Civilization 7 Made Too Many Big Changes, Take-Two CEO Reflects
Take‑Two Interactive’s latest flagship, Civilization 7, has struggled to meet player expectations in its first 15 months, lagging behind both Civilization 5 and Civilization 6 in concurrent Steam users. The game’s ambitious redesign—new victory conditions and a single‑civ campaign mode—received mixed reviews and lower engagement. CEO Strauss Zelnick admitted the changes were “a bridge too far,” noting the title remains profitable despite the backlash. Firaxis is preparing a major “Test of Time” update for May 19 to restore the classic experience.
Meta Adds More Insight Tools to Edits to Enhance Video Projects
Meta’s Edits video‑editing app rolled out a suite of new insight tools that surface engagement rates, peak viewing times, and follower‑versus‑non‑follower metrics for Instagram Reels. The update also adds comparative performance data, letting creators see how each Reel stacks up...
Valve Commits to Restocking Its Steam Controller After It "Ran Out Faster than We Anticipated" | News-in-Brief
Former Gearbox Quebec founders Sébastien Caisse and Pierre‑André Déry have launched Studio Ricochet in Canada, joined by veteran creators from Borderlands, Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed. The studio will self‑fund its first original IP—a premium, buy‑to‑play co‑op action‑adventure aimed...
Merger Costs Add up as Warner Bros. Discovery Posts $2.9-billion Quarterly Loss
Warner Bros. Discovery reported a $2.9 billion first‑quarter loss, largely driven by a $1.3 billion restructuring charge and a $2.8 billion termination fee to Netflix after the streaming rival withdrew from the Paramount Skydance takeover. Revenue slipped 3% to $8.9 billion, with streaming EBITDA up...
What’s It Like Being an Independent Sports Creator in 2026?
Independent sports creator Kofie Yeboah illustrates how niche video essays can thrive alongside legacy outlets. He breaks down the fragmented revenue mix of YouTube AdSense, Patreon subscriptions, and brand partnerships that fund his deep‑dive content. The piece also questions whether...
Warner Bros. Discovery Ups Q1 Streaming Operating Income 29%, Revenue Increases 9% to $2.9 Billion
Warner Bros. Discovery reported a 29% jump in streaming operating income to $438 million in Q1, while total streaming revenue rose 9% to nearly $2.9 billion. Distribution revenue led the growth, increasing 9% to $2.53 billion, and advertising revenue from HBO Max’s ad‑supported tier...
FanDuel CEO Pushed Out After Five Years Amid Stock Slump
Amy Howe, who led FanDuel’s sportsbook since 2021, was removed after five years and will be succeeded by president Christian Genetski, though the permanence of the appointment remains unclear. The change was announced just before Flutter Entertainment’s first‑quarter earnings call,...
Victory+ CEO Neil Gruninger on the Impact of the Dallas Cowboys Deal, Creator-Led Content, and Free In-Market Access for Fans
Victory+ has secured a multi‑year partnership making it the first third‑party streaming home for Dallas Cowboys original programming. The free, ad‑supported platform will deliver live and on‑demand content, from draft coverage to weekly press conferences, to fans in North Texas...
Lords Of The Fallen 2 Studio Paid A Gaming YouTuber To Promote Its Boring Bikini Armor
CI Games, the studio behind Lords of the Fallen 2, paid YouTuber TheBackgroundNPC to produce a sponsored video promoting a new bikini‑style armor set for female characters. The 20‑minute video framed the gear as a fan‑requested feature, but it sparked immediate...
RAIN Notes: May 6
Podchaser 25, a monthly ranking of the 25 fastest‑growing podcasts launched in the past 90 days, released its April edition highlighting Goalhanger’s history‑culture show The Book Club at #1. True‑crime dominates five of the top ten spots, with society‑culture titles filling the...
Derek Fisher & Cody Decker Lead 97.1 The Fan’s LA Lineup
Audacy has launched 97.1 The Fan (KNX‑FM), a new all‑sports FM station in Los Angeles, with weekday programming debuting on May 18. The lineup features former NBA champion Derek Fisher and ex‑MLB power hitter Cody Decker in the morning, followed by ex‑NFL safety Brock Vereen...
FOXTEL Rollout Brings 4K Sport to Mining Camps Nationwide
Foxtel Group has deepened its partnership with mining giant Fortescue, rolling out its Business iQ platform to more than 10,000 employees across 11 remote accommodation villages. Approximately 11,500 screens will be upgraded to deliver 4K Ultra HD sport and entertainment via...
Cord Cutting Today: Roku Adds 15 Free Channels as Paramount Pushes Forward With Warner Bros. Discovery Deal
Roku announced the addition of 15 free live channels to its TV and player ecosystem, expanding its ad‑supported offering with niche feeds such as live police dispatch and Alaska State Troopers. At the same time, Paramount reported significant progress in...
Transport Fever 3 Gets New Publisher Paradox Interactive
Paradox Interactive has signed a publishing deal with Urban Games for the upcoming transport simulation *Transport Fever 3*. The title, slated for a 2026 launch on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, will retain its intellectual property with Urban Games while Paradox...
CNN Has a New Suitor Who Wants to Buy It
Veteran media mogul Barry Diller told attendees at the WSJ Future of Everything Festival that he would purchase CNN "right now" if the chance arose. He highlighted the network’s strong brand but warned that its current trajectory risks losing relevance...
Peacock Says 152nd Kentucky Derby Most-Streamed Horse Race Ever
Peacock announced that the 152nd Kentucky Derby attracted an average minute audience of 1.9 million, a 28% rise from the previous year. The platform, together with NBC Sports, delivered a record total audience delivery (TAD) of 19.3 million, up 9% YoY. NBCUniversal...
Disneyland Testing Move Toward a Cashless Park
Disneyland has begun a pilot that makes more than a quarter of its outdoor vending carts cashless, accepting only credit cards, Disney gift cards or mobile wallets. The shift targets pre‑packaged items like ice cream, while fresh‑food stalls still take...
Deal Lethargy Forces Hollywood Writers to Leave Money on the Table. That Needs to Change
The Writers Guild of America clinched a historic four‑year deal that adds AI protections, stronger residuals and higher minimums for writers. Yet the industry still suffers from "deal lethargy"—the months‑long lag between a verbal agreement and a signed contract. Delays...
The New Math of Experiential: How Xbox and Sparks Achieved an 11x Return at Gamescom 2025
Xbox teamed with experiential agency Sparks for a multi‑zone Gamescom 2025 booth that drew over 100,000 visitors and generated more than 500 million digital impressions. Sparks introduced two proprietary metrics—Earned Engagement Value (EEV) and Earned Event Impression Value (EEIV)—to quantify on‑site...
How the Portland Fire Marketed a Basketball Team with No Players
The Portland Fire tackled the classic expansion challenge of marketing a team before any players were signed. SVP Kimberly Veale leveraged the jersey launch and a partnership with the NBA Trail Blazers to create visual brand momentum in January. A...
Disney’s U.S. Park Spending Up Despite Drop in Visitors
Disney’s U.S. theme parks saw attendance dip 1% in Q2, yet per‑guest spending rose 5% and per‑room revenue climbed 7%, delivering record second‑quarter revenue for the segment. Hotel occupancy fell to 89% from 92%, reflecting weaker international visitation and competition...
FIFA World Cup 2026: Peacock Launches Visión De Campo (Aka Pitchside Live), Will Stream All 104 Matches in Spanish
Peacock will stream every one of the 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 matches in Spanish, pairing Telemundo's exclusive commentary with Dolby Atmos sound. The service debuts Visión de Campo, a vertically optimized, multi‑angle mobile view that lets fans watch the...
AFM Announces Theme for 2026 Event, With 90 Exhibitors Confirmed
The American Film Market (AFM) unveiled its first unifying theme, “The New Global Screen Economy,” for the 2026 edition. The six‑day event will run Nov 10‑15, 2026 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles, with screenings at AMC Century City 15. Organizers...
Sky Extends Formula 1 Rights Deal Into Next Decade
Sky Group has extended its exclusive Formula 1 rights in the UK and Ireland through the 2034 season and in Italy through 2032, adding a five‑year extension worth roughly $254 million per season, up from about $164 million. The deal covers every practice,...
Fubo Integrates Hulu + Live TV Into Package Options On Its Homepage
Fubo has updated its homepage to showcase Hulu + Live TV as a selectable option alongside its own streaming packages. The Hulu bundle is priced at $89.99 per month and offers more than 95 channels, while Fubo’s plans range from $73.99 to $103.99...
POP.STORE Signs as VidCon Anaheim 2026 Title Sponsor to Launch Agentic AI Commerce Platform
POP.STORE, a creator‑monetization platform owned by CommentSold Group, has been named the title sponsor of VidCon Anaheim 2026. At the event the company will debut ECHO‑ME, an agentic AI commerce platform that automates engagement, content creation, brand‑deal monitoring and direct‑message...
Griffin Gaming Partners Launches $100 Million Fund for Indie Titles With Hollywood Potential (Exclusive)
Griffin Gaming Partners, a Santa Monica venture fund with $1.5 billion under management, announced a $100 million Special Opportunities Fund that will finance indie games through revenue‑share agreements rather than equity. The fund has already committed capital to 15 titles, nine of...
CNN Legend Christiane Amanpour Expresses Concern About Ellison Takeover
Christian Amanpour warned that Paramount Skydance’s planned takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, which would merge CBS News and CNN, could jeopardize editorial independence. She cited the recent decline in viewers and revenue at CBS’s *60 Minutes* after Skydance assumed control, suggesting similar interference may...
Rebellion Has Its Fingers in All the Pies
Rebellion, the independent UK studio behind Sniper Elite and Atomfall, has expanded its transmedia empire across comics, books, board games, film and even a costume‑prop business. By owning 2000AD and other vintage British comics, it can spin IP into games, TV...
Despite Enthusiasm over Its ChatGPT Tie-Up, Criteo’s Shares Slide on Downgraded Revenue Forecast
Criteo announced a partnership with OpenAI that generated excitement, but its Q1 results fell short of expectations, prompting a share‑price decline. Revenue dropped 6% year‑on‑year to $425 million, with retail‑media revenue plunging 31% to $41.3 million. The company cut its 2026 revenue...
After Nykaa, Zee Files Rs 25 Crores Lawsuit Against JioStar; Alleges Unauthorised Music Usage
Zee Entertainment has filed a lawsuit against JioStar, the Reliance‑Disney joint venture, alleging unauthorized use of its music catalogue. The Delhi court filing seeks roughly $3 million in damages and an injunction to stop further infringement. Zee says its songs were...
Paramount+ and DSports Take the FIFA World Cup to Latin America
Paramount+ and DSports have forged a strategic alliance to broadcast every one of the 104 matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup across six key Latin American markets—Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay. The partnership delivers 24/7 live streams...
Mourning 'The Mouth of the South'
On the day Ted Turner died, CNN’s chief correspondent Christiane Amanpour warned that the network’s independence could be compromised under new owner David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance. The Anti‑Defamation League reported a 33% decline in antisemitic incidents to 6,274 in 2025, though...
Amedia Ignored Older Subscribers to Attract Younger Ones
Norway’s largest newspaper publisher, Amedia, discovered that its subscriber base skewed heavily toward readers over 80, outnumbering those under 40. To reverse this, the company concealed 90% of older subscribers in its analytics tools and refocused editorial teams on content...
How Disney Plans to Add AI to Nearly Everything Like Vacation Planning, Streaming and Staffing
Disney executives used the latest earnings call to unveil an enterprise‑wide AI roadmap that will touch everything from vacation planning tools to Disney+ recommendations and theme‑park labor forecasting. The company likened AI to past breakthroughs such as synchronized sound, positioning...
David North America Casts Jessica Alba In Luna Bar Campaign
Actress Jessica Alba has been signed as the inaugural ambassador for Luna Bar’s new “Easy to Love” campaign, created by David North America and media‑planned by VaynerMedia. The campaign, Luna Bar’s first major creative push in seven years, features four...
The 10 U.S. Fastest-Growing Instagram Accounts of April 2026
April 2026 saw a diverse set of Instagram accounts posting record follower gains. NASA led with a 5.2 million increase after the Artemis II launch, while its Artemis program account added 2.4 million. Celebrity-driven spikes followed, as Justin and Hailey Bieber each attracted...
Finsbury Food Group Renews Disney Licensing Collaboration
Finsbury Food Group has renewed its two‑decade licensing partnership with The Walt Disney Company, allowing the UK‑based baker to continue producing celebration cakes themed around Disney, Pixar, and Marvel properties such as Frozen, Moana and Lilo & Stitch. The extension includes a...
“America at Night with McGraw Milhaven” Adds 25 Affiliates
Westwood One announced that its nationally syndicated program "America at Night with McGraw Milhaven" has added 25 new affiliates, bringing the total to 280 stations coast‑to‑coast. The expansion includes major markets such as Minneapolis (WCCO‑AM), St. Louis (KTRS‑AM), Providence (WPRO‑AM)...
Valve Releases Full External Specifications for 'Steam Deck' Accessory Manufacturing
Valve has published the full external specifications for its Steam Deck handheld and Dock, including STL and STP CAD files, to enable third‑party accessory creation. The move follows a launch‑day sell‑out that highlighted strong consumer demand. While personal printing and non‑commercial...
SES and ARD Announce Decade-Long Satellite Distribution Extension
SES and Germany’s public broadcaster ARD have renewed their satellite distribution partnership through 2039, extending the use of SES’s Astra 19.2° East orbital slot for high‑definition TV. The deal guarantees uninterrupted Direct‑to‑Home service for millions of German households and reinforces ARD’s...
EVE Online Studio CCP Games Turns Independent and Rebrands as Fenris Creations
Icelandic developer CCP Games has been sold back to its management for $120 million, ending Pearl Abyss’s ownership and rebranding as Fenris Creations. The buyout follows a 2018 acquisition for $425 million and comes as the studio reported over $70 million in revenue...
Wisycom RF Solutions Support Gravity Media’s Live Cycling and Marathon Broadcasts
Gravity Media relies on Wisycom’s RF over Fiber and wireless gear to deliver live coverage of major cycling races and international marathons, including the Tour of Italy, Tour of Denmark, and Berlin, Vienna, Amsterdam, and Rotterdam marathons. The company uses...
New York Startup GLORION MEDIA Enters Podcast, Influencer Space With Social Listening-Powered Model
GLORION MEDIA, a New York‑based startup launched in March 2026, offers podcast production, influencer talent management, and performance‑driven digital advertising. The company’s core differentiator is a social‑listening intelligence platform that captures real‑time audience signals to inform campaign targeting. Its flagship...
Nathan Little Hand-Animated Sydney the Song Cat For Four Years, Then YouTube Demonitized It As ‘Inauthentic Content’
Nathan Little, a veteran TV animator, has been producing hand‑drawn "Sydney the Song Cat" shorts on YouTube since 2022, amassing millions of views across platforms. On April 12, YouTube demonetized his channel, labeling the content "inauthentic" despite no AI involvement...
Pixalate Releases Global Q1 2026 Rankings For Connected TV Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST) Bundle IDs With Highest IVT Rates: ‘Sling...
Pixalate released its Q1 2026 rankings of Free Ad‑Supported TV (FAST) bundle IDs with the highest invalid‑traffic (IVT) rates across Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV and Amazon Fire TV. The study examined over 4 billion global impressions from more than 7,000 CTV apps. Sling TV led Roku...
Papa Johns, Disney Team up for Global 'Toy Story 5' Marketing Campaign
Papa Johns has teamed with Disney and Pixar to launch a global marketing push for the June 19 release of “Toy Story 5.” The partnership introduces three limited‑edition pizzas and a new ranch dip, priced from $6.99, across 42 international markets. A...
Beta Film Announces Sales to Spain and Portugal for Empathy, Plus Negotiations in Latam
Beta Film has secured broadcast deals for the Canadian‑French series Empathy in Spain and Portugal, adding to recent premieres in Australia and Greece. The Crave and Canal+ original has already logged more than 10 million views on Canal+ France and collected...
Netflix Appoints Raghav Raj Kodesia to Original Films & Licensing Role
Netflix has named Raghav Raj Kodesia as head of its Original Films & Licensing division in India. Kodesia joins from Saregama, where he led artists and repertoire, and previously held senior roles at Team India Champions, Arré, and ZEE5. His...
NAB Launches Weekly Podcast on Local Broadcast Policy
The National Association of Broadcasters has launched AirTime, a weekly podcast that drops every Wednesday to dissect legislative and regulatory issues shaping local television and radio. The inaugural episode, recorded at the NAB Show, features NBC Sports’ Jon Miller discussing...