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Hearst Media Production Group announced that Bryan Curb will assume the role of president on July 1, succeeding retiring founder Frank Biancuzzo. Curb, currently executive vice president and general manager of educational and informational programming, brings over a decade of experience producing more than 40 network series. Under his leadership, HMPG revived iconic brands like the Harlem Globetrotters and Wild Kingdom, expanded multi‑season programming, and pushed content onto digital platforms, achieving record audience ratings and awards. His prior roles include chief creative officer at Litton Entertainment and founder‑CEO of MTO Productions.
Letter writers argue that the BBC’s traditional TV licence fee is increasingly untenable, citing a 12.5% non‑compliance rate and a 30% drop in funding during 2024‑25. They propose replacing the licence with a hypothecated council‑tax levy, similar to Switzerland’s universal...
Saga Communications reported a Q4 2025 net loss of $6.9 million, driven by a $20.4 million non‑cash impairment that turned what would have been $8.2 million of profit into a loss. Full‑year results showed a $7.9 million loss versus a $3.5 million profit in 2024,...
Disney Advertising announced that its entire ad inventory for the 98th Oscars has been sold out, driven by strong marketplace demand after last year’s broadcast. The company raised 30‑second spot prices to $1.7‑$2.3 million, a double‑digit increase over 2024, and secured...
Concord announced the acquisition of London‑based independent label Ninja Tune, bringing both its recorded‑music catalog and publishing arm Just Isn’t Music under Concord’s umbrella. The deal adds a roster that includes The Prodigy, Bonobo, Flying Lotus and many other electronic...
Newzoo’s 2026 report projects PC gaming revenue will overtake console revenue by 2028, driven by a 6.6% CAGR versus 4.4% for consoles. The combined PC‑console market is expected to reach $103.7 billion, with total revenue climbing from $88.3 billion in 2025 to...
Universal Pictures announced it will lengthen its theatrical windows, guaranteeing at least five weekends for 2026 releases and seven weekends starting in 2027, except for Focus Features titles. The policy reverses the pandemic‑era shortcut to premium VOD and signals a...
Universal Music Publishing Group has signed Baltimore synth‑pop band Future Islands to an exclusive global publishing deal covering their back catalogue and future works. The agreement coincides with the band’s 20th anniversary and the UK Top 10 entry of their 2024...
Five years into its record $111 billion TV and streaming agreement, the NFL has reopened negotiations to secure a larger share of broadcast revenue. The league’s move follows the NBA’s recent $75 billion rights deal, which set a new market benchmark. Analysts...
Century Games’ mobile strategy game Kingshot marked its first anniversary with $811.9 million in gross player spending across Google Play and the App Store. The title posted explosive growth, rising from $5.9 million in March 2025 to a peak of $102.2 million in January 2026...
The Elis James and John Robins podcast will launch a commercial feed on 7 April 2026, introducing advertising while its free version remains on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds. The move follows the BBC Audio Release Policy, which permits independent producers to...
Edison Research reports that moving just 5 percent of a TV‑heavy media budget into podcasts can dramatically boost audience reach. In a case study, a pharmaceutical brand shifted a small portion of its broadcast‑and‑cable spend to podcast ads, raising reach among...
Sky Sports has entered a new PGA TOUR rights cycle, establishing a permanent production hub inside PGA TOUR Studios. The arrangement gives Sky two commentators and an on‑course reporter direct access to the world feed, while also providing permanent transmission...
At this year’s Academy Awards, industry observers noted that AI, streaming, and media fragmentation are reshaping the economics of acting. While the ceremony retained its traditional glamour, the underlying market dynamics are shifting, with digital platforms demanding more flexible talent...
Nielsen announced the termination of its long‑standing SIGMA Radio service, effective March 31, 2026, with the final daily and weekly reports slated for April 1 and April 6. The service has been a cornerstone for broadcasters, advertisers, and agencies to verify radio ad...
Internal Slack messages from Live Nation employees surfaced as exhibits in the Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit, revealing jokes about "robbing" fans for parking and VIP upgrades. The exchanges, spanning 2021‑2023, describe fans as "stupid" for paying inflated fees and were...
Rickey Smiley has signed a five‑year extension for The Rickey Smiley Morning Show, keeping the program on Urban One’s roster of 89 affiliate stations. In parallel, Urban One is launching a new original video podcast, Rickey Smiley On The Spot,...
PBS CEO Paula Kerger urged the Arkansas TV commission to pause its planned disaffiliation from the national PBS network, arguing the decision should involve public input. Arkansas TV, citing unsustainable dues after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting lost federal funding, voted...
Vue Creator Management, a Toledo‑based agency founded in 2025 by Cailyn Medley, offers a hybrid service that combines affiliate strategy consulting with full‑time execution. The firm helps creators optimize revenue on platforms such as ShopMy, LTK and Amazon, handling link...
Comcast’s Xfinity is teaming with NBC Sports and Golf Channel to broadcast THE PLAYERS Championship in RealTime4K, a low‑latency 4K format that arrived up to 49 seconds faster than conventional streams. The launch also introduces two interactive features: Fan View,...
Erik Bradley has been appointed Brand Manager of Classic Hits‑formatted 98.7 The Spot in Dallas, joining his existing roles as Brand Manager at KS107.5 in Denver and Assistant Brand Manager at B96 in Chicago. Bradley, a radio veteran since 1988,...
Narcity Media introduced Boost, a self‑serve tool on its Locals.tv platform that lets brands pay local creators to share Instagram Stories. The service taps a network of over 2,000 creators across Canadian cities, allowing campaigns to be launched in minutes...
BIScience has launched the TV Intelligence Suite, extending its AdClarity platform to include U.S. linear TV data. The upgrade lets customers monitor more than $174 billion in digital ad spend and $51 billion in linear TV spend from a single interface. Coverage...
Offscript Worldwide, the parent company behind the Revolt media property, announced the launch of 3BlackDot, a consumer‑facing gaming media platform. The debut featured its flagship show, 3BD Weekly, streamed live from SXSW. 3BlackDot is positioned as a centralized hub that...
M&A activity in the United States has slumped, with announced mergers dropping 23% to 1,795 by March 9, while sports and e‑sports deals fell to just five this year versus 57 in 2025. The downturn is driven by the February “SaaS‑pocalypse,”...
Coinbase debuted a new Oscar‑time commercial titled “Your Way Out,” featuring a video‑game non‑playable character who rebels against his scripted existence. The ad, created by Isle of Any and directed by Oscar Hudson, positions the crypto platform as a pathway...
TikTok Radio is relaunching on March 13 via the iHeartRadio app and on 28 iHeartMedia broadcast stations after ending its four‑year SiriusXM partnership. The new channel blends music, creator‑led conversation, and signature segments such as ‘Behind‑the‑Charts’ and ‘Hacks on the :20s.’...
Vibe.co, a streaming‑TV ad platform, launched a bicoastal out‑of‑home campaign targeting enterprise ecommerce marketers, SaaS leaders, AI founders and venture capitalists. The effort places billboards, subway ads, buses and taxi tops in New York and the San Francisco Bay Area, featuring...
Konami announced that its Silent Hill 2 remake has reached 5 million copies sold worldwide across digital, physical, and subscription channels. To celebrate, the publisher launched a Spring Sale on the PlayStation Store, offering the Deluxe Editions of Silent Hill 2 and Silent...
Venu Holding announced an $86 million oversubscribed public equity offering, selling 18.75 million shares at $4 each and adding warrants for additional purchases. The capital will fund new venues in Texas and Oklahoma, repay a $4.35 million promissory note, and support working capital....
RTL Group reported a 3.8% drop in total revenues to €6.02 billion, but announced that its streaming portfolio is poised to become profitable this year after nearing break‑even at the end of 2025. Subscriber numbers rose to 8.06 million in 2025 and...
Only 53% of U.S. adults reported going to a movie theater in the past year, according to a Pew Research Center survey, while 7% have never attended. Ticket sales remain about 20% below pre‑pandemic levels, with 769.2 million tickets sold in...
Canal+ Africa warned that DStv’s steep entry price is stalling subscriber growth in Anglophone Africa. Installation costs average €38 per household, nearly three times the €13 seen in Canal+‑run Francophone markets, contributing to a drop from 14.9 million to 14.4 million subscribers...
Create Music Group has adopted Astronomer’s managed Apache Airflow service to orchestrate more than 600 data pipelines that feed real‑time streaming and revenue analytics. The switch from legacy cron jobs and Cloud Composer to Astro has accelerated pipeline development by...
Ford is testing a micro‑docuseries on Apple TV that tells a multi‑episode story about its return to Formula One, using streaming ad slots instead of traditional 30‑second spots. The campaign places each short episode alongside race‑weekend coverage, highlighting engineers and power‑unit development....
The Digital Publishing Partnership (DPP) released the "Making Data Pay" report, drawing insights from over 70 contributors across 19 content organisations and 19 vendors. It examines data use in four core media functions—management, audience engagement, strategy, and technology—revealing that heavy...
A University of Bristol and Meaning Machine study of 68 gamers playing the AI‑driven murder‑mystery game Dead Meat found overwhelming approval for AI‑powered NPCs. Ninety‑five percent rated the experience enjoyable, while 97% found it rewarding, and 75% felt they could...
Starting in June, PEGI will assign a PEGI 16 rating to any game that includes paid random items such as loot boxes, while social‑casino titles move to PEGI 18. The new framework also grades in‑game purchases, daily‑quest incentives and unrestricted online chat,...
Nielsen unveiled a new upfront planning guide that offers a granular look at ad‑supported TV viewership across linear, FAST and AVOD platforms, with a focus on the 18‑49 demographic and sports audiences. The study shows adults 18‑49 allocate 63.8% of...
Tim Burrowes’ Unmade Index, which monitors 14 Australian listed media firms, has recorded a more than 60% drop in total market value since its launch in early 2022, underscoring a deepening media apocalypse. The latest Mumbrellacast episode also dissects the...
At the London Book Fair, a panel of publishing leaders highlighted licensing as a critical growth engine, especially as large language models demand high‑quality text. They urged publishers to adopt a pragmatic stance—accepting imperfect licenses rather than forgoing deals—to capture...
Natalie Waller has been re‑elected chair of the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) board, marking her second term since first breaking the glass ceiling in 2021. Sean Warner, president of Universal Music Australia & New Zealand, joins as deputy chair, bringing...
Canal+ will retire Showmax, migrating South African subscribers to its own OTT app after Showmax accumulated roughly R8.7 billion in losses, including R4.9 billion in 2025. The transition will fold Showmax titles into the Canal+ platform and DStv Stream, aiming to retain customers...
Amazon MX Player, India’s free streaming service with 250 million monthly viewers, announced its most ambitious 2026 lineup. The slate features over 150 new and returning titles across drama, action, reality and its micro‑drama MX Fatafat vertical. High‑profile projects such as...
Dream Sports, the owner of fantasy platform Dream11, has restructured its operations after the Indian government's ban on real‑money gaming, resulting in the departure of more than 100 senior staff. The company split its workforce of roughly 950 employees among...
The Victorian Football League has secured broadcast agreements with Foxtel, ABC, Seven and SEN, promising the competition’s biggest audiences in decades. Foxtel will stream 16 matches on Kayo Sports across the first 13 rounds, while ABC returns to VFL TV...
Harvard‑trained physician Nick Norwitz leveraged his Metabolic Health YouTube channel to drive a dramatic surge in paid Substack subscribers, climbing from 900 to 5,200 in eight months. Partnering with creator‑management firm Shorthand Studios, he applied A/B testing, refined branding, and...
A Looper Insights survey of sports‑media executives finds global streamers poised to dominate sports rights by 2026, with Amazon Prime Video emerging as the clear front‑runner. Forty‑one percent of respondents said streaming platforms will hold the greatest structural power, edging...
Summit Technology Group unveiled AirLux Studio Signaling, a network‑based on‑air light replacement that uses PoE‑powered touchscreen displays. The platform integrates natively with Axia Livewire consoles, automatically reflecting status cues such as On‑Air, Recording, or Production in Progress. A centralized web...
Suzette Quintanilla, sister of late singer Selena, filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in California accusing Chinese fast‑fashion retailer Shein of trademark infringement, unfair competition, and publicity‑rights violations. The suit alleges Shein continued to sell unlicensed Selena t‑shirts and...
