Know What's Happening in Media
Know What's Happening in Media
Indian TV market braces for sales dip as production costs surge amid West Asia crisis
Rising RAM prices, higher plastic and ocean‑freight costs linked to the West Asia crisis and a weakening rupee are pushing retail TV prices up about 20%, with a 32‑inch set now costing roughly $133 versus $108 six months ago. Counterpoint Research forecasts shipments to fall 5‑6% as consumers down‑trade to smaller screens.
Also developing:
By the numbers: K‑Love seeks FCC approval to acquire WFCC
Backyard Ventures announced that the comedic history podcast Softcore History, hosted by Rob Fox and Dan Regester, has joined its creator roster as the exclusive representative for premium brand partnerships. The deal covers both audio and digital platforms, positioning the show to work with lifestyle, apparel, grooming, alcohol and entertainment brands. Softcore History’s blend of rigorous research and irreverent storytelling has cultivated a loyal, cross‑platform audience of history enthusiasts and comedy fans. The partnership aims to translate that engagement into long‑term revenue growth for the podcast.
Podcast Movement announced its flagship conference will move to New York City, hosting the 2026 event at Terminal 5 from September 14‑18. The program splits into a two‑day Sounds Profitable Business Summit for executives and media buyers, followed by creator‑focused sessions and networking events....
Australian creator Sam Ramsden’s independent podcast Silly Stories for Kids logged 2.47 million monthly listens, 1.373 million downloads and over 21.8 million listening minutes in the last 30 days. Audience composition is roughly 52% North America, 26% Australia‑New Zealand and 13% United Kingdom, underscoring its...
Kochava, a mobile‑data broker, has reached a privacy settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over allegations it sold precise geolocation data linked to sensitive venues. The agreement, still pending approval by FTC commissioners, requires Kochava to implement a two‑year privacy...
ATSC has named Indian broadcast veteran Anil Bhardwaj as its Technology & Strategy Director for India and Emerging Markets, reinforcing the group’s push for next‑generation standards. Bhardwaj will lead ATSC’s engagement with the Telecommunications Standards Development Society of India (TSDSI) and...
Christian Music Broadcasters (CMB) is opening nominations for its 2026‑2027 Leadership Mentoring cohort, a seven‑month program limited to 18 participants. The initiative targets current and emerging leaders across Christian radio, including on‑air talent, fundraisers, marketers, and technical staff. Led by...
KERA, North Texas’ public radio station, will launch NTX Now, a live weekday morning talk show debuting this summer. The one‑hour program is co‑hosted by veteran TV journalist Ron Corning and KERA reporter Miranda Suarez, focusing on civic life and community...
SiriusXM will broadcast every IndyCar race, practice and qualifying session for the 2026 NTT IndyCar Series on its IndyCar Nation channel, covering all 18 events starting March 1 in St. Peterburg. The satellite‑radio service will also continue weekly shows like Brick‑by‑Brick with...
The New York Times introduced a new subscriber‑only "Midi" crossword, a 9×9 puzzle that sits between its Mini (5×5) and Daily (15×15) offerings. The move expands the Times Games portfolio, which already serves over one million games‑only subscribers and generates roughly $50 million in...
California State University, Northridge (CSUN) will assume ownership of KSBR’s FCC license, consolidating it with KCSN’s under the CSUN University Corporation, pending FCC approval. The move formalizes a simulcast partnership that began in 2017, covering Orange and Los Angeles counties, while...
The Houston Chronicle is testing creator collaborations, beginning with food‑video creator Shawn Singh, to drive newsletter sign‑ups, pay‑wall subscriptions and social follows. Success is measured both by hard metrics and by the willingness to experiment and adopt a creator mindset....
Chyron has launched Weather 2.3, the newest version of its broadcast‑grade weather‑visualization suite. The update adds UHD, 4K DCI and 2K DCI SDI outputs, a Virtual Globe 3D playlist, and support for custom aspect ratios such as square and portrait. Automation capabilities are...
NBCUniversal has elevated Emily Orozco to correspondent for Access Hollywood’s New York City bureau. Orozco, an Emmy‑nominated journalist, joined the show in 2017 and has progressed from associate field producer to head of the NY bureau and coordinating producer. She...
Telestream unveiled a suite of production‑ready AI features across its Vantage, Vantage Cloud, EDC, Stanza and Qualify platforms. The rollout adds AI Caption with support for 128 languages, AI Qualify for automated lip‑sync and subtitle validation, AI Speech for real‑time...
Nexstar Media Group expects its $2.5 billion acquisition of Tegna to close by the end of the second quarter, aligning with the anticipated surge in political advertising ahead of the 2026 election cycle. The company reported Q4 net revenue of $1.29 billion,...
iHeartMedia has signed a multi‑year partnership with Qatar’s Government Communications Office to build a state‑of‑the‑art podcast studio and launch original Arabic shows. The deal will also bring popular global podcasts to Arabic‑speaking audiences and deliver masterclasses for local talent. iHeart...
FCC Chair Unfiltered: Protecting Local News, Sports on Broadcast TV and May Sue a Network @BrendanCarrFCC did not hold back in a wide-ranging, must-watch conversation with @semaforben yesterday. The interview came shortly after Carr issued an FCC Public Notice seeking...
Book length is a lot more important for traditional publishers because too long & it might be too expensive to print, but distributors/stores also don't like super skinny books that much. But someone whose main market is ebooks, as is...
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced a new enforcement push to preserve local news and sports programming on broadcast television. He warned that any network failing to meet public‑interest obligations could be sued under the Communications Act. Carr emphasized the FCC’s...
From YouTube to $48 million box office hit @markiplier's self-financed indie horror film 'Iron Lung' more than 15x'd it's budget and is a glimpse into how the right creators will redefine distribution in Hollywood 00:00 The Story of Iron Lung 05:54 By...
Cardboard, a Y Combinator W26 startup, offers an AI‑powered video editor that transforms raw footage into polished, publish‑ready content in minutes. The platform automates framing, captioning, montage creation, podcast clipping, and more, while allowing users to issue natural‑language edit commands....
Fairing, a marketing measurement platform used by more than 3,000 brands, is hiring a Director of Customer Success to own the end‑to‑end post‑sale journey—from onboarding to renewal and expansion. The role centers on net revenue retention, requiring deep expertise in...
Graham Media Group, a broadcast arm of Graham Holdings, reported a disappointing Q4 2025 earnings beat, driven by a sharp decline in digital advertising revenue and a notable drop in political ad spending. Digital ad dollars fell roughly 12% year‑over‑year,...
Australian journalist Tara Brown will front a 60 Minutes special titled "The Reckoning: Inside the Epstein Files" airing March 2 on Channel 9 and 9Now. The program examines newly released documents that map Jeffrey Epstein’s network of powerful associates across...
A Hearing Designation Order (HDO) that had been issued for the proposed transfer of two AM stations and an FM station in El Paso, Texas, has been terminated. The termination follows a joint request from the buyer and seller to...
DIRECTV submitted an FCC filing warning that the surge in duopolies, triopolies and even quadropolies among broadcasters such as Nexstar, Sinclair and Gray is eroding local‑news diversity. The analysis catalogued roughly one hundred duopolies, more than a dozen triopolies and...
A new eMarketer survey of 100 U.S. marketers shows digital audio advertising is gaining traction, with 67% of respondents already allocating budget to the channel. While only 25% plan to increase spend within the next year, 83% view incremental reach...
The Premier League will debut Premier League Plus, a dedicated streaming app that offers live coverage of all 380 matches, initially limited to Singapore and delivered in partnership with Starhub. Launched before the 2026‑27 season, it marks the league’s first...
In the past three weeks the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau granted waivers allowing broadcast stations to temporarily disconnect Emergency Alert System (EAS) equipment while relocating towers. FCC rules require continuous EAS operation, but Section 11.35(b) permits up to...
Threads is rolling out a new DM shortcut to select users in the U.S. and Canada “DM Me” is a new feature that automatically hyperlinks the phrase “DM me” in any post or reply, allowing people to message you with...
To explain this in English: Warner Bros. has decided that Paramount's offer is better than its Netflix deal, but Netflix has a window to match or best Paramount. Does Netflix stick with it? Or will it bail? https://t.co/W9rTU1YRbY
Marcom M&A activity in 2025 edged higher to 55 deals, reflecting a modest rise from 2024 but still far below the 2016 peak. The sector’s focus has shifted from expansion‑driven roll‑ups to infrastructure‑led consolidation centered on AI, cloud, and data...
WBD says Paramount bid > Netflix. Mr Sarandos, the ball is now in your court.
Warner Bros says the Paramount deal is now superior. The ball is in Netflix’s court.
HBO Max announced a global crackdown on password sharing, extending stricter enforcement beyond the United States. The new policy replaces the current optional pop‑up with a mandatory prompt that requires non‑household users to create their own accounts. The rollout coincides...
This is how you know it’s about the CONTENT and not the “designs of the platforms” or “addictive features” as proponents of these bans claim. Immediately after OSA passed they began openly targeting and censoring specific content
Podcast: Why the Colbert interview with that Texas Dem carried outsized importance to CBS -- The NPR Politics Podcast https://t.co/qVlZSMe1Xg
Channel 5 is set to air a feature‑length drama titled “Suspect: Kate McCann”, dramatizing the contentious 48‑hour police interrogation of Kate McCann following her daughter Madeleine’s 2007 disappearance. The film draws on official Portuguese police material, documentary evidence and recorded testimony, with...
Metacritic has only become more important as algorithms flatten and fracture the internet, but its authority relies on quality inputs from sources that are being hallowed out at an alarming rate. https://t.co/OotCnOjnz5
USA Today Co. posted a fourth‑quarter revenue of $585 million, a 5.8% year‑over‑year decline, and its full‑year 2025 revenue fell to $2.3 billion. Digital‑only subscriptions plunged 30% to 1.37 million, while average monthly unique visitors slipped 11% to 179 million. The company recorded a...
The U.S. hosts over 202 million adult YouTube users, 177 million on Instagram and 105 million on TikTok, creating massive ad‑supported audiences for creators. While a few, like Markiplier’s promotion of *Iron Lung*, have turned social clout into box‑office hits, most creators struggle to...
Sony has ordered 24 additional episodes of the Reading Rainbow reboot, now hosted by Mychal Threets, following a successful four‑episode digital release in 2025. The original series, led by Levar Burton, ended two decades ago, and the new shortened episodes...
Creator Jacob Tierney announced that production on Season 2 of the LGBTQ‑focused series “Heated Rivalry” will commence in August 2026, with a planned premiere in April 2027. The show, based on Rachel Reid’s “Game Changers” novels, follows the secret romance between...
BetBoom announced a partnership to sponsor all Counter‑Strike 2 broadcasts in Brazil produced by the ESL FACEIT Group for the remainder of 2026. The deal places BetBoom branding on six flagship events, including ESL Pro League Seasons 23 and 24 and multiple IEM...
Ozone, a coalition of more than 500 UK and US publishers, has secured its first deal to list inventory on Microsoft’s Media Marketplace, exposing over 200 million monthly users to programmatic buyers. The integration leverages Ozone’s first‑party reader data, promising more...
Sundance‑premiered road‑trip comedy *The Shitheads* has landed a U.S. distribution deal with IFC, slated for a theatrical summer release. The film stars Dave Franco, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Kiernan Shipka and Nicholas Braun, with a supporting turn by Peter Dinklage. Written, directed...
Deadline’s new column Rendering highlights a podcast, Films Not Made, launched by producers Amy Hobby and Avi Zev Weider that uses generative AI to resurrect abandoned Hollywood pitches. The show runs AI‑enhanced scripts, storyboards and even AI‑generated trailers for projects...
Media Res has entered a first‑look distribution agreement with Fifth Season, designating the Swedish thriller *Summer of 1985* as the inaugural project. The series, based on John Ajvide Lindqvist’s novel, follows a group of friends whose summer turns deadly after...
Sky has secured a first‑look agreement with Starz for the 50 Cent‑produced boxing drama Fightland, which will debut on Sky and Now TV in the UK. The series, shot in London, follows a disgraced champion seeking revenge and is executive‑produced by Curtis Jackson’s...
Apple TV announced the debut of *Star City*, an eight‑episode spinoff of the acclaimed *For All Mankind*. The series launches globally on May 29, 2026 with two episodes, then releases a new episode each Friday through July 10. Set in...
