Future of Marketing Briefing: A cynic’s guide to the most transparent dispute in programmatic history

March 27, 2026

By Seb Joseph The past few weeks have produced one of the more theatrical transparency disputes in programmatic advertising’s history. Three of the big six holding companies have either exited or are auditing The Trade Desk. The dominant independent DSP’s stock is down roughly a third in 2026. And everyone involved is claiming, with varying degrees of conviction, to be acting in the client’s interest.

A cynic might note that transparency has always been this industry’s most useful weapon — deployed selectively, against whoever currently threatens your position in the chain. In the end, the only thing the supply chain agrees on is that someone else should open their books first. This is a member-exclusive article from Digiday. Continue reading it on digiday.com and subscribe to continue reading content like this. …read more

Source:: Digiday