Hybe India’s Girl Group Auditions Expand to Five International Cities
Hybe India announced a nationwide audition tour to form its first Indian girl group, adding five international cities to the schedule. The auditions will run from early May through late July across ten Indian metros and will also be held in Toronto, New York, Singapore, Sydney and London. Applicants can register via BookMyShow for in‑person or online auditions, while pop‑up parks in six Indian cities will showcase brand partners and interactive music experiences. A panel of Hybe’s global talent experts and Indian entertainment professionals will judge the contestants.
Forecast: Content Creators to Move Beyond the Smartphone
Futuresource Consulting estimates 246 million online video creators in 2025, rising to 267 million by 2030. While smartphones remain the dominant capture device, a growing 4% CAGR cohort is upgrading to dedicated cameras and accessories. Aspirational and professional creators—about 35% today and...
PVR INOX to Pivot Expansion to 100 Pc FOCO Model over 4 Years
PVR INOX Limited announced a strategic pivot to a 100% FOCO (franchise‑owned, company‑operated) expansion model over the next four years, moving away from its capital‑intensive COCO approach. The company currently runs 1,802 screens and has 71 FOCO screens, adding 12...
Inside RTL’s Plan To Aggregate Europe’s Fragmented TV And Video Supply
RTL AdAlliance, the sales arm of Luxembourg‑based RTL Group, is consolidating Europe’s fragmented TV and video inventory into a single "total video" offering. By partnering with national broadcasters, streamers and online publishers, it aggregates over 400 million monthly viewers across linear,...
Rare Perth Brings Media Capability Fully In-House as the Final Step in Integrated Agency Model
Perth’s largest independent creative communications firm Rare has fully brought its media capability in‑house, ending its licensing agreement with Hearts & Science. The integration folds planning, buying and partnership functions into Rare’s Client Solutions unit, completing a three‑year restructuring that...
The Washington Post’s Arc XP Adds TollBit to Help Publishers Make Money From AI Bot Traffic
The Washington Post’s Arc XP platform is integrating TollBit to let publishers block and charge AI bots that scrape their content. AI‑bot traffic has surged, with a 300% year‑over‑year rise and a ratio of one bot for every 31 human visits...
Ford, Nissan and State Farm Are Embedding Their Brands in Sports as They Chase Fandoms
Ford, Nissan and State Farm are moving beyond traditional sports sponsorships by creating original, brand‑centric content that lives within streaming and digital platforms. Ford’s "Bronco Off Course" pairs its SUV with a desert‑golf challenge, while Nissan’s "CarJitsu" stages jiu‑jitsu inside...
Netflix Animation Studios Opens in Vancouver
Netflix has opened a new animation studio in Vancouver, British Columbia, bringing together 450 employees in a 110,600‑square‑foot facility. The C$50 million (≈$37 million USD) construction investment contributed to the province’s GDP, and the studio’s ongoing operations are expected to generate about...
Coca-Cola’s New Campaign Challenges Japan to Separate the Fizz From the Sizz
Coca‑Cola Japan launched the “Fizz or Sizz” campaign, a sound‑based guessing game that asks consumers to tell whether they hear the fizz of a Coke or the sizzle of karaage. The activation runs for a week across radio, digital out‑of‑home,...
Evrideo Launches Outpost
Evrideo has launched Outpost, a cloud‑native IP video command centre that consolidates monitoring, routing, recording and stream transformation on standard COTS servers. The solution is offered both as a fully managed SaaS and a self‑hosted licensed deployment, giving broadcasters flexibility...
L.A. Olympics Chief Casey Wasserman ‘Deserves Our Support,’ Says Power Lawyer Patricia L. Glaser at Variety’s Power of Law Event
At Variety’s Power of Law breakfast in Los Angeles, top litigator Patricia Glaser praised Olympic organizer Casey Wasserman, urging industry backing for the 2028 Games. Glaser also warned that social media operates without adequate legal guardrails, turning it into a “smear...
Warner Bros. CEO David Zaslav’s ‘Extraordinary’ $887 Million Golden Parachute Gets Ripped by Proxy Advisory Firm ISS
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) has urged investors to reject the $887 million golden parachute slated for Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav as the company pursues a $77.7 billion merger with Paramount Skydance. The proposal includes a $335 million excise‑tax gross‑up and single‑trigger equity...
Paramount Launches Book Division as President Steps Down
Paramount Global announced the creation of Paramount Global Publishing, a new division that will turn its extensive portfolio of franchises—such as Star Trek, Transformers, and SpongeBob—into print, digital, and audio books. The unit will sit within the products and experiences group,...
Comcast Upgrades Xfinity Streaming Bundles
Comcast has expanded its Xfinity StreamSaver bundles to include HBO Max and the Disney+/Hulu package, joining existing Peacock, Netflix and Apple TV options. Customers can now select from eight bundle configurations, with a full‑service package priced at $35 per month—a...
WBD-PSKY Latest
Paramount Skydance is refinancing its balance sheet ahead of closing the $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition. The company will syndicate a bridge facility, cutting debt commitments from $54 billion to $49 billion, and expand its senior unsecured revolving credit line from $3.5 billion to...
Sports Deals
TNT Sports has teamed with DAZN to launch a monthly boxing series called “The Fight,” with events airing on TNT Sports’ channels and streaming worldwide on DAZN, while truTV will provide supplemental programming such as weigh‑ins and press conferences. The...
#ThisWeek on MarkLives MEDIA: Nick Grubb on Kagiso Connect • #NextWeek: WhatsApp in the Media Mix
Kagiso Connect CEO Nick Grubb announced the company’s strategic move beyond its radio roots into insurance, lifestyle services, and data analytics. The shift reflects broader ad‑spend migration toward diversified, performance‑driven channels. Grubb highlighted that these new verticals will leverage the firm’s...
Mortal Kombat 1 Reaches Big Sales Milestone Despite DLC Support Stopping over a Year Ago
Warner Bros. and NetherRealm announced that Mortal Kombat 1 has surpassed 8 million copies sold, reaching the milestone in roughly two and a half years. The surge includes an additional 1.8 million units after the studio halted DLC support a year ago. The...
IAB Hunts Down Speakers For MeasureUP 2026
IAB Australia has opened speaker submissions for MeasureUp 2026, its 10th‑year media measurement conference scheduled for 2 September 2026 in Sydney. The event will showcase the first wave of findings from the Future of Measurement project and feature ten curated sessions plus new...
Belong Turns Reddit Hacks Into National Media Campaign via OMD and Pembleton
Belong, an Australian telecom brand, launched the “Simple Solutions” national campaign with OMD and Pembleton, converting Reddit conversations into a media‑led showcase of its “Just BE” platform. The activation curates authentic community‑sourced advice and amplifies it across Reddit, out‑of‑home billboards...
Streamex Corp. (STEX) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Streamex Corp. (STEX) held its Q4 2025 earnings call on April 8, 2026, highlighting the company’s recent transition to a public entity and the foundational work laid for its blockchain‑based platform. Management detailed early traction for its flagship tokenized asset product, GLDY, citing...
Great American Media Partners with Minivela to Develop and Distribute Micro-Drama Slate
Great American Media’s Pure Flix division has partnered with Minivela to create Pure Flix Familia, a Spanish‑language and bilingual micro‑drama streaming destination launching later 2026. The deal leverages Minivela’s mobile‑first, vertical‑short production model and its deep ties to U.S. Hispanic and Latin American...
JCDecaux Lands At Western Sydney Airport
JCDecaux has won a ten‑year advertising contract for the new Western Sydney International (WSI) Airport, taking charge of 27 fully digitised out‑of‑home assets across the terminal and surrounding roadways. The airport, designed by Zaha Hadid and partners, is slated to open...
CAA Wants to Bring More Marketers to Hollywood’s Creative Table
Creative Artists Agency is launching its Entertainment Partnerships team to seat brand marketers alongside writers, directors and talent during the earliest stages of TV development. The initiative is exemplified by the six‑episode series Rider Die, a Crocs‑Complex collaboration that weaves product...
RACHEL BOLAN On SKID ROW's Ongoing Singer Search: 'We Probably Have Listened To About 300 Submissions At This Point'
SKID ROW bassist Rachel Bolan confirmed the band’s ongoing search for a new lead vocalist, conducted through a first‑of‑its‑kind partnership with online music retailer Sweetwater. About 300 audition tapes have been reviewed so far, and the band stresses they will not rush...
YouTube Tests 90-Second Unskippable Ads on CTV
YouTube is piloting 90‑second unskippable ads for content streamed on connected‑TV (CTV) devices. The test follows earlier experiments with hour‑long ad blocks that only appear when ad‑blockers are detected. YouTube’s CTV audience now exceeds a billion hours per day, putting...
Gaming and Nerd Culture Are Having a Crowdfunding Moment
In 2026, indie game developers and nerd‑culture creators are turning to crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter and BackerKit at unprecedented levels. Projects such as Sacred: Last Pixel of Ancaria, Axis Saga, Neon Odyssey, and a revival of Felicia Day’s web series...
TikTok Is Building a Second $1.2 Billion Data Center in Finland
TikTok announced a $1.2 billion data‑center project in Lahti, Finland, marking its second facility in the country. The Lahti site will store EU user information locally, eliminating the need to transfer data back to China and aligning with EU data‑localization rules....
DFB Launches Tender for 3. Liga Media Rights From 2027/28
The German Football Association (DFB) has launched a tender for the 3. Liga’s national audiovisual media rights covering the 2027/28‑2030/31 seasons. MagentaSport, Deutsche Telekom’s platform, currently holds exclusive live rights to all 380 matches, while public broadcasters ARD/ZDF and services...
TikTok Launches Updated Integration for Wix Users
TikTok has released an updated integration for Wix, now available through the Wix App Market, that lets merchants connect their sites directly to TikTok for Business. The upgrade simplifies adding the TikTok Pixel and Events API, enabling real‑time visitor data...
Snapchat Makes a Push for Snapcodes as a Marketing Tool
Snapchat is promoting its Snapcodes—a branded QR‑code format that embeds logos and links to interactive experiences—as a core tool for advertisers. Available since 2017, Snapcodes now support AR lenses, instant coupons, and detailed performance analytics. The company argues that these...
Despite Good Reviews, The First Berserker Khazan Development Team Reportedly Dissolved over Disappointing Sales Just Days After Nexon CEO Praised...
The First Berserker: Khazan received strong critical reviews but fell short of Nexon's sales expectations, prompting the parent company to reassign the Neople development team. Nexon CEO Junghun Lee had recently touted the title as a strategic entry point for...
Creative Dive: How Doritos’ ‘Cilantro Swap’ Became a Snack Moment in Taiwan
Doritos’ limited‑edition cilantro flavor sparked fierce debate in Taiwan, prompting Starcom Taiwan to embed the snack into a popular TV drama during a rare typhoon‑induced cilantro shortage. The eight‑minute scene showed a character swapping Doritos for fresh cilantro, creating a...
Christian Siebeneck Joins Public Media Management In Technology Role
Christian Siebeneck has been appointed vice president of technology & innovation at Public Media Management, where he will oversee the company’s cloud and master‑control services for public‑television stations. Previously, Siebeneck served as chief technology officer at Twin Cities Public Television....
Pokémon GO and MLB Extend Collaboration for 2026 Season
Niantic’s Pokémon GO will continue its partnership with Major League Baseball through the 2026 season, bringing Official Routes, club‑branded PokéStops, and themed in‑stadium games to every MLB ballpark. Selected clubs will host special events featuring Pikachu raids, hour‑long lure bonuses, timed...
Integrated Weather Services Now Available For Radio Affiliates
Seaboard Networks has teamed up with Local Storm Center to deliver localized weather forecasts to its nationwide radio affiliates. The partnership offers three market‑specific forecasts each day, available either bundled with Seaboard’s 24/7 formats or as a standalone product. By...
Sturgill Simpson Says He ‘Insisted’ Ticket Prices for New Tour Remain the Same As Last Year
Sturgall Simpson announced that ticket prices for his upcoming "Mutiny for the Masses" arena tour will remain essentially unchanged from last year, with only a $10 increase for general‑admission pit tickets. He emphasized that larger venues allow more low‑priced seats,...
Growth at Risk as SCREEN AUSTRALIA Report Flags Industry Capacity Crunch
The Screen Australia‑commissioned Olsberg SPI Production Infrastructure and Capacity Analysis (PICA) 2026 reaffirms Australia’s reputation as a world‑class hub for high‑value film, TV, animation and games, but flags four pressure points—business scalability, skills gaps, unclear career progression, and infrastructure constraints—that...
FCC Extends Audible Crawl Rule Waiver for 18 Months
The Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau has granted an 18‑month waiver, extending the pause on the Audible Crawl Rule until November 29, 2027. The rule, adopted in 2013, requires broadcasters to provide an audio description of visual emergency graphics for blind and...
DigitCAP Unveils ‘AIOps’ For ATSC 3.0
DigiCAP announced AIOps for ATSC 3.0 at the NAB Show, an AI‑driven operations layer built on generative AI, large language models, and the Model Context Protocol. The solution replaces traditional dashboards with proactive, data‑rich automation designed for cloud‑based broadcast stations. By...
‘Influencer Marketing Is Replacing The Role TV Once Played’
Influencer marketing is rapidly eclipsing traditional television as the primary channel for brand building, a trend highlighted at a recent gathering of digital creators hosted by Sunshine Socials. Two young marketers shared data showing that influencer‑driven campaigns deliver higher engagement...
Cosm Builds ‘Shared Reality’ to Power Immersive, Real-World Experiences
Cosm Inc. has launched a "Shared Reality" platform that fuses ultra‑high‑resolution video, GPU‑driven rendering, and venue‑scale LED environments to make digital events feel physically present. The company relies on Dell Precision hardware and Nvidia GPUs to run a distributed 50‑node...
Why Every Streaming Service Suddenly Wants a Podcast Strategy
Late last year Netflix kicked off a streaming‑podcast rush by striking deals with Spotify and iHeart Media to host popular shows as video series. Since then, Tubi, MS Now, Roku, Amazon and others have announced multi‑million‑dollar partnerships or acquisition talks to...
Globo and Teletica Bring She’s The One to Costa Rica
Globo has signed a new licensing agreement with Costa Rica’s leading broadcaster Teletica to air the telenovela “She’s The One.” The series previously set engagement records for Globo, generating more than three million social mentions, 1.2 billion total views and attracting...
Jeff Shell Leaves Paramount Skydance to ‘Focus on Lawsuit’
Jeff Shell, president of Paramount Skydance (PSKY), resigned to concentrate on a $150 million lawsuit filed by gambler‑informant Robert Cipriani. The suit alleges breach of oral contract, fraud, and disclosure of confidential information related to Paramount’s pending Warner Bros. Discovery acquisition and a $7.7 billion UFC...
‘This Famous Butt’: How Verizon Created that Ad with Connor Storrie
Verizon launched a four‑minute horror‑styled brand film, “Look Behind You,” starring Connor Storrie and directed by Nia DaCosta. The ad blends a spooky cabin narrative with a tongue‑in‑cheek focus on the actor’s famed glutes to showcase the reliability of Verizon’s...
Corus Taps Appear for IP-First Operations
Corus Entertainment has partnered with Appear to replace its legacy leased‑circuit news contribution network with an IP‑first architecture that uses the SRT protocol. The upgrade leverages Appear’s X Platform and a Skyline Dataminer‑driven orchestration layer to consolidate media processing and...
Stingray, Anuvu Partner to Bring Audio and Video Content to Cruise Passengers
Stingray announced a partnership with maritime connectivity specialist Anuvu to distribute its curated audio and video channels across the global cruise market. Anuvu’s MTN‑TV platform, which serves more than 300 ships and commands over 80% of the cruise entertainment market,...
NBC Thrilled With Year 1 Of NBA Deal
NBC celebrated a strong debut season after rejoining the NBA under the league’s 11‑year, $76 billion media rights agreement. The network’s flagship innovation, “On The Bench,” placed analysts on each team’s bench for full‑game coverage, debuting on Monday and expanding to...
Maximizing Experience with Pinco Casino Cashback Rewards
Pinco Casino offers a weekly cashback program that refunds a portion of players' net losses, positioning the feature as a low‑wager, risk‑mitigation tool. After registering, users automatically qualify for the reward, which can be tracked in real time via the...