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Every morning
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Tuesday recap
Netflix hikes prices across all tiers to fund expanding content slate
Netflix increased subscription fees for its ad‑supported, standard and premium plans. The move is designed to offset an expected 10% rise in content costs by 2026 as the streamer adds sports, concerts and video podcasts. Higher cash flow is intended to support a richer library without compromising shareholder returns.
Also developing:
The FCC plans to auction the remaining 100‑180 MHz of upper C‑band spectrum by July 2027, effectively ending broadcasters’ long‑standing satellite option. Unlike the 2020 reallocation, this auction leaves no like‑for‑like replacement, forcing stations to consider Ku‑band, managed IP or hybrid delivery models. The transition carries heightened operational risk, costly equipment upgrades, and uneven impact on smaller outlets. The Hive Group’s new white paper urges immediate audits and vendor engagement, and will discuss solutions at an executive breakfast during NAB Show 2026.
Netflix has replaced the native Apple TV player with its own custom player on the Apple TV app, stripping away several convenience and accessibility features. The move removes side‑click rewinding, circular‑gesture scrubbing, customizable subtitles, Apple’s Enhance Dialogue, and double‑tap end‑time display....
U.S. radio licensing fell in Q1, the first overall decline in more than a year, according to the FCC’s quarterly count. AM stations dropped 32 to 4,310, extending a five‑quarter slide that has erased over 70 stations. Commercial FM also...
Coachella 1999: • 25k tickets for $50 each • One weekend, two-day event • Lost $1M+. Almost bankrupt. Didn't return till 2001. Coachella 2026: • 250k ticket sold for $649+ each • Two-weekend, six-day event • $150M+ ticket revenue Music festivals are a long game.
Bill Ackman's $64 billion unsolicited bid for Universal Music Group hinges on French billionaire Vincent Bolloré, who controls just under 32% of the label through direct shares and Vivendi holdings. Bolloré’s consent is essential; without it the transaction cannot close. His group’s...
Streaming giants are confronting a price‑inflation surge, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting a 19.5% rise in video‑subscription costs in December. Major platforms—including Netflix, Disney+, HBO Max, and YouTube Premium—have all implemented price hikes in the past year. Deloitte’s latest...
NEWS: Joe Buck says he wants to remain at ESPN for the rest of his career. His ESPN contract expires at the end of this NFL season. Story for @SBJ: https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Articles/2026/04/10/joe-buck-hopes-to-remain-at-espn-for-the-rest-of-my-career/
A new analysis by Moore's Law is Dead estimates the bill of materials for Sony's upcoming PS6 lineup, putting the Orion home console at roughly $743, the handheld at $494, and a low‑power PS6S variant at $404. After accounting for...
A federal jury in Los Angeles will decide the Live Nation antitrust case after a month‑long trial that began in early 2026. Judge Arun Subramanian trimmed the original complaint, leaving only state claims over major‑venue ticketing monopolization and a tying...
Greta Gerwig, the director of blockbuster hits like *Barbie* and the upcoming *Narnia* adaptation, left UTA after nearly two decades to join CAA. The switch highlights CAA’s aggressive talent‑acquisition playbook, which often targets spouses or close collaborators of existing clients,...
Fox announced a strategic shift toward creator‑driven programming, highlighted by a January deal with Dhar Mann Studios and Tubi’s recent profitability. The move aims to replace franchise reliance with influencer‑powered content, reshaping ad revenue and audience targeting.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas has been appointed as Bentley Motors' new global brand ambassador, debuting in a documentary‑style campaign filmed in Los Angeles. The film, featuring the Continental GT, showcases her personal reflections on creativity and craftsmanship. Bentley positions the partnership...
Ryan Coogler has struck a deal with Warner Bros. that grants him final‑cut authority, first‑dollar gross participation and ownership of “Sinners” rights after 25 years. The agreement, engineered by WME’s Dan Limerick, is being hailed as one of the most...
Sheetz announced its first Gaming Ambassadorz, a group of creators selected to promote the chain’s new gaming‑specific rewards and social media channels. The initiative builds on last year’s rollout of loyalty perks aimed at the “Sheetz Freakz” gamer community. Ambassadors...
The U.S. Justice Department has launched an antitrust investigation into the NFL’s television contracts, focusing on the league’s reliance on subscription‑based streaming platforms. Officials say the probe examines whether the current model inflates fan costs and limits competition among broadcasters.
Five independent game studios—Unfrozen, Sad Cat Studios, VEA Games, Game Garden and Weappy—have merged under the new developer‑led holding Nova Assembly. Denis Fedorov will serve as CEO and Ilya Yanovich as creative director. The consortium will share production expertise, reduce reliance on...
Caesars Entertainment opened Harrah’s Oklahoma in Chandler, its inaugural casino‑hotel in the state, in partnership with the Iowa Tribe of Oklahoma. The $‑million‑plus development features over 1,000 slots, 12 table games, multiple dining venues and is expected to generate more...
Universal’s The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is projected to earn $73 million in its second weekend, pushing its North American total to $312 million and its global haul past $440 million. The film’s strong IMAX presence is expected to help it maintain the...
Bill Ackman's Pershing Square lodged a non‑binding $64 billion cash‑and‑shares offer for Universal Music Group, promising €9.4 billion (≈$10.2 billion) in cash per share and expecting strong shareholder backing despite JP Morgan’s doubts about Bolloré’s support. AI music platform Udio signed its fourth major...
Playtika has reopened a portfolio‑wide strategic review to boost shareholder value, despite its market cap shrinking to $1.19 billion after a series of costly acquisitions. The company’s SuperPlay studio is the only bright spot, while older titles show declining revenue. Ubisoft’s...
Peermusic has signed Dutch‑born songwriter and recording artist Eyelar to a worldwide publishing deal and launched a writer‑development joint venture with 2‑Tone Entertainment. The agreement, coordinated by Peermusic’s UK and German divisions, covers future works, administers select back‑catalog titles, and...
U.S. local advertising is forecast to reach $184.5 billion in 2026, an 8.1% increase year‑over‑year. Digital media drives the bulk of growth, expanding 9.3% to $104.1 billion and representing 56.4% of the market. Traditional media still adds $80.4 billion, buoyed by $8.4 billion in...
Jim Beam has launched the "Home Field Advantage" campaign featuring retired U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard ahead of the FIFA World Cup. The brand, official spirits partner of the U.S. Soccer Federation, aired a 30‑second ad that celebrates backyard barbecues, office...
Amagi has upgraded its Amagi NOW industry cloud platform with Agentic Media Operations, embedding reasoning agents powered by Amagi Intelligence. The new agents automate metadata enrichment, artwork generation, ad‑break identification, and multilingual localization, allowing broadcasters to scale content delivery without...
Whaaaat is happening with Coachella: The brands back out because of rising costs? The brands over-invited and have to cut back on RSVPs? The brands never planned to go and just used this for hype? The creators weren't actually invited and are using this...
Scoop: Epic is working on a Disney extraction shooter Ahead of its slated Nov launch, employees say they're worried about Epic's pattern of "Version 0.5" releases -- a challenge they say may have hurt adoption for the Epic Games Store, mobile...
Ticketmaster has launched a native app inside OpenAI's ChatGPT, enabling fans to search for and purchase concert, sports and other live‑event tickets through conversational prompts. The integration taps into ChatGPT’s 900 million weekly users and includes both primary inventory and secondary...
The marketing hype isn't catching on at all yet... I actually think there's an interesting thought regarding modern marketing - they're keeping it all secret & hidden (obviously). Whereas Project Hail Mary's choice to put Rocky front & center and not...
Why would one of the hottest directors in Hollywood bail on the agent who helped get her there? This is why ⬇️⬇️ https://t.co/dxU95e8QOI
Vibe coding has emerged as a new creator class that lets brands build and operate utility‑focused products. The market is estimated at $4.7 billion, with 87% of Fortune 500 firms using at least one platform, and Lovable sees 200,000 new projects daily....
Movie Theater Operators Weigh In on Fewer Trailers, Too Much Texting and Today’s Bankable Stars: ‘Zendaya and Tom Holland Are the Next Gen’ https://t.co/MgAgJzLmIM via @variety
A sad but necessary essay by @davidehrlich on the new state of my favorite theater chain.
Universal’s romance You, Me & Tuscany pulled $750 K in preview showings across 2,550 theaters and is projected to open in the high single‑digit millions despite its modest $18 M budget. In contrast, Illumination/Nintendo/Universal’s Super Mario Galaxy Movie logged $180 M domestic in its first week...
On the other hand, #Universal’s new romcom in town #YouMeAndTuscany could come below industry’s projections this weekend at US #BoxOffice, after the romance starring #HalleBailey and #RegeJeanPage grossed timid 750k on THU Previews (vs #SoloMio 744k, #WestSideStory’s 800k) A 6M-9M 3-day...
Cineplex reports March box office surge @seekingalpha We wrote about the box office mini-boom earlier this week at @wallsthorizon @christinelshort https://t.co/ngUwIEjPh2 https://t.co/5MVG7CwyvI
Sasha Pieterse, best known for "Pretty Little Liars," has launched a new production company, Mother Bare Productions, with the first project being a feature‑film adaptation of Sherrilyn Kenyon’s upcoming urban‑fantasy series "Infernal Affairs." Pieterse will co‑produce and star as Detective Sorcha O’Malley opposite the series’ supernatural lead, Lucifer’s...
Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish‑language home of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the U.S., released two new marketing spots as the tournament’s 60‑day countdown begins. The ads, part of the “Y Tú, ¿Con Quién Lo Vas a Ver?” campaign, feature...
Trustfnd, a startup targeting independent journalists on Ghost and beehiiv, introduced its first paid bundle in March, offering a 30‑day trial pass to three progressive newsletters for $8.50. The bundle, featuring Kat Tenbarge, Marisa Kabas and Katelyn Burns, generated roughly...
Amazon Luna announced it will no longer sell individual games or third‑party subscriptions through its cloud platform, ending support for EA, Ubisoft and GOG storefronts. The change takes effect on April 10, and users can continue streaming previously linked titles only...
G2 Esports announced a partnership with Skin.Club, making the platform its official Counter‑Strike 2 skin partner. The deal places the Skin.Club logo on G2’s CS2 jerseys and adds joint content and live‑experience initiatives. Skin.Club already works with other CS2 entities such...
YouTube is set to increase its subscription fees across the board, with the Light plan moving from $8 to $9 per month, Premium from $14 to $16, and the family tier jumping from $23 to $27. The hikes arrive as...
Grass Valley is using the NAB Show in Las Vegas to demonstrate a growing suite of AMPP Alliance integrations that connect best‑of‑breed tools across live production, graphics, automation and transport. The open‑by‑design AMPP platform leverages public SDKs and the Media...
CBS has ordered "Eternally Yours," a vampire‑centered comedy from the creators of the hit series Ghost. The show follows a 500‑year‑old vampire couple whose marriage has gone stale until their daughter’s human boyfriend shakes things up. Starring Ed Weeks, Allegra...
Resorts World Las Vegas is deploying Ordr Technologies' AI‑enabled point‑of‑sale platform at its Zouk Nightclub and Ayu Dayclub venues. The system consolidates purchase, payment processing, fees, consumer protections, and guest marketing into a single transaction flow while generating data‑driven guest...
Bungie’s live‑service shooter Marathon, built on an estimated $250 M USD development budget, is seeing a dramatic 68% drop in Steam concurrent users within a month, falling from a peak of 144,000 to just over 20,000. Revenue estimates suggest the game...
Futuresource Consulting reports that global streaming video‑on‑demand (SVOD) subscriptions have reached 2.2 billion, generating roughly $150 billion in consumer spending. The firm projects 2.6 billion subscribers by 2030, driven more by pricing discipline, bundling, distribution partnerships and strategic content investment than by pure...
Universal will shift two high‑profile titles, *The Black Phone 2* and *Gabby’s Dollhouse: The Movie*, to Netflix US in May 2026 after four‑month Peacock runs. Each film will enjoy a 10‑month exclusive streaming window before returning to Peacock for the final...
MotoAmerica Superbike will air on Vice TV beginning April 18‑19, 2026, marking the series’ 50th anniversary. The partnership with V10 Entertainment brings nine Superbike rounds and a total of 20 races to the network, reaching an estimated 40 million U.S. households....
Hearst Television’s NBC affiliate WVTM in Birmingham is adding the Steve Harvey‑hosted *Family Feud* to its weekday lineup beginning Sept. 7. The game show will air at 3 p.m., 3:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., sandwiched between a refreshed midday block featuring Tamron Hall, NBC...
The article reminds prospective authors that agent calls are two‑way conversations. While writers often bring checklists of questions for agents, agents also probe authors about their career goals, work habits, and expectations for representation. The piece outlines common topics agents...
