Spotify Scraps Premium Lite Tier for India, Scales Back Standard Plan Prices
Spotify has eliminated its Premium Lite tier in India, offering existing Lite users a move to the Standard plan at the same price. The Premium Standard subscription was reduced from Rs 199 ($2.10) to Rs 139 ($1.45) per month, with a student discount now Rs 69 ($0.70). Premium Platinum remains at Rs 299 ($3.10) with lossless audio and AI features, while Duo and Family plans have been discontinued. These adjustments reflect Spotify’s response to India’s price‑sensitive market and evolving label dynamics.
Ads of the Week: 10 Campaigns That Caught Our Eye, From Dove to Hinge
The latest Ads of the Week roundup spotlights ten standout campaigns, from Dove’s FIFA‑themed spot to Hinge’s Gen Z‑focused dating push. Celebrity talent fuels the creative mix, with Stanley Tucci for TJ Maxx, William Shatner for Priceline, and Carmelo Anthony fronting CeraVe. The collection also...
Amazon Bets Creator Video Podcasts Can Be the Next TV Network – if It Can Fix Measurement
At its May 11 Upfront, Amazon announced a push to turn creator‑led video podcasts into multi‑platform franchises that can compete for traditional TV ad budgets. The company envisions "360‑degree" properties that span Amazon retail, livestreams, social clips, and live events, leveraging...
Ally Wants Influence over Women’s Sports Media Deals — Not Just Sponsorships
Ally Bank announced it achieved its five‑year 50/50 parity pledge—equal ad spend in men’s and women’s sports—one year early. Chief marketing officer Andrea Brimmer says the bank’s influence now extends beyond sponsorships to shaping media rights deals with leagues like...
Women’s State of Origin Draws Bigger Viewership than AFL and Budget Reply
More than two million Australians tuned in to Nine for the Women’s State of Origin series, with game two reaching a total audience of 2.1 million and an average of just over one million viewers. The broadcast outperformed Thursday night’s AFL...
One Nation Policy to Scrap SBS Funding Entirely, Push ABC Into Regional-Only Role
One Nation announced a policy to strip all taxpayer funding from SBS, forcing the multicultural broadcaster to become fully commercial, and to cut ABC’s federal support in metropolitan markets while preserving a regional‑only footprint. SBS currently receives about $360 million AUD...
StreamElements Prepares to Shut Down Website and Creator Platform (Updated)
StreamElements, the long‑standing livestreaming services platform, announced it will close its website and sunset its creator tools within 30 days. The company, which powered free bots, overlays and a brand‑partnership marketplace for more than 23 million creators, is in talks with...
YouTube Is Turning Your TV Into a Shopping Cart, and It's Exactly as Bad as It Sounds
YouTube unveiled a "Buy with Google Pay" button for ads on its smart‑TV app, letting viewers purchase items with two clicks. The feature, announced at the Brandcast 2026 event, joins AI‑driven tools like Reimagine and custom sponsorships that tailor video ads. By...
How STAGE Streams Smarter by Putting Data at the Center
STAGE, an Indian OTT platform targeting first‑time streamers, adopted Amplitude to consolidate fragmented analytics and eliminate engineering bottlenecks. The unified data revealed that users who watch three or more episodes in their first week almost never churn, prompting the launch...
Upfronts: WBD Expands Advanced Ad Capabilities and AI Ad Tech
Warner Bros. Discovery used its upfront to unveil a suite of AI‑driven ad technologies, including Scene‑Level Moments that target individual scenes, Shoppable Pause Ads that let viewers shop without interrupting playback, and Dynamic Creative that tailors headlines in real time....
Oleg Kuzovkov Regains 'Masha and the Bear' Control, Now in Pre-Production on Feature
Oleg Kuzovkov, creator of the preschool hit *Masha and the Bear*, has reclaimed exclusive creative control of the franchise and launched Studio MiM, an independent studio operating out of Los Angeles and Moscow. The new studio has entered pre‑production on the...
CEO of BBC Studios’ DTC Business Discusses How North America Became British TV’s Biggest Opportunity
At the NAB Streaming Summit, BBC Studios DTC chief Robert Schildhouse outlined BritBox’s “anti‑Netflix” strategy, emphasizing profitability, niche British content, and high‑value annual subscribers. He noted the premium BritBox Premier tier now exceeds 10% of direct users and previewed the...
Before Cable Was Cool: Ted Turner Was a Visionary Maverick and Gift to Journalists
Ted Turner, the media mogul who died at 87, reshaped journalism by launching CNN in 1980, the first 24‑hour news network. His vision turned a modest Atlanta UHF station into TBS, the pioneering "superstation" that delivered cable programming nationwide. Turner’s...
What ‘Blue Dot Fever’? Live Nation CFO Says ‘There Is Absolutely No Data that Supports Any Issues’ with Ticket Sales.
Live Nation’s CFO Joe Berchtold dismissed the "blue‑dot fever" narrative, saying there is no data showing ticket‑sale problems. He highlighted that the company delivered 50,000 shows last year, with Q1 2026 revenue of $3.8 billion, up 12% YoY, and sold 107 million...
Netflix Announces Its Ad Tier Now Has More Than 250 Million Monthly Active Users
Netflix announced that its Standard With Ads tier now reaches more than 250 million monthly active users, up from 190 million in November 2025. The ad‑supported plan accounts for 60 % of all new Netflix sign‑ups, and weekly engagement exceeds 80 % of those...
Discovery Plus Added to Spectrum TV Plans
Charter Communications and Warner Bros. Discovery have expanded their partnership, adding the ad‑supported tier of Discovery+ to eligible Spectrum TV packages at no extra charge. Customers who want an ad‑free experience can upgrade for $4 a month, a discount from...
Upfronts Day Three: Ad Tech Jargon And Brand Awareness
The third day of the 2026 TV upfronts highlighted a clash between performance‑driven ad tech and brand‑centric storytelling. Warner Bros. Discovery introduced a new measurement and attribution platform while navigating its pending Paramount acquisition. Netflix rolled out programmatic pause ads, new DSP...
Media.net Appoints Adam Gerber Head of Strategy
Media.net, the search‑intent‑driven supply‑side platform, announced Adam Gerber as head of strategy. Gerber will steer the U.S. go‑to‑market plan, aligning product marketing, sales, development and partnerships to boost revenue. He arrives with more than three decades of experience at Netflix,...
Musk Taps Former U.S. Solicitor General To Represent X In 'Ad Boycott' Appeal
Elon Musk's X Corp. hired former U.S. Solicitor General Paul D. Clement to lead an appeal of a district court ruling that dismissed its antitrust lawsuit over an alleged advertiser boycott. The suit, filed in 2024, claims that the World...
Managing Platforms, Filming Fandom, and Approaching AI with Care: Takeaways From Our Creator Marketing Event
The creator economy remains a dominant force, with 86% of U.S. marketers using influencers in 2025. At Marketing Brew’s "Next Phase of Social & Creator Marketing" event, leaders from ESPN, Cava, Anthropologie and agencies highlighted the need for multi‑platform strategies,...
Richer Contextual Signals in the Bidstream Help Agencies and Publishers Alike
Seedtag is introducing richer contextual signals—intent, tone, and emotional cues—into the programmatic bidstream. This granular data allows agencies to match ads to real‑time content nuances, while giving publishers a way to monetize previously over‑blocked news inventory. By integrating these signals...
Cup Runneth Over: Inside the Alcohol Brands Pouring Marketing Into Soccer This Year
The 2026 FIFA World Cup will be hosted across North America, giving alcohol brands a massive platform. Companies such as Michelob Ultra, Modelo, Stella Artois and Don Julio are committing record‑high media spends and multi‑channel activations, with some planning 18...
Creating Authentic Connections with Gaming Communities | BOSS Mode with Christine Yoo, Presented by WEBTOON
Christine Yoo, Head of US Advertising at WEBTOON, explains how the platform’s 160 million monthly users enable brands to shift from traditional ads to community‑driven experiences. She highlights the Monster Hunter Wilds collaboration with Capcom, which used a creator contest to forge...
Primary Wave Strikes Partnership with Pete Townshend for ‘Future Creative Endeavors’ Including Use of His Name, Image, and Likeness Rights
Primary Wave announced a $100 million‑plus partnership with Pete Townshend, securing the rock legend’s name, image, likeness and select music rights. The deal expands Primary Wave’s NIL portfolio, which already includes estates such as Bob Marley, Harry Chapin and Eartha Kitt. The company recently closed...
Managers of Grammy Winners Justice and Gesaffelstein Back Music Biz Masters Targeting Emerging Markets
Christian De Rosnay, manager of Grammy‑winning Justice, and Alexandra Pilz Hayot, manager of Gesaffelstein, will act as patrons for a new MSc in International Music Business launching in France in September 2026. The English‑taught degree is a joint effort between Rennes School...
Microsoft Advertising Expands LinkedIn Profile Targeting to CTV
Microsoft Advertising announced that LinkedIn profile targeting is now available for connected TV (CTV) campaigns, letting advertisers apply professional data such as industry, job function, and company size to streaming inventory. The feature was unveiled at the SEM Stories event by...
ADWEEK Commerce Advantage: Retail Media Is About To Take Even More TV Ad Spend
Retail media ad revenue has already eclipsed linear TV, and the gap is widening as retailers capture a larger slice of TV ad spend. Amazon and Walmart are leading the charge by leveraging their smart‑TV ecosystems to sell data‑rich video...
Future Reveals It Is Still Heavily Reliant on Google as Profit Falls 67%
Future plc disclosed that roughly 60% of its £349.1 million (≈$444 million) revenue still depends on Google traffic, as profit before tax slumped 67% to £18.4 million (≈$23 million). Revenue fell 8% YoY and operating profit margin halved to 9%, while the company’s market...
Could the UK TV Licence Be Extended to Netflix, Prime Video, and Even Twitch, and Could It Impact Esports?
The BBC is reportedly drafting a white paper to expand the UK TV licence definition to cover live streams on services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, and potentially Twitch. Around 80% of households already pay the licence fee, yet...
Pete Townshend Sells Name, Image, and Music Rights in New Deal: Reports
British rock legend Pete Townshend has signed a new agreement with music‑rights firm Primary Wave that transfers his name, image, likeness and selected music rights to the company. The deal, reported to be worth nine figures, follows his earlier $100 million...
How Mobile Gaming Companies Keep Performance Intact While Migrating Measurement Systems
Mobile gaming studios face high‑risk measurement migrations as privacy shifts and AI integration demand new attribution frameworks. Tripledot Studios, overseeing 30+ casual games and hundreds of millions of players, executed a phased migration of billions of install records while keeping...
With Sports Fragmentation, Following the Fans Is Crucial
Live sports remain the last true appointment‑viewing experience, but rights deals are scattering content across dozens of apps and walled gardens. This fragmentation leaves advertisers chasing siloed audiences and missing incremental reach, even though sports made up 96% of the...
Addressable TV: An Upfront Season Solution Worth Noting
Addressable TV is emerging as a key bargaining chip during the Upfront season, with the industry trade group reporting that 78% of advertisers expect it to influence negotiations. The group added five new members, signaling expanding industry support for addressable...
Spotify to Adopt Apple’s New Video Podcast Tech, Offering Creators Easier Cross-Platform Distribution
Spotify announced it will adopt Apple’s HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) video technology, enabling its hosted shows to distribute and monetize video podcasts on Apple Podcasts without any technical changes. The move promises adaptive streaming that adjusts video quality in real...
Byron Allen Bought BuzzFeed. He Wants Starz Next
Byron Allen’s Allen Media Group purchased a majority stake in BuzzFeed for $20 million in cash with a $100 million earn‑out, adding the BuzzFeed and HuffPost brands to his portfolio of free‑ad streaming assets like Local Now. The deal complements his existing holdings,...
Parks Associates: Tubi Is Most-Used Free Streaming Service in U.S. Homes
Parks Associates reports that Fox’s free streaming service Tubi is now the most‑used FAST platform in U.S. broadband homes, drawing about 80 million monthly viewers. The Roku Channel ranks second with roughly 60 million users, followed by Paramount’s Pluto TV at nearly...
For Alfred Liggins And Urban One, The Focus Is On Future Growth
Urban One reported a tough first quarter for 2026, with digital revenue plunging 33.6% as the traditional advertising marketplace weakened. CEO Alfred Liggins III highlighted that broader market headwinds and advertiser pullbacks tied to DEI initiatives amplified the decline. The...
Salem Media Net Revenue Falls 11.2%
Salem Media reported first‑quarter 2026 net revenue of $45.9 million, an 11.2% decline from the same period last year. The company narrowed its net loss to $2.57 million, improving from a $7.1 million loss in Q1 2025. Segment revenue showed $17.2 million from broadcast programming,...
LinkedIn Plans Paid-For Events to Court the Creator Economy
LinkedIn is preparing to launch paid creator‑focused events, targeting up to 4,000 gatherings a year beginning in the second half of 2026. Early pilots with high‑profile creators such as Cassie Kozyrkov and Codie Sanchez demonstrated demand, prompting the rollout of gated sessions...
Advertisers Are Missing The Top World Cup Opportunities
The 2026 World Cup will be a multi‑week, streaming‑first spectacle, extending far beyond the 90‑minute live matches. Advertisers traditionally treat the tournament as a single, high‑priced spike, but fan engagement now spans pre‑match analysis, betting, and post‑match highlights across connected...
Amazon Reportedly Cancels Lord of the Rings MMO
Amazon Games has reportedly scrapped its long‑planned Lord of the Rings massively multiplayer online (MMO) title following a wave of layoffs that hit the division in October. Jeff Gattis, Amazon’s head of games, neither confirmed nor denied the cancellation but...
Is MrBeast Building a Creator Media Network?
MrBeast’s Beast Industries announced a new creator marketplace that blends AI‑driven tools with its Vyro clipping platform, positioning the company as a media‑focused advertising network. The reveal came during the upfronts‑week advertiser presentation, signaling ambitions to capture brand media spend...
YouTube Pitches Advertisers, Offers New AI Bundles
YouTube unveiled AI‑powered advertising bundles and creator‑partnership programs at its upfront sales event, aiming to pull ad dollars from social platforms, television and other media. The new bundles let brands use artificial intelligence for audience targeting and automatically transform influencer...
MapleStory Universe Marks First Anniversary with MSU 2.0 Expansion
MapleStory Universe (MSU), Nexon’s blockchain‑powered extension of the MapleStory franchise, celebrated its first anniversary, reporting over 150 million cumulative on‑chain transactions and 3.82 million registered accounts. The platform now accounts for 23.3% of activity on the Avalanche network and its native NXPC...
Change Afoot in UK TV Market
UK broadcaster ITV continues talks with Sky over a possible sale of its media and entertainment (M&E) division, valued at roughly £1.6 billion ($2.0 billion). The M&E unit, which contributes just over half of ITV’s revenue, posted £477 million ($606 million) in Q1, a...
Pixel Federation Reports $48 Revenue in 2025 as TrainStation 3 Drives Record Launch
Pixel Federation posted 2025 revenue of €41.2 million ($48.2 million), a 9% increase from the prior year, propelled by the global launch of TrainStation 3. The new title earned nearly €8 million ($9.4 million) in its first seven months, becoming the studio’s biggest launch in...
Versant Stock Jumps 10% After Company's Q1 Report Shows Bright Spots in Licensing, Platforms
Versant Media Group, newly spun out from Comcast, posted first‑quarter earnings showing mixed results. Overall revenue slipped 1% to $1.69 billion, with linear TV revenue down 7% to $1.01 billion, while licensing revenue surged 113.5% to $121 million and platform revenue rose 9.5%...
One Genre, Three Strategies: How Magic Sort, Knit Out, and Pixel Flow Are Redefining Sort Puzzle Monetisation
The mobile sort‑puzzle genre has surged to almost $200 M in annual net revenue, driven by three titles—Magic Sort, Knit Out, and Pixel Flow—each embodying a distinct monetisation philosophy. Magic Sort sells comfort through low‑effort, turn‑based colour sorting, while Knit Out...
Why the Savvy-Roblox Deal Lands Differently in Saudi Arabia
Savvy Games Group and Roblox signed a Memorandum of Understanding to boost Saudi Arabia’s game‑development ecosystem under Vision 2030. The deal follows Roblox’s 2025 agreement with the Saudi media regulator that limited chat features and blocked thousands of games. While Roblox...
MS NOW Unveils a Revamped Lineup as It Settles Into Its Post-NBC Future
MS NOW, the former MSNBC, has finalized a new programming slate ahead of the November midterm elections. "Morning Joe" is reduced from four to three hours, followed by Stephanie Ruhle’s business‑focused "Money, Power, Politics" from 9‑11 a.m. Alicia Menendez will anchor a new...