Netflix And Amazon Resume Boiling The Frog, YouTubers Learn About Make-Goods
Netflix and Amazon are nudging their flagship streaming plans up to just under $20 a month, widening the price gap between ad‑free and ad‑supported tiers. The moves aim to coax price‑sensitive subscribers onto ad‑supported plans, bolstering CTV inventory and CPM potential. Meanwhile, YouTube creators are beginning to offer TV‑style “make‑goods”—free inventory when guaranteed views fall short—signaling a push toward traditional TV advertising practices. Both developments highlight the industry’s shift from pure subscription models to hybrid ad‑supported revenue streams.
It’s Just Not Cricket. Indian Broadcasters Baulk at FIFA’s World Cup Asking Price
FIFA has been unable to sell broadcast rights for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups in India, even after slashing its asking price to roughly $35‑40 million from an initial $100 million. Only 13 of the 104 matches are scheduled to air...
Inside the Stream – Interview: Wurl’s EMEA GM on Sports & FASTs
Wurl’s EMEA general manager Keith Bedford discusses the modest share of sports on free‑ad‑supported streaming TV (FAST), noting it represents just 2.7% of total FAST viewership. He highlights how FAST services are opening doors for sub‑premium sports rights, citing FIFA’s...
🎧 The WGA’s Surprise Deal — SAG and DGA, You’re Up
The Writers Guild of America reached a tentative agreement with the major studios, injecting $321 million into its health plan while raising deductibles and premiums. The contract shifts from the traditional three‑year cycle to a four‑year bargaining period and includes modest...
What Is Fox Really After with the NFL and Streaming?
Fox Corporation filed a public comment with the FCC urging regulators to extend the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act protections to streaming platforms, arguing that pay‑walled services threaten free over‑the‑air sports and local news. The move comes as broadcast sports inventories...
John Ourand: FCC Pressure, Lack of Bidding Market Could Hurt NFL’s Leverage in Media Deal Renegotiations
The NFL is renegotiating its broadcast contracts ahead of the 2026 season, eyeing a roughly 50% revenue increase from a new deal with CBS. John Ourand warns that the league’s leverage is eroding because there are no fresh bidders for...
Kalshi, Versant, NYT, WSJ: Top Media Execs Join Ankler X NAB Show
The Ankler × NAB Show will convene top media executives in Las Vegas from April 19‑21, 2026, under the theme “AI as Creator: Who Owns the Future of Hollywood?”. The three‑day forum will feature leaders from Kalshi, Versant, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal discussing...
The NFL’s 18th Game Kremlinology
The Department of Justice has launched an antitrust investigation into whether the NFL breached the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, which shields the league’s ability to negotiate collective media contracts. The probe arrives just as the league was signaling a...
Meta Is Pulling Ads that Recruit Plaintiffs Suing Meta
Meta Platforms is removing more than a dozen paid advertisements that law firms used to recruit plaintiffs for social‑media addiction lawsuits. The move follows a California jury verdict that found Meta negligent in fostering compulsive use of its services. Axios...
LOUD WOMEN DIY Guide #12: How to Release a Single, DIY
LOUD WOMEN’s DIY guide walks independent musicians through every step of releasing a single without a label, from finalizing recordings to uploading via a digital distributor. It stresses having all assets—high‑resolution artwork, multiple audio formats, a short bio, and optional...
AllCity Network Strikes Sales, Content Partnership with KC Sports Network
AllCity Network announced a strategic partnership with the Kansas City Sports Network, becoming its exclusive sales representative while collaborating on content and distribution. KCSN will retain editorial and production control, leveraging its 33,000‑subscriber YouTube channel and 20,000 Substack followers. The...
WTWH Media Acquisition Targets Hosted-Buyer Executive Events
WTWH Media announced the acquisition of HealthLeaders, a niche B2B health‑care events firm, earlier this month. The deal adds HealthLeaders’ 23‑person team and its invite‑only Exchange series to WTWH’s 220‑employee portfolio, which already spans 35 live events across engineering, foodservice...
Sport Wins over the Robots in New Campaign for Unibet
Paris agency La Maison Créative Justement launched Unibet’s new "Let sport win you over" campaign, depicting robots being pulled into a spontaneous game when a ball rolls in. The spot underscores sport’s irresistible pull, juxtaposing human emotion with a high‑tech...
StubHub Must Pay $10M as FTC Alleges Deceptive Ticket Pricing
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission ordered StubHub to refund $10 million after finding the ticket‑reseller used deceptive "drip pricing" that hid mandatory fees until checkout. StubHub, which posted $1.7 billion in revenue last year, saw its shares dip 3% to $6.17 following...
Niantic Spatial’s John Hanke: The Don’t-Call-It an Exit Interview
Niantic, the creator of Pokémon Go, has completed a major transformation by selling its gaming division and rebranding as Niantic Spatial, a pure‑play mapping and geospatial‑AI firm. At the end of last month the company appointed former IBM executive Inhi Cho Suh as...
Bollywood Is Running Hollywood's Forbidden Experiment
Bollywood studios are rapidly deploying AI to create, dub, and recut films, turning India into the world’s largest testbed for AI‑driven entertainment. With 958 million active internet users—over half in rural areas—the market is hungry for low‑cost, multilingual content. Companies like...
Melania Trump's Favorability Ratings Sink to the Lowest for Any First Lady in History After Her Movie's 'Historic Bomb'
CNN data analyst Harry Enten reported that First Lady Melania Trump’s net favorability has plunged to –12 points, the lowest rating ever recorded for a U.S. first lady. A year ago she was slightly above water at +3 points, a...
ADG 4/9: Tik Tok
The Justice Department has opened a probe into the NFL’s antitrust practices surrounding its TV‑rights packages, raising questions about consumer access to games. Meanwhile, the software sector faces a looming credit crunch as roughly $330 billion of high‑yield loans are set...
Salt N Pepa Termination Rights Ruling Makes Creator Protections in US “Illusory”, Say Artist Advocacy Groups
Salt N Pepa’s lawsuit against Universal Music over 1980s recordings has become a pivotal test of the U.S. copyright termination right. The Second Circuit Appeals Court received amicus briefs from the National Society of Entertainment & Arts Lawyers and a coalition of...
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Builds on Momentum From "Countdown to the Oscars" - Scores Big with Show's Post-Oscars Week
"Live with Kelly and Mark" leveraged its "Countdown to the Oscars" lead‑in to post its strongest ratings in seven weeks, with total viewers rising 6% to 2.71 million and a 5% lift in household ratings. The after‑Oscars episode delivered double‑digit gains...
The 2027 VCT Tournament-Focused Structure Can Fix Tier 2, but Riot Still Needs to Get the Details Right
Riot Games announced a 2027 overhaul of the Valorant Champions Tour that eliminates the traditional season‑long ladder in favor of a tournament‑centric structure with open qualifiers and regional cups. Partner teams will now operate on two‑year contracts and must reapply...
Cannes 2026: Meta Ousts TikTok to Become the Festival's Official Social Partner
Meta has been named the official social media partner of the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, taking over the role previously held by TikTok. The partnership runs from May 12 through the festival’s closing date, giving Meta branding rights on the...
Record Budgets, Fewer Greenlights: The Hidden Paradox of Belgium's 2025 Cinema Boom
Belgium’s Cinema Center announced a record‑high 2025 budget of €150 million (≈$162 million), yet the number of films receiving greenlights fell to about 30, a 15% drop from 2024. The budget surge stems from larger co‑production deals and increased public subsidies aimed...
How France Télévisions Is Defying Budget Cuts to Dominate European Public TV
France Télévisions is outperforming its European peers despite a 15% reduction in its public‑service budget, according to a new NPA Conseil study. The report finds the broadcaster holds roughly a 30% audience share and ranks highest for audience efficiency across the continent....
Defending French 'Soft Power': Arte and TV5Monde Bosses Face Parliamentary Inquiry
On April 7, Bruno Patino, president of Arte France, and Kim Younes, chief executive of TV5Monde, appeared before a parliamentary commission investigating public broadcasting. The inquiry, led by Jérémie Patrier, is probing governance structures, funding mechanisms, and potential political interference at the...
The Cost of Cutting Corners: French Producers Warn That TV Budget Slashes Are Driving Viewers Away
French producers Vincent Gisbert and Jérôme Caza warn that France Télévisions' 5% budget cut to unscripted ("flux") programming announced in September 2025 is eroding production quality and alienating viewers. They argue that treating unscripted shows as a cost‑adjustment lever jeopardizes...
CNC Indefinitely Suspends Social Media Creator Fund Amid Targeted Threats
On April 8, France’s National Centre for Cinema and the Moving Image (CNC) announced the indefinite suspension of its newly created Social Media Creator Fund. The program, launched earlier this year with a €10 million (≈$10.8 million) budget, was designed to support 150‑plus...
Women Drive the Housemaid to Record-Numbers as Starz's Best-Performing Pay 1 Film Ever
STARZ announced that the psychological thriller *The Housemaid* became its best‑performing Pay 1 title ever, setting a record for acquisition cost and streaming viewership. The film, starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, premiered on the STARZ app on April 1 after a...
2026 Cycle: Video Consumption & Reach Report
Cross Screen Media’s new 2026 Cycle Video Consumption & Reach Report projects political video advertising to surpass $11.2 billion during the upcoming election cycle. The analysis shows streaming services have overtaken linear television in viewership, though the shift varies regionally. It...
How Coca-Cola Is Embedding Itself Into World Cup Anticipation
Coca‑Cola unveiled its second global World Cup film, “Uncanned Emotions,” positioning the brand inside the tournament’s emotional narrative rather than beside it. The spot features legendary commentator Peter Drury, lending authentic football gravitas, and dovetails with a 38‑stop North American...
Podcasting on Substack
Julie Ciardi, a longtime podcaster, explains why audio should be a core business strategy and outlines five reasons—simplicity, trust, convenience, voice authority, and independence—from discovery to sales. She announces her move from Libsyn to Substack, citing the platform’s all‑in‑one distribution,...
Disney To Lay Off Staff Ahead Of Disney+ & Hulu Merger
Disney announced it will combine Hulu with Disney+ in the United States later this year, creating a single streaming hub that mirrors its international model. The consolidation will trigger the elimination of roughly 1,000 positions across the company, including the...
Pilar Corrias Now Represents Alexis Ralaivao
Pilar Corrias has added French painter Alexis Ralaivao to its roster, partnering with New York’s Olney Gleason. His first UK solo show, Flirter avec l’abstrait, runs at the gallery’s Conduit Street space until 23 May 2026. Ralaivao’s oil paintings blend 17th‑century Dutch techniques with a...
CBS’s Late-Night Exit Leaves Affiliates Holding The Bag
CBS has handed its 11:35 p.m. and 12:35 p.m. late‑night slots to Byron Allen, effectively exiting the daypart for the first time since David Letterman’s 1993 debut. The network will lease the hours as a time‑buy, swapping high‑cost production for guaranteed revenue....
The Greenberger Mile
Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Axel Springer, quietly launched a video podcast called MDMeets, featuring interviews with high‑profile political and tech figures such as Reza Pahlavi, Viktor Orbán, Sam Altman and Satya Nadella. Simultaneously, he gave Jonathan Greenberger a dedicated budget and mandate to recruit and...
For Creators – What Brands Actually Look For In Creator Partnerships
Brands now prioritize niche alignment, authentic engagement, content consistency, audience demographics, and professionalism over raw follower counts. Nano and micro creators (1K‑100K followers) consistently out‑perform macro influencers on engagement and trust, according to the Influencer Marketing Hub 2026 Benchmark Report....
NCAA Men’s Title Game Audience up Despite Move From Broadcast to Cable
The 2026 NCAA men’s basketball championship, aired on TBS, TNT, truTV and HBO Max, attracted 18.3 million viewers—up 1% from the 2025 CBS broadcast despite a 4% rating dip. The game posted an 8.8 rating, the highest since the 2019 CBS...
Podcast Frenzy: ‘Everyone’s for Sale’ After ‘TBPN’ Shocker
The podcast market is in the midst of a buying frenzy after TBPN’s sale to OpenAI for a low‑hundred‑million‑dollar price tag. The deal has ignited a wave of interest from legacy media, tech firms, and private investors seeking to own...
‘Mario’ and the New Fandom Flywheel Upending Hollywood
The Super Mario Galaxy movie earned $372.5 million worldwide in its five‑day opening, the highest opening tally of the year. Its success is attributed to a fan‑first strategy that leveraged nostalgia, Easter‑egg reveals, and massive online fan engagement. The article argues that Hollywood’s...
The 10 Most Valuable Artist Music Catalogs (for Now)
The music‑rights market is in a catalog acquisition gold rush, with streaming and sync licensing turning iconic song collections into high‑yield assets. Sony Music Group alone spent $1.27 billion on Queen and $600 million for a 50% stake in Michael Jackson, setting record‑breaking...
Making More Than Money on Substack
The author, a longtime creator, has turned Substack into a revenue engine, earning five‑figure income within weeks of activating paid subscriptions. By centralizing writing, email newsletters, and a direct audience list, Substack eliminates the need for brand deals or viral...
News: Nashville Predators, Michael Malone, Sue Bird and More
The Nashville Predators signed a multiyear over‑the‑air agreement with Scripps Sports, moving their regional games to the newly branded “The Spot — Nashville 28” and ending their reliance on the Main Street Sports Network. Former NBA coach and ESPN analyst Michael Malone was...
As Impacts of US Supreme Court’s Cox Ruling Kick in, the Music Industry May Have a Bigger Problem as Yout,...
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Cox decision narrows contributory copyright infringement to cases where a service is expressly tailored or actively encourages infringement. This limits music majors’ ability to hold ISPs such as Cox and Grande liable for users’ piracy. Platforms...
Paramount And WB Are Competing For The Same Audience — And That Audience Is Stretched Thin
Paramount Skydance’s planned acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery seeks to unite two streaming platforms that already share 17.7 million U.S. adults. Those dual subscribers are financially constrained—59% have household net worth under $50,000—and are also subscribed to Hulu and Netflix, stretching...
Tube Trends: Eventful Q1 Fuels Cable News YouTube Views Increases
Fox News logged nearly 600 million YouTube views in March 2026, a 60.7% month‑over‑month rise and its highest total since mid‑2023. The surge stemmed largely from extensive coverage of the Iran war, with 58% of uploads focused on the conflict and...
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Is Already a Hit, Despite Poor Reviews From Critics
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is on track to match its 2023 predecessor with a projected global box office of $372.6 million, making it the highest‑grossing film of 2026 so far. It opened Wednesday with a record‑breaking $34 million domestic debut, surpassing...
Pershing Square's UMG Takeover Bid Includes $879M for Artists
Pershing Square, led by Bill Ackman, has submitted an unsolicited $64.4 billion takeover bid for Universal Music Group. The proposal hinges on cashing out UMG's $3.1 billion Spotify stake, which would generate roughly $1.75 billion after taxes. Of that, $879 million is earmarked for...
Unlocking a Fix to One of Music’s Biggest Royalty Problems: Registration
Lumoza, a new music‑rights platform, lets creators upload a track, lock in contributor splits and generate a “Digital Birth Certificate” that records ownership details immutably. Its AI assistant, Lumi, extracts metadata, flags missing credits and prepares submissions for performing rights...
Live Music Industry News Roundup
Ticketmaster announced a new integration with fan‑to‑fan marketplace CashorTrade, enabling verified tickets to be resold at face value or lower. The partnership builds on Ticketmaster’s 2019 Face Value Exchange, giving fans more pricing options while protecting artist‑set resale caps. The...
ESPN Delivers Stellar 2025-26 Women's College Basketball Campaign
ESPN’s coverage of the 2025‑26 women’s college basketball season culminated in a championship game that attracted 9.9 million viewers, a 15% rise over the prior year and the third‑most‑watched title on its networks. The tournament averaged 1.3 million viewers across 58 games,...