What Is a First-Look Deal?
The article defines a first‑look deal as a contract where a creator gives a studio the right of first refusal on any new project, in exchange for a holding fee, office space, and development support. It outlines the step‑by‑step process—pitch, studio decision window, greenlight or pass—and contrasts first‑look agreements with exclusive overall deals. Benefits for studios include securing a talent pipeline and reducing risk, while creators gain financial stability, resources, and prestige. The piece also warns of potential delays, stigma from studio rejections, and offers guidance on earning such deals.
Squid Game Expands to Celeb-Reality / House of Cards Creator Writing Game of Thrones Movie / Little House on the...
Netflix is extending the Squid Game franchise with a new celebrity‑driven reality series titled "Squid Game: The VIP Challenge." The spin‑off pits eight high‑profile VIPs against each other in games that echo the original show's deadly contests. Hosts Dylan O'Brien...
The Accidental Ad Tech Founder: Eric Hochberger’s 20-Year Bet on the Open Web
Eric Hochberger co‑founded Mediavine in 2004 as a collection of SEO‑driven fan sites. After years of selling sidebar ads and consulting, the company built its own header bidding platform in 2014, which quadrupled revenue and shifted Mediavine into a full‑service...
How Formula 1 Makes Money: A Complete Business Breakdown Before The 2026 Season
Liberty Media’s 2025 earnings show Formula 1’s revenue climbing to $3.87 billion, a 14% increase, while operating income jumped 28% to $632 million. The franchise’s equity value rose to over $26 billion, delivering a 16% annualized return since the 2017 acquisition. Heading into the...
Will Media Consolidation Finally End TNT Sports?
Paramount Global's pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery could spell the end of TNT Sports, the long‑standing sports brand of Turner. The deal, while likely to clear U.S. antitrust review, may still face challenges and follows a pattern where regulators...
ABC's Beloved Comedy "Scrubs" Returns with Over 11 Million Total Audience to Date
ABC’s revived "Scrubs" episode attracted 11.36 million cross‑platform viewers within five days, making it the network’s top comedy debut on streaming in over a year. The broadcast also earned a 0.74 rating among adults 18‑49, the highest linear comedy telecast on...
Axel Springer Buys B2B Real Estate Media Co. Bisnow: Exclusive
Axel Springer announced the acquisition of Bisnow, a B2B commercial‑real‑estate media and events firm, and created a new Brew Media Group to oversee the deal. The unit will be led by Robert Dippell, CEO of Morning Brew, while Bisnow and...
Disney CFO Reveals Plans On Merging Hulu & Disney+ Together
Disney CFO Hugh Johnston announced that Hulu will be merged into the Disney+ app in the United States by year‑end. The integration will combine watch histories and data to deliver sharper, personalized recommendations and a more customized homepage. Disney plans...
NBC Renews Innovative Reality Travel Competition Series "Destination X" For Season Two
NBC has ordered a second season of the adventure‑travel competition "Destination X," hosted by Jeffrey Dean Morgan. The series, produced by Twofour and Universal Television Alternative Studio, topped summer ratings and attracted more than 20 million viewers across all platforms, becoming Peacock’s best‑performing...
How Music Retailers Can Deal With Tariffs and Save Their Customers
Independent music retailers are grappling with a new 15% tariff imposed for 150 days after the Supreme Court struck earlier duties, while consumer confidence stays weak and industry consolidation accelerates. Vendors have raised prices and tightened MAP policies, squeezing margins...
Shock & Ayatollah
U.S. and Israeli forces conducted a daylight strike on Iran over the weekend, targeting multiple senior Iranian officials, including a reported attempt on Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Israeli intelligence said the operation seized a rare, high‑confidence window, prompting an...
Thursday TV Ratings: Grey’s Anatomy, Going Dutch, Ghosts, Trivial Pursuit, Law & Order
Thursday, February 26, 2026, saw a packed lineup of 18 new episodes spanning ABC, NBC, CBS and other major networks, including Grey’s Anatomy, Law & Order SVU, and the reality series Going Dutch. Ratings were reported using Fast Affiliate Numbers, offering near‑real‑time...
9-1-1: Nashville: Season One Ratings + Viewer Votes
ABC’s procedural drama 9‑1‑1: Nashville completed its first season with mixed reception. The series earned an average viewer rating of 4.49 stars from 1,355 votes, while Nielsen’s live‑plus‑same‑day numbers have not been publicly disclosed. The franchise, which already includes the...
Going Dutch: Season Two Ratings + Viewer Votes
Fox’s live‑action sitcom Going Dutch returns for a second season after a modest first‑season performance. Season 1 posted a 0.15 rating in the 18‑49 demo and roughly 986,000 viewers, prompting the network to gamble on a renewal despite low numbers....
LEON.Bet and GamerLegion Expand Partnership to Dota 2 Roster
German esports organization GamerLegion announced that its partnership with online sportsbook LEON.Bet has been expanded to include the organization’s Dota 2 roster. The original agreement, signed in October 2025, made LEON.Bet the official sportsbook partner, delivering exclusive content and fan activations....
Shop the Look. Don't Ignore the Creator.
Instagram is piloting a "Shop the Look" feature that automatically adds AI‑generated product recommendations to creators' posts without their knowledge. The rollout is invisible in creator analytics, stripping them of control over which items are promoted. With 58% of consumers...
League of Legends First Stand Twitch Subscriptions and Warhound Senna Revealed
Riot Games unveiled the Warhound Senna skin, available March 18‑April 15, with a portion of proceeds earmarked for League of Legends esports teams. The company also announced that Twitch subscriptions will be embedded in the First Stand tournament viewing experience,...
Audiomack Is Where Fandom Becomes Fun, Active, and Social
Audiomack’s built‑in remix tool, Audiomod, has generated over 260 million fan‑made plays from 30 million users since its February 2024 launch, marking a 23 % year‑over‑year increase. The feature lets listeners edit tracks—speed, pitch, presets—and share creations without external software, turning passive streaming into...
ICYMI: February’s Biggest Headlines + Bonus Insights
Lia Haberman’s February ICYMI newsletter recaps ten pivotal platform updates that are reshaping the social media landscape. It also provides the full, unedited transcript of a session on pitching speaking opportunities, a trend‑watch feature highlighting brands that dominate Threads comments,...
From ACR Pioneer to Agentic Ad Ops: Zeev Neumeier’s Next Act: Gray Swan
Zeev Neumeier, the co‑founder of the ACR pioneer Inscape, launched Gray Swan to bring agentic AI to the chaotic world of CTV ad operations. The platform ingests massive ad‑tech datasets, builds contextual models, and automates decisions that previously required hours...
Tickets for Good Expands UK Integration, Turning Unsold Inventory Into Social Impact
Tickets for Good has launched an API integration with AXS across the UK, allowing promoters and venues to channel unsold ticket inventory to its verified community‑member network of more than 620,000 healthcare workers, teachers and charity staff. The platform, which...
Live Nation Leads Live Music's $0 Tax Club
Live Nation, along with other major live‑music firms, reported zero federal income tax for 2025 despite record revenues. The tax outcome stems from the 2025 One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which grants 100 % bonus depreciation on new venues, creating...
PGA of America, NBC Sports and USA Sports Extend Media Rights Agreement Through 2033
The PGA of America, NBC Sports and USA Sports have renewed their media‑rights agreement through 2033. The extension secures broadcast of the Ryder Cup, KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, Senior PGA Championship and PGA Professional Championship on NBC, Peacock, USA Network...
Watson: Season Two Ratings + Viewer Votes
CBS’s medical‑mystery drama *Watson* completed its second season after moving from a post‑AFC championship slot to Monday nights. Season 2 posted a 0.37 rating in the coveted 18‑49 demographic, matching its first‑season average of 5.16 million viewers. Fan‑submitted votes totalled 278, yielding...
How Will Paramount Buying Warner Bros Discovery Impact Disney+? | What’s On Disney Plus Q&A
The latest Disney+ Q&A tackled how Paramount’s purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery could shift the streaming hierarchy, examined new UK regulatory pressures, and addressed subscriber curiosity about adding live local channels. Host insights highlighted potential strategic pivots for Disney+, including...
MLS Team Execs Split on Whether Apple Deal Is Success or Failure
MLS entered its fourth year with Apple TV, now offering matches to all Apple TV subscribers after dropping the $99 Season Pass. Executives remain divided: some criticize the contract length, scheduling and content quality, while others praise the broader reach....
The Trust Economy: Why Digital Platforms Now Compete on Credibility, Not Features
Digital platforms have moved from a feature‑first race to a competition centered on credibility as functionality becomes commoditized. The erosion of trust—driven by fake reviews, AI‑generated content, and opaque policies—has made reliability a decisive differentiator. Regulated sectors such as finance...
The Voice: Season 29 Ratings (Spring 2026)
Season 29 of NBC's *The Voice* returns with three veteran coaches—Adam Levine, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson—framed as a “Battle of Champions” featuring past winners. Nielsen data shows a 0.35 rating and 4.68 million viewers on Mondays, and a 0.25 rating...
Chris Berman on NFL Owning 10% of ESPN: ‘I’d Be Shocked if It Was Any Dictation of that Way’
The NFL secured a ten‑percent equity stake in ESPN as part of a 2025 deal that gave the network control of the NFL Network, RedZone and fantasy assets. Regulators approved the transaction in roughly six months, accelerating integration ahead of...
ESPN, Horizon League Extend Partnership Entering Its Fourth Decade
ESPN and the Horizon League have signed a new multi‑year, multi‑platform media rights agreement, extending a partnership that began in 1988. The deal keeps men’s semifinals, championship, six regular‑season men’s games and the women’s championship on ESPN’s linear networks, while...
NASCAR’s ‘Full Speed’ Docuseries Moves to Prime Video with Daytona 500 Focus for Season 3
NASCAR’s Full Speed docuseries is moving from Netflix to Prime Video for its third season, debuting March 5 as an 85‑minute feature centered on the 2026 Daytona 500. The shift abandons the multi‑episode playoff format that drove 3.4 million Netflix views...
Paramount Skydance to Acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in a $110 Billion Deal
Paramount Skydance Corp. announced a $110 billion agreement to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, offering $31 per share—a 10.05% premium. The transaction is financed by $47 billion in equity backed by the Ellison family and RedBird Capital, plus $54 billion of new debt from...
Bari Apparent & Politico Animals
David Ellison is poised to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery after Netflix abandoned its bid, positioning the Ellison family as the leading suitor. The prospective takeover, tied to a pending Paramount‑Skydance merger, still requires regulatory clearance. Analysts warn that the deal could trigger...
Fire Country: Season Four Ratings + Viewer Votes
CBS has reshuffled its Friday‑night lineup, leaving Fire Country as the sole legacy series amid two newcomers. The show’s fourth season is currently tracked by Nielsen’s live + same‑day data, though full numbers have not yet been released. Season three previously posted...
Chicago Nightclub Operator Unable to Stream WWE Elimination Chamber PPV Event
WWE has prohibited any venue within a 50‑mile radius of Chicago’s United Center from streaming the Elimination Chamber pay‑per‑view, effectively shutting down watch parties at nightclubs like the Admiral Theatre. The move is intended to force fans to purchase higher‑priced...
Entrepreneur Andrew Glen Brown: The CEO Building Structure, Strategy, and Legacy Through London Bradley Enterprises
Andrew Glen Brown, CEO of London Bradley Enterprises, champions building durable business foundations before pursuing rapid growth. He focuses on structural elements such as entity formation, asset protection, and trust-based wealth planning to transform entrepreneurs into asset owners. Brown extends...
BC.Game Tops ESL’s February Annual Incentive Standings
BC.Game topped ESL’s February Annual Incentive standings after its appearance at IEM Kraków 2026, posting the highest average viewership of 569,201 and earning eight Viewership Points. The squad advanced through the Play‑In round, beating Legacy and Ninjas in Pyjamas, but...
How Skittle Media, an Unexpected Events Company, Is Using Video to Stand Out in Its Niche
Skittle Media, founded in 2024 by Richard and Clare Springham, has carved a profitable niche in pharma‑focused B2B media by concentrating exclusively on paid advertising. The company’s flagship brand, Solli, delivers daily news, thought leadership and on‑demand professional‑development lessons, attracting...
"Survivor 50" Premiere Wins the Night Posting CBS' Most-Watched Wednesday Since 2022
CBS reported that the "Survivor 50" premiere on February 25, 2026 attracted an average 5.06 million viewers, making it the network’s most‑watched Wednesday night since 2022. The episode outperformed NBC by 81 % and peaked at 6.18 million viewers, retaining at least 90 % of its audience...
MOUZ and Razer Renew Partnership for Two More Years
MOUZ has extended its strategic partnership with gaming hardware leader Razer for an additional two years, marking the longest‑standing collaboration in the German organization’s history. The renewal emphasizes joint local engagement initiatives, leveraging both companies’ Hamburg headquarters for smoother operations....
Bandcamp Expands Publishing Tools to Ensure Songwriters Get Paid
Bandcamp has introduced dedicated publishing‑rights fields on its track and album upload pages, allowing artists to enter songwriter, publisher and ISWC information. The platform also offers bulk‑edit tools for retrofitting existing catalogs and a free guide to navigate collection societies....
Former Cloud9 Player Loki Signs with LCK Team Hanjin BRION
Hanjin BRION announced the signing of former Cloud9 mid laner Lee “Loki” Sang‑min on a two‑year contract lasting through 2027. The 20‑year‑old will vie for a starting spot alongside incumbent Roamer as the team prepares for the 2026 LCK regular...
“Wonder Man” Debuts On The Nielsen Streaming Charts
Nielsen’s latest U.S. streaming charts covering Jan 26 2025‑Feb 1 2026 highlight Marvel’s new Disney+ series “Wonder Man” entering the Top 10 Originals at #8 with 618 K minutes viewed. The data underscores Disney’s dominance on the Acquired chart, where legacy titles like Grey’s Anatomy, Bluey and...
Peacock to Exclusively Stream Focus Features' "Hamnet" Beginning March 6
Peacock will stream the award‑winning drama Hamnet exclusively starting March 6, 2026. Directed by two‑time Oscar winner Chloé Zhao, the film adapts Maggie O'Farrell's bestseller and has earned a 93 % Rotten Tomatoes rating. It already secured two Golden Globe wins and...
Inside the Stream – SVOD Is Maturing; WBD-Paramount Deal TV Audience Shares
New Antenna data shows U.S. premium SVOD subscriber growth has markedly slowed, with seasonality now influencing churn as users cancel before adding new services. Bundling emerges as a critical growth lever, especially for Disney’s streaming portfolio. Meanwhile, Paramount‑Skydance secured the...
News: Discovery Global, Paramount, Atlanta Braves and More
Warner Bros. Discovery will abandon the planned Discovery Global spinoff if its pending merger with Paramount is finalized, keeping TNT Sports under the combined umbrella with CBS Sports. Paramount, after raising its offer to $31 per share, reaffirmed confidence in...
Tuesday TV Ratings 2/24/26: State of the Union Down Significantly From 2025 as Fox News Narrowly Tops Coverage, Will Trent...
The 2026 State of the Union broadcast saw a sharp drop in ratings, posting a 0.80 18‑49 rating on ABC, down from 2025 levels. Fox News narrowly led cable coverage with a 0.81 rating and 8.87 million viewers, edging out CNN....
The Great PSKY-WBD Mashup: It’s Not a Media Merger, It’s a Training Data Heist
Skydance‑Paramount’s proposal to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery is being framed as a traditional media consolidation, but analysts argue the real value lies in the combined content library as a high‑fidelity training data source for generative AI. The deal would...
Tube Trends: MrBeast Uses Giveaways To Hit New Highs
Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, has leveraged giveaway‑centric videos to set new viewership records on YouTube. In the past 90 days his "Subscribe For An iPhone" clip topped U.S. charts with over a billion views, while a holiday $100K giveaway...
Is The Sphere... A Good Business?
Sphere Entertainment reported a profitable 2023, but earnings relied on debt restructuring rather than operational cash flow. The Las Vegas‑based immersive venue generated $1.2 billion in 2024 revenue, giving it a 2.1× enterprise‑value multiple of roughly $2.5 billion. Analysts struggle to find...