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:
Saturday TV Ratings: 48 Hours, SNL, NASCAR, NBA Basketball, MLB Baseball
Saturday, April 18, 2026, saw CBS’s true‑crime series 48 Hours return with a fresh episode while the night’s ratings were driven by live sports—including MLB, the NBA tip‑off, NBA playoffs and NASCAR at Kansas Speedway. Reruns of shows such as Tracker, CIA, The Wall, Dateline NBC and Saturday Night Live also aired, with percentage changes reported only for new episodes. Detailed rating shifts are available through a public Google spreadsheet that tracks daily final numbers and season averages.
Omar Oakes: A Culture War Against Mainstream Media
On April 15 the U.S. Federal Trade Commission filed permanent consent decrees against the five largest ad‑holding groups—WPP, Publicis, Dentsu, Omnicom and IPG—prohibiting any coordinated brand‑safety standards. The FTC framed the case as a Sherman‑Act antitrust violation, arguing the firms...
India’s App Market Is Booming — but Global Platforms Are Capturing Most of the Gains
India’s mobile app market posted a record $300 million in in‑app purchase revenue in Q1, a 33% year‑over‑year rise. Non‑gaming apps drove most of the growth, delivering over $200 million and expanding 44% YoY, led by utilities, video streaming and generative AI....
“Spotlight Has Fallen Well Short:” 7’s Program Panned Again, This Time on False Turbine Allegations
Channel 7’s Spotlight program aired a series of inaccurate claims about Australia’s renewable rollout, notably overstating the number of wind turbines needed and the land they would occupy. The program suggested over 31,000 new turbines would be required, while the Australian...
Why Brands Like The League Are Making the First Move to Take Advantage of LinkedIn’s Creator Appeal
The League, a premium dating app, launched its first creator‑driven campaign on LinkedIn, partnering with ten verified founders and entrepreneurs. The initiative, titled “Network here. Find me on The League,” aims to reach high‑intent professionals through niche, brand‑safe content rather...
NHL Looks to TikTok to Capitalize on Heated Rivalry and Olympics as It Grows Beyond U.S. and Canada
The NHL posted its best viewership in 14 years, averaging 546,000 viewers per game – a 23% increase – boosted by Netflix’s "Heated Rivalry" series and the recent Winter Olympics. To convert this surge into lasting fans, the league is...
Katie Couric on Media’s ‘Capitulation’ to Trump: ‘A Good Old-Fashioned Shakedown’
Former CBS anchor Katie Couric denounced her network’s $16 million settlement with Donald Trump as a “deplorable” capitulation, adding that ABC’s $15 million payment to the president’s library reflected a broader corporate‑media surrender. She argued that the “both sides” news model fails...
Parker Posey to Host Hulu Reality Competition The Mob / The Bachelor Will Return in 2027 “with a Lot of...
Hulu announced a new unscripted series called "The Mob," a celebrity‑driven competition hosted by Parker Posey and produced by Studio Lambert and Primal Media, echoing the intrigue of "The Traitors." At the same time, ABC confirmed that "The Bachelor" will...
Krapopolis: Season Three Ratings + Viewer Votes
Fox’s animated series Krapopolis, created by Dan Harmon, has been officially renewed for a fourth season even though its live‑plus‑same‑day ratings remain modest. Season 2 delivered a 0.15 rating in the coveted 18‑49 demographic and about 606,000 viewers, and season 3’s numbers...
Airdate: Next Gen NYC
Next Gen NYC, a new reality series spotlighting twenty‑somethings navigating love, careers and friendships in Manhattan, premieres on 7Bravo on April 30 at 8:30 pm. The cast blends children of Real Housewives stars—such as Ariana Biermann, Riley Burruss and Gia Giudice—with independent millennials like fashion...
Thinkerbell Scores Webby Win for Mattel Brickshop
Australian creative studio Thinkerbell captured the Webby Award for Best Direct Response with its Mattel Brickshop “Little Listings” campaign. The agency also earned three additional Webby nominations—for AI/ML work with Menulog / Just Eat, original music for a TAC safety project, and...
‘Going Out With A Bang’: Telstra Lands Ad Age A-List Recognition
Telstra has been awarded the Ad Age A-List 'Best Body of Work for a Single Client' prize, sharing the honor with agency Bear Meets Eagle On Fire. The accolade recognizes a sustained series of high-impact ads across Telstra’s product lines...
Chicago Public Media Partners With Illinois Public Broadcasters To Fund Statehouse Coverage
Chicago Public Media has teamed up with Illinois Public Broadcasters to finance two full‑time reporters covering the Illinois State Capitol. Meanwhile, Deutsche Telekom is negotiating a merger with its U.S. subsidiary T‑Mobile, a deal that could lift the combined entity’s...
New Campaign From Casper Aims to Help You Relax
Casper has rolled out its first major advertising push in four years with a three‑film series called “Daymares.” The spots, created by agency Orchard and directed by Jeff Low, depict everyday stressors that melt away when users lie on a...
EU Clears RTL Group’s $538 Million Sky Deutschland Acquisition
The European Commission has given unconditional clearance for RTL Group’s €527 million (≈$538 million) purchase of Sky Deutschland, allowing the deal to close on June 1, 2026. The merger will combine RTL’s entertainment assets with Sky’s sports and streaming platforms, creating a DACH‑wide...
JPMorgan Raises Netflix to Buy Rating, Boosting Large‑Cap Streaming Stock
JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) to a Buy rating on Wednesday, citing the company's robust earnings beat and accelerating subscriber growth. The move adds to a wave of recent analyst upgrades and could steer institutional capital back into...
BZZR Debuts as First Verified All‑Sports Platform, Uniting Fans, Athletes and Creators
BZZR, the first verified all‑sports digital platform, launched today with over 10,000 videos and 500+ creator pages, promising a unified, distraction‑free environment for fans, athletes and creators. The service aims to reshape how sports content is consumed and monetized across...
Disney Teams with Toddler Techno Star Lenny Pearce for Kids Music Revamp
Disney Music Group has inked a music and content development deal with viral creator Lenny Pearce, known for his Toddler Techno brand. The partnership will debut the album “Disney Jr. Music: Lenny Pearce Toddler Techno” on May 15, featuring remixed Disney...
WPP Media Wins BYD Australia Account
WPP Media has won the Australian media planning and buying mandate for electric‑vehicle maker BYD, taking the account from independent agency Yango. The new partnership will be delivered through a bespoke WPP division, mirroring its Open Mind model for Nestlé...
CT United FC Secures Local Broadcast Deal with Gray Media, Bringing Every Match to Fans Statewide
CT United FC announced a partnership with Gray Media to broadcast every home and away match on The Wax (WWAX‑TV), making it the first independent MLS NEXT Pro club with full linear television coverage. The deal places all games on statewide linear...
Wednesday VOZ Ratings | MY RENO RULES Picks up a Win Against Weak Competition
Wednesday’s Australian TV ratings show Seven’s renovation series “My Reno Rules” pulling an average 693,000 viewers, outpacing Nine’s “Events that Changed Australia” at 637,000. In later primetime, Nine’s new crime drama “Outback Murder Highway” debuted with 530,000 viewers, narrowly beating...
WORLDWIDE EXCLUSIVE: THE WOLFF-EPSTEIN FILES WITH ELLIE LEONARD AND SPECIAL GUEST LEV PARNAS
Ellie Leonard’s analysis of 533 emails between journalist Michael Wolff and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein uncovers a nine‑year, paid reputation‑management operation. The correspondence, ending just weeks before Epstein’s 2019 arrest, shows Wolff shifting from writer to fixer, coordinating PR...
Stassi Schroeder Will Take a Pinot Grigio at Freeform
Stassi Schroeder announced her new reality series "House of Stassi" at Hulu's Get Real event, with a two‑episode premiere on Freeform slated for July 30 and the full season streaming on Hulu the same day. The show will follow Schroeder as...
NAB 2026 Wrap: Media No Longer Transforming, But Operating in the New World
The NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas marked a turning point for the media sector, declaring that transformation is now a day‑to‑day reality. AI, cloud production and streaming economics were showcased as operational tools rather than future concepts. Attendance surged...
‘The Bachelor’ Franchise “Is Not Going Anywhere,” Says ABC Unscripted Boss
ABC scrapped the 22nd season of The Bachelorette starring Taylor Frankie Paul after a damning video linked to her 2023 domestic‑violence arrest, though the Salt Lake County DA declined to file new charges. Despite the controversy, EVP Rob Mills affirmed...
‘Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ Goes Franchise With Spinoff Set in Orange County
Hulu announced a spinoff of "The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives" set in Orange County, expanding the franchise with a fresh cast of seven women. The new series, produced by Jeff Jenkins Productions and Disney Television Alternative, follows the original...
Parker Posey, Stassi Schroeder to Topline Hulu Unscripted Shows
Streaming giant Hulu announced a robust unscripted lineup for 2026, adding six new series and specials that include the competition show “The Mob” hosted by Parker Posey and the reality series “House of Stassi” starring Stassi Schroeder. “The Mob” pits...
KIIS SYDNEY Does Better than Expected Despite Loss of KYLE and JACKIE O | RADIO RATINGS
The latest Survey 2 radio ratings show KIIS 1065 in Sydney holding steady at third place with a modest 0.3 percentage‑point dip, despite the high‑profile exit of Kyle Sandilands and Jackie O. 2GB reclaimed the breakfast lead at 16.8 % share, while smoothfm and 2GB tied...
Set for Life Offers Escape From Miserable Side Hustles in Special Group Campaign
The Lottery Corporation’s Set for Life launched a new “Monthly Cash, No Catch” campaign created by Special, featuring three humorous ads that dramatise the lengths people go to earn extra money before a phone notification reveals they’ve won $20,000 AUD a...
Netflix’s 86‑Minute Disaster Thriller “Thrash” Tops Global Charts
Tommy Wirkola’s new 86‑minute disaster thriller “Thrash” has surged to the top of Netflix’s global Top 10 list, outpacing titles like “Beast” and “Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle.” The film’s high‑concept premise—sharks unleashed by a coastal storm—has ignited worldwide buzz despite...
‘Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ Is Figuring Out How Show Moves Forward, Says Disney Unscripted Chief
Disney’s unscripted chief Rob Mills announced that *The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives* is moving back into active pre‑production for season 5 after a month‑long pause and a third‑party investigation into star Taylor Frankie Paul. The investigation has concluded, and the network...
Matrix Chosen by Microsoft Cloud Accelerate Factory to Deploy AI Revenue Intelligence for Media
Matrix Solutions has been selected for Microsoft’s Cloud Accelerate Factory, granting the company free access to Microsoft’s architecture and development resources to build an AI‑powered revenue intelligence layer for media companies. The partnership aims to deliver a top‑down and bottom‑up...
NewsNation’s Multimillion‑Dollar ‘Project Neutral’ Fails to Lift Ratings
NewsNation’s “Project Neutral” – a multimillion‑dollar effort to reposition cable news as centrist – has not delivered higher ratings. Leland Vittert’s show averages 188,000 viewers, a modest gain that still trails rivals, underscoring the difficulty of reviving traditional cable news.
Hulu Cancels 'Woke' After Two Seasons, Leaving a Surreal Satire Behind
Hulu announced the cancellation of the comedy‑drama 'Woke' after its second season. The series, which debuted in September 2020, earned a 74% Rotten Tomatoes rating for season one and a 93% audience score for season two, but still fell victim...
Parker Posey Is Running The Mob
Hulu is debuting a new celebrity‑driven reality competition called *The Mob*, hosted by Parker Posey. Contestants compete in mob‑themed challenges at an Italian villa for a $250,000 cash prize, electing a "don" each episode to control money and safety. The...
X to Delete All Communities on May 6 Due to Declining Usage.
Twitter X is shutting down and deleting all Communities on May 6, due to declining usage and a push towards XChat.
Stop Calling It Age Verification—It's Identity Verification
Mind you it’s not age gating, it’s IDENTITY GATING. There is no such thing as “age verification” it’s ID verification. I think we need to stop using the term age verification bc it’s an industry term that obfuscates the reality...
Amazon, TikTok, Warner Music Lead Creator Economy Hiring Surge
Amazon, TikTok and Warner Music Group posted the most creator‑economy jobs in the latest weekly radar, signaling a push to expand content distribution and partnership teams. The hiring wave also includes fashion‑beauty brands and influencer agencies, underscoring broader industry investment...
Need Unlimited Video Uploads? Find Buffer Alternatives
What's a great alternative to buffer? Buffer has a 2 minute video upload limit, which is basically a broken feature. I want to upload a video once and it posts to all channels (YT, IG, TT, Spotify, X, etc)
Worried Substack Might Drop Subscribers for Followers
Surely Substack will do away with subscribers soon, sticking with followers only? That was one of my concerns.
Khloé Kardashian Is Executive Producing a Hulu Reality Show About Her Friends
Khloé Kardashian is set to executive‑produce a new Hulu reality series titled “The Girls,” which follows six of her close friends as they juggle parenting, entrepreneurship, and personal milestones. The cast includes Natalie Halcro, Khadijah Haqq, Malika Haqq, Yris Palmer,...
Authentic Video Journalism: Keep Accents, Ditch Broadcast Voice
this is a much smarter and honest attempt at video journalism from another legacy newspaper keep and celebrate the regional accent. don’t do the broadcast voice people don’t trust anymore. just turn on a camera on an interesting person and you...
AI Images Threaten Plain Dealer’s Journalistic Brand Integrity
here is some constructive good faith criticism on The Plain Dealer’s dalliance with AI generated imagery. journalism has a brand problem,. do you really want to dilute your already struggling brand with homogenized genAI imagery so your journalism looks exactly...
WrestleMania Simulcasts Average 1.7 Million Viewers on ESPN, ESPN2
ESPN aired WWE's WrestleMania 42 on its linear channels, drawing an average of 1.72 million viewers across the Saturday and Sunday simulcasts. Night 1 on ESPN2 peaked at 1.62 million, while Night 2 on ESPN reached 1.82 million, not counting the ESPN Unlimited stream that carried...
Dennis Miller Live Debuted on HBO in 1994
📺 April 22, 1994: “Dennis Miller Live”, the weekly late-night talk show hosted by the former SNL Weekend Update anchor premiered on HBO. It ran for eight years. https://t.co/vAlMB5qgb4 https://t.co/4HM89H5DO8
‘Summer House’ Star Ciara Miller Cast in ‘Dancing With the Stars’ Season 35
ABC announced that Bravo’s Ciara Miller, a five‑season star of “Summer House,” will join the celebrity lineup for “Dancing With the Stars” season 35, the first casting reveal for the fall schedule. The move follows season 34’s ratings surge, which...
DirecTV’s New MiEspañol Campaign
DirecTV unveiled a “Breadth of Sports” advertising campaign to promote its MiEspañol Genre Pack, a Spanish‑language bundle that includes more than 60 channels and ViX Premium with ads. The spots feature former soccer player‑turned‑analyst Marc Crosas and TV host Adamari...
#ThisWeek on MarkLives MEDIA: OOH & SA Consumers • #InTwoWeeks: Murder, Mystery & Marketing
KLA research shows South African outdoor‑advertising (OOH) enjoys the strongest trust among older, male and middle‑income consumers, and that this confidence translates into higher cross‑channel engagement. The data suggests billboards are a credible touchpoint for audiences 45 and older, with...
Charter, Comcast, Liberty Global Talk Cable’s Competition
Cable executives from Charter, Comcast and Liberty Global convened at the Syndeo Institute’s leadership forum to address mounting competition from fixed‑wireless access (FWA) and the need for faster innovation. They agreed broadband remains superior but must improve marketing and customer...
Carriage
NBCUniversal’s Peacock will add its $16.99 ad‑free Premium Plus tier to Roku’s Premium Subscriptions, extending the existing partnership. The deal also brings Peacock’s free‑ad‑supported FAST channels to Roku’s lineup. Earlier this year Roku launched a dedicated NBCU Winter Olympics hub,...