Know What's Happening in Entertainment
Know What's Happening in Entertainment
Block family power struggle threatens sale of Pittsburgh Post‑Gazette empire
Twin heirs John Robinson Block and Allan Block are locked in a battle over the future of Block Communications. John has ordered a valuation to explore a possible sale, while Allan, the current CEO, says any transaction would destroy the family legacy.
The episode announces that Downtown Music Holdings has finalized its $775 million acquisition and merger with Virgin Music Group, a deal first revealed in December. Founder Justin Kalifowitz is exiting Downtown, marking a leadership transition as the combined entity positions itself as a premier partner for independent artists and creators worldwide. The companies emphasized their commitment to clients despite a protracted regulatory approval process, highlighting a shared vision of spirit, values, and ambition. The merger aims to strengthen music publishing administration services under the Songtrust brand.
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has introduced hyper‑local public‑service announcements that thank individual legislators for backing the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act. The spots are customized for each of the 49 states, DC, Puerto Rico and the U.S....
Canela Media has teamed up with LiveRamp to let advertisers use LiveRamp’s interoperable RampID for seamless access to Canela’s over‑the‑top (OTT) inventory and broader digital destinations. The partnership opens a LiveRamp Data Marketplace offering more than 1,000 audience segments that...
Meta users have asked the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to revive antitrust claims that Facebook monopolized the personal social network services market. A district judge dismissed the lawsuit after ruling the plaintiffs lacked expert testimony proving harm. The plaintiffs argue...
Imagine Dragons has officially left talent agency Wasserman, joining a wave of departures linked to the agency’s scandalous ties to Ghislaine Maxwell. The band’s 2025 tour generated $241.6 million, highlighting the financial impact of losing a top‑grossing act. Wasserman, now owned...
The music industry saw a wave of senior appointments and hires across multiple firms as of February 20, 2026. Culture Wave added several managers and a digital marketing coordinator while promoting an artist manager. Warner Chappell Music Italy elevated internal A&R...
Universal Music Group’s Virgin Music Group has completed its $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music Group, finalizing the deal 14 months after announcement and shortly after EU approval. Pieter van Rijn, former Downtown head, is appointed COO of Virgin Music, reporting...
Blacklyte announced it will serve as the exclusive desk and chair sponsor for the Rocket League Championship Series 2026 Boston Major. The company’s Athena Pro Gaming Chair RLCS edition and Atlas Lite Desk will be featured onstage during the finals...
Sinclair Broadcast Group has received Federal Communications Commission approval to acquire three stations it already operates under shared services agreements. The transactions include the Howard Stirk Holdings NBC affiliate in Flint, Michigan, a Cunningham Broadcasting station in Traverse City, Michigan,...
Live Nation is intensifying its push for a settlement after the Department of Justice dismissed the concert‑promotion portion of its antitrust case. Executive Vice President Dan Wall argues that the remaining claims—exclusive ticketing contracts, a deal with Oak View Group,...
The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has filed reply comments urging the FCC to limit the upcoming upper C‑band reallocation to the statutory minimum of 100 MHz, warning that any additional clearing threatens broadcast infrastructure. The FCC is considering auctioning up...
The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan is drawing about 20 million U.S. viewers each day, with NBC’s Peacock platform delivering more streaming hours than the last two Games combined. Advertisers are abandoning traditional “Be Right Back” filler and deploying real‑time, native...
Zacks Equity Research examined Gray Television (GTN) and found its shares have risen 20.8% year‑over‑year but remain well below the 2021 trading range. The research note highlights the company’s solid cash‑flow generation from local broadcast advertising and a dividend yield...
This weekend, despite new releases, #WutheringHeights & #GOAT should fight among themselves for the #1 at US #BoxOffice, as #Lionsgate faith sequel #ICanOnlyImagine2 grossed $1.8M in total previews (1.3M last SAT early screenings + 475K THU Previews). Back in 2018, #ICanOnlyImagine...
Nexon said it has appointed Patrick Söderlund as executive chairman of the company. Throughout his career, Söderlund has demonstrated the type of hands-on strategic and creative leadership that is needed to transform Nexon. In this newly created role, he takes...
Nexstar Media Group spent $3.2 million lobbying the FCC in 2025, while Sinclair Broadcast Group increased its spend to $800,000, aiming to eliminate the television‑ownership caps that restrict reach to 39 % of U.S. TV homes. The lobbying surge coincides with massive...
Square Enix released a promotional video that concludes with the phrase “NieR: Automata to be continued,” signaling a possible new project tied to the franchise. The video also celebrates the title reaching 10 million units sold across Switch, PS4, Xbox One,...
A UK class‑action lawsuit led by digital‑safety advocate Vicki Shotbolt accuses Valve of breaching competition law by imposing a 30% revenue‑share fee and a price‑parity rule on Steam. The claim seeks up to £656 million in damages for consumers, arguing that...
Producer Alfr3d Beats, real name Dick Alfredo Caballero Rodriguez, withdrew his lawsuit accusing Karol G of stealing his beat for the 2022 hit “Gatúbela.” During discovery, DJ Maff supplied session files proving the beat was created months before Alfr3d Beats posted his...
Netflix announced the global acquisition of *I Am Frankelda*, Mexico’s first feature‑length stop‑motion film, slated for a 2026 debut on the platform. The project, created by brothers Arturo and Roy Ambriz, earned a Best Independent Feature nomination at the 53rd...
Virgin Music Group (VMG) completed its acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings on February 20, 2026, after the European Commission cleared the deal pending the divestiture of Downtown’s Curve royalty‑accounting unit. The transaction brings Downtown’s 5,000 business clients, four million creators and...
Virgin Music Group, the Universal Music Group subsidiary, closed its $775 million acquisition of Downtown Music Holdings after securing European Commission approval. The deal elevates VMG’s footprint in the independent music services market, adding Downtown’s 5,000 business clients and four million...
The average number of TikTok’s daily active users in the U.S. remains around 95% of its usership compared to the week of Jan. 19-25, according to Sensor Tower data … But when I asked the ICYMI community how they handled...
In #China’s #BoxOffice, the 15-day long #SpringFestival holiday keeps in full swing on 4th day, as comedy sequel #Pegasus3 beats original #Pegasus’s run in just 4 days, nearing 300M mark thanks to INSANE WOM after grossing another $56.6M on FRI...
Roku retained its position as the leading connected‑TV (CTV) platform for open programmatic ads in Q4 2025, commanding a 32% share of impressions. Amazon Fire TV and Apple TV followed with 16% and 15% respectively, while LG surged 79% quarter‑over‑quarter to reach 10%...
January 2026 was a quiet month for U.S. video‑game sales, but Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 reclaimed the top spot on the software chart. The PlayStation 5 led hardware unit and dollar sales, while Nintendo’s Switch 2 generated the most hardware spending...
A study by Audio Visual Nation examined Google search activity for all 67 Super Bowl advertisers and found that curiosity‑driven ads generated the highest return on attention. AI search startup Genspark led the pack with a 5,852% search spike, far...
Netmarble announced that its mobile MMORPG Seven Knights 2 will cease operations on April 15, 2026. In‑app purchases were suspended on January 14, and all cash‑shop items have been removed. Servers will stay online until the shutdown date, with scheduled events proceeding as planned....
First Peoples Radio’s CFPT‑FM (ELMNT FM) in Toronto signed off on September 1, 2024 after struggling with revenue and ratings. The Canadian Radio‑television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) responded by announcing a new regulatory pathway to license additional First Nations‑focused FM stations. Toronto...
Microsoft announced that longtime Xbox head Phil Spencer and president Sarah Bond are departing the division. Asha Sharma, previously Microsoft’s CoreAI product president, will take over as Xbox CEO, while Matt Booty moves into the chief content officer role. The...
Exel by Merak, the Saudi gaming accelerator owned by Merak Capital, has named Faisal Sedrani as its new chief executive officer. Sedrani, who previously built Exel as a Merak subsidiary and serves as VP of Innovation Platform, will steer the...
Riot's tactical shooter VALORANT will debut as the 16th title in the Esports Nations Cup 2026, slated for Riyadh from November 8‑15. The tournament features 32 national squads competing in a round‑robin group stage followed by a single‑elimination playoff, culminating in...
LG Ad Solutions’ February‑May 2024 study of 1,435 Connected TV users shows that 94% of Hispanic Americans can access Connected TV, and most favor streaming over traditional broadcast. The primary drivers are greater control and broader content choices, with the...
Destream, a creator‑focused monetization platform, has launched services in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), giving regional influencers access to a global payment infrastructure. The rollout includes secure payment links, multi‑currency payouts and a Mastercard‑backed debit card, plus a built‑in eSIM...
The Varsity * New MLBPA interim head is prepared for a lockout. * Monumental Sports Network lays off five digital edit staffers. * NASCAR chief Steve O'Donnell: "Is there a number of races that makes more sense? Could it be 30—or even more?...
This has been another noisy week in the Warner Bros. sale, and yet it still comes back to the same question. Will Paramount Skydance increase its offer? If it does, by how much? And, will Netflix match?
WePlay Studios announced a partnership with the Global Gaming League to stage league competitions in California, shifting some esports activity from Las Vegas to the West Coast. The collaboration combines WePlay’s high‑production content capabilities with GGL’s celebrity‑owned team model. Events...
Netflix says Paramount Skydance’s prospective Warner Bros. Discovery takeover has *not* received DOJ approval. “Paramount Skydance continues to mislead stockholders and distract from the facts,” Netflix chief legal officer David Hyman said in a statement https://t.co/NiKkflro8J
I compared the tracking for #TheOdyssey and #Oppenehimer at the same five-month pre-release point to see what the data says. If you're curious: https://t.co/Pkk9ZNJcVS
Hypebot’s Industry News tab now offers a continuously updated stream of music‑business coverage, aggregating stories from across the web. The platform maintains its long‑standing policy of zero paywalls, giving professionals free, unrestricted access. Over two decades of curation, the service...
Takeaways from my interview with Netflix’s CEO Ted Sarandos, specifically his detailed commitments to theatrical releases for Warner Bros movies ⬇️⬇️ https://t.co/y6Ya3j2nWi
Last year, ESPN and Major League Baseball appeared to have struck out. A decades-old alliance was torn asunder, with the Disney sports giant backing away from “Sunday Night Baseball.” ESPN believes it has gotten its corporate mitt on something better. https://t.co/P87paXqRNS
Spain’s audiovisual market has reached a tipping point as streaming platforms generated €3.58 billion in revenue in 2025, overtaking traditional television’s €3.35 billion for the first time. The surge is driven by ad‑supported tiers, which lifted OTT advertising income 25% to €357 million...
ESPN, MLB Take New Swing at Games They Hope Bring Die-Hard Fans to Streaming https://t.co/P87paXqRNS via @variety
Streaming executives watching as a $5M an episode procedural beats out their $10M+ an episode shows. The people* desire good hospital shows about sad doctors. *I am people https://t.co/rmuvyhpc0B
Spike Chunsoft announced the Shiren the Wanderer series has sold over 3 million copies worldwide, coinciding with its 30th‑anniversary celebrations. The sixth main‑line title, The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island, reached 300,000 units globally within its first year, with more than...
Ubisoft CEO Explains Three-Year Plan to Revamp Game Publisher Through New ‘Creative House’ Strategy, More Than $200 Million in Cost Reductions https://t.co/3Q14sQldSc via @variety
Onza Distribution is showcasing three flagship series—Neuer, Vulnerables and I Give You My Life—at MIP London, emphasizing that each title has already delivered strong ratings in its home market. Neuer, a procedural thriller, was Slovakia’s most‑watched series and performed well on...
TALKERS magazine is the presenting sponsor of the 2026 Intercollegiate Broadcasting System (IBS) conference in New York, marking its second consecutive year of support. The three‑day event, held Feb. 19‑21 at the Sheraton Times Square Hotel, brings roughly a thousand...
A Class A FM station serving Virginia’s Appalachian border with Kentucky has been sold to the Somerset Educational Broadcasting Foundation, pending FCC approval. The deal replaces a 2024 transaction that fell through, marking the station’s first change of hands in...
