After Years of Cuts, Lee Is Adding Reporters, Says New Chairman and Billionaire David Hoffmann
Lee Enterprises, long plagued by declining print revenue, posted a $36 million loss in 2025 and a $1.7 million loss in the latest quarter. Billionaire David Hoffmann injected $50 million, took board control in February 2026, and secured a five‑year, 5 % debt rate, saving tens of millions. Under his leadership the company is cutting corporate overhead, reducing the board, and adding reporters to key markets while expanding digital and local sports coverage. Lee aims for digital revenue to fully support the business within three years.
Why Signal Quality Is Shaping the Future of Streaming Media Performance
Streaming has become a premier digital‑advertising venue, with Disney reporting a 5% rise in ad revenue in Q2 2026 as budgets shift to video and connected TV. However, the explosion of data signals—metadata, audience segments, and third‑party classifications—often creates overlap and...
Why Chasing Vanity Metrics Is Killing Your Social Strategy
Viral Nation EVP Richelle Batuigas argues that likes, views and impressions are poor indicators of marketing success. She unveils the Cultural Relevance Score, a framework that measures awareness, affinity and velocity to tie social activity directly to business outcomes. The...
Forgy Draws the Line: Saga Is Customer-First, Not Digital-First
Saga CEO Chris Forgy used the Q1 earnings release to stress that the company is "customer‑first, not digital‑first," positioning its simple, blended radio offering against a crowded digital advertising landscape. Digital‑only blended revenue surged 103% year‑over‑year, and interactive digital revenue...
D&D Beyond Introduces Weekly Content Drops for Subscribers
Wizards of the Coast launched D&D Beyond Drops, a weekly content feed for paid subscribers, on May 7, 2026. The service adds new maps, reveals, spells, and feats each Thursday, with larger monthly drops that include narrative encounters and player options. Both...
A Community Radio Sale For KICO
KICO, a Class A noncommercial FM station licensed to Rico, Colorado, is being sold to a new owner. The station serves a sparsely populated area southwest of the Telluride ski resort, providing local news, music, and public service programming. The...
EXCLUSIVE: The Trade Desk’s Chief Strategy Officer Samantha Jacobson Is Heading to OpenAI
Samantha Jacobson, the chief strategy officer of programmatic ad leader The Trade Desk, is departing to become OpenAI’s vice‑president of Partnerships (Monetization). She will lead the AI firm’s efforts to monetize its models through advertising, distribution and platform collaborations. Jacobson...
Africa-Focused Streamer Mdundo Receives Non-Binding Proposal From Investor Seeking up to 40% Stake
Mdundo, the Africa‑focused music streaming platform listed on Nasdaq First North Growth, received a non‑binding letter of intent from an undisclosed investor that could secure up to a 40% equity stake. The proposal combines a directed issue of new shares...
Players Era Unveils ESPN Rev-Share Partnership, 24 (Not 32) Teams in ’26
Players Era, the Las Vegas‑based college basketball multi‑team event, announced a multiyear revenue‑share partnership with ESPN, giving the broadcaster operational control and a stake in tournament earnings. The 2026 slate will feature 24 men’s teams split across two November tournaments, a...
Saga Sees A Wider Net Loss As 2026 Begins
Saga Communications reported a tougher first quarter of 2026, with net operating revenue falling to $22.87 million from $24.21 million and a widened net loss of $2.39 million, or $0.38 per share, versus a $1.58 million loss a year earlier. Station operating expenses edged...
ANA Town Hall: 'How About Nothing -- Is Nothing Good For You?'
At the ANA Advertising Financial Management Conference, executives highlighted that media now represents roughly 80% of agency service costs, shifting the compensation debate from traditional fees to principal media buying. In this model, agencies purchase media outright and resell it...
What Publishers Can Learn From Penguin Random House’s $1 Million In-House Media Experiment
Penguin Random House invested $1 million in an in‑house media unit inside its Crown Publishing imprint, launching the food‑focused brand Taste. With just one full‑time employee, Taste’s newsletter and podcast are projected to exceed $1 million in revenue by 2027. The experiment...
Disney Parks Send Strong Message on U.S. Consumers
Disney reported a record $9.5 billion in fiscal Q2 revenue for its Experiences segment, a 7% year‑over‑year increase, despite a 1% dip in domestic park attendance. Per‑capita guest spending rose faster than foot traffic, reflecting strong demand for premium experiences. The...
Planet Propaganda Taps Monarko To Build Media Practice
Planet Propaganda announced the hiring of Dan Monarko as its Chief Media & Growth Officer to launch a new media practice tailored for an AI‑driven marketplace. Monarko brings senior media experience from BarkleyOKRP, where he oversaw campaigns for Premier Protein,...
PBS Teams With Indie Film Producer ITVS for Independent Lens Creator Lab, Inaugural Lineup Revealed (EXCLUSIVE)
PBS and independent film co‑producer ITVS have unveiled the inaugural Independent Lens Creator Lab, a six‑month accelerator that offers up to $36,000 in production funding per participant. The program will guide six creators as they produce up to 12 vertical‑format...
The Creator Economy Keeps Adding Tools – The Influencer Marketing Factory Keeps Finding the Same Gap
The Influencer Marketing Factory (IMF) has evolved from a $1,500 startup into a full‑service creator‑economy agency handling organic, paid amplification, and TikTok Shop for brands like Google and Hyundai. Over the past three years, about 90% of its clients now...
Matthew Hartley Launches Harmonic Wave, a New Platform for AI-Powered Media Experiences
Matthew Hartley, a Sarasota‑based creator and developer, launched Harmonic Wave, an AI‑powered platform that reimagines media delivery as structured, story‑driven journeys. Unlike traditional streaming, the service lets creators dictate the sequence of music, video, images, and text, while AI agents...
No Industry if Fully Transparent, But There Needs to Be a Level Playing Field
The ad industry’s transparency debate resurfaced as ad‑tech vendors and agency‑holding groups face accusations of opaque business practices. Jonathan Lucas‑Lucas, Managing Director of JLL Media and agency auditor, says transparency has improved over time but full openness is unrealistic. He...
The Team, Formerly Wasserman, Acquires Golf Creator Agency Representing Grant Horvat, Bryan Bros
The Team, the rebranded former Wasserman, has acquired Provisions Golf, a boutique creator agency that represents pro golfer Grant Horvat and the Bryan Bros duo. The deal brings Horvat’s 1.7 million‑subscriber YouTube channel and the Bryan Bros’ 850,000 followers under The...
Digital Management Company Made By All Launches Hollywood Studio Venture With Tanya Cohen at the Helm
Los Angeles‑based digital management firm Made By All has launched Made By Us Studios, a premium content studio that merges Hollywood production with the creator economy. The studio appoints Tanya Cohen as Co‑CEO alongside founder Leanne Perice and President of...
Scripps Gets Two More Years For $200M Credit Facility
Media company E.W. Scripps announced an amendment to its revolving credit agreement with JPMorgan Chase, extending the repayment horizon for its $200 million facility by two years. The extension applies to the larger of the two credit lines Scripps maintains, giving...
Ticketmaster Confirms Around 350 Layoffs
Ticketmaster confirmed it is cutting roughly 350 positions as it moves more software development in‑house and narrows its focus to engineering, product and design. President Saumil Mehta said the re‑org will concentrate resources on fewer, AI‑driven initiatives and reduce reliance...
‘Solid’: Gray Media’s Q1 Financials, As Howell Sees It
Gray Television reported solid Q1 2026 results, with core advertising revenue surpassing guidance and political ad sales hitting the top of their forecast range. The company, however, posted a net loss for the quarter, partly due to a lingering impact...
Surj Reiterates Sports Commitments Following PIF’s Partial Retreat
Surj Sports Investment, a Public Investment Fund subsidiary, has reaffirmed its commitment to holdings in ATP tennis, the T100 triathlon circuit and streaming platform Dazn despite recent Saudi‑backed cuts to LIV Golf and other events. The firm highlighted a $30 million...
Wonderla Reports 49% Growth in Net Profit at ₹16 Crore
Wonderla posted a 49% jump in Q4 FY26 net profit to ₹16.42 crore (≈$2 million), while revenue climbed 40.3% to ₹135.85 crore (≈$16 million). EBITDA surged 64% to ₹50 crore (≈$6 million) and footfall rose 25% to 849,000 visitors. The performance was fueled by the newly...
Team17 Partners with FirstLook as Exclusive Playtesting Platform | Exclusive
Team17 has signed an exclusive agreement with FirstLook to serve as the publisher’s sole playtesting platform across its entire game slate, including the upcoming Hell Let Loose: Vietnam. The partnership gives Team17 a unified player‑relationship system to capture structured feedback,...
An Impassioned Sook Shares Q1 Results With TEGNA Talk
Nexstar Media Group reported its first‑quarter 2026 earnings, noting a modest revenue increase but acknowledging a competitive disadvantage against Big Tech and legacy broadcasters. CEO Perry Sook emphasized that the company’s limited resources hinder its ability to match the reach...
Pubstack’s Q1 2026 State of Programmatic Benchmark Shows UK Publishers Facing Sharp Volume Pressure, While eCPM Holds
Pubstack’s Q1 2026 State of Programmatic Benchmark reveals UK publishers endured an 18.6% YoY revenue decline as impression volumes fell sharply, yet eCPM modestly rose 0.9% to £1.30 (≈$1.65). The report frames the downturn as a volume‑pressure issue rather than a...
Gen Z Is Turning Subscriptions Into Short-Term Rentals for Shows, Movies, and Games
Gen Z is treating streaming and gaming subscriptions as temporary access points, signing up and dropping out to watch a single show or play a specific game. The Dentsu‑IGN report finds 59% of Gen Z unsubscribe after a single title,...
Proximity Beyond Audiences Reimagines Performance Metric For TV
Blockgraph and the 4As released a report urging advertisers to replace audience‑first TV buying with proximity‑based targeting. The study shows 93% of shoppers travel less than 20 minutes to a store, and households within a brand’s conversion radius respond far...
Despite a Thriving Market, U.K. Report Finds Comics Creators Are Struggling
UK comics sales reached a record high in 2025, according to NielsenIQ BookScan, but a new U.K. Comics Creators Research Report reveals creators are facing mounting financial and health pressures. The survey of 689 creators shows 89% of those earning...
ITV Studios Signs Unscripted Deal with WBD for Latin America
ITV Studios has secured a high‑volume unscripted content deal with Warner Bros. Discovery for its Discovery and Discovery Home & Health channels throughout Latin America. The agreement delivers over 60 hours of premium series, including Worlds Apart, Ashley Cain into the Danger...
Digital Video Spend Surges Past $80 Billion, Leaving Linear Behind
The Interactive Advertising Bureau reports U.S. digital video ad spend will surpass $80 billion in 2026, outpacing traditional linear television for the first time. Growth is driven by programmatic buying, higher CPMs on streaming platforms, and advertisers’ shift toward audience‑centric formats....
Convergence Is Now ‘Established Reality,’ Says NAB 2026 Report
Futuresource Consulting’s post‑NAB 2026 report declares that the convergence of professional AV and broadcast has moved from a buzzword to an established reality. Enterprise buyers now demand broadcast‑quality output while staying within pro‑AV budgets, a shift reflected in record‑high NAB attendance...
Kismet Media, Wheelhouse Reach Partnership Deal
Kismet Media has partnered with Wheelhouse to launch the reality series Calabasas Confidential, blending production expertise with investment and branding capabilities. A Media Matters analysis shows US broadcast networks delivered only eight hours of climate coverage in 2025, a 35%...
FCC’s Gomez Calls For Review Of Paramount’s Dodgy Merger Financing
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez has urged a thorough review of the proposed $111 billion merger between Paramount, the Ellison family, and Warner Bros. She highlighted that roughly 49.5% of the deal’s financing comes from Middle‑East and Chinese government‑linked investors, raising foreign‑ownership...
Artists and Music Businesses Ask UK Prime Minister to Re-Prioritise Ticket Touting Ban
In 2025 the UK Labour government pledged to ban ticket touting, promising an average resale price reduction of £37 (about $47) and annual fan savings of £112 million (≈$143 million). A Financial Times report this week suggests the legislation may be postponed...
Is Trend-Jacking Actually Driving Results, Or Just Making Brands Look Late?
Brands are increasingly turning to TikTok trendjacking to ride viral moments and align with youth culture, but the tactic’s effectiveness hinges on speed and authenticity. Early adopters that partner with creators see amplified reach and higher engagement, while late‑comers risk...
Believe Unveils AZTEC, Its First US Record Label Joint Venture, with Music Exec Az Cohen
Paris‑based Believe has launched its first U.S. joint‑venture label, AZTEC, with veteran music executive Az Cohen. Cohen, who previously grew 300 Entertainment and managed Post Malone, will serve as president of the New York‑based imprint. The partnership follows Believe’s recent...
Freecash Returns to Google Play After Policy Review
Almedia’s Freecash app has been reinstated on Google Play after a policy compliance review. The app was pulled earlier this year amid accusations that it harvested sensitive health, religious and sexual‑orientation data and acted as a data broker—claims the company...
Why Disney Shares Rose After Park Attendance Fell
Disney reported Q2 FY2026 revenue of $25.2 bn, up 7%, and adjusted EPS of $1.57, beating expectations despite a 1% dip in U.S. park attendance. The Experiences division generated $9.49 bn in revenue and $2.62 bn operating income, buoyed by higher per‑guest spending,...
Sony Music India Launches Vinyl and Merch Store StampEight
Sony Music India unveiled StampEight, a new e‑tail platform that sells vinyl records and limited‑edition merchandise from legacy rock acts such as AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Metallica and Pink Floyd. The launch coincided with Record Store Day and follows the 2025...
Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 Is Getting Its Own €155 Perfume
Warhorse Studios teamed with Prague‑based Kintsugi Perfumes to launch a limited‑edition fragrance tied to Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. The 50 ml "Kingdom Come Eau de Parfum" retails for €155.99 (approximately $183) and draws scent notes from in‑game ingredients like apples, honey, sage and...
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and US Soccer Extend Media Rights Agreement
NBCUniversal’s Telemundo Enterprises has extended its exclusive Spanish-language media rights with the U.S. Soccer Federation through 2030. The deal covers the men’s and women’s senior national teams, as well as youth squads, delivering more than 20 matches annually across Telemundo,...
Ticketmaster, Live Nation, and the Quietly Cancelled Tours Catching “Blue Dot Fever”
Ticketmaster and Live Nation are confronting a wave of "blue dot fever," where unsold stadium seats are marked with blue dots, prompting several mid‑tier artists to cancel or postpone tours. Acts such as the Pussycat Dolls, Post Malone, Jennifer Lopez, Meghan Trainor and...
On the Move: Six Flags Hires Carnival Cruise Vet
Entertainment and publishing firms announced a wave of senior marketing appointments in early May 2026. Six Flags Entertainment named former Carnival Cruise Line CMO Amy Martin Ziegenfuss as its new chief marketing officer, aiming to leverage data‑driven strategies for the...
FlixLatino Launches Free AVOD Service
FlixLatino, a leading Spanish‑language streaming platform in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, launched a free ad‑supported (AVOD) service that does not overlap with its premium catalog. The new tier provides more than 10,000 hours of content, including over 250 movies...
HSE Grows Revenue and Profitability Despite Pressure on Teleshopping Sector
German teleshopping broadcaster HSE posted a 4% revenue increase in 2025, reaching €641.6 million (about $700 million), and lifted its adjusted EBITDA margin to 14.7%. The growth came despite a broader sector slump, highlighted by Channel21’s insolvency and QVC’s Chapter 11 filing. HSE’s...
BFBS Selects Synamedia for New Digital Platform
BFBS has appointed Synamedia as its strategic technology partner to build a next‑generation digital platform, dubbed The Hub, for the UK Armed Forces. The Hub will consolidate broadcasting, OTT and personalized content into a single, secure experience accessible on multiple...
Former Xbox Exclusive Starfield Has Sold Well on PS5 in the EU and US
Bethesda’s Starfield, originally an Xbox exclusive, entered the PlayStation Store in April 2026 and quickly rose to the fourth‑highest digital seller in the EU and fifth in the US. While it didn’t claim the top spot, the sci‑fi RPG outperformed...