WXYZ-TV & ResilienX to Pilot ORION-X for Automated Aerial Newsgathering
ABC‑affiliated WXYZ‑TV in Detroit is partnering with ResilienX to pilot the ORION‑X platform for automated aerial newsgathering. The managed‑service model lets the station request live or recorded drone footage while ResilienX handles flight operations, regulatory compliance, and safety. Initial missions will focus on routine content such as sunrise bump shots and community events, with limited use for breaking news. The pilot, backed by Michigan Central’s Advanced Aerial Innovation Region, begins early 2026.
Report: Japan’s SVoD Market Reaches Inflection Point
Japan’s premium subscription video‑on‑demand (SVoD) market reached $7.2 bn in 2025, a 15 % year‑on‑year increase, driven by ad‑supported tiers, telco bundles and a surge in local content and live‑sports offerings. The sector added four million net new subscribers, bringing total users...
Mill Media Asks for Subscribers First, Promising Launch Later in Leeds
Mill Media announced it will only launch a new Leeds‑focused local newsletter once it secures 500 paying subscribers. Prospective readers can pledge for a month or a year and won’t be billed until the title goes live. The publisher, which...
‘Rumba’ Dances Off To FM Translators In Tampa Bay Shuffle
iHeartMedia is moving its Spanish‑language "Rumba" brand from the primary 95.7 FM signal to two low‑power translators at 95.3 MHz and 102.9 MHz, swapping frequencies with its heritage sports talk station WDAE‑AM 620. The 95.7 FM frequency will now carry WDAE’s sports programming, bolstering its...
Arqiva in Uncertainty over DTT Switch Off
Arqiva, the UK's sole national digital terrestrial TV and radio infrastructure provider, faces financial uncertainty as major shareholders reassess their stakes. Macquarie has divested its 26.5% holding, while Digital 9 Infrastructure (DGI9) is reviewing its 51.8% share and may write off...
Lerma Names Its First Chief Strategy Officer as It Builds Out Leadership Team
Dallas‑based agency Lerma has appointed Omar Quiñones as its first Chief Strategy Officer, completing a recent C‑suite expansion. Quiñones joins from Messianu/Edelman/Lerma, where he held the same role, and brings senior strategy experience from Anomaly, CP+B, and YETI. The hire...
EBU Members Draw Significant Audiences for Winter Olympics
European Broadcasting Union members are delivering record-breaking audiences for the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics. Italy’s RAI saw a 4.9 million peak for alpine skiing, while Sweden’s SVT reached 60 percent of the national population. Germany’s ZDF averaged 3.3 million viewers with peaks over 6 million,...
Westpac NZ Deploys Immersive ‘Laneway Loot’ Campaign at Laneway Festival 2026
Westpac NZ, together with Saatchi & Saatchi NZ and Spark Foundry NZ, launched the immersive “Laneway Loot” experience at Laneway Festival 2026. The activation featured limited‑edition street posters that were ripped down and claimed within 24 hours, and a Westpac‑branded...
Brad Turcotte Named SVP of Country at TEG Live
Ticketek Entertainment Group has appointed Brad Turcotte as senior vice president of country for its global touring arm, TEG Live. Based in a newly opened Nashville office, Turcotte will steer TEG Live's dedicated country touring brand across North America and...
Insomniac Says Spider-Man Won’t Be Coming to Xbox—But It Once Thought the Same About PC
Insomniac Games publicly denied that any Spider‑Man title will appear on Xbox, labeling an Xbox port as "not likely" in a recent X exchange. The developer reiterated Sony’s historic preference for keeping its Marvel‑powered Spider‑Man games as PlayStation exclusives, a...
Diljit Dosanjh Achieves Biggest Ticket Pre-Sale for South Asian Act in North American History
Punjabi superstar Diljit Dosanjh shattered Live Nation’s North American pre‑sale record for a South Asian act, moving 130,000 tickets in just two days. The momentum includes sold‑out arena performances at Madison Square Garden, Rogers Centre and Chase Center. The sales...
Predicting 2026 Headlines: DIRECTV Adds More Streamers
DIRECTV is accelerating its hybrid bundle strategy by integrating on‑demand services such as Disney+, Hulu, HBO Max and the upcoming AMC+ into its live‑TV channel packages. The move follows Charter Communications’ 2023 precedent of bundling free Disney+ with Spectrum, and...
Bytedance's Seedance 2.0 Is so Good at Copying Disney Characters the Company Calls It a "Virtual Smash-and-Grab"
Bytedance’s new AI video generator, Seedance 2.0, can recreate Disney, Marvel and Star Wars characters with photorealistic fidelity, prompting Disney to issue a cease‑and‑desist letter that calls the practice a “virtual smash‑and‑grab.” The tool is already flooding social media with short...
BLAST Renews Partnership With Ubisoft for Rainbow Six Esports
BLAST has renewed its global partnership with Ubisoft to run Rainbow Six Siege esports through the 2028‑2029 season, extending the three‑year deal first signed in 2023. The agreement confirms major events for the 2026‑2027 circuit in Salt Lake City, Japan...
SAG-AFTRA & Studios End First Week Of Contract Talks In Silence. That’s Probably A Good Thing.
SAG‑AFTRA wrapped up the first week of contract talks with the AMPTP under a mutually agreed media blackout, signaling a tentative but positive start. Both sides exchanged opening statements and refined initial proposals, laying groundwork for deeper bargaining next week....
Paramount Hires Ex-Trump Official to Lead Policy as Battle for WBD Heats Up
Paramount Pictures has hired former Justice Department antitrust official Rene Augustine as Senior Vice President of Global Public Policy. Augustine, who served under the Trump administration and led international antitrust matters, will report to Chief Legal Officer Makan Delrahim. The...
Spectrum Acquires New England Cable News From NBC
Charter Communications' Spectrum News has agreed to acquire New England Cable News (NECN) from NBC Universal, merging its Maine and Massachusetts newsrooms into a single operation called Spectrum News NECN. The rebranded channel will serve viewers across Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts,...
NASCAR’s Reset Has It Yelling ‘Hell Yeah’ Ahead of Daytona 500
NASCAR entered the 2024 season after settling a 16‑month charter dispute that secured permanent slots for teams and a leadership transition following the commissioner’s exit. The series unveiled a revamped 2026 playoff format, eliminating automatic qualifications for race winners and...
DAZN Offering 20% Garcia Vs. Barrios PPV for 24 Hours Only
DAZN is running a 24‑hour flash sale that gives a 20% discount on the Ryan Garcia vs. Mario Barrios pay‑per‑view, lowering the price from $70 to $56 for purchases made by Feb 14. The promotion also bundles a 7‑day free trial...
Peacock Strikes Gold With Outsized Olympics, Super Bowl Audiences
Peacock recorded its biggest week ever, powered by the Milan‑Cortina Winter Olympics and the Super Bowl. The platform logged 6.3 billion minutes of Olympic streaming, a 60% increase over the 2022 Games, and helped NBCUniversal reach 25.7 million total Olympic viewers, double...
Licenses at Risk in Michigan, Georgia for Unpaid FCC Fees
The FCC has issued pay‑or‑show‑cause orders to two broadcasters over unpaid regulatory fees. In Michigan, Sovereign Communications faces potential revocation of six stations for roughly $37,000 in delinquent fees, though it can apply a $9,200 overpayment credit. In Georgia, Core...
Akali and Senna Revealed as Next Champions for 2XKO as Director Discusses Future of the Game
Riot Games announced Akali and Senna as the next two champions for its fighting title 2XKO, despite recent layoffs that cut roughly half of the development staff. Akali will arrive later in Season 1, while Senna is expected to launch at...
As Ilia Malinin Skates, the QuadGod Trademark Waits
Ilia Malinin, the 21‑year‑old figure‑skating phenom known as "QuadGod," has one trademark application left – for apparel, costumes and clothing – which is now in a 30‑day public review period. Two earlier requests for skating equipment and entertainment services were...
Broadcasting Center Europe Opens Subsidiary in Hungary
Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE) has launched a new subsidiary, BCE Hungary Kft., in Budapest effective January 2026. The unit will handle playout and ingest operations for RTL Hungary, providing day‑to‑day broadcast continuity and operational monitoring. By situating a dedicated team...
MIP’s Lucy Smith Shares Updated Preview of MIP LONDON
MIP London 2026 will run Feb 22‑24 as a three‑day, multi‑genre market attracting over 1,500 industry professionals from 74 countries, including more than 650 international buyers and 62 exhibitors. The program blends private TV screenings with open conferences, round‑tables and showcases...
January CDP Index: High-Dollar Gifts, New Donors Fuel Standout Year for Membership Revenue
Public media organizations saw a 42% jump in membership revenue in 2025 versus 2024, driven by higher‑value gifts and a surge in new donors. The High‑Dollar Gifts Index rose 88%, indicating far more $500+ contributions, while the New Donor Index...
ESPN’s Audiences for College Basketball On Track for Major Growth
ESPN reports a 33% year‑over‑year rise in women’s college basketball viewership, positioning the sport for its strongest season in 17 years, while men’s basketball is up 25% and on track for the best season in 11 years. The network captured...
LatAm Streaming Revenues to Reach $19 Billion by 2030
Latin America’s streaming market is set to generate nearly $19 billion in revenue by 2030, driven by a surge in subscription video‑on‑demand (SVOD) households from 68 million to about 84 million. Total SVOD subscriptions are forecast to climb from 111 million to roughly 176 million,...
God of War, Silent Hill, and More Big Games Are Getting a Much-Welcomed Indie Treatment
PlayStation’s State of Play unveiled new installments for God of War, Silent Hill, Castlevania, and Legacy of Kain, but development has shifted to indie studios such as Mega Cat, Screen Burn Interactive, Motion Twin, and Bit Bot Media. This marks a growing trend where...
Unrivaled Leans In to NBA Arenas After Making Millions in Philly
Unrivaled, the 3‑on‑3 women’s basketball league, turned a $2 million Philadelphia pop‑up into a springboard for larger NBA‑level venues, moving its March 2 semifinals from Miami to Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The Philly stop delivered over $1 million in ticket sales and $400,000...
End of an Era at Unity, Resident Evil Survival Unit's Future and Pokémon's Super Bowl Appearance | Week in Views
Former Unity co‑founder and CEO David Helgason left the company on February 5, 2026, while Bernard Kim was appointed as an independent director on the board. Resident Evil Survival Unit has exceeded 5 million downloads after its global launch, yet players criticize its...
Ador Founder Wins Legal Battle over Shareholder Agreement with HYBE, Which Now Needs to Pay Her $17.7 Million
South Korean court ruled that HYBE must pay former Ador CEO Min Hee‑jin $17.7 million, confirming the validity of the shareholder agreement that obligates HYBE to purchase her Ador shares at a pre‑agreed earnings multiple. HYBE had terminated the agreement in...
‘Have to Pinch Myself’: Chris Berman Marvels at ESPN Getting Super Bowl
ESPN will broadcast its first Super Bowl in February 2027, followed by another in 2031, marking the network’s debut as the sole carrier of the NFL’s marquee event. Veteran sportscaster Chris Berman, a 46‑year ESPN veteran, expressed amazement and confirmed...
FCC Approves Reassignment of UEN-TV License Within Utah University System
The FCC approved a pro forma reassignment of the UEN‑TV (KUEN) license from the Utah Board of Higher Education to the University of Utah on Dec. 4, placing the station under PBS Utah’s oversight. No money changed hands in the transaction....
Jazz Owner Defends Team After $500,000 Tanking Fine From NBA
The NBA levied a $500,000 fine on the Utah Jazz for benching stars Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the fourth quarter of two games, deeming the action “conduct detrimental to the league.” Coach Will Hardy defended the move as a minutes‑restriction...
Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner Says He Regrets Miramax Acquisition Due to Weinstein’s Behavior
Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner told Graham Bensinger that he regrets the 1993 Miramax acquisition after witnessing co‑founder Harvey Weinstein’s abusive behavior. Disney bought Miramax for $70 million and later sold it in 2010 for $660 million, recouping a large profit but...
Inside the NBA’s Strategy for Big Brand Plays During All-Star Weekend
The NBA’s All‑Star Weekend in Los Angeles has become a high‑impact platform for more than 60 brands, ranging from immersive fan experiences at the NBA Crossover to on‑site activations for events like the Slam Dunk Contest. 2024’s lineup showcases a...
Wherever the Event, Pocket Gamer Connects Is All About Business
Pocket Gamer Connects (PGC) has become a business‑centric conference series that delivers tangible outcomes for the global games industry. Since its 2014 launch, the brand has hosted 57 events in 16 cities, attracting 70,000 attendees and scheduling more than 155,000...
Resident Evil Bundle on Steam Will Get You All the Mainline Games for $40
Capcom’s Resident Evil Reload Collection Extra bundles all nine main‑line titles and two DLCs on Steam for $40, a roughly 72% discount. The package includes classics from Resident Evil 0 through Village, but features the original 2005 Resident Evil 4 rather...
Nielsen’s VideoAmp Lawsuit Should Be Tossed, Judge Suggests
A Delaware federal judge recommended granting VideoAmp's motion to dismiss Nielsen's patent infringement lawsuit, effectively ending Nielsen's claim over its proprietary audience measurement technology. The case centered on Nielsen's allegation that VideoAmp used its patented methods without permission. The judge's...
Ubisoft Says Creative House Leadership Will Include 'Respected' External Hires
Ubisoft announced the creation of five internal Creative Houses to centralise its flagship franchises, with Vantage Studios already backed by Tencent for €1.16 billion. The company will appoint external industry veterans to lead these houses starting in March, aiming to accelerate...
Oz Re:write to End Service on April 21, 2026 in Japan, Bringing Its Fairytale RPG Run to an Early Close
Japanese developer DRIMAGE announced that its anime‑style RPG Oz Re:write will cease operations on April 21, 2026, just one year after its August 2025 launch. The title never received a global release and will disable the Tailstone shop, though players can request refunds...
Broadcast Media Nemesis Saying Goodbye To CTA
Gary Shapiro is stepping down as chief executive of the Consumer Technology Association after a 35‑year tenure, moving into an executive chair role on May 1. Current president Kinsey Fabrizio will assume CEO responsibilities while retaining her board seat. Shapiro’s final...
Saada Predicts End of DTT Within 10 Years
Canal+ chief executive Maxime Saada warned that France’s digital terrestrial television (DTT) platform could vanish within the next decade as streaming‑centric platformisation erodes linear broadcast relevance. He cited the recent Arcom decision to suspend C8 and NRJ12 from DTT and...
MPA’s Rivkin Calls Out ByteDance Infringement
Charles Rivkin, CEO of the Motion Picture Association, publicly condemned ByteDance’s new AI service Seedance 2.0 for massive unauthorised use of U.S. copyrighted works. He urged the company to halt the infringing activity immediately, emphasizing the threat to creators’ rights and...
Sky–ITV Talks Slow as Warner Bros Discovery Battle Reshapes Landscape
Talks between Sky and ITV over the £1.6 billion sale of ITV's Media and Entertainment division have slowed, according to Reuters sources. The deal was intended to create a top‑three UK streaming player capable of challenging global services such as Netflix...
19 MENA Startups Graduate From the Second Exel by Merak Accelerator Cohort
Nineteen MENA game studios have graduated from the second cohort of Exel by Merak, an $80 million gaming accelerator launched by Merak Capital. Each studio receives $300,000 in seed funding plus mentorship and global network access. Cohort 2 has already produced $1.2 million...
Commission Approves UMG’s Acquisition of Downtown, Subject to Conditions
The European Commission has cleared Universal Music Group’s purchase of Downtown Music Holdings, but only after the companies agreed to fully divest Downtown’s royalty‑accounting platform Curve. The conditional approval removes UMG’s ability to access Curve’s data on rival labels, which...
TF1 Leans on TF1+ Momentum as Ad Market Softens
TF1 Group posted 2025 revenue of €2.297 bn, a 2.5% decline driven by a softening advertising market, especially in Q4. Media division revenue fell 4.5% to €1.921 bn while Studio TF1 grew 9.2% to €376 million. The digital platform TF1+ delivered a 35.8% jump...
Issue 142
Industry experts highlight how technology is fundamentally reshaping the live‑music ecosystem, from data‑driven marketing to streamlined tour logistics. First‑party fan data is now seen as essential for personalized campaigns, yet many artists lack full appreciation of its value. Human connection...