Know What's Happening in Entertainment
Know What's Happening in Entertainment
Nintendo and Illumination target $200M-plus Easter opening for “Super Mario Galaxy”
The upcoming “Super Mario Galaxy” film is being positioned to generate more than $200 million domestically over the Easter holiday weekend, leveraging the franchise’s multigenerational appeal. Analysts reference the 2015 “Avengers: Age of Ultron” $191 million opening as a performance benchmark.
Also developing:
By the numbers: K‑Love seeks FCC approval to acquire WFCC
Live sports remain a high‑impact ad environment, delivering strong attention and recall. A 2025 LG Ad Solutions study shows 48% of U.S. streaming sports viewers notice ads and 54% find them entertaining. Programmatic technology now offers SMBs access to premium inventory through private marketplaces and programmatic guaranteed deals on platforms like ESPN+ and Fubo. By timing ads to key moments and local broadcasts, small brands can achieve national relevance without massive budgets.
A Hearing Designation Order (HDO) that had been issued for the proposed transfer of two AM stations and an FM station in El Paso, Texas, has been terminated. The termination follows a joint request from the buyer and seller to...
Two bipartisan lawmakers introduced the Keep It Moving Act to impose strict shot clocks on Federal Communications Commission merger reviews, formalizing the agency's informal 180‑day deadline. If the FCC exceeds the timeline, applicants could seek a court order to compel...
DIRECTV submitted an FCC filing warning that the surge in duopolies, triopolies and even quadropolies among broadcasters such as Nexstar, Sinclair and Gray is eroding local‑news diversity. The analysis catalogued roughly one hundred duopolies, more than a dozen triopolies and...
Gen.G has teamed up with Arizona State University’s GAME School to launch a joint talent pipeline for creative‑technology careers in Los Angeles. The partnership will deliver a Gen.G Gaming Career Summer Camp for high‑school and college students, featuring weekly modules,...
The Premier League will debut Premier League Plus, a dedicated streaming app that offers live coverage of all 380 matches, initially limited to Singapore and delivered in partnership with Starhub. Launched before the 2026‑27 season, it marks the league’s first...
United Parks & Resorts, the parent of SeaWorld, Busch Gardens and Sesame Place, announced ongoing discussions to bring globally recognized intellectual property into its parks. CEO Marc Swanson referenced the initiative in earnings calls across February 2025, August 2025 and February 2026, emphasizing...
Humble has launched two new bundles aimed at game developers and 3D artists: the Ultimate Game Development Courses Bundle and the JRO 3D Artist Tools Bundle. The courses tier ranges from a $2 entry level covering Blender basics to a...
iam8bit has teamed up with WaterTower Music to issue two Adventure Time soundtracks: the series finale "Come Along with Me" on a 1‑LP/CD set and the "Fionna and Cake" collection on a 2‑LP/CD set. Both releases feature original songs by series...
United Parks, the parent of SeaWorld and Busch Gardens, disclosed that it owns roughly 2,000 acres of land, including about 400 acres of undeveloped parcels. The company received multiple offers ranging from sale‑lease‑back to hotel, timeshare, residential and commercial development...
Marcom M&A activity in 2025 edged higher to 55 deals, reflecting a modest rise from 2024 but still far below the 2016 peak. The sector’s focus has shifted from expansion‑driven roll‑ups to infrastructure‑led consolidation centered on AI, cloud, and data...
The Television Bureau (TVB) released its latest cross‑platform measurement, finding that traditional broadcast television viewed on a TV set still commands the greatest audience reach and the longest average viewing time among all media channels. The advantage holds true across...
HBO Max announced a global crackdown on password sharing, extending stricter enforcement beyond the United States. The new policy replaces the current optional pop‑up with a mandatory prompt that requires non‑household users to create their own accounts. The rollout coincides...
Rob Light, managing director of Creative Artists Agency (CAA), reflected on the firm’s four‑decade evolution from a modest music department to a global, full‑service powerhouse. By pioneering in‑house artist development, tour marketing and private‑event divisions, CAA secured breakout successes such...
Warner Bros. Discovery announced that its gaming division will revive its biggest franchises in 2027‑28 after a year of strategic reset in 2025. The company has narrowed its focus to four core IPs—Mortal Kombat, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, and DC—following a series of...
All Nippon Airways (ANA) announced a partnership with The Pokemon Company to introduce three new Pokemon‑themed aircraft in 2026, marking the franchise’s 30th anniversary. The fleet will feature a Boeing 787‑8 in Red, a Boeing 787‑9 in Green, and a...
Mattel Digital Studios is debuting its flagship card game Uno on two major creator platforms, Fortnite and Roblox. The company partnered with Look North World to develop Uno Royale for Fortnite using Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN). Simultaneously, a Roblox...
USA Today Co. posted a fourth‑quarter revenue of $585 million, a 5.8% year‑over‑year decline, and its full‑year 2025 revenue fell to $2.3 billion. Digital‑only subscriptions plunged 30% to 1.37 million, while average monthly unique visitors slipped 11% to 179 million. The company recorded a...
PepsiCo leveraged its DRIPS platform to launch two limited‑edition beverages for the theatrical run of *Wicked: For Good* at Regal Cinemas. The drinks—Mountain Dew Emerald Mischief and Tropicana Lemonade Good Witch Swirl—were crafted with bold colors, boba and edible glitter...
The U.S. hosts over 202 million adult YouTube users, 177 million on Instagram and 105 million on TikTok, creating massive ad‑supported audiences for creators. While a few, like Markiplier’s promotion of *Iron Lung*, have turned social clout into box‑office hits, most creators struggle to...
Sony has ordered 24 additional episodes of the Reading Rainbow reboot, now hosted by Mychal Threets, following a successful four‑episode digital release in 2025. The original series, led by Levar Burton, ended two decades ago, and the new shortened episodes...
BetBoom announced a partnership to sponsor all Counter‑Strike 2 broadcasts in Brazil produced by the ESL FACEIT Group for the remainder of 2026. The deal places BetBoom branding on six flagship events, including ESL Pro League Seasons 23 and 24 and multiple IEM...
My.Games announced that the Warface: Clutch Xbox servers will be permanently shut down on August 25, 2026. In‑game purchases were disabled on February 26, and the title will soon be removed from the Microsoft Store. The closure ends access to...
Ozone, a coalition of more than 500 UK and US publishers, has secured its first deal to list inventory on Microsoft’s Media Marketplace, exposing over 200 million monthly users to programmatic buyers. The integration leverages Ozone’s first‑party reader data, promising more...
Sundance‑premiered road‑trip comedy *The Shitheads* has landed a U.S. distribution deal with IFC, slated for a theatrical summer release. The film stars Dave Franco, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Kiernan Shipka and Nicholas Braun, with a supporting turn by Peter Dinklage. Written, directed...
Media Res has entered a first‑look distribution agreement with Fifth Season, designating the Swedish thriller *Summer of 1985* as the inaugural project. The series, based on John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel, follows a group of friends whose summer turns deadly after...
Sky has secured a first‑look agreement with Starz for the 50 Cent‑produced boxing drama Fightland, which will debut on Sky and Now TV in the UK. The series, shot in London, follows a disgraced champion seeking revenge and is executive‑produced by Curtis Jackson’s...
Brands that authentically engage Black audiences can unlock significant economic upside, as Black consumers are projected to wield $2.1 trillion in buying power by 2026. They are four times more likely than average shoppers to follow the WNBA and spend roughly...
Influencer marketing budgets are set to surge, with 72% of marketers expecting over a 50% increase in 2026. This rapid expansion brings heightened scrutiny from finance, procurement and leadership, especially around audience authenticity, which 56% cite as their top risk....
Meta’s Andromeda overhaul replaces the legacy ad‑retrieval layer with a unified deep‑learning system, reshaping which ads enter the auction on Facebook and Instagram. The change was driven by exploding creative volume, the rise of Advantage+ automation, and the limits of...
Content Partners announced the appointment of former WME business‑affairs executive Benjamin Kram as Vice President. Kram will lead business development, expanding the firm’s content investments and strategic partnerships. He brings extensive negotiation experience across film, television and digital media from...
Nexstar Media Group posted its fourth‑quarter 2025 results, beating Wall Street revenue forecasts while slipping into a net loss. Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted free cash flow fell sharply compared with the prior year. CEO Perry Sook highlighted the company’s aggressive...
Starboard Entertainment has secured North American distribution rights to Mark Pellington’s experimental documentary *This Is Buzz*, which premiered at the 2026 Slamdance Film Festival. The film, a music‑driven exploration of the 1990s MTV cult series *Buzz*, will open theatrically in...
Google is expanding its AI‑driven "text guidelines" feature to all AI Max and Performance Max advertisers in a global beta. The tool lets brands specify terms or concepts to include or exclude, ensuring AI‑generated headlines and descriptions stay on‑brand, tone‑appropriate,...
Instagram is evolving from a visual showcase into a platform‑native sales engine, replacing traditional landing‑page funnels with content‑driven conversations. Brands move prospects from Reels‑based discovery through interactive Stories and comments into direct‑message (DM) dialogues that close sales without leaving the...
The Circuit Group has officially launched Beat Switch Music Services, a white‑label infrastructure offering for independent labels and artists. After two years of silent development, the division now supports more than 20 indie labels, providing distribution, rights management, publishing, marketing,...
Atresplayer, the streaming arm of Spain’s Atresmedia, has broadened its partnership with Claro Video, embedding its entire video‑on‑demand catalog and four flagship linear channels into the Claro platform across 14 Latin American markets, including Mexico. The deal upgrades the 2021...
As audience behavior continues to shift toward personality-driven media, more heritage brands are adapting. National Geographic is the latest legacy institution to launch its own creator program.
"These predictive market folks are rogue cowboys," former NJ guv Chris Christie on American Gaming Association webinar
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) announced the 2026 NewFronts event, scheduled for March 23‑26 in New York, spotlighting AI‑driven video, streaming, and CTV innovations. The four‑day conference will feature live and virtual sessions from tech giants like Google, Meta, and...
Warner Bros. Games will “return to some of our biggest franchises" in 2027-2028 says WB Games CEO JB Perrette. https://t.co/5OxOqI9h1i
Yours truly is featured in this @CNBC Nintendo business video report by @ArjunKharpal, alongside @Chris_Dring: https://t.co/pLhVIlTkNg
Alinea Analytics reported that Xbox Game Pass added three major titles in January 2026—Death Stranding Director’s Cut, Star Wars Outlaws, and Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2—each attracting over half‑a‑million new players across console, PC and cloud. Star Wars Outlaws alone onboarded nearly 600 K newcomers. Resident Evil...
Who survives the Warner merger mania? Org Chart From Hell: ‘Too Many Tentacles for One Octopus’ Latest @Lesleygoldberg https://t.co/No87HnVyFd
Our new @TVREV Special Report on FAST, "All Grown Up: FAST Comes Of Age" was featured in a cover story in @PuckNews https://t.co/drKZBs8Gi9
Warner Bros. Discovery announced it will shift its reporting focus from raw subscriber counts to monetisation metrics as it pushes HBO Max’s global expansion. The company currently serves 132 million streaming users and projects more than 140 million by the end of...
"We’re not going to be doing deals that don’t make financial sense for us" -- WBD CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels on sports rights deals. Question: Do any sports deals make financial sense?
The WBD board is "delivering significant value to WBD shareholders throughout the [sales] process" -- Warner CEO David Zaslav
User‑generated content (UGC) video has become a cornerstone of social and performance marketing, offering authentic, creator‑style creatives for paid ads and testing. Marketers must decide whether free editing tools or paid platforms best support the volume, speed, and brand control...
$WBD investor call is about to begin. David Zaslav, Gunnar Wiedenfels and JB Perrette are on the call
