Why a Streaming TV Ad Platform Is Buying Billboards
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 client logos like Lyft and culturally resonant tech icons such as Tim Cook and Elon Musk. The creative is split: NYC ads lean on social proof, while the Bay Area spots use insider references to demonstrate Vibe.co’s precision‑targeting capability. The campaign doubles web traffic in the Bay Area and tracks demand‑gen metrics in NYC, positioning the OOH rollout as both a marketing push and a live product showcase.
Konami Marks 5 Million Sales of Silent Hill 2 Remake by Selling It and Silent Hill F for Half Price...
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 Secures $86M in Oversubscribed Public Offering, CEO Says: ‘We Just Raised a Ton of Money.’
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 Approaches Inflection Point with Streaming Profitability Expected This Year
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 Half of Americans Went To a Movie Theater In 2025, Study Finds
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...
DStv’s High Entry Price Is Killing Subscriber Growth, Says Canal+
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...
How Create Music Group Strikes the Right Note by Placing Data at the Heart of the Music-Streaming Process
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 Campaign Shows Brands Testing Longer Streaming Ads
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....
DPP: Media Companies Are Drowning in Data and Don’t Know What to Do with It
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...
Until Dawn Remake Dev Ballistic Moon Has Closed
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...
Games with Loot Boxes Will Be Rated PEGI 16 From June, as Part of Sweeping Changes to the Age-Rating System
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’s New Insights Could Help Shift Ad Budgets in the Upfront
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...
Mumbrellacast: Media Apocalypse Right Now
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...
Exploring New Revenue Opportunities Through Licensing
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 Re-Elected Chair of ARIA Board
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...
Showmax to Be Replaced by Canal+ App
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...
Naseeruddin Shah, Nana Patekar, Sanjay Kapoor Lead Indian Streamer Amazon MX Player’s Most Expansive Slate Yet, Topping 150 Shows for...
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 Restructures Business as over 100 Executives Exit
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...
VFL Inks Broadcast Deals with Foxtel, Seven, ABC, and SEN
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...
How Medical Creator Nick Norwitz Grew His Substack Paid Subscribers From 900 to 5,200 Within 8 Months
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...
Looper Survey: Streamers Set to Dominate Sports Media Rights
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 Announces AirLux Studio Signaling
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...
Selena Quintanilla’s Sister Sues Shein Over Knockoff Merch Bearing Late Singer’s Likeness
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...
David 1, Goliath 0: Katy Perry Loses Legal Showdown Against ‘Katie Perry’ In Australia
Australia’s High Court ruled in favor of Sydney‑based fashion designer Katie Perry, allowing her to market clothing under her own name. The decision overturns a prior ruling that had limited the pop star Katy Perry’s trademark to music and entertainment,...
Fox, ESPN on Improving Live Sports Experience With DTC
Fox One and ESPN Unlimited are refining their direct‑to‑consumer (DTC) platforms to tackle sports‑viewing fragmentation, ingestion hurdles, and personalization demands. Fox targets the 60 million cord‑less households, offering the same lineup as pay‑TV and a joint ESPN bundle at $39.99 per...
PWHL Going National
The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) partnered with Scripps Sports to broadcast its New York Sirens versus Montréal Victoire matchup on March 28, marking the league’s first nationally televised game. The contest aired on Ion Television, which reaches over 126 million U.S....
Fiber Frenzy
Comcast finished extending its Xfinity fiber network in Clark County, Washington, bringing high‑speed symmetrical internet to roughly 500 homes northeast of Battle Ground Lake. Meanwhile, Charter announced a Spectrum fiber rollout in Washtenaw County, Michigan, slated to connect nearly 1,000 addresses across...
People
Disney’s incoming chief executive Josh D’Amaro has appointed Paul Roeder as senior EVP and chief communications officer, effective next Thursday. Roeder, a 25‑year Disney veteran, will direct worldwide communications, public‑relations strategy, media relations, executive messaging, editorial oversight, employee engagement and...
Ratings
March Madness drove record TV audiences, with ESPN delivering its most‑watched men’s college basketball season since 2014‑15, averaging 1.1 million viewers across 127 games. ABC’s five tournament events pulled 1.7 million viewers, while ESPN’s family of networks posted a 25% year‑over‑year increase....
Funko Inc (FNKO) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
Alliance Entertainment reported Q4 2025 net income of $9.4 million, up from $7.1 million a year earlier, driven by higher margins and a shift toward premium physical media and collectibles. Adjusted EBITDA rose to $18.5 million and gross margin expanded...
Giddy Up: The Most Syndicated Radio Show in Australia Is Expanding
Craig Hutchison’s Sports Entertainment Network has expanded its flagship Giddy Up program, now broadcasting live for four hours, five days a week on Racing.com via 7plus. The show, hosted by Gareth Hall, is Australia’s most syndicated radio show, airing across...
Xbox Teases "some Iconic Games From the Past" To Be Re-Released in 2026, After Its "Game Preservation Team" Spent Years...
Xbox announced it will re‑release several unnamed iconic games in 2026 as part of its 25th‑anniversary celebration. The company’s dedicated game preservation team has spent years building system‑level emulation and adding modern enhancements such as auto HDR and FPS boost....
Timothée Chalamet Said ‘No One Cares About Opera.’ The Industry Turned It Into Viral Marketing
Actor Timothée Chalamet’s remark that “no one cares about opera” sparked a swift backlash that opera companies turned into a viral marketing campaign. Major houses such as Seattle Opera, Washington National Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera launched discount codes and...
Warner Music Group Signs New $1.645bn Credit Agreement with JPMorgan, Refinancing Existing Debt
Warner Music Group’s subsidiary WMG Acquisition Corp. has secured a $1.645 billion credit agreement with JPMorgan, consolidating its fragmented 2012‑era debt into a single package. The deal includes a $1.295 billion term loan to retire existing term‑loan obligations and a $350 million revolving...
Salem Media Posts $35 Million Financial Loss Amid Lower Revenue in 2025
Salem Media Group reported a 10.5% drop in 2025 revenue to $212.7 million, largely driven by $24 million in asset sales. Despite lower operating costs, the broadcaster posted a $34.6 million net loss, a swing of 313.9% from the prior year’s profit....
Blackpink Misses Out On A New No. 1 In America As A Top Pop Star Returns
Blackpink returned with the five‑track EP Deadline, debuting at No. 2 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart and entering the Billboard 200 at No. 8. The release sold just under 41,500 copies, far behind Bruno Mars' The Romantic, which opened with 93,500 units and...
EditShare To Highlight Analytical AI Capabilities At 2026 NAB Show
EditShare will demonstrate its latest AI‑powered media operations and high‑performance NVMe storage at the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas. The company is emphasizing Analytical AI, which automatically extracts speech, faces, text and scene data to enrich video files with...
Sony Pictures TV Nonfiction Heads Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman Departing Studio
Sony Pictures Television announced that Eli Holzman and Aaron Saidman will leave the nonfiction division they have led since 2022. The unit will be folded into President Katherine Pope’s portfolio, joining her scripted and kids businesses. Sony originally acquired Holzman...
Playboy Just Named Its First Openly Gay Editor-in-Chief. He Wants to Change the Brand’s Pornographic Reputation Amid a ‘Sex Recession’
Playboy announced Phillip Picardi as its chief brand officer and editor‑in‑chief, making him the first openly gay leader of the iconic men’s lifestyle brand. The appointment follows a broader editorial overhaul that includes a revived print edition, a Substack newsletter,...
The Live Nation Settlement Has Industry Insiders Baffled
The DOJ reached a settlement with Live Nation‑Ticketmaster that stops short of a breakup, instead imposing a 15 % fee cap on tickets sold at Live Nation‑owned amphitheaters and requiring limited transparency for artists. The agreement also obliges Ticketmaster to open...
Bell, Telus Reach Distribution Agreement for Oxygen True Crime, USA Network, New CTV Specialty Channels
Bell withdrew its April 2025 complaint after reaching a distribution agreement with Telus for five discretionary channels—Oxygen True Crime, USA Network, CTV Nature, CTV Speed and CTV Wild. The dispute originated from Bell’s claim that Telus favored Rogers’ new channels...
Salem Media Releases Its 2025 Earnings Report
Salem Media, a publisher of conservative and Christian spoken‑word content, released its full‑year 2025 earnings on Wednesday. The report provides annual revenue and profit figures but omits any fourth‑quarter breakout. Detailed financials are gated behind a premium membership, limiting immediate...
How The Kyiv Independent Is Growing Membership Through Relationship-Building
The Kyiv Independent, launched just before Russia’s invasion, has scaled from an 18‑person startup to a leading English‑language outlet with over 27,000 paying members and three million monthly readers. In 2025 the newsroom recorded a 78% increase in membership while...
Dionne Warwick Sues Rights Company over Alleged ‘Pilfering of Millions’ in Royalty Income
Dionne Warwick has filed counterclaims against Artists Rights Enforcement Corporation (AREC) in the Southern District of New York, accusing the firm of siphoning millions of dollars in royalty income over a 23‑year relationship. Warwick seeks at least $1 million in punitive...
Magnify Digital’s Audience Intelligence Platform Adopted by NZ Content Funder
Magnify Digital announced that Te Māngai Pāho, New Zealand’s national Māori screen fund, will deploy its AI‑driven audience intelligence platform ScreenMiner across about 150 funded productions each year. The platform aggregates quantitative metrics and structured qualitative feedback from digital channels, delivering decision‑ready insights...
Univ. Of Illinois Selects Grass Valley for Hybrid IP Game-Day Production Hub
The University of Illinois partnered with Grass Valley and integration firm Tab M Solutions to complete Phase 1 of a hybrid IP broadcast production hub for Fighting Illini Productions ahead of the 2025 football season. The system employs a hybrid SMPTE ST 2110/SDI architecture, deploying...
Libsyn Reveals 2025 “Surge”
Libsyn, a leading podcast hosting platform, reported a 48% year‑over‑year increase in advertising revenue for 2025, driven by 4.8 billion ad impressions and record creator payouts. The company also disclosed that upfront advertiser commitments have doubled heading into 2026. In conjunction...
Washington State Association of Broadcasters President & CEO
The Washington State Association of Broadcasters (WSAB) announced a search for a President & Chief Executive Officer to guide the organization through a period of transition and opportunity. The new leader will oversee advocacy at state and federal levels, drive...
Mediagenix Taps Semantic Intelligence to Accelerate Content Monetization
Mediagenix announced an upgrade to its Semantic Intelligence engine, aiming to turn raw title and rights metadata into actionable commercial insight for studios and networks. By embedding advanced semantic modeling—originally built by its 2024 acquisition Spideo—into its Title Management platform,...
‘Creating Superfans Requires Emotional Thinking, Not Just Analytics.’
Universal Music Group’s CEO Lucian Grainge highlighted superfans as a massively under‑monetized segment, noting the company’s 1,600 direct‑to‑consumer stores now generate hundreds of millions in revenue. Goldman Sachs projects the superfan opportunity to reach $4.3 billion annually by 2026, while Luminate...