Konami Successfully Revives Silent Hill with Strong Sales for 2 Remake, F
Konami’s revival of the Silent Hill franchise is gaining traction, with Silent Hill F surpassing two million copies sold since its September 2025 launch and Silent Hill 2 attracting over six million players by April 2026. The two titles now account for roughly a quarter of the series’ total sales, prompting a 40% discount on a PS5 digital dual‑pack to about $87 until May 27. Konami also announced upcoming releases, including Silent Hill: Townfall and a PS1‑era remake by Bloober Team, signaling a broader strategy to rejuvenate the IP. These moves aim to capitalize on both new and nostalgic audiences while strengthening Konami’s position in the horror‑gaming market.
The Social-First Sports Revolution: How Data-Driven Ecosystems Are Redefining Commercial Value
TikTok has been named the first‑ever Preferred Platform for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, tapping an audience where 85% of fans use the app as a second‑screen experience. The partnership builds on a 2023 Women’s World Cup test that generated...
Rakuten TV Hopes Other Streaming Companies Follow in Joining Barb
Rakuten TV announced it will be measured by Barb, the UK broadcaster‑owned TV measurement Joint Industry Committee, positioning itself as one of the first hybrid streaming platforms to adopt the standard. Senior Director Chris Edwards explained the move aims to...
RTL Streaming Business Sees First Profitable Quarter
RTL Group reported a stable €1.29 billion ($1.41 billion) revenue for Q1 2026, with a 2.5% organic increase. While TV ad sales fell, digital advertising rose 14.6% and streaming revenue surged 27% to €141 million ($154 million), delivering the first profitable streaming quarter. Fremantle’s content...
Spain: Movistar Plus+ Launches €4.99 Streaming Plan
Movistar Plus+ has introduced a low‑cost tier called Plan Libre Cine y Series, priced at €4.99 per month (about $5.44). The plan gives unlimited access to the full library of films, series, documentaries and more than 70 TV channels, but...
FilmBox Rebranding Portfolio
FilmBox, a flagship brand of SPI International, will rebrand on June 10, unveiling a refreshed portfolio of linear channels and a renamed streaming service, FilmBox+ Stream. The new lineup adds seven niche channels—FilmBox+ One, Love & Crime, Hits, Emotion, Action, Comedy and Festival—each with a...
ProSiebenSat.1 Q1 Revenue Down €80m in Q1
ProSiebenSat.1 Group reported Q1 2026 revenues of €775 million (≈$845 million), a 9% drop year‑over‑year driven by a volatile macro‑economic backdrop. On an organic basis, revenue fell 3% (€20 million, ≈$22 million) after accounting for currency effects. While traditional TV advertising revenues declined 10%,...
Future of TV Briefing: Inside Warner Bros. Discovery’s Programmatic Upfront Pitch
Warner Bros. Discovery says more than half of its programmatic ad demand now comes through the upfront, marking a pivotal shift toward automated buying. The company has opened live‑sports inventory—including March Madness and the upcoming French Open—to programmatic deals, requiring...
Upfront Focus: Linear Unchanged, Shift To Social Video, CTV
The latest iSpot survey of over 200 brand and agency executives shows that 45.5% of marketers now prioritize business outcomes above all else when allocating TV upfront spend. While 47.5% expect budgets to stay flat year‑over‑year, the composition is shifting...
Turning Purchase Data Into Outcomes in Mobile Gaming: Unity and Attain’s Partnership
Unity announced a partnership with data‑provider Attain to embed verified, real‑time purchase information into its mobile gaming inventory. Attain’s permissioned data set covers more than 14 million consumers, allowing programmatic buyers to create purchase‑based audience segments. The combined offering lets advertisers...
Snail Inc (SNAL) Q1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
Snail Inc. reported Q1 2026 revenue of $27.3 million, up 35.7% year‑over‑year, driven by strong ASA and BellRite sales and $2.5 million of deferred revenue recognition. Net income swung to $2.1 million, a 210% improvement, and EBITDA turned positive at $2.4 million. Management highlighted...
SAG-AFTRA Deal Stirs Concerns on Artificial Intelligence and Pensions
SAG‑AFTRA unveiled a new studio contract that permits synthetic performers only when they provide "significant additional value" and obligates studios to notify the union and bargain over AI training licenses. The agreement also outlines a merger of the SAG and...
Canadian Soccer Media Firm Finally Escapes Rogers’ TV Bottleneck
A Federal Court of Appeal has dismissed Rogers Communications’ appeal of the CRTC’s 2023 decision, clearing the way for OneSoccer to be carried on Rogers’ linear television platforms. The ruling grants the Canadian Premier League (CPL) access to millions of...
Salem Media Going Private in Acquisition by WaterStone
Salem Media, the Texas‑based owner of 62 radio stations and a network reaching about 2,400 affiliates, agreed to be taken private by the WaterStone foundation. The deal values the 31.8 million outstanding shares at $1.00 each, a roughly 250% premium to...
Amazon MGM Studios Names Mandy Schaffer Head Of TV Business Affairs, Craig Muhlrad Head Of Film Business Affairs
Amazon MGM Studios announced two senior appointments: Mandy Schaffer, a 12‑year Netflix veteran, will become Head of Business Affairs for Global TV, and Craig Muhlrad will lead Film Business Affairs. The moves follow Dan Scharf’s exit and accompany a structural...
Disney’s 2026 Upfront Goes All in on Savannah Bananas, Billie Jean King and ‘American Horror Story’
Disney’s 2026 upfront showcased a cross‑platform slate that blends live‑event programming, premium scripted series, and high‑profile talent. The company announced that the Savannah Bananas’ Banana Bowl will stream live on Disney+ in October and highlighted a Billie Jean King 30‑for‑30 documentary on ESPN. Marvel’s...
Disney, Country Music Association Extend Broadcast & Streaming Deal Through 2032
Disney and the Country Music Association have renewed their broadcast partnership through 2032, adding a six‑year extension that brings the CMA Awards to Disney+ for the first time. The deal expands the existing ABC‑CMA collaboration to include streaming of the...
Disney Cozies Up To NFL At Upfront, Revealing Schedule Details And Super Bowl On-Air Lineup
Disney used its upfront presentation to cement a deeper partnership with the NFL, highlighting the earlier deal that gave ESPN control of NFL Network and a 10% league stake in ESPN. The company unveiled key schedule details, including the season‑opening...
Hollywood A-Listers Back Proposed Standard that Would Pay Them when AI Uses Their Likeness or Work
Hollywood actors are backing a new licensing framework, the RSL-MEDIA 1.0 standard, to let individuals control how their likeness, voice, and other identity attributes are used by AI. The public‑benefit nonprofit RSL Media will launch a registry next month where...
Warner Music Group’s Armin Zerza Adds COO Role to His Remit, Just One Year After Joining as CFO
Warner Music Group announced that CFO Armin Zerza will also assume the chief operating officer role, effective May 8. The promotion arrives as WMG posted second‑quarter revenue of $1.73 billion, up 12% year‑over‑year, and an adjusted OIBDA margin of 22.9%. Zerza’s new...
UK Music Industry Urges Government to Crack Down on Ticket Touts
The UK music industry, led by UK Music CEO Tom Kiehl, has written to Prime Minister Keir Starmer urging him to fulfil Labour’s manifesto pledge to cap secondary‑ticket prices and remove EU touring barriers. The letter highlights the sector’s £8 billion contribution and...
Bertelsmann Veteran Björn Bauer Named CFO of Combined BMG-Concord Music Company
Bertelsmann’s BMG and Concord have appointed Björn Bauer as chief financial officer of the merged music company, with the role taking effect when the merger closes in the second half of 2026. The combined entity will be headquartered in Nashville...
If You Thought the US Music Industry Was Concerned About AI, You Should Hear What They’re Saying in China.
Tencent Music Entertainment (TME) warned that AI‑generated, copyright‑infringing tracks are creating "industry chaos" in China’s streaming market. On its Q1 2026 earnings call, TME said rivals such as ByteDance’s Soda Music and NetEase Cloud Music are using AI to bulk‑fill catalogs,...
Mortal Kombat 2 Writer Has Dozens of Characters in Mind for a Third, Fourth, Fifth and Even Sixth Film
Mortal Kombat 2 opened to a $63 million worldwide haul in its first three days, nearly covering its $80 million production budget. The studio has already green‑lit a third script, signaling intent to turn the franchise into a multi‑film saga. Writer Jeremy Slater told...
The European Union Backs Italy’s Right to Make Meta Pay for News
The EU Court of Justice upheld Italy's law that forces Meta to negotiate and pay for the use of news content, confirming that EU copyright rules permit national bargaining systems for publishers. Italy’s regulator, AGCOM, can now request traffic and...
Stellar Entertainment Becomes Content Service Provider for Tigerair Taiwan
Stellar Entertainment has been appointed as the Content Service Provider for Tigerair Taiwan’s first inflight entertainment (IFE) offering across its A320 fleet. Working with Bluebox Aviation Systems’ wireless Wow platform, Stellar will stream Hollywood blockbusters, regional hits and popular TV...
Summer Stall? Media’s Ad Trends Against Continued Headwinds
Media advertising revenue is showing a seasonal slowdown this summer, compounded by broader macro‑economic uncertainty. Industry analysts cited in the RBR+TVBR Summer 2026 issue warn that headwinds such as tepid consumer spending and fragmented digital competition will keep ad trends volatile....
Chapter 7 Liquidation Comes To Global One Media
Global One Media, which owned six radio stations in Elko, Nevada, four audio brands in Clovis, New Mexico, and two local news websites, has entered Chapter 7 bankruptcy. FCC filings confirm the company is liquidating all assets, including the seasonal “Radio Santa”...
Jim Mahoney Promoted to New Chief Membership Officer Role at Merlin
Merlin, the global digital‑music licensing cooperative for independent labels, announced on May 12 that longtime executive Jim Mahoney has been promoted to the newly created Chief Membership Officer role. Mahoney, who joined Merlin in 2014 and most recently served as SVP of...
A Hard Commitment to Spot Cable For a Soft Drink Giant
Coca‑Cola topped the national spot‑cable advertising rankings for the week ending May 10, 2026, delivering 71,118 commercial plays. The soft‑drink giant edged out Liberty Mutual, the previous leader among insurance advertisers. The data, compiled by iHeartMedia‑owned Media Monitors, also showed Tempur‑Pedic...
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Update: Sega Is Lowering the Priority of Games-as-a-Service Titles
Japanese game publisher Sega announced it will de‑emphasize its games‑as‑a‑service (GaaS) strategy after a weak fiscal year. New free‑to‑play titles such as Sonic Rumble Party underperformed, and a $200 million impairment on its Rovio acquisition contributed to a ¥5.7 billion (≈$31.6 million) net...
Kobalt Inks Strategic Partnership with LAA Music, Founded by NFL Agent Zac Hiller and Music Exec Justin Goldman
Kobalt has entered a strategic partnership with LAA Music, the independent publishing venture founded by NFL agent Zac Hiller and music executive Justin Goldman. The agreement gives LAA Music access to Kobalt’s global publishing administration platform, leveraging a catalog that...
Upfronts Day One: Publishers Jostle For Position As Performance Drivers
Day one of the 2026 media upfronts in Manhattan saw NBCUniversal, Fox and Amazon all championing performance‑driven advertising. NBCU unveiled a linear‑TV retargeting capability and new contextual measurement tools. Fox promoted Tubi’s on‑demand reach, AI‑personalization and a ChatGPT integration. Amazon...
IHeartMedia Plans More Cost-Cutting
iHeartMedia announced an additional $50 million in annual cost savings for 2026, bringing total projected savings to $150 million after earlier AI‑driven cuts. The company reported Q1 revenue of $884 million, up 9.6% year‑over‑year, with Digital Audio revenue rising 18% and podcast revenue...
Tencent Music Generated over $1bn in Q1, up 7.3% YoY – Driven by Growth in Super VIP-Led Memberships and Concert...
Tencent Music Entertainment reported Q1 2026 revenue of RMB 7.90 billion ($1.15 billion), up 7.3% year‑over‑year. Growth was led by a 12.2% rise in music‑related services, especially the higher‑priced Super VIP tier and concert‑related revenues, while adjusted EBITDA climbed 10.5% to RMB 2.83 billion ($410 million). Membership services...
This Is Lorelei Have Signed to Matador and Announced a UK Tour
This Is Lorelei, the project of New York songwriter Nate Amos, has signed a recording contract with Matador Records and announced a headline tour across the UK and Ireland for November 2026. The tour will culminate with a London show...
Pearl TV's Anne Schelle Discusses NextGen TV Converter Box Program Progress
Pearl TV unveiled low‑cost ATSC 3.0 converter‑box prototypes at the 2026 NAB Show, aiming to let consumers upgrade to NextGen TV without buying a new set. The consortium is negotiating component pricing to hit a sub‑$60 retail target, backed by a consumer...
George Clooney, Tom Hanks, and Meryl Streep Back New ‘Human Consent Standard’ for AI Licensing
Hollywood’s biggest names, including George Clooney, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, have endorsed the Human Consent Standard, a new AI‑licensing framework that lets individuals dictate how AI systems may use their likeness, voice, characters or creative works. The standard expands...
CBS Stations Makes It A Full Dozen For AR/VR Studios
CBS’s local‑station rollout of augmented reality and virtual reality studios reached a dozen with the launch at KOVR‑TV in Sacramento. The AR/VR newsroom went live on May 11, integrating immersive graphics into news, weather and sports segments. CBS Sacramento’s President...
Interpol Sign to Partisan for New Album: “We Feel in Ideal Company on Every Level”
Interpol announced they have signed to Partisan Records for their upcoming eighth studio album, following teasers of two new songs, “See Out Loud” and “Wings Of Fire.” The band said the partnership puts them “in ideal company on every level”...
TelevisaUnivision’s Upfront Pitch To Advertisers: ‘We Get Hispanics’
TelevisaUnivision’s new head of ad sales, John Kozco, is steering the company’s 2024 upfront with a clear message: it understands Hispanic audiences, a $4 trillion economic force in the U.S. The pitch centers on three pillars—sports, streaming and culture—highlighting exclusive Spanish‑language...
Broadcasters Must React to Threat From ‘Creator Journalism’, Says Ex-Head of BBC News
Former BBC News chief Deborah Turness warned that "creator journalism" is eroding traditional television news audiences, with roughly 4 million fewer viewers in the last five years. She highlighted a three‑fold rise in news consumption on YouTube and a ten‑fold surge...
The Fourth Wing Is Coming To TV — Produced By An Oscar-Winner
Amazon MGM Studios announced a Prime Video series adaptation of Rebecca Yarros' bestselling fantasy novel Fourth Wing. Oscar‑winner Michael B. Jordan will executive produce through Outlier Society, with Lisa Joy directing the pilot and Jonathan Nolan also on the executive...
Mouse P.I. For Hire Declared an Indie Success After Exceeding Sales Expectations
PlaySide Studios announced that its indie first‑person shooter Mouse: P.I. For Hire has sold approximately 730,000 units across all platforms, generating about $21.4 million in revenue since its April 16 launch. Console versions account for half of those sales, allowing the studio...
Smosh Hires MTV Vet Cory Midgarden as YouTube Sketch Comedy Channel’s First-Ever Chief Content Officer (EXCLUSIVE)
Smosh, the long‑standing YouTube sketch‑comedy network, appointed former MTV executive Cory Midgarden as its inaugural Chief Content Officer. Midgarden will steer content strategy, talent casting, brand marketing and partnership development across Smosh’s YouTube channels, original series, live shows and emerging...
Nintendo Sales Reveal Mario Is Putting Donkey Kong and Pokémon to Shame on the Switch 2
Nintendo’s latest console, the Switch 2, is being driven by Mario Kart World, which has sold 14.7 million copies since its launch, far outpacing Donkey Kong Bananza (4.52 million) and Pokémon Pokopia (4 million). The fiscal report shows Nintendo shifted 136.91 million software units and...
Kevin Hart’s $650 Million Media Empire Is Shrinking — Here’s What Went Wrong
Kevin Hart’s media venture Hartbeat, once valued at $650 million in 2022, is now being bought out by the comedian as investors exit. The company expanded to New York, Atlanta and a 40,000‑square‑foot West Hollywood office, but a slump in Hollywood...
Program 'Attention'? What About Media Buyers 'Attention'?
NBC announced eight new scripted pilots, the most in four years, with four slated for the 2026‑27 schedule. The network’s broader slate reflects a push to capture fragmented audiences across broadcast, streaming and FAST platforms. Media‑buying executives now face pressure...
New Nintendo Switch 2 Bundles Coming Ahead of Price Increase
Nintendo will introduce a “Choose Your Game” bundle for the Switch 2 starting early June, letting customers pick a digital copy of Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, or Pokémon Pokopia for $499.99, matching the current console price. The bundle effectively...
IHeartMedia Posts Q1 Revenue Increase of 9.6%
iHeartMedia reported a 9.6% rise in first‑quarter revenue to $884 million, turning a $1.5 million operating profit after a loss the previous year. Net loss narrowed sharply to $95.6 million from $280.8 million a year earlier. Digital Audio sales grew 18% YoY and podcasting...