AMG Names Two As Exec VPs of Advertising Sales
Allen Media Group (AMG) has created two new Executive Vice President roles for advertising sales, appointing Chris Czarkowski and Keith Freibott. The duo will oversee national broadcast ad sales for AMG’s upcoming CBS late‑night lineup, including “Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen” at 11:35 pm and “Funny You Should Ask” at 12:35 am, both debuting May 22. Under a deal with Paramount’s CBS Stations, AMG will control and sell all national ad inventory for the two shows while also spearheading enterprise‑level preferred partnerships across its linear, digital and streaming assets. Their prior experience at TelevisaUnivision, Dick Clark Productions, Warner Bros. Discovery and other media firms positions them to drive transformational revenue growth.
Six Months on, Has Seven’s WINNING ARVO Experiment Moved the Dial?
Seven’s "Winning Arvo" afternoon block launched six months ago, mixing imported quiz formats, rolling headlines and cash giveaways to revive daytime viewership. The experiment has helped steady the lead into the 4 p.m. news and The Chase Australia at 5 p.m., though...
Screen Producers Awards 2026: Winners
Jungle Entertainment won both Production Business of the Year and the Screen Business Export award at the 24th Annual SPA Awards, held during Screen Forever 40 on the Gold Coast. The ceremony also recognized a wide range of Australian productions, from drama...
Morris Rises To Top Spot At ‘6abc’
John W. Morris has been promoted to President and General Manager of WPVI‑TV, the Philadelphia ABC owned‑and‑operated station known as “6abc.” Previously the vice president of multiplatform programming, Morris will now oversee the station’s editorial direction, audience strategy, and digital...
Instagram Updates Algorithm to Benefit Original Creators
Instagram announced a major algorithm update that elevates original photos, carousel posts, and how‑to guides while reducing the reach of aggregator accounts. The change expands the Reels‑focused system introduced in 2024, which previously doubled original Reel views and watch time....
Curtis’ Access To Capitol: A Seven-Signal Eastern N.C. Deal
Curtis Media Group announced the acquisition of seven broadcast properties—four FM stations, one AM station and two FM translators—in the Wilmington‑New Bern‑Jacksonville market of Eastern North Carolina. The deal, brokered exclusively by Kalil & Co., values the assets at $1.75 million,...
Amazon Ads Spend Jumps 22% In Q1
Amazon announced that its advertising segment generated $17.2 billion in Q1 2026, a 22% year‑over‑year increase. The surge was powered by AI‑driven tools such as the Rufus chatbot and Creative Agent, which accelerated creative production and attracted more small and medium‑sized businesses....
In Q1, YouTube Music and Premium Saw ‘Largest Quarterly Increase’ in Non-Trial Subscribers Since 2018 Launch, Says Alphabet CEO, as...
YouTube’s advertising revenue jumped 11% year‑over‑year to $9.88 billion in Q1 2026, while its subscription business accelerated. The platform reported its largest quarterly increase in non‑trial YouTube Music and Premium subscribers since the service launched in 2018. Alphabet’s total paid subscriptions rose...
Exclusive: The Temptations Sign With Independent Artist Group For Worldwide Representation
The Temptations have entered a worldwide representation agreement with Independent Artist Group (IAG), which will oversee a multi‑year global tour slated to run through 2027. The agency highlighted plans to craft shows that honor the group’s four‑decade legacy, featuring classics...
Tech Startup Nebula Partners with Ghazi Shami’s Supply Chain to Launch What It Calls an ‘Earn-Before-You-Stream’ Music Distro Service
Music tech startup Nebula has teamed with Ghazi Shami’s white‑label distributor Supply Chain Music to debut an “earn‑before‑you‑stream” service. The platform lets fans buy fractional stakes in unreleased tracks via Nebula’s marketplace; once the song streams on services like Spotify...
Well, At Least The Australian Ballet Lost Fewer Millions Than It Did The Year Before
The Australian Ballet reported a 2025 operating loss of $4.7 million (≈$3.1 million USD) after being displaced by the $1.7 billion (≈$1.1 billion USD) Melbourne Arts Precinct Transformation. The move to the smaller Regent Theatre cut premium seating, forced set redesigns and slashed car‑park...
We Bought an Orchestra
Jeffrey Arlo Brown’s investigation reveals a growing "pay‑to‑play" model in classical music, where ultra‑wealthy patrons fund orchestras more for status than artistic merit. The report spotlights the newly formed DRO, which has staged three concerts and plans a €2 million (≈$2.2 million)...
Cord Cutting Today: Comcast and Spectrum Merger Talks Grow as Streaming and 5G Surge Past Cable
Comcast and Charter (Spectrum) are intensifying talks to merge, potentially creating a cable giant worth over $150 billion. The talks come as streaming services have surged 12% year‑over‑year, accelerating cord‑cutting trends. Simultaneously, 5G home‑internet and fiber deployments added more than 1 million...
UC3 Names Preferred Bidders for UEFA Club Rights in 19 Markets
UC3, the UEFA‑Club commercial joint venture, named preferred bidders for the 2027‑31 men’s club competition media rights in 19 territories. The shortlist blends incumbent broadcasters such as Sky and Canal+ with streaming giants Disney+, Paramount+, ESPN and DAZN, reflecting a...
Simplestream Brings Local TV Channels to Freely
Simplestream is enabling the launch of six UK local TV channels on the free‑to‑air streaming platform Freely, delivering fully managed IP distribution and server‑side ad insertion. The channels—London TV, Birmingham TV, KMTV, Latest TV Brighton, Liverpool TV and Leeds TV—are...
It’s a Biometric World After All: Disney Offers Facial Matching for California Park Entry
Disney has rolled out facial‑recognition entry lanes at Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, covering both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure. The system captures a facial template when a ticket or pass is first used, converts it to a numeric value...
Judge Says FTC BOTS Act Case Against Reseller Can Proceed
A federal judge ruled that the FTC’s BOTS Act lawsuit against Maryland ticket reseller Key Investment Group can move forward, interpreting the law to cover human‑assisted purchases, not just automated bots. The FTC alleges Key bought 379,776 tickets for about...
Believe and TuneCore Are Blocking Distribution of Generative AI Tracks Made on ‘Pirate Studios’ Like Suno – While Inking New...
Believe announced a major update to its generative‑AI policy, automatically blocking distribution of tracks created on unlicensed platforms such as Suno. The company says its detection system can identify the AI model with 99 % accuracy, preventing illegal content from reaching...
Nielsen: Prime Video’s NBA Playoffs Coverage Drew Highest Mix of 18-49 Year-Old TV Viewers Through April 26
Prime Video’s NBA playoff broadcasts have become the top destination for the coveted 18‑49 demographic through April 26, according to Nielsen data. The Spurs‑Blazers first‑round game attracted 58.5% of its audience from that age group, translating to 1.466 million viewers. Across the...
FCC Moves Forward With ‘Audible Crawl Rule’ Update
The Federal Communications Commission’s three voting members unanimously approved a Third Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to amend the longstanding Audible Crawl Rule. The amendment removes a provision that broadcasters, the National Association of Broadcasters and TV station owners have called...
World Rugby and IMG Announce Long-Term Media Rights Partnership
World Rugby has entered a long‑term media rights partnership with IMG to accelerate the sport’s growth in the United States ahead of the 2031 men’s and 2033 women’s Rugby World Cups. IMG will advise on U.S. and global media rights,...
Prayan Animation: A Steady Ship in Rough Seas
Prayan Animation, a 14‑year‑old Indian studio, is positioning itself as a reliable partner for international producers amid tighter budgets and faster timelines. The company emphasizes disciplined execution, predictability, and a broad service suite that now includes 2D OTT series, educational...
US Publishers Back Amazon in AI Agent Access Dispute with Perplexity
Major U.S. digital news publishers have filed an amicus brief supporting Amazon in its lawsuit against AI start‑up Perplexity, which allegedly accessed Amazon’s shopping site and user accounts via its Comet AI agent without permission. A California judge issued a...
Scholastic and BlushCrunch Studio Announce Dandy’s World Book Partnership | Exclusive
Roblox creator BlushCrunch Studio has teamed with Scholastic to turn its hit horror game Dandy’s World into a series of books. A guidebook and novel are slated for spring 2027, followed by a graphic novel in fall 2027, with Scholastic...
Pokémon TCG Pocket Makes $1.6bn in 1.5 Years
Pokémon Trading Card Game Pocket has amassed over $1.6 billion in player spending within its first 18 months, becoming the fastest mobile Pokémon title to hit the $1 bn milestone. The game launched globally on October 30 2024 and earned Game of the Year...
Understanding Residual Cohort Value: The Hidden Asset in Mobile Gaming and Apps
Residual cohort value captures the future revenue locked in a mobile game’s existing user base, yet most finance teams omit it from balance sheets and P&L statements. By stacking the revenue decay curves of multiple acquisition cohorts, firms can estimate...
How Nestlé Turns Creator Content Into Brand-Suitable Ads at Scale
Nestlé has launched an integration between CreatorIQ and CreativeX that uses AI to grade influencer content for paid‑media suitability. The system streams creator submissions from CreatorIQ to CreativeX, scores them against Nestlé’s branding, storytelling and effectiveness criteria, and feeds the...
Whisul: Streamlining The Music Experience Lifecycle
Whisul, a tech startup, has launched a proprietary AI music‑creation engine that focuses on culturally authentic genres such as Afrobeats, Afrohouse, Amapiano, and Reggaeton. The platform emphasizes ethical data practices, ensuring creator rights are respected while mimicking real‑world composition patterns....
Symphonic Targets Catalog Acquisitions and Indie Artist Financing Deals with Launch of Symphonic NEXT
Symphonic, a Tampa‑based music‑technology firm, launched Symphonic NEXT, a program linking independent artists, labels, and managers with catalog financing, royalty advances, and acquisition opportunities. Led by Michelle Garramone, NEXT offers flexible deals ranging from $25,000 in trailing‑12‑month earnings to multi‑million‑dollar...
Viewers Are Satisfied with Streaming, but There’s Room to Improve the Ad Experience
FreeWheel’s "Voice of the Viewer" report shows roughly 80% of consumers are satisfied with their overall streaming experience, citing content choice, value for money and ad‑supported tiers as key strengths. However, the study also uncovers persistent frustrations around ad relevance,...
Blu Ant Media Bows Love Nature Streaming Content Channel in Holland
Blu Ant Media announced the launch of the Love Nature streaming channel in the Netherlands, partnering with Delta Fiber, one of the country’s largest ISPs. The channel will stream award‑winning wildlife and nature programming in English with Dutch subtitles. Highlights...
Locality Adds Sales Leaders to Scale National Access to Local TV Advertising Through Collective Ahead of Upfronts
Locality announced the hiring of Steve Fish and Adam Quinn as vice presidents of sales to accelerate adoption of its Collective platform, a data‑driven solution that lets national advertisers plan and activate local TV inventory at scale. The appointments come...
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Taps LTK for Social Commerce Push
Sports Illustrated Swimsuit has partnered with LTK to launch its first creator‑driven social commerce channel. An official LTK profile will let fans discover and purchase items featured in editorial content, talent spotlights, and live runway coverage. LTK will also enable...
FiveTwoNine’s Creator Fund Is Bringing Missing Creator Economy Voices to Advertising’s Grand Stage
FiveTwoNine launched the Creator Fund in 2025 to bring emerging, diverse creators into the Cannes Lions advertising festival. Applications surged from 100 to over 300, with 20 creators selected each cohort through a juried process that scores diversity, entrepreneurial spirit...
Calinos Entertainment Brings Gilded Lies to the International Market
Calinos Entertainment has secured worldwide distribution rights to the Turkish drama *Gilded Lies (Rüya Gibi)* and will present the series at the upcoming LA Screenings and NEM Dubrovnik markets. Produced by TMC Film and starring Seda Bakan, Uğur Güneş and...
X Upgrades Its Ad Platform in Long Overdue Overhaul
X announced the largest overhaul of its advertising tools, positioning the upgrade as AI‑powered and rolling it out globally. The revamp introduces contextual and semantic ad delivery, with full deployment expected later in 2026. X claims its top 100 advertisers...
Just Hours After Closing Its RPG Studio, Nacon Confirms Showcase Date for Next Week
French publisher Nacon announced that its Nacon Connect 2026 showcase will take place on May 7, just hours after it shuttered its flagship RPG studio, Spiders. The event will feature exclusive gameplay from upcoming titles such as The Mound, Edge of...
Warner Bros. Discovery Finance Chief Gunnar Wiedenfels Gets New Contract
Warner Bros. Discovery disclosed a new employment agreement for CFO Gunnar Wiedenfels that takes effect on July 11, 2026 and runs through April 28, 2028. The contract keeps his base salary at $2.5 million with a performance bonus equal to 175 percent...
Marathon’s Lack of Marketing by Sony Indicates Lack of Faith, Says Former Square Enix Exec
Bungie's PvPvE shooter Marathon has sold roughly 1.2 million copies and generated about $55 million in gross revenue, but its PS5 performance lags behind Steam and Xbox. Former Square Enix exec Jacob Navok highlighted a 2,000‑player drop in peak concurrent users, blaming...
Google Unveils Brand 'Brief' Feature In AI Max
Google unveiled a suite of AI Max tools, highlighted by the new “AI Brief” feature powered by Gemini. AI Brief lets advertisers embed brand‑specific messaging guardrails, banned phrases, and tone guidelines directly into search, shopping and travel campaigns. Additional capabilities...
Fortnite’s Official Star Wars Experiences Feature Expanded Voice Lines
Epic Games and Disney are launching three official Star Wars islands in Fortnite on May 1, built with top creators JOGO Studios, Future Trash, and Beyond Creative. These islands feature exclusive assets, including authentic Darth Vader voice lines and iconic Star Wars...
Local Public Sets Growth Goals as Stations Build Streaming Strategies
Local Public, the streaming platform launched by Cascade PBS, is targeting at least 30 public‑TV stations by the end of summer and hopes to reach 100 stations within three years. The service offers stations granular, real‑time viewership analytics and full...
Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav’s Pay Tripled in 2025 to $165 Million
Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive David Zaslav saw his total compensation soar to $165 million in 2025, roughly three times his prior payout. The bulk of the increase—$110 million—came from one‑time stock options granted for a now‑abandoned plan to split the company...
Sorry, AI Artists. Spotify’s Not Letting You Become ‘Verified’ on Its Platform.
Spotify announced a new “Verified by Spotify” badge that will appear on artist profiles and in search results, signaling that the artist is a real human creator rather than an AI‑generated persona. The badge is unavailable to AI‑only acts at...
Acast Expands Team and Upgrades Studio Production
Acast is rolling out video podcast distribution in Sweden through Apple Podcasts’ HLS integration, marking one of the first global partnerships for the format. To support the launch, the company hired Otto Jorméus as Content Director and Gustaf Angelin as...
AMC and Sphere Announce Expanded Seasonal Partnership Opportunities
AMC Global Media and Sphere Entertainment are expanding their seasonal partnership to combine Sphere’s Exosphere holiday celebration “Sphere of Cheer” with AMC’s “Best Christmas Ever” programming in December, while reviving the October “Sphere of Fear” and “FearFest” collaboration. The deal...
Paramount Is Trying To Blame Netflix For All The Negative Merger Press
Paramount Global and Warner Bros. Discovery are pursuing a $111 billion merger that has sparked a backlash from more than 4,000 Hollywood insiders. The insiders signed a letter warning that the deal would deepen debt, trigger layoffs, and hurt consumers and...
Digital Ads Hit $294 Billion While Everyone Pretends This Is Normal
U.S. internet advertising revenue surged 13.9% in 2025, reaching a record $294.6 billion, according to the IAB/PwC report. The growth underscores digital’s dominance despite industry chatter that ad budgets remain under pressure. Mobile video and programmatic buying were the primary engines...
Instagram Cracks Down on Content Aggregators
Instagram announced that accounts that regularly repost others’ photos or carousel posts will no longer appear in the platform’s recommendation streams. The rule, which previously applied only to Reels, now extends to static images and swipeable carousels, aiming to reward...
Taylor Swift AI Trademark Fight Could Benefit Famous Athletes
Taylor Swift has filed trademark applications with the USPTO to protect her voice and likeness from generative‑AI misuse, following a similar move by actor Matthew McConaughey. The filings illustrate a new legal strategy that could be adopted by athletes facing deepfake...