Gamescom 2026: Registered Exhibitors up 15%, More than 40 Countries Taking Part
Gamescom 2026 has broken exhibitor registration records for the third consecutive year, with a 15% increase over 2025 and participants from more than 40 countries. The event will feature pavilions from 23 nations and introduces a new Gamescom Business Ticket aimed at trade visitors. Organisers have dropped the official partner‑country model to emphasize the show's global character, adding new formats for broader exposure. Early‑bird ticket sales are at record levels, with options ranging from one‑day to five‑day passes that include access to Gamescom Dev and the online B2B platform.
PE-Backed Banijay Entertainment and All3Media to Merge
Banijay Entertainment and All3Media, both backed by private equity, announced a definitive merger that will combine their production assets under a single entity. The deal creates one of the world’s largest independent television and digital content houses, spanning scripted, unscripted...
Frictionless Self-Serve Market Launched At Co-Op Live
Co‑op Live in Manchester has opened Europe’s first AI‑driven, frictionless self‑serve market, built with Oak View Group, AiFi and Boxbar Tech. Shoppers tap a cashless card, pick items, and leave while computer‑vision cameras track each purchase. The system is designed...
New Audible Feature Supports the Immersion Reading Trend
Audible introduced the Read & Listen feature, letting users see synchronized text while listening to audiobooks within the Audible app. The tool differs from Whispersync by keeping both formats in a single interface, though users must purchase both the ebook and audiobook....
ARD and ZDF to Close Linear TV Channels Under Reform Treaty
German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF will overhaul their linear TV portfolio under a reformed national broadcast treaty, shutting down ARD alpha, tagesschau24 and ONE by December 31 2026. The restructure consolidates remaining services into three jointly‑operated channels—phoenix for news, neo for...
TIGA Calls on the UK Government to Strengthen the Video Games Expenditure Credit in the Upcoming Autumn Budget
The UK games trade body TIGA is urging the government to boost the Video Games Expenditure Credit (VGEC) in the upcoming Autumn Budget, proposing a 53% credit rate for projects with budgets up to £23.5 million. It also recommends expanding qualifying...
Attraction Welcomes Back Visitors After Six-Year Closure
The Canterbury Tales attraction in Canterbury city centre has reopened after a six‑year Covid‑induced shutdown, under new owners Lewis Hunt and Mica Dougan. The venue now features state‑of‑the‑art hologram projections, immersive soundscapes and personalized rooms that adapt language and music...
Akron Zoo Plans Its Largest Expansion in 73 Years
The Akron Zoo announced a $21 million, 16‑acre expansion of its Pride of Africa exhibit, the largest project in its 73‑year history. The plan adds a state‑of‑the‑art indoor‑outdoor giraffe habitat where guests can feed the animals, alongside new enclosures for wildebeests,...
Now Xbox Has Also Patented ‘Help Sessions’ that Play Your Game for You when You’re Stuck
Microsoft has been granted a set of patents describing AI‑driven “help sessions” that can take over a player’s controls when they become stuck. The system uses machine‑learning to detect difficulty, prompts the user, and then hands control to either a...
Ziggo Sport Retains Dutch Uefa Champions League Rights Until 2031
Ziggo Sport has secured a four‑year extension of its Dutch broadcast rights to UEFA’s flagship club competitions, keeping the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League through the 2030/31 season. The package will be delivered across six linear channels, 20...
Gardens by the Bay Developing New Wetlands Attraction with Unique teamLab Experience
Gardens by the Bay announced Wetlands by the Bay, a 5‑hectare expansion slated for phased opening from late 2028. The development will feature a teamLab immersive art experience that blends indoor installations with outdoor kayak tours across restored wetlands. Over...
Report: Trump Administration Reviews Tencent Gaming Investments over Security Concerns
The Trump administration is reviewing Tencent’s gaming investments for potential national‑security risks. Senior officials are assessing the Chinese conglomerate’s stakes in Riot Games, Epic Games, Supercell and other Western studios. The review comes amid heightened U.S.–China tensions and just before...
A New Media Empire
Paramount announced a $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, paying $31 per share—a 150% premium to the pre‑talk price. The deal includes a $7 billion regulatory fee and a $2.8 billion breakup fee for Netflix, which withdrew its bid. Combining Paramount, CBS,...
Exhibitor Viewpoint: ElevenLabs at the 2026 NAB Show
ElevenLabs, a leader in generative AI for voice, speech, music and video, is gearing up for the 2026 NAB Show where it will demo its latest offerings. The company highlights breakthroughs in controllability and consistency that move AI from experimental...
NEP OB Truck Upgrade Drives Software-Based Live Production Across the Nordics and Beyond
NEP Europe has relaunched its OB unit as EU‑03, a software‑centric mobile production truck designed for 1080p HDR live events. The upgrade fully adopts SMPTE ST 2110, allowing broadcasters to run license‑based, scalable workflows that blend software and hardware. Based in...
CH Media Adds RTL+ to Oneplus in Swiss Streaming Partnership
Swiss media group CH Media will embed German streaming service RTL+ into its oneplus platform on 23 March 2026, creating a bundled offering that also includes Paramount+ and a slate of Swiss originals. The integration delivers selected RTL+ titles—reality, drama and family...
Research: 85% of European Viewers Use Streaming Ad Tiers
FreeWheel’s Voice of the Viewer study shows that 85% of European streaming users watch ad‑supported tiers, with 83% satisfied overall. Content choice drives satisfaction, cited by 73% of respondents, while 47% exclusively use ad‑supported plans and 49% deliberately chose them....
Storm Fagan Named BBC Chief Technology and Product Officer
The BBC has appointed Storm Fagan as its chief technology and product officer, tasking her with leading the newly created BBC Media Tech division. The unit will consolidate product and technology teams from the broadcaster and BBC Studios into a...
Handball-Bundesliga Selects Dyn Media to Upgrade International Streaming Service
The Handball-Bundesliga has appointed Dyn Media to take over the technical development of its international streaming service, HBL TV, starting summer 2026. The league’s OTT platform, already available in over 80 countries, will expand to more than 100 markets where...
AI-Music Artists Get Their Own Accelerator From Prose Ventures
Prose Ventures has launched the AI Music Creators Accelerator, an eight‑week program that supports human musicians using generative AI tools. The inaugural cohort presented a diverse demo day on February 27, streamed publicly on Twitch and later on YouTube. Founder...
Create Music Group Scores $450 Million Raise at $2.2 Billion Valuation
Create Music Group announced a $450 million financing round that lifts its valuation to $2.2 billion. The capital structure blends debt and equity, while the founding team retains majority ownership. Minority investors include Ares Management, Flexpoint Ford and 2 Mile Capital. The raise follows...
Researchers: Newsrooms Gamble with Reputation by Partnering with Betting Platforms
University researchers warn that newsrooms partnering with prediction‑market and betting platforms risk eroding public trust. Recent deals let election, policy and geopolitical odds appear alongside reporting at outlets such as the AP, CNBC, CNN and Dow Jones. Similar financial ties...
Cyberpunk 2077 Is Coming to Xbox Game Pass on March 10
CD Projekt Red announced that Cyberpunk 2077 will join Xbox Game Pass on March 10, accessible to Premium and Ultimate subscribers on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S. The title will arrive with all post‑launch updates, including the Edgerunners content, and supports...
Spain: Court Summons for Cloudflare CEO
A Madrid investigating court has summoned Cloudflare chief executive Matthew Prince to appear on April 7th over alleged non‑cooperation with Spain’s anti‑piracy efforts. LaLiga and Movistar Plus+ claim the U.S. firm ignored more than a hundred takedown requests, allowing roughly 38 percent of...
JioStar Blocks 420 Piracy Sites During T20 World Cup
JioStar launched a massive anti‑piracy campaign during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, blocking 420 illicit sites and removing 36 illegal IPTV apps that had amassed over 26 million downloads. The Delhi High Court injunction enabled the suspension of 141 piracy...
The New Media Stack & The AI Video Gold Rush
AI video platforms are democratizing content creation, allowing solo creators to produce cinema‑grade shows and brands to generate hundreds of ad variants at scale. Experts say speed and output will increase tenfold, but success will hinge on owning strong intellectual...
‘The Conversation Has Shifted’: The CFO Moved Upstream. Now Agencies Have to as Well
CFOs are moving upstream in the marketing process, joining planning discussions before budgets are set and demanding rigorous financial justification. Agencies such as VaynerMedia, Blue Chip, and Brave Bison report that finance teams now scrutinize contribution margin, LTV‑to‑CAC, payback periods,...
How Creator Talent Agencies Are Evolving Into Multi-Platform Operators
Creator talent agencies are abandoning the legacy deal‑brokering model in favor of multi‑platform operations that place creators at the core. Companies like Shorthand Studios and Night Media have demonstrated rapid audience growth and secured sizable funding, such as Night Media’s...
Virgin Media O2 Appoints Melcon as CFO
Virgin Media O2 announced David Melcon as its new Chief Financial Officer, effective April 2. Melcon arrives with more than 25 years of telecom finance experience, most recently serving as CFO of Vivo, Telefónica Brazil, where he helped double market value and...
US Identifies Notorious Piracy Markets
The U.S. Trade Representative released its 2025 Notorious Markets List, identifying 37 online and 32 physical venues that facilitate trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy. The report spotlights the surge in illegal streaming of live sports, especially as the United States...
CISAC Board Gatherings In Sydney For Talks on the ‘Significant Threat’ of AI
APRA AMCOS is hosting the CISAC board in Sydney, the first such gathering in 25 years, as part of its centennial celebrations. The meeting brings together heads of major collective‑management societies—including ASCAP, JASRAC, PRS for Music and SOCAN—to discuss the...
Chingari’s Operating Scale Declines 53% in FY25
Chingari, the Indian short‑video app turned paid private‑live‑streaming platform, reported a 53% year‑on‑year drop in operating revenue for FY25. Revenue fell to Rs 44 crore, while the company’s loss narrowed to Rs 8.8 crore after cutting expenses by more than half. The pivot shifted...
ACA Connects: Hopeful, But Realistic About Cable Act Rewrite
ACA Connects is heading to Capitol Hill amid a hyper‑partisan climate and a fresh war in Iran, urging lawmakers to consider the mounting cost pressures on small and midsize cable operators. The association is pushing for a comprehensive rewrite of...
Seaport Entertainment Group Inc (SEG) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Seaport Entertainment Group reported Q4 2025 consolidated revenue of $45.1 million, a modest 1% year‑over‑year increase, while net loss narrowed to $33.2 million, or $2.61 per share, a 56% improvement. Adjusted EBITDA rose sharply—up 40% on an exclusionary basis—despite headline declines driven...
TechExpo26 Says ‘Welcome’ to Programmers
SCTE announced AMC Networks as the first-ever programmer to co‑host TechExpo26, joining Charter as headliners for the September‑October event in Atlanta. The partnership highlights the industry’s move toward convergence, where operators and media providers align network innovation with viewer experiences....
NCTC: Video Sticking Around
At the ACA Connects Summit, NCTC CEO Lou Borrelli confirmed that video remains central to the cooperative’s offering, announcing new authentication capabilities for ESPN Unlimited alongside existing Fox One access. He said NCTC will follow Charter’s direct‑to‑consumer video‑bundle strategy to...
TEGNA Pays $6,000 to Settle FCC Probe over Public Inspection Files
TEGNA agreed to pay a $6,000 settlement to the FCC to resolve a probe into its Flagstaff station KNAZ’s failure to maintain timely public inspection files. The settlement cleared the FCC’s concerns, allowing the renewal of KNAZ’s broadcast license. This...
MGM Rewards Relaunches Status Match – Get Gold or Platinum Into 2028
MGM Rewards has relaunched a status‑match program that grants a 90‑day Gold or Platinum trial to guests who present a competing loyalty card and ID in person. Applicants must enroll by June 30 2026, and can extend the status to 2028 by...
Sony Sued by Lit, the Band Behind Pop-Punk Hit ‘My Own Worst Enemy,’ over Alleged Unpaid Streaming Royalties
Lit, the band behind the 1999 hit “My Own Worst Enemy,” has sued Sony Music Entertainment for allegedly underpaying more than $800,000 in streaming royalties. The lawsuit claims Sony applied a flat 14% rate instead of the contract‑specified net‑receipts formula...
X to Take Action Against AI Deepfakes of the Iran War
X announced a revision to its creator revenue‑share program to curb AI‑generated deepfakes about the Iran war. Users posting AI‑created videos of the conflict without a disclosure will be suspended from revenue sharing for 90 days, with permanent bans for...
X Usage Declined in the EU in the Second Half of 2025
X reported a 15% decline in EU active users, dropping from 76 million in the first half of 2025 to 64.8 million in the second half. The dip appears despite Elon Musk’s public assertions of record‑high global engagement. Under the EU Digital...
Meta Tests Shopping AI Chatbot in US
Meta is piloting a shopping research feature inside its Meta AI chatbot for U.S. users. The tool returns a carousel of product images with brand, price, and website details, plus brief recommendation bullet points. The move mirrors similar experiments by...
News Corp, Meta Strike AI Content Licensing Deal
News Corp has inked a three‑year AI content licensing agreement with Meta, granting the social‑media giant access to the publisher’s U.S. and U.K. news assets for model training and user consumption. The deal could net Meta up to $50 million per...
Billboard’s Music Industry Events Calendar
Billboard Pro has introduced a new music industry events calendar, aggregating major national and international conferences, festivals, earnings calls, and networking mixers. The calendar lists over 200 events spanning March through December 2026, from SXSW and Coachella to regional summits...
USA Today Is Buying Up Local News Papers & Now Owns Over 200
USA Today Co., formerly Gannett, has expanded its newspaper holdings to more than 200 titles, including the recent purchase of The Detroit News, which joins the Detroit Free Press under a shared corporate umbrella. The acquisitions target financially distressed local...
Why a College Basketball Game Organizer Is Fighting With Photo Services
A dispute over credential policies forced the Associated Press, Getty Images, and Thomson Reuters' Imagn to boycott a high‑profile Duke‑Michigan neutral‑site game organized by The Gazelle Group. The organizer required photographers to grant the company free, unrestricted use of any...
As Broadcast Slowly Dies, Niche-Casting Is on the Rise
Broadcast morning shows have lost roughly half their audience over the past fifteen years, prompting a shift toward livestreaming. Creators like Malcolm Harris, Warner Bailey, and TBPN are launching niche‑focused shows for logistics, Hollywood, and tech professionals on platforms such...
HoYoverse May Be Entering the MOBA Genre, Recent Job Posting Reveals 3D UE5 Project
HoYoverse, the creator of Genshin Impact and Honkai series, has posted job listings for a new 3D multiplayer online battle arena built on Unreal Engine 5. The undisclosed title is slated to feature PvP, PvE, and co‑op modes, indicating a full‑scale...
Highguard Is Getting One Final Update, Then Shutting Down March 12th
Wildlight Entertainment announced that its PvP raid shooter Highguard will permanently shut down on March 12, following a final content patch. The last update will introduce a new Warden character, a fresh weapon, expanded skill trees, and account‑level progression. The studio...
Roc Nation Claims Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Drew 4.157 Billion Views in 24 Hours
Roc Nation claims Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show amassed 4.157 billion worldwide views within 24 hours, a figure that surpasses all prior records across broadcast and digital platforms. Independent metrics from Nielsen and Adobe report 128.2 million live viewers, placing the performance fourth...