Today's Media Pulse
Online video subscriptions hit 2.24 billion in 2025, overtaking pay‑TV revenue
Omdia reports global online video subscriptions reached 2.24 billion at the end of 2025, a 17.6% year‑on‑year rise. Revenue grew 13.5% to $176 billion, surpassing pay‑TV's $170 billion for the first time. Growth is expected to slow to single‑digit levels in 2026 as operators focus on monetising existing users.
Also developing:
OOH Offers Big Return on Investment for Luxury Brands
Out‑of‑home (OOH) advertising delivers a striking 12.8× return on investment for luxury brands—roughly $16 in revenue for every $1 spent—according to Independent Marketing Sciences. Across 24 media channels, luxury’s overall average ROI is 4.7×, making OOH the top‑performing channel. The study, which examined 270 campaigns over a decade, also ranks consumer retargeting (8.6×) and Google Ads Performance Max (8.2×) as strong secondary options. Low‑ROI channels include content syndication, brochures and video‑on‑demand, each under 2×.
Report: YouTube Leads Cross-Generational Attention in US
Precisify’s new 13‑44 audience panel reveals YouTube dominates attention across both Gen Z and Millennial cohorts in the United States, reaching 83% of Gen Z and 78% of Millennials. While TikTok and Disney+ are stronger among Gen Z, and Netflix and Facebook hold...
NAB 2026: NVIDIA?s Not-So-Secret AI Agents
At NAB 2026 NVIDIA showcased its AI Agent Control Plane, a framework that lets multiple autonomous agents collaborate on media‑creation tasks while staying within enterprise‑grade guardrails. The demo highlighted NemoClaw, an open‑source privacy layer for OpenClaw agents that enforces policy‑based data...
2026 Michener–Deacon Fellowship Awarded to Jordan Michael Smith
The Walrus announced that journalist Jordan Michael Smith has received the 2026 Michener–Deacon Fellowship for Investigative Journalism to produce a four‑month investigation titled “The Hague Mothers.” The project will probe a loophole in the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects...
Cumulus’ Bob Walker Releases AI Media Planning Guide for Radio
Cumulus Media Operations President Bob Walker released an AI media‑planning guide aimed at local advertisers and radio sales teams. The playbook outlines five best‑practice prompts for large language models such as ChatGPT, emphasizing precise questioning, source verification, and platform awareness....
Tilt the Clock: Control Your Time, Control Your Sales
The article argues that a salesperson’s success hinges on maximizing "time spent selling" rather than mastering new pitches. It recommends structuring the day around "money hours"—typically mid‑morning to late afternoon—while pushing administrative tasks to the periphery. By time‑blocking, delegating low‑value...
Engage Listeners Throughout the Commercial
Jeffrey Hedquist argues that modern radio commercials must fight audience distraction by weaving constant audio variation throughout the spot. He advises creators to manipulate pace, tone, volume, accents, and effects, treating a single voice like a multi‑character storyteller. Adding layered...
Week of April 13 Cable News Ratings: Cable News Networks See Drops
In the week of April 13, 2026, all three major cable news networks saw declines in primetime and total‑day audiences compared with the prior week. Fox News, despite an 11% drop in primetime total viewers and a 21% dip in the...
What the Broadcast Industry Was Talking About at the 2026 NAB Show
The 2026 NAB Show highlighted the rise of software-defined broadcasting, with vendors showcasing the Media eXchange Layer (MXL) and teasing Time Addressable Media Store (TAMS) developments. Attendees noted a growing focus on vertical video formats as Disney and Netflix expand...
Andrea Riseborough and Ashley Walters Topline ITV Lunar Thriller Series First Woman, Now Filming in Belfast - Production / Funding...
ITV is filming the six‑part lunar thriller *First Woman* in Belfast, starring Andrea Riseborough and Ashley Walters. The series, created by Lydia Yeoman and George Oakes and directed by Philip Martin, follows a husband’s desperate search for his astronaut wife...
The News Never Fits: Introducing the Finance Magnates Daily News Recap
Finance Magnates has launched the Daily News Recap, a concise audio briefing released each weekday afternoon. The 5‑10 minute podcast curates the most relevant stories across forex, CFDs, prop trading, crypto, payments and fintech, filtering out noise. Hosted by the...
The End Of SEO? How AI Is Reshaping Brand Discovery On The Web
AI-powered generative search engines are displacing traditional SEO, ushering in a new discipline dubbed Generative Engine Optimisation (GEO) or Answer Engine Optimisation. Brands now compete to be recalled by large language models rather than ranked on keyword lists, as AI...
WNBA Teams Expand Media Playbooks with Spotify, Victory+ and CBS Deals
WNBA franchises are shifting toward media‑centric business models, highlighted by three new partnerships. The New York Liberty teamed with Spotify to produce original audio and podcast content, embedding the team in fans’ daily routines. The Minnesota Lynx signed a distribution...
BBH Wins Global Brief to Raise Profile of Hitachi Brand
Hitachi has tapped global agency BBH to spearhead a new worldwide brand campaign titled “Inspire the next,” set to launch later this year. The initiative aims to elevate awareness of Hitachi’s three core business pillars—Digital Systems & Services, Green Energy...
Guide to eBay Video Ads Promoted Listings
eBay has launched video ads for Promoted Listings using its priority strategy, currently in beta. Sellers can attach a 5‑60 second video that autoplays in eligible placements, with no change to cost‑per‑click pricing. The new format adds video‑specific metrics such...
Goodway Group and Optable Partner to Feed AI Agents Cleaner Data
Optable has partnered with Goodway Group to layer Anthropic Claude‑powered AI agents on its data clean‑room platform, unifying first‑party, third‑party and campaign data. The rollout currently reaches about 70 of Goodway’s 350 employees, primarily in media planning and analytics, to...
Reader Comments Open Forum, Week of April 27
Leeham News Agency (LNA) introduced a weekly Reader Comments Open Forum, debuting the week of April 27, 2026. The forum lets readers comment on any article, including pay‑wall previews, provided the content is visible to all. All submissions are subject to review...
‘Widow’s Bay,’ and 6 More Things to Watch on TV This Week
Apple TV+ launches the thriller‑comedy "Widow’s Bay" on April 27, debuting three episodes before moving to a weekly rollout through mid‑June. The series stars Matthew Rhys as a mayor trying to revitalize a cursed island, mixing suspense with dark humor. Prime...
SkyShowtime & Polsat Team Up For Polish Remake Of ‘High Potential’ Starring Agnieszka Dygant
SkyShowtime and Poland’s broadcaster Polsat are teaming up to produce a Polish remake of the French crime‑comedy hit HPI, titled *Genialna M.* starring Agnieszka Dygant as a high‑IQ police‑station cleaner. The partnership marks the first joint original series between the two companies...
Bixonimania Virus Exposes AI and Human Misinformation Vulnerabilities
The viral spread of the fictional disease "bixonimania" highlights how both humans and AI can be deceived, underscoring the urgent need for stronger critical thinking skills in an era of rapid digital misinformation. criticalthinking
A Decade to Financial Freedom Through Consistent Novels
2010 was the year I could live entirely off income from books, that income being advances and royalties. That was 10 years after my first book came out and 5 years after my first novel. Prior to that freelancing and...
The Future of Marketing
The marketing landscape is rapidly evolving as artificial intelligence reshapes ad creation, while brands increasingly turn to live sports and influencer video to capture high‑value audiences. Consumer habits are moving beyond traditional search, prompting marketers to diversify spend across streaming...
Three Things QVC Needs to Do Post-Bankruptcy
QVC, the 40‑year TV home‑shopping pioneer, filed for bankruptcy after sales stalled at roughly $9 billion in 2025. The company’s late entry into mobile livestreaming and a culture still anchored to cable TV left it vulnerable to digital competitors. Analysts argue...
News UK Turns The Times’ First-Party Data Into Synthetic Audiences for Advertisers
News UK has launched "Times ExplorAItion," a synthetic‑audience tool that converts The Times' first‑party subscriber data into AI‑generated audience models for advertisers. Powered by Electric Twin, the platform creates privacy‑safe, persona‑level segments that can be surveyed and tested in seconds,...
Media Buying Briefing: Agencies Turn Creators Into Test Labs for Campaigns and Product Innovation
Agencies such as Horizon Media are turning creators into live test labs, using them to pressure‑test and even shape campaign concepts and product features. SharkNinja’s partnership with Blue Hour Studios exemplifies this approach, where creator feedback informs launch strategy and...
Marketers Join OpenAI’s Ad Pilot, Nudged by FOMO
OpenAI launched a paid‑ads pilot inside ChatGPT in early February, attracting brands such as Williams‑Sonoma, Target, The Knot Worldwide, DSW and BEHR. Within six weeks the program generated an estimated $100 million annualized revenue, while ad prices fell from $60 to...
Consumer Brands Take the Leap Into Influencer Marketing
Consumer brands are moving influencer marketing from a side project to a core media channel. Vaseline’s "Vaseline Verified" effort teamed with 450 creators, racking up hundreds of millions of views and a sales lift, while the Dettol #HandWashChallenge in India...
Streaming Services Give TV Adverts a New Lease of Life
Streaming giants Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video have introduced ad‑supported subscription tiers, reviving TV‑style advertising on their platforms. While linear TV remains pressured, TV ads still account for 85% of video ad viewership, and ad‑supported streaming revenue is accelerating,...
Marketers Tackle Risks and Opportunities on Social Media
Social media remains essential for advertisers, but recent moderation rollbacks at Meta and X have heightened brand‑safety risks. Marketers are feeling pressure from geopolitical instability and inflation to prove return on ad spend, prompting a shift toward tighter campaign execution....
Instagram Tests 'Instants' For Disappearing Photo Sharing
Meta is piloting a new standalone app called Instants in Italy and Spain. The app lets users capture unfiltered photos or videos that vanish after a single view within a 24‑hour window, with only basic text overlays available. Instants integrates...
The Monthly Interview: Johanna Jaskowska
Johanna Jaskowska, a digital artist known for viral Instagram AR filters, is now exploring artificial intelligence in fashion, beauty, and art. Speaking at the Offf festival in Barcelona, she argued that AI is often mis‑marketed as a plug‑and‑play solution that...
Creator‑run Ads Slash CPA and Boost CTR
Partnership Ads are quietly becoming one of the highest-leverage easy changes in our clients' accounts. Same creative. Same offer. Same landing page. The only difference: running from the creator's handle instead of the brand's. The results across our book: > 19-30% lower CPAs (on...
Norah O'Donnell Is My Spirit Animal
Norah O'Donnell confronted former President Donald Trump on a 60 Minutes segment, referencing a shooter’s manifesto that labeled him a “pedophile, rapist, and traitor.” Trump responded with a defensive denial, calling O'Donnell “horrible” and a “disgrace.” The heated exchange quickly...
Industry Reset Fuels Independent Studios as 4,000 Creatives Oppose Merger Wave
A sector‑wide review shows the entertainment industry shifting from costly streaming wars to profitability, with ad‑supported content now capturing 63.8% of TV viewing. At the same time, more than 4,000 actors, directors, screenwriters and producers have signed an open letter...
I Am Honored that You Are Here for Me
Dave Bondy’s post thanks his paid subscribers and underscores that their contributions keep his reporting independent. He explains that subscriber revenue funds essential tools, such as new equipment and Freedom of Information Act requests, allowing him to pursue stories without...
Twitch Bans Russian CS2 Streamers Linked to Drone Hub
Twitch indefinitely suspended a dozen+ Russian Partners streaming a CS2 esports competition from Russia's Alabuga Polytech. Alabuga Polytech has been widely reported as a Shahad drone-building facility and has been actively recruiting young people.
NBC and CBS Boost 25‑54 Demo Ratings, Raising Advertiser Optimism
NBC News and CBS News each posted gains in the coveted 25‑54 adult demographic for the week ending April 13, with NBC adding 0.4 rating points and CBS 0.3, according to Nielsen data released April 18. The uptick, reflected in a 5%...
SiriusXM Prepares Q1 2026 Earnings Amid Analyst Optimism From 2024 YouTube Deal
SiriusXM is set to release its first‑quarter 2026 earnings, a test of expectations that were raised in 2024 when Guggenheim and Rosenblatt upgraded the stock after the company secured an exclusive U.S. audio‑advertising role for YouTube. Analysts had lifted price...
Amazon Ends Kindle for PC Before Replacement Arrives
.@amazon WTF is with discontinuing the Kindle for PC and announcing end of life on 6/30/26 BEFORE even releasing the new replacement app?! You know how much of my time you wasted? I kept looking for it, thinking, "there's no...
Netanyahu Brands Journalists Covering Israel as Terrorists
In Israel, "terrorist" is another word for "journalist." To Netanyahu, if you are telling the world about what Israel's military is doing, you're a terrorist.
New Research Shows Men Still Outnumber Women as Experts in Science News
Recent research of Australian print and online science news (2018‑2022) shows men still dominate expert quotations, appearing in 76% of articles despite a rise in female journalists. Female sources increased from 20% to 45% of quotes, yet the gender gap...
MrBeast's Book Film Rights Hit Market, Echoes Squid Game
New: MrBeast's reps are shopping the film rights to his forthcoming book with @JP_Books. (The manuscript is done.) The book is a lot like MrBeast's reality show, which is itself a lot like Squid Game. So, if you want to make MrBeast's...
Peacock's $11 B Loss Threatens Comcast's Profitability Hopes
Peacock has lost more than $11 billion since it debuted in 2020. Comcast says it is "approaching" profitability. But co-CEO Brian Roberts knows he still has a problem. https://t.co/AeeSfuit0V
Commerce Media Awards Spotlight Growth, Fragmentation and Trust Challenges
The Drum’s first live Commerce Media Awards in Miami brought industry leaders together to flag growth as the sector’s toughest test. Executives warned that rapid expansion is creating fragmentation, while a lack of uniform measurement erodes trust and hampers accountability.
MLB Rumored to Rotate World Series Broadcast, Targeting NBC
Conspiracy theory - MLB wants to open up the World Series to rotate amongst right partners like the Super Bowl does and would love NBC to be in that group in next TV deal
He Defends Free, Plural Press in Stellar
it's a fair question imho... she's asking a question that is being passed around by critics and giving him a chance to respond. And her question leads to his stellar answer including his support for the role of a free...
Maguire’s Media Critique Fails; NYT Alerts Reveal Truth
What a silly attempt by Maguire to be a media critic. Guess how I found out in real-time what was happening? A NYT alert and then rapid ongoing coverage on NYT's app and website. Sunday A1 being locked in on...
Netflix's Vista4D Enables Infinite Camera Reframes From Single Shot
Vista4d - capture something in 2d once; reframe camera moves infinitely in post production. Impressive research by Netflix. https://t.co/t4WsGMCjln
Twitter's Chaos: Broken Polls, Hacks, and Phishing
Is it me or X starting to look like a vibe coded mess? Polls are broken. Accounts are getting hacked. My DMs are full of phishing scams. Basics that used to work no longer work.
Conan O'Brien Replaced Letterman, Launching Late Night 1993
📺 April 26, 1993: NBC announced that Conan O’Brien would replace David Letterman in late night. “Late Night With Conan O’Brien” officially debuted on September 13, 1993 and aired through February 20, 2009. https://t.co/07XvjQVHAe https://t.co/nh2NVxioBO