Know What's Happening in Entertainment
Know What's Happening in Entertainment
Super Mario Galaxy film targets $200M+ opening weekend
Nintendo and Illumination are positioning the upcoming "Super Mario Galaxy" movie to open with more than $200 million domestically over the Easter holiday weekend. The strategy leans on the franchise’s multigenerational appeal and a family‑focused release window, with analysts citing the 2015 "Avengers: Age of Ultron" $191 million opening as a benchmark.
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By the numbers: K-Love seeks FCC approval to acquire WFCC
ITV announced that its streaming service ITVX logged over 1 billion streams in 2026, reaching the milestone eight days earlier than the previous year. The growth was driven by strong performance of flagship events such as the Rugby Six Nations and Britain’s Got Talent, both up 5% year‑on‑year, and a surge in drama, reality and news content. Drama series “Gone” became the most‑watched drama across any platform with 5.5 million viewers, while reality titles like Love Island amassed 2.5 billion streams, pushing overall reality viewership up 11%. A refreshed mobile search experience was also launched to improve content discovery.
The article examines how Belgian audiovisual leader Eyeworks, represented by CEO Peter Bouckaert, is redefining its business model beyond traditional film production. In Brussels, industry executives discuss integrating distribution, data analytics, and brand partnerships to capture more revenue streams. The...
At a parliamentary inquiry hearing, heads of France’s leading private broadcasters—including TF1’s Rodolphe Belmer—presented a rare, unified defense of the nation’s public broadcaster, France Télévisions. They argued that public service media remains essential for cultural cohesion, journalistic independence, and market...
HoYoverse has opened the Petit Planet Creator Club to creators worldwide, coinciding with the Stardrift test launch on April 21, 2026 for mobile and PC. The program welcomes influencers on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Twitch and Facebook, requiring either 1,000+...
Complex announced a multiyear partnership with Fanatics to launch Complex Bets, an editorial vertical that will embed Fanatics Sportsbook and Fanatics Markets data into its content. The new offering will have a dedicated home on the Complex website, social channels, and...
United Rugby Championship migrated its direct‑to‑consumer service, URC TV, to Eluvio’s Content Fabric platform, slashing streaming operating costs by 62%. The move sparked a 64% jump in transaction volume and lifted revenue 35% despite lower pricing. Subscriber numbers more than doubled,...
Jam City’s Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery has topped 160 million lifetime downloads as it celebrates its eighth anniversary. Players have collectively logged more than 100.7 billion minutes, with over 14% advancing to the post‑graduation *Beyond Hogwarts* storyline. The anniversary brings new quests,...
LY Corporation, the former LINE Yahoo, is investing roughly ₩300 billion (about $198 million) to become the largest shareholder of Kakao Games. The deal, executed through the LAAA Investment vehicle, combines a stake purchase, new share issuance, and convertible bonds, and is slated...
Deutsche Telekom has expanded its FAST (Free Ad‑Supported Streaming Television) offering on the MagentaTV platform by adding six new channels, including romance‑focused Fabella, classic‑film hub MovieDome, and genre‑specific feeds for RTL’s Alarm für Cobra 11, Balko, Bauer sucht Frau, as well...
MassiveMusic has appointed Tara El Chami as Senior Account Manager for its MENA division, expanding its Dubai‑based team. El Chami brings experience across media, FMCG, telecom and entertainment, having led campaigns for Nestlé, Red Bull Mobile and Billboard Arabia. The hire supports MassiveMusic’s strategy...
ABC and Disney+ aired the first simultaneous broadcast of “American Idol” on March 30, 2026, pulling 4.86 million total viewers and a 0.42 rating among adults 18‑49. The episode posted double‑digit gains versus the same night last year (+11%) and versus the prior...
ABC World News Tonight solidified its dominance in Q1 2026, pulling 8.73 million total viewers and a 1.09 million Adults 25‑54 audience, marking an 11% quarterly increase. NBC Nightly News posted the strongest growth, up 12% in total viewers and 23% in the key...
The UK regulator Ofcom reports that while 89% of British adults use at least one social‑media platform, only 49% actively post, share or comment—a drop from 61% in 2024. Meanwhile, a coalition led by Fairplay has accused YouTube and Google...
New research from the European Audiovisual Observatory shows that U.S. titles dominate video‑on‑demand (VOD) catalogues across Europe despite a sizable European output. European works account for 46% of individual titles but only 32% of catalogue "presences," while U.S. titles represent...
Globo has completed a migration of its primary linear pay‑TV distribution to a fully IP‑based architecture using Secure Reliable Transport (SRT) over a managed backbone across Brazil. The transition leverages Synamedia’s Quortex PowerVu suite and virtualised Digital Content Manager, with...
Kendrick Lamar’s sophomore album, good kid, m.A.A.d city, has logged 700 straight weeks on the Billboard 200, climbing to No. 54. The milestone makes it the first hip‑hop studio album to achieve such longevity and confirms its diamond‑eligible status after surpassing...
Illumination, Nintendo and Universal’s Super Mario Galaxy Movie pulled in $34 million on its opening Wednesday, eclipsing the previous April record and becoming the strongest opening day of the year. The box‑office surge arrives alongside a split critical response, underscoring the...
Roku unveiled a standalone iOS and Android app for its $2.99‑a‑month ad‑free Howdy service, extending the subscription beyond Roku hardware to 125 million U.S. households daily. The move comes as Deloitte reports 68% of U.S. streaming subscribers now favor ad‑supported tiers,...
Sony announced a $115 (£90) price increase for the PlayStation 5 Pro and used the occasion to hint that its next-generation PS6 handheld could carry a similarly steep tag. Executives linked the hikes to soaring AI‑related component costs, sparking debate among gamers...
At a press interview in Kyoto, Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto announced his mission to embed Pikmin across every Nintendo‑branded product, from the upcoming Super Mario Galaxy Movie to future games and merchandise. The pledge comes as the sequel cements a...
Meta and Google were ordered to pay a combined $381 million after juries found their platforms negligent in protecting children. The rulings threaten creator monetization, push brands toward safer influencers, and could trigger sweeping design changes across social media.
Disney announced the opening of World of Frozen at Disneyland Paris, now rebranded as Disney Adventure World, featuring a robotic Olaf and a high‑tech nighttime show that blends drones, fountains, fire and water walls. The park benefits from its close...
Netflix has green‑lit a limited‑series adaptation of Jonathan Franzen’s National Book Award‑winning novel *The Corrections*, casting three‑time Oscar winner Meryl Streep as matriarch Enid. The project is directed by Cord Jefferson, known for his work on *American Fiction* and *Watchmen*,...
Olivier Reynaud, former Teads executive, launched Aive to solve the video‑scaling dilemma facing brands and agencies. Netflix’s production of 1.5 million distinct Stranger Things trailer versions highlights the impossibility of manual editing at such volume. Aive’s platform converts video into data,...
Chuck E. Cheese announced Sensory Sensitive Birthdays launching April 1 for World Autism Month. The program, created with Autism Speaks, lets families customize sensory elements of traditional Mega Fun or Ultimate Fun parties. Events include two‑hour gameplay, food, a dedicated host, and sensory‑friendly goody bags, building...
Microsoft announced that five titles will leave Xbox Game Pass on April 15, 2026, headlined by Grand Theft Auto V. The departing games—Ashen, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, My Little Pony: A Zephyr Heights Mystery, and Terra Invicta—cover console, PC and cloud platforms....
Six Flags Great Adventure is grappling with a steep decline as iconic attractions like Kingda Ka and the Skyway have shut down. The park’s parent company, fresh from an $8 billion merger with Cedar Fair, reported a $1.6 billion loss in 2025 and...
TAG Video Systems announced a partnership with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure to host its entire product suite on OCI. The deal includes a free egress tier and bandwidth pricing that the company says is significantly lower than typical hyperscaler rates. A...
Ye’s twelfth studio album, *BULLY*, dropped via his YZY imprint and Gamma multimedia, and early tracking predicts roughly 117,000 equivalent units in its first week. The numbers would land the record at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, trailing BTS’s *ARIRANG*....
Publicis Groupe has acquired 160over90, a leading sports and culture agency with more than 670 employees, to bolster its Publicis Sports division. The undisclosed‑price deal, pending regulatory clearance, brings expertise across events such as the Super Bowl, Olympics and World...
Australia’s government has passed the Copyright Amendment Bill, extending the 1986 Copyright Act to address “orphan works” – creative material whose owners cannot be identified or located. The reform permits public use of such works, especially in education, for a...
Caterpillar Captions introduced the Read‑Along Hour on Kenya’s Akili TV, pairing popular cartoons with literacy‑grade captions and reading‑nutrition labels. The block lifted child viewership by 14.9% (about 194,900 extra kids) and adult co‑viewing by 39.1% (roughly 361,300 additional parents) within...
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s four‑minute national address aired simultaneously on all five free‑to‑air networks at 7 p.m., drawing 3.722 million live viewers. Adding YouTube streams from broadcasters and the PM’s own channel pushed the total audience to at least 4.183 million. The viewership...
Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE announced ARTE España, a new cultural channel co‑produced with European network ARTE. The channel, led by journalist Ana Peláez, will launch digitally in late June 2025 and later roll out on free‑to‑air DTT with UHD quality. Backed...
Meta unveiled the Facebook Creator Fast Track, promising $1,000 a month for creators with at least 100,000 followers and $3,000 for those exceeding one million, with payouts lasting three months and a perpetual reach boost. The initiative aims to tap...
TelevisaUnivision has extended its multi‑year agreement with Nielsen, securing comprehensive measurement across its broadcast, cable, streaming, radio and out‑of‑home assets. The deal incorporates Nielsen’s Advanced Audiences, ad‑supported streaming ratings, ONE Ads for connected TV and national OOH expansion. By leveraging...
Dean Devlin, co‑founder of the free ad‑supported streaming service ElectricNow, discussed the platform’s rapid growth and its first original scripted series, “The Poly Couple,” which adapts a viral TikTok show into a 30‑minute format. He outlined how ElectricNow leverages FAST (Free‑Ad‑Supported‑Streaming‑TV)...
The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences unveiled the 2026 Webby Awards nominees, giving Google a record 46 nominations and placing PBS, Disney, NBCUniversal and Netflix among the top contenders. The list spotlights high‑profile ad campaigns, AI‑driven creator work...
Spotify just released a report: The Sound-On Era It includes tips for marketers on building a sonic identity, which might mean: 🎙️ A distinctive voice or tone 🎙️ A consistent music world 🎙️ A repeatable sonic mnemonic or signature https://ads.spotify.com/en-US/news-and-insights/sound-on-era/
Just in: French ad giant Publicis Groupe will acquire sports-marketing firm 160over90 from WME, unveils strategic partnership enabling collaboration between WME’s talent roster and Publicis
Sydney Zoo has appointed Sandbox Media to manage its digital and above‑the‑line media planning and buying after a competitive pitch. The partnership leverages Sandbox Media’s decades of experience in attractions and ticketing, aiming to boost visitation through data‑driven, locally relevant...
TikTok’s new whitepaper projects Australia’s creator‑driven commercial contribution to reach US$100 billion (≈AUD $144 billion) by 2030, a 1.3‑fold increase from 2025. The growth is spreading beyond beauty and fashion into gaming, financial services, apps and consumer electronics, as brands seek authentic creator...
Australian media agency This is Flow has won the $16 million (≈$10.6 million USD) Cranky Health media account, covering its flagship The Man Shake and three sister brands. The agency will handle all media planning and buying across traditional, performance and e‑commerce...
18-49 👀 Netflix Connects with TV’s Dollar Demo in MLB Debut https://t.co/bBajOiM693 via @sportico @crupicrupicrupi
Console prices are climbing sharply, with the PS5 now $599.99 versus its $399.99 launch price and analysts forecasting a $1,000 PS6 next year. Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter argues that escalating hardware costs will accelerate a shift toward game streaming. Sony’s...
Print newspaper advertising in Australia rebounded 17.4% year‑on‑year in February, marking the first growth period since February 2025. Media agency spend across print and digital titles rose 11.2% YoY, driven largely by regional publications and the South Australian election cycle....
In this episode of The Town, UTA media‑rights partner Jason Richman explains why Hollywood is turning to books like never before, noting that studios now see popular titles as the safest path to theatrical audiences amid a post‑superhero landscape. He...
Snapchat has broadened its Creator Subscriptions, allowing any creator who meets its eligibility criteria to monetize content through paid tiers. The program, launched in February and previously limited to verified Snap Stars, now includes users with public profiles, active Stories,...
QVC Group Inc., owner of QVC and HSN, warned investors it may not survive as a going concern after missing its Form 10‑K filing deadline. The company is negotiating with lenders to restructure more than $5 billion of debt, and a...
Deadline is launching its first Reality TV Summit in Los Angeles on May 1, 2026, gathering top unscripted talent, network and streaming executives, and hit‑show creators. The event, held at Lumen West LA, will feature panels on the state of reality television, the...
