensive, highly granular, and intimate amount of information that, when combined with contemporary identity technologies, enables tracking and ad targeting at the individual viewer level,” the report explains.

Connected television is now integrated with online shopping services and offline retail outlets, creating a seamless commercial and entertainment culture through a number of techniques, including what the industry calls “shoppable ad formats” incorporated into programming and designed to prompt viewers to “purchase their favorite items without disrupting their viewing experience,” according to industry materials.

The report profiles major players in the connected TV industry, along with the wide range of technologies they use to monitor and target viewers. For example:

Comcast’s NBCUniversal division has developed its own data-driven ad-targeting system called “One Platform Total Audience.” It powers NBCU’s “streaming activation” of consumers targeted across “300 end points,” including their streaming video programming and mobile phone use. Advertisers can use the “machine learning and predictive analytics” capabilities of One Platform, including its “vast… first-party identity spine” that can be coupled with their own data sets “to better reach the consumers who matter most to brands.” NBCU’s “Identity graph houses more than 200 million individuals 18+, more than 90 million households, and more than 3,000 behavioral attributes that can be accessed for strategic audience targeting.”

The Walt Disney Company has developed a state-of the-art big-data and advertising system for its video operations, including through Disney+ and its “kids” content. Its materials promise to “leverage streaming behavior to build brand affinity and reward viewers” using tools such as the “Disney Audience Graph—consisting of millions of households, CTV and digital device IDs… continually refined and enhanced based on the numerous ways Disney connects with consumers daily.” The company claims that its ID Graph incorporates 110 million households and 260 million device IDs that can be targeted for advertising using “proprietary” and “precision” advertising categories “built from 100,000 [data] attributes.”

Set manufacturer Samsung TV promises advertisers a wealth of data to reach their targets, deploying a variety of surveillance tools, including an ACR technology system that “identifies what viewers are watching on their TV on a regular basis,” and gathers data from a spectrum of channels, including “Linear TV, Linear Ads, Video Games, and Video on Demand.” It can also determine which viewers are watching television in English, Spanish, or other languages, and the specific kinds of devices that are connected to the set in each home.

“The transformation of television in the digital era has taken place over the last several years largely under the radar of policymakers and the public, even as concerns about internet privacy and social media have received extensive media coverage,” the report explains. “The U.S. CTV streaming business has deliberately incorporated many of the data-surveillance marketing practices that have long undermined privacy and consumer protection in the ‘older’ online world of social media, search engines, mobile phones and video services such as YouTube.” The industry’s self-regulatory regimes are highly inadequate, the report authors argue. “Millions of Americans are being forced to accept unfair terms in order to access video programming, which threatens their privacy and may also narrow what information they access—including the quality of the content itself. Only those who can afford to pay are able to ‘opt out’ of seeing most of the ads—although much of their data will still be gathered.”

The massive surveillance and targeting practices of today’s contemporary connected TV industry raise a number of concerns, the report explains. For example, during this election year, CTV has become the fastest growing medium for political ads. “Political campaigns are taking advantage of the full spectrum of ad-tech, identity, data analysis, monitoring and tracking tools deployed by major brands.” While these tools are no doubt a boon to campaigns, they also make it easy for candidates and other political actors to “run covert personalized campaigns, integrating detailed information about viewing behaviors, along with a host of additional (and often sensitive) data about a voter’s political orientations, personal interests, purchasing patterns, and emotional states. With no transparency or oversight,” the authors warn, “these practices could unleash millions of personalized, manipulative and highly targeted political ads, spread disinformation, and further exacerbate the political polarization that threatens a healthy democratic culture in the U.S.”

“CTV has become a privacy nightmare for viewers,” explained report co-author Jeff Chester, who is the executive director of CDD. “It is now a core asset for the vast system of digital surveillance that shapes most of our online experiences. Not only does CTV operate in ways that are unfair to consumers, it is also putting them and their families at risk as it gathers and uses sensitive data about health, children, race and political interests,” Chester noted. “Regulation is urgently needed to protect the public from constantly expanding and unfair data collection and marketing practices,” he said, “as well as to ensure a competitive, diverse and equitable marketplace for programmers.”

“Policy makers, scholars, and advocates need to pay close attention to the changes taking place in today’s 21st century television industry,” argued report co-author Kathryn C. Montgomery, Ph.D. “In addition to calling for strong consumer and privacy safeguards,” she urged, “we should seize this opportunity to re-envision the power and potential of the television medium and to create a policy framework for connected TV that will enable it to do more than serve the needs of advertisers. Our future television system in the United States should support and sustain a healthy news and information sector, promote civic engagement, and enable a diversity of creative expression to flourish.”

CDD is submitting letters today to the chairs of the FTC and FCC, as well as the California Attorney General and the California Privacy Protection Agency, calling on policymakers to address the report’s findings and implement effective regulations for the CTV industry.

CDD’s mission is to ensure that digital technologies serve and strengthen democratic values, institutions and processes. CDD strives to safeguard privacy and civil and human rights, as well as to advance equity, fairness, and community.

Contact: Jeff Chester, 202-494-7100 Jeff@democraticmedia.org

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SOURCE Center for Digital Democracy

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ANGHAMI REPORTS FY2025 REVENUE OF $99.3M, UP 27%, ON 3.5M SUBSCRIBERS AND LANDMARK STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS

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ABU DHABI, UAE, April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Anghami Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGH) (“Anghami”), the leading music and entertainment streaming platform in the MENA region, today announced its consolidated financial results for the year ended December 31, 2025, marked by revenue growth and subscribers reaching 3.5 million with a registered user base now exceeding 130 million, supported by landmark strategic partnerships.

HIGHLIGHTS

Revenue increased to $99.3 million in 2025, up 27% from $78.1 million in 2024. Growth came from subscriber gains across OSN+ and Anghami Plus, and the first full-year consolidation of OSN+ (April 1, 2024).Paid Subscribers exceeded 3.5 million across Anghami and OSN+, and registered users crossed 130 million.Warner Bros. Discovery closed its $57 million minority investment in OSN Streaming Limited in March 2025, expanding the content partnership and committing to joint investment in regional original production.Multiple strategic partnerships launched for OSN+ with Noon as well as a regional distribution agreement with talabat and the first-of-its-kind “Epic Bundle” with Shahid and Disney+ in December, delivering strong subscriber traction, high activation rates, and above-average conversion, reinforcing Anghami’s expanding distribution and monetization ecosystem.

Commenting on Anghami’s results, Elie Habib, CEO of Anghami, said: “2025 was the first full year of the combined Anghami and OSN+ business, and a year in which the scale of the opportunity became clear. Revenue grew 27% to $99.3 million. Paying subscribers exceeded 3.5 million, and our registered user base crossed 130 million across the MENA region.

We made important progress across the business. We rebuilt the OSN+ platform in-house, launched our first OSN+ Original, expanded strategic distribution partnerships with talabat and Noon, and signed the Epic Bundle with Shahid and Disney+, bringing three leading entertainment platforms into one subscription for the first time in the region. Warner Bros. Discovery’s investment in OSN Streaming Limited reflects confidence in our model, our market position, and the long-term value of premium regional streaming. Our HBO content commitments remain contractual and unchanged.

With a stronger product, a deeper content slate, Ramadan momentum, and early Epic Bundle traction, we enter 2026 focused on scaling revenue, improving unit economics, and converting momentum into sustainable growth.”

BUSINESS UPDATE

2025 marked a significant year in Anghami’s evolution as it progressed the integration of OSN+ into its multi-media streaming ecosystem and expanded its content, partnerships, and technology capabilities.

Anghami continued to invest in its proprietary technology, including AI-powered content recommendations, and completed the in-house rebuild of the OSN+ streaming platform, delivering improved performance, 4K capabilities, and full control over the user experience. 

In January 2025, OSN+ premiered its original production The Fashionista, reinforcing the platform’s investment in locally relevant content alongside its exclusive HBO catalogue, which includes House of the Dragon, The Last of Us, and Game of Thrones.

In March 2025, Warner Bros. Discovery announced an agreement to acquire a minority stake in OSN Streaming Limited, Anghami’s majority shareholder, investing $57 million. The transaction expands the existing content partnership and includes plans to jointly invest in locally produced content targeting regional audiences.

OSN+ partnerships with talabat and Noon expanded distribution and opened new customer acquisition channels, while high-profile live events including the Amr Diab & Adam Port concert in Abu Dhabi and Nancy Ajram Riyadh Boulevard activation reinforced Anghami’s cultural leadership position. Regional conflicts have impacted live events and regional content production; however, Anghami continued to scale its cultural footprint through flagship initiatives such as “Aktar Men Ayya Waqt,” a pan-Arab collaboration uniting leading artists across the region, alongside a focused Ramadan content strategy that delivered resilient engagement and outperformed industry trends that typically see lower metrics during the period.

As the year drew to a close, OSN+ launched the “Epic Bundle”, a first-of-its-kind bundled subscription with Shahid and Disney+, bringing all three platforms together under a single plan and broadening content access for consumers.

Anghami also continued to expand its telco partnership ecosystem in 2025, maintaining integrations with 45 telco operators across the MENA region. Telco partnerships serve as a dual-purpose growth lever by facilitating frictionless subscription payments, helping Anghami maintain one of the highest paying conversion rates among music streaming services in the MENA region, while also providing a significant marketing channel through co-branded campaigns and data bundle offerings.

From a financial perspective, revenue increased to $99.3 million in 2025, from $78.1 million in 2024, driven by subscriber growth across Anghami Plus and OSN+ and the first full-year contribution from the OSN+ video streaming segment which was consolidated from 1 April 2024. Profitability was impacted by the fixed video content licensing fees reflecting the full 12 month impact compared to 2024.

During 2025 and early 2026, the Company strengthened its Board of Directors with the appointments of Bassil Almouallimi (SRMG), James Cooke (Warner Bros. Discovery), Moustapha Chami (KIPCO), and Eman Al Awadhi (KIPCO).

OUTLOOK

Anghami is positioned to capitalize on continued growth in digital entertainment demand across the MENA region. The Company’s platform-led partnerships enhance distribution, content access and audience reach, further differentiating Anghami within an increasingly competitive streaming market.

Strategic collaborations with leading regional and global platforms, including Shahid, Disney+, talabat, and the expanded Warner Bros. Discovery relationship, are expected to remain key growth drivers. The content lineup is set to remain exceptional throughout the year, featuring highly anticipated global releases and returning flagship series. This includes A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, Euphoria Season 3, Season 2 of The Pitt, which has emerged as one of the most widely watched series globally, and Season 4 of FROM. This is further reinforced by upcoming seasons of The House of the Dragon and a robust pipeline of award-winning and globally successful films, including major 2025 theatrical releases such as Sinners, Superman, and other leading box office titles.

Building on this early traction, Anghami aims to scale embedded and bundled distribution models to support more efficient user acquisition and deeper engagement across its core markets.

Management remains focused on balancing growth with operational discipline, as continued investment in platform capabilities, reshaping content acquisition costs, advertising optimization and partner integrations support scale benefits over time. As these initiatives mature, Anghami aims to drive improved monetization and stronger operating leverage across its digital entertainment platform that will lead to material unit economics improvements in 2026.

Anghami’s annual report on Form 20-F (the “Form 20-F”) for the year ended December 31, 2025 was filed today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The Form 20-F can be accessed by visiting either the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov or the Company’s website at https://www.anghami.com/investors.

About Anghami Inc. (NASDAQ: ANGH)

Anghami is the leading multi-media technology streaming platform in the Middle East and North Africa (“MENA”) region, offering a comprehensive ecosystem of exclusive premium video, music, podcasts, live entertainment, audio services, and more.

With a user base exceeding 130 million registered users and over 3.5 million paid subscribers, Anghami has partnered with 45 telcos across MENA, facilitating customer acquisition and subscription payment, in addition to establishing relationships with major film studios, entertainment giants, and music labels, both regional and international. Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Anghami operates in 16 countries across MENA, with offices in Beirut, Dubai, Cairo, and Riyadh.

To learn more about Anghami, please visit: https://anghami.com. Any questions for the Investors Relations Department can be emailed to IR@anghami.com or anghami@apcoworldwide.com.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Anghami’s actual results may differ from its expectations, estimates, and projections and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “start,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “preliminary,” “anticipate,” “position,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “continue,” “predicts,” “potential,” “transform,” “commitment” and similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions) are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These statements include those related to the effect of the OSN+ integration, Warner Bros. Discovery investment in OSN Streaming, other new partnerships and collaborations, and future growth. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. Most of these factors are outside Anghami’s control and are difficult to predict. Factors that may cause such differences include, but are not limited to: the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Anghami; wars, conflicts and political instability; foreign exchange fluctuations, changes in applicable laws or regulations; and the possibility that Anghami may be adversely affected by other economic, business, and/or competitive factors; and other risks and uncertainties identified in Anghami’s fiscal 2025 annual report on Form 20-F filed with the SEC on April 30, 2026, including those under “Risk Factors” therein, and in other documents filed or to be filed with the SEC by Anghami and available at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Anghami cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. Anghami cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as required by law, Anghami does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which any such statement is based.

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SOURCE Anghami

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Soliant Health Names Graig Paglieri CEO; Founder David Alexander Transitions to Vice Chairman

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Transition supports Soliant’s continued growth as a leading specialized workforce organization in education and healthcare

PEACHTREE CORNERS, Ga., April 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Soliant Health announced a leadership transition today as Founder and Chief Executive Officer David Alexander transitions to Vice Chairman, and Graig Paglieri has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, effective May 26, 2026. Paglieri joins Soliant following his tenure as Chief Executive of Randstad Digital, the technology staffing and solutions business unit of Randstad, the world’s leading talent company.

Under Alexander’s leadership, Soliant has built a strong national presence as one of the largest specialized workforce organizations serving the education and healthcare sectors. Since founding the company in 1992, Alexander has guided its expansion to more than 1,000 colleagues, supporting over 3,300 school districts and 750 healthcare organizations across 48 states.

“After more than three decades leading the business, I believe this is the right time to transition day-to-day leadership while remaining actively engaged in supporting the company’s long-term strategy. Graig’s experience accelerating growth, integrating acquisitions, and building high-performing global teams will be instrumental, and he is the right leader to build on our foundation and lead Soliant forward,” said David Alexander, Founder and current CEO of Soliant.

Graig Paglieri, Chief Executive Officer

Paglieri joins Soliant after leading large, global staffing and services businesses, most recently serving as Chief Executive of Randstad Digital, spanning North America, Europe, and APAC.During his tenure, he played a central role in unifying Randstad’s global technology businesses under the Randstad Digital brand identity.Paglieri played a key role in three significant strategic acquisitions that strengthened the company’s market position and service offerings, growing the business unit to $3 billion in revenue.He will focus on growing the Soliant business, strengthening relationships with partners, and supporting the team as the company continues to expand.

“I’m honored to join Soliant at this point in its journey. The company has a strong reputation, a differentiated culture, and a clear opportunity to continue growing. I look forward to partnering with David and the leadership team to build on that momentum,” said Graig Paglieri, incoming Chief Executive Officer of Soliant Health effective May 26, 2026.

Differentiated Platform

Soliant helps schools meet growing, legally mandated special education and behavioral support requirements by delivering highly qualified clinicians across a range of therapeutic areas. Soliant’s brands include BlazerWorks, VocoVision, and Spindle, enabling Soliant to deliver high quality solutions to its clients across both physical and virtual modalities.

About Soliant Health
Soliant is a leader in human capital solutions within the education and healthcare sectors. It operates offices in Atlanta, Tampa, Jacksonville, Houston, and Greenville. The company identifies and recruits highly skilled healthcare professionals across a wide range of specialties and connects them with healthcare providers in the education, nursing, and pharmacy segments, primarily on a temporary basis. For more information, visit soliant.com.

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SOURCE Soliant Health

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Localcoin responds to federal proposal to ban crypto ATMs in Canada, calls for industry consultation

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Proposed nationwide ban raises concerns over lack of industry consultation and evidence-based policymaking

TORONTO, April 30, 2026 /CNW/ – Localcoin, Canada’s largest cryptocurrency ATM operator, is expressing concern following a recent federal government proposal to ban crypto ATMs nationwide, introduced without consultation with industry operators or key stakeholders.

With a network of over 1,000 retail partners across Canada, many of them independent, locally owned businesses, and dozens of contracted service providers nationwide, Localcoin’s mission is to provide accessible, safe, and user-friendly access to digital currency. Through its crypto ATMs, Localcoin served over 250,000 Canadians who value the convenience of buying and selling crypto with cash at familiar retail locations.

“This proposal represents a sweeping measure that risks undermining an entire industry, hundreds of small retail partners, and the Canadian employees and contractors the sector supports,” says Tristan Fong, CEO Localcoin. “It was developed without prior notice to stakeholders, and no one in the industry was aware it was under consideration. As a company committed to expanding the safe and responsible use of cryptocurrency, a blanket ban would disproportionately impact legitimate operators like Localcoin, as well as the hundreds of thousands of Canadians who use crypto ATMs for lawful, financial transactions.”

While Localcoin acknowledges that bad actors can misuse financial technologies, including crypto ATMs, and that fraud remains a concern, it notes that this is not unique to the crypto ATM industry.

Fraud is a broader challenge across the financial system,” Fong adds. “If we look across sectors in Canada, there have been hundreds of thousands of fraud cases, yet outright bans have not been proposed in response. Eliminating one access point does not stop criminal activity, it simply shifts it elsewhere, often to channels with fewer safeguards and less oversight. Rather than imposing a reactionary ban, effective solutions require targeted enforcement, stronger protections, and collaboration between regulators and industry. The focus should remain on addressing bad actors directly, rather than restricting legitimate access to financial tools.”

“We are ready to work collaboratively with policymakers to strengthen regulation, enhance fraud prevention measures, and improve public education across crypto ATM networks,” says Fong. “Regulatory tightening is a normal part of the financial services sector, and is especially common in the crypto sub-sector as it evolves. We believe there is a time and place for government support to ensure greater protection of Canadians, and that is important. However, an immediate escalation toward a ban, without clear supporting data or industry consultation, is not in the public interest.”

To learn more, visit Localcoinatm.com.

About Localcoin: Founded in 2016 in Toronto, Localcoin is Canada’s largest Bitcoin ATM network, with over 60 full-time staff members in Canada, operating over 2,150 machines across five countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Poland. Localcoin makes cryptocurrency accessible to anyone, regardless of technical experience, through physical ATM kiosks that allow customers to buy and sell crypto with cash in minutes.

SOURCE Localcoin

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