Today's Media Pulse

Online video subscriptions top 2.2 bn, revenue eclipses pay‑TV
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, overtaking pay‑TV's $170 billion for the first time. Growth is expected to slow to single‑digit in 2026 as operators shift focus from acquiring new users to monetising existing ones.
Raising the Bar: Redefining Inclusion and Authenticity in Unscripted Storytelling
Karina Holden, co‑creator of Netflix’s “Love on the Spectrum,” argues that inclusive unscripted TV must feel authentic rather than merely check diversity boxes. She describes a production model that prioritises participants’ schedules, duty of care, and long‑term agency, turning the series into a documentary‑first experience. Holden suggests success should be measured by cultural impact—classroom use, community dialogue, and industry shifts—rather than pure ratings. The interview signals a broader audience appetite for sincere, humor‑driven storytelling that respects neurodivergent voices.

ITPro NAB Best of Show 2026 Awards Winners Unveiled
ITPro announced the 2026 Best of Show Awards at the NAB Show in Las Vegas, naming six winners across display, CDN analytics, AI‑driven engineering, data storage, video routing and enterprise NAS. The panel of industry experts evaluated entries on ease...

The Authenticity Collapse: Why Nothing Online Feels Real to Young Adults
A University of Missouri study of more than 700 adults aged 18‑24 finds a growing authenticity gap online. While 79% are comfortable with AI‑generated images and over half accept AI video, only 10% approve AI‑enhanced self‑presentation, and 63% feel social...

YouTube Extends Deepfake Detection Tool Access to Celebrities and Talent Agencies
YouTube has opened its AI likeness‑detection system to celebrities and the talent agencies that represent them, extending access beyond the creator‑only rollout that began in October 2023. The tool performs a one‑time scan of newly uploaded videos to flag facial...

What A Producer Does: The Part No One Explained To Me
Film and TV producer Dorez Douglas explains that a producer’s job is far more than raising money or hiring talent – it is the function that keeps a project from falling apart. He describes how creative producers use industry connections,...
Build Linked Post Clusters for Authority
Stop publishing random posts. Start building link clusters. Create 5–7 related posts, and link them together. Now you’re not just publishing, you’re building authority.
Google Tests AI-Generated Podcast‑style Audio Search Results
Whoa, this is creepy. Google is testing a new AI-powered audio section in search results that sounds just like a podcast. Can't imagine publishers will be too happy to stumble across this, even when their content is cited (along with many...
Can Journalists Really Make a Living on Substack?
Journalists are increasingly turning to Substack and other newsletter platforms to replace newsroom jobs, but only a minority achieve sustainable six‑figure incomes. While a few, like Marisa Kabas and Isaac Saul, generate $300,000‑$4 million in revenue by combining subscriptions, sponsorships and...
Survive Google: AI for Drafts, Humans Edit Final
Most Google updates are clapping AI-generated sites. The survivors had one thing in common: they used AI for research/briefs/drafts and humans for final editing. Do with that what you will.
Free‑market Stance Leads to Pro‑cigarette Editorial Bias
The #BrokenPost editorial mission to focus on personal liberties and free markets means editorializing in favor of cigarettes, cancer, and death. Butt out, cigarette banners https://t.co/a27hplhu0X
What Mapping Charlotte Can Teach Us About Local News
When Hurricane Helene struck North Carolina in September 2024, residents turned to a patchwork of local news outlets, schools, libraries, and faith groups for urgent information. A new report, funded by the North Carolina Local News Lab Fund, mapped Charlotte’s...
One Influencer Drives 50+ New Subscribers Instantly
Nothing more exciting than seeing like 50 new newsletter subscribers all land within a couple of days from the same company domain. It means someone important shared it and told them to read...
Bluesky’s Lofty Goals Hit Familiar Social Media Woes
Bluesky set out to fix social media. Now it’s running into familiar problems https://t.co/VKwcj7AU75 via @FastCompany Not enough "normies"?
Mapping Local News in Charlotte
The Columbia Journalism Review released a proof‑of‑concept study that uses AI‑driven tools to map Charlotte’s local news ecosystem, expanding the definition of local information providers to include civil‑society organizations. The analysis identified more than 60 outlets—both for‑profit and nonprofit—covering a...
Drake Sets May 15 Release for Ninth Album 'ICEMAN' After Ice Sculpture Stunt
Drake announced that his ninth studio album, ICEMAN, will be released on May 15. The date was revealed through a 25‑foot ice sculpture in downtown Toronto that a Twitch streamer shattered, uncovering a bag with the official announcement and a...
Neon Secures James Gray’s Star‑Studded ‘Paper Tiger’ for U.S. Release
Neon has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to James Gray’s upcoming feature Paper Tiger, a gritty drama starring Adam Driver, Scarlett Johansson and Miles Teller. The deal, first reported by Variety, positions Neon to launch the film at Cannes 2026...
STV Journalists to Strike over Salary Freeze as Broadcaster Profits Drop
STV announced a temporary salary freeze for its newsroom staff after reporting a £5.9 million loss and a 61% drop in adjusted pre‑tax profit for 2025. Revenue fell 6% to £176.9 million (about $225 million) and advertising income slipped 10% to £89.3 million (≈$113 million)....

The Best Amazon Fire TV Stick VPNs of 2026: Expert Tested and Reviewed
ZDNET’s 2026 roundup identifies the top VPNs for Amazon Fire TV Stick, emphasizing that only NordVPN and IPVanish currently support Amazon’s new Vega OS. NordVPN leads with strong speed, a 10‑device limit and a $3.09‑per‑month two‑year plan, while IPVanish offers...
NYT Repeats 1970s Liberal Hypocrisy for Black Panthers
In 1970, Tom Wolfe wrote a book called "Radical Chic and Mau Mau-ing The Flack Catchers" mocking rich white liberals for throwing parties for the Black Panthers. 56 years later, the NYT looks just as foolish.
FCC Seeks Public Input on Adding Gender‑Identity Warnings to TV Parental Ratings
The Federal Communications Commission opened a comment period on revising the TV Parental Guidelines to include warnings about gender‑identity content in children’s programming. The move follows pressure from conservative groups who say current ratings conceal such themes, while industry stakeholders...
Yalla Group Publishes 2025 ESG Report, Highlights Renewable Energy and Diversity Gains
Yalla Group Limited released its 2025 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Report, outlining progress on renewable energy, AI‑driven efficiency and workplace diversity. The report signals the company's intent to deepen sustainable practices while expanding its digital entertainment ecosystem across the...
SiriusXM Secures Exclusive U.S. Audio Ad Representation for YouTube
SiriusXM Media has signed an exclusive agreement with Google’s YouTube to sell audio advertising inventory across the United States. The partnership, launching in fall 2026, gives advertisers guaranteed impressions for more than 212 million monthly YouTube audio listeners, backed by AdsWizz’s...

Google Remains at the Core of NBA’s Data and Media Strategy in Renewed Deal
The NBA has renewed its multi‑year partnership with Google, extending the tech giant’s role as the league’s official search engine, data partner and "official fan phone" for Pixel devices. Google Cloud will continue to power AI‑driven analytics, from performance insights...
Paramount/Skydance Seeks $81 B Warner Bros. Discovery Takeover as Shareholders Prepare to Vote
Paramount, now owned by Skydance, is set to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery in an $81 billion cash deal, with shareholders slated to vote Thursday. The merger would combine two legacy studios, two streaming services and two major news networks, while facing...
AI Content Marketplaces Can’t Come Soon Enough for News Publishers
At Press Gazette’s Future of Media Trends event, senior UK publishers dissected five AI‑related challenges and underscored the urgent need for AI content marketplaces that would pay for the use of their articles. Sessions highlighted leveraging AI on archives, repurposing...
Former MrBeast Executive Sues Over FMLA Violations and Harassment
Lorrayne Mavromatis, a former chief operating officer at Beast Industries, filed a federal suit in North Carolina alleging sexual harassment, gender bias and wrongful termination after returning from maternity leave. The complaint targets MrBeastYouTube, LLC and GameChanger 24/7, claiming violations...

Sports Help Drive Strong Streaming Growth for Viaplay
Viaplay reported a 7.9% year‑on‑year rise in streaming subscription revenue in Q1, lifting overall revenue growth to 0.1%. The Nordic broadcaster’s investment in premium sports rights boosted average revenue per user for both direct‑to‑consumer and B2B segments. While streaming now...

The Sound of Rain.
Ukraine’s foreign minister Andriy Sybiha says the country’s frontline is the strongest it has been in a year, citing superior drone usage and bolstered air‑defence systems. Data from the Institute for the Study of War, reported by AFP, shows Russian forces...

Racing TV Launches FAST Channel on Samsung TV Plus
Racing TV has launched Racing TV Play on Samsung TV Plus, marking the first dedicated horse‑racing FAST channel in the UK and Ireland. The ad‑supported service streams curated archives of British and Irish races, including iconic moments from the Cheltenham and...
Beehiiv Adds Even More Features to Go up Against Competitors and Win over Creators
Beehiiv is expanding beyond newsletters with AI‑driven podcast analytics, webinars, and metered paywalls to attract a broader creator base. The platform posted its strongest quarter ever in Q1 2026, adding $4.5 M in ARR and surpassing 50,000 active users. Early adopters who...

SCC Promotes Hennessy to Chief Operating And Media Officer
Schafer Condon Carter (SCC) promoted Jack Hennessy to chief operating and media officer. Hennessy will keep leading the media practice while overseeing agency‑wide operations, reporting to CEO Ben Behrman. The promotion follows a banner year in which media services now...

How Grant & Ash Are Rewriting the Rules of Creator Brand Safety
Since 2022, TikTok and Instagram duo Grant & Ash have built a 900,000‑strong following with comedy‑driven, brand‑heavy performances. Their satirical songs parody retailers and pop‑culture icons, allowing them to partner with brands such as Netflix, Bose, La Roche‑Posay and Sephora...
Why the Good Noticings Podcast Hosts Are Betting on Positivity Over Hot Takes
Two podcasters behind *Good Noticings* are deliberately shunning the fast‑paced, hot‑take culture that dominates social media. By delivering 360‑degree, research‑heavy episodes and a consistently positive tone, they aim to elevate artists rather than tear them down. Their early low‑audience launches...

S4C Deepens YouTube Partnership to Drive Digital Growth Strategy
Welsh-language broadcaster S4C has sealed a strategic partnership with YouTube to accelerate its digital‑first transformation. The collaboration will place YouTube at the core of S4C’s audience‑growth and content‑discoverability efforts, building on 1.1 million hours of viewing on the platform last year....
Fox Just Gave Its Ad Portfolio a Massive AI Upgrade
Fox announced the launch of Fox AdStudio, an AI‑driven platform that provides advertisers with real‑time audience insights across the company’s entire media portfolio, including linear TV and streaming services like Tubi. The tool leverages machine‑learning to analyze content and viewer...

NZZ Is Turning Its Archives Into a Newsroom Tool
NZZ is converting its digitised 250‑year archive into a unified newsroom platform, integrating images, agency feeds, and legacy content into a single system that works alongside its LivingDocs CMS. The initiative emphasizes AI tools that embed directly into editors’ workflows...
Democratic Donors Pour $272M Into Ads Targeting GOP Seats
JUST IN: Democrats' key outside backers are dropping $272 million on TV and digital ads to target Republican-held House seats ahead of the midterms.

Why An Idea Ahead Of Its Time Might Deserve A Second Chance
In the mid‑2000s USDTV tried to turn a traditional over‑the‑air antenna into a low‑cost subscription platform, charging roughly $20 a month for a small bundle of cable networks delivered via encrypted digital signals. The service collapsed in 2007 after a...

Linktree Turns Creator Identity Into Strategy With New AI-Powered Creator Index
Linktree has introduced the Creator Index, an interactive AI‑powered quiz that assigns creators to archetypes such as Documentarian or Educator. The quiz results integrate with the new Insights Chat, which draws real‑time performance data from TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Linktree...

Consumers Outnumber Producers
The article argues that consumer‑driven technology repeatedly reshapes professional fields. From desktop publishing to digital photography, medicine, and copywriting, new tools initially degrade quality but eventually create fresh opportunities for specialists. Market demand for accessibility outweighs traditional expertise, forcing producers...

Sex, Drugs and Going Maga: What Does Netflix’s Hulk Hogan Series Tell Us?
Netflix has launched "Hulk Hogan: Real American," a four‑hour documentary that follows the wrestler’s meteoric rise, his later scandals, and his political turn toward Donald Trump. The series arrives as Netflix secures WWE programming rights, echoing its earlier success with...
How Hotels Can Drive More Direct Bookings with TikTok Ads
TikTok has transformed from a short‑form entertainment app into a primary travel discovery engine, blending inspiration, search and booking functions. Hotels can capitalize by creating discovery‑driven organic videos that spark desire and then repurposing the highest‑performing clips as Spark Ads....
Federal Bureau of Inebriation
In this episode of Brad and Mira for the Culture, the hosts riff on a grab‑bag of pop‑culture topics—from the latest buzz around celebrities Cash Patel and Katie Perry to a tongue‑in‑cheek look at the obscure "Clavicular" and a brief...

How TV Learned to Underprice Itself
The smart‑TV platform V, formerly VIDAA and now on 50 million connected sets, unveiled its V Index at the StreamTV Europe conference in Lisbon. V Index is an open‑source initiative to reconcile the pricing gap that occurs when the same viewer is measured...

Digest: DSP Bedrock Platform Pilots Index Exchange’s Index Cloud; Meta Sued Over Scam Ads; Radiocentre Urges MPs to Reject BBC...
Index Exchange has partnered with Bedrock Platform to pilot Index Cloud, the first containerised demand‑side platform that runs AI‑native bidding models at the point of transaction, promising lower costs and greater competition in programmatic auctions. Meanwhile, the Consumer Federation of...

WPP Media MENA Ranks #1 in Total and Net New Business in Egypt: Report
WPP Media MENA topped the COMVergence New Business report for Egypt, leading both total new business at $21.5 m and net new business at $16.7 m. The agency secured seven new client wins worth $16.7 m and added four retentions totaling $9.4 m. Dentsu...

Stranger Things: Tales From 85 Review: This Baffling Prequel Wont Cure the Season 5 Hatred
Netflix launched the animated prequel *Stranger Things: Tales From ’85* just four months after the divisive Season 5 finale, positioning it as a bridge between Seasons 2 and 3. Set in the winter of 1985, the series revisits familiar characters while introducing new...

‘Inside Higher Ed’ Launches Subscription Model
Inside Higher Ed launched a paid subscription model on April 23, 2026, offering unlimited access to its news, deep dives, and Quick Takes for $99 per year. The service retains a free tier limited to three articles per month, while...
This Startup Wants to Fix the Slog of Adtech Vendor Selection With a AI-Supported Matchmaking
CartographAI is an AI‑driven platform that lets marketers compare over 1,000 martech and adtech vendors using neutral, data‑rich scores. It blends machine learning with human‑led research to evaluate vendors across dozens of criteria. Early adopters such as Reckitt, LinkedIn and...
Everyone’s Panicking About AI, But Smart Agencies Will Use It to Give Employees Their Lives Back
A wave of anxiety surrounds AI in advertising, with 91% of senior US agency leaders fearing headcount cuts and 57% pausing junior hiring. The author argues AI can boost job satisfaction by automating admin, speeding onboarding, and delivering instant client...