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.
TV Tech Announces Winners of Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
TV Tech announced the winners of its Best of Show Awards at the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas. A panel of engineers and industry experts evaluated more than 70 products on innovation, feature set, perceived value and real‑world application. Winners, spanning AI‑driven platforms, 4K optics, cloud‑based media servers and virtual‑production tools, received a crystal‑glass trophy and will be featured across TV Tech’s editorial channels. The awards give the selected technologies high‑visibility exposure throughout the broadcast and streaming ecosystem.
Chyron Announces PRIME Translate
Chyron has launched PRIME Translate, an AI‑driven workflow that adds real‑time multilingual translation to live broadcasts. The solution creates hyper‑realistic facial movement, synchronized audio and graphic overlays, enabling one‑to‑many language outputs from a single production. Built on NVIDIA Holoscan and AI...
Burger in Front, Party Out Back: McDonald’s NZ Debuts the Cheeseburger with a Mullet via McCann NZ, FleishmanHillard Aotearoa +...
McDonald’s New Zealand rolled out a limited‑time "Cheeseburger with a Mullet" – nicknamed the McMullet – after a social‑media buzz around adding an extra slice of cheese at the back of a cheeseburger. The campaign, created with McCann NZ, FleishmanHillard Aotearoa...
Returning: Citadel
Amazon Prime Video will launch the second season of the high‑budget spy series Citadel on May 6, 2026. The seven‑episode run returns lead actors Richard Madden, Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Stanley Tucci, and adds newcomers Jack Reynor, Matt Berry, Lina El Arabi and others. Produced by Amazon MGM Studios in...
Omnicom Media Study Flags 'Negative Reach' As Over‑Frequency Hurts Campaigns
Omnicom Media Intelligence’s new report warns that excessive ad frequency creates "negative reach," where repeated impressions frustrate consumers and damage brand perception. More than 60% of surveyed viewers say they see the same ad multiple times in one streaming session,...
Countdown to New York Festivals Advertising Awards 2026 Entry Deadline: Thursday, April 23
Entries for the New York Festivals Advertising Awards 2026 close on Thursday, April 23, giving creatives, agencies, and brands worldwide a final day to submit work that showcases bold ideas, measurable impact, and creative effectiveness. The 2026 edition expands its in‑person judging program...
Disney+ Secures Waitrose, Volkswagen and PG Tips Sponsorship for Rivals
Disney+ has secured three high‑profile sponsors—Waitrose, Volkswagen and PG Tips—for the second series of its original drama "Rivals," which premieres on 15 May. The partnerships embed the brands directly into the narrative, offering product placement and co‑branded moments. This marks Disney+’s most...
Paramount+ Goes Vertical
Paramount+ has rolled out a new vertical‑video Clips feature on its iOS app, delivering bite‑sized sports, news and original‑show moments. The addition puts the service alongside rivals like Peacock, Disney+ and ESPN that are already courting mobile users with TikTok‑style...
The High Cost of Social Data: Why Big Tech Is Closing Every Door
Big tech platforms are turning social data into a premium commodity, with Twitter’s API now starting at $100 per month for a Basic tier and $5,000 for a Pro tier, while LinkedIn restricts deep B2B data behind a rigorous approval...
NFL Goes to the FCC
The NFL met with Federal Communications Commission staff to argue that its reliance on free, over‑the‑air broadcasts benefits fans, local stations, and all 32 clubs. The league highlighted the steep decline in pay‑TV subscriptions and cited Amazon’s record‑breaking Thursday Night...
Friday TV Ratings: 20/20, Happy’s Place, Fire Country, Penn & Teller: Fool Us, UFL Football
Friday, April 17, 2026 TV ratings released via Fast Affiliate Numbers show new episodes of Celebrity Jeopardy All‑Stars, 20/20, Sheriff Country, Fire Country, Boston Blue, Happy’s Place and Dateline NBC. Sports coverage featured the UFL Football matchup between the Renegades and Aviators....
Disappointed by Compliance to AI Rules, Meity Proposes 'Continuous' Watermarks
India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is proposing an amendment to the 2021 IT Rules that would require a continuous watermark on AI‑generated content, replacing the current “clear and conspicuous” label requirement. The draft also removes the earlier...
NBC’s Miller Time
Jon Miller, president of acquisitions at NBC Sports, outlined the network’s recent multibillion‑dollar rights strategy, including a $200 million three‑year MLB agreement and a historic $27 billion, 11‑year NBA contract. The deals secure Sunday Night Baseball, roughly 25 primetime games, and extensive...
Nine Secures NBL Rights in Two Year Deal
Nine has secured a two‑year free‑to‑air broadcast agreement with the National Basketball League, delivering two marquee games each week on the 9Network and 9Now. The deal also includes live coverage of the NBL Finals, a weekly analysis show, and a...
Iran's Meme Factory Is Using 'the Weapons of Their Enemy' To Embarrass Trump
Iranian media outfit Explosive Media is deploying AI‑generated, Lego‑style videos to mock President Donald Trump and frame Iran as the underdog in the ongoing conflict. The short, English‑language clips—dubbed "slopaganda"—are shared widely on TikTok, Instagram and X, amassing millions of...
WiredCo Joins OpenAI’s ChatGPT Ads Pilot in Australia
WiredCo, an award‑winning brandformance agency, has joined OpenAI’s ChatGPT Ads pilot in Australia, bringing Boost Mobile and THE ICONIC on board as the first local brands. The agency is creating conversational ad units that sit natively within ChatGPT, targeting the...
Agency Agenda: VaynerMedia's Marcus Krzastek on AI, Media, and Creative Convergence
VaynerMedia International President Marcus Krzastek says the agency is dismantling the traditional divide between creative and media, building a single, integrated system that can operate across markets. He highlights how AI‑driven tools and platform‑native capabilities on TikTok and Meta let...
Netflix Quietly Adds Martin Short Movie Collection to Celebrate New Documentary
Netflix is bolstering its comedy slate ahead of the May 12, 2026 debut of the documentary *Marty, Life is Short*. The streamer will add Martin Short’s *Father of the Bride* and its sequel to its catalog in May, joining existing titles like...
‘Jury Duty: Company Retreat’ Submits 19 Actors for Emmys, Including Sia; Participant Anthony Norman Ineligible (EXCLUSIVE)
Amazon Prime Video is pushing its reality‑hoax series “Jury Duty: Company Retreat” for Emmy recognition, submitting 19 performers across 19 categories for the second season. The eight‑episode run is entered for Outstanding Comedy Series, with 15 cast members in supporting...
Screen Forever 2026: Lifetime Achievement for Nadia Tass & David Parker
Renowned Australian filmmaking duo Nadia Tass and David Parker will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 24th Screen Producers Australia Awards. Their company, Cascade Films, founded in 1985, has earned more than 70 international awards and showcased titles at...
How AI-Powered Media Asset Management Is Reshaping Broadcast Workflows
Broadcast producers are grappling with unprecedented volumes of high‑resolution media, exposing the limits of legacy Media Asset Management (MAM) systems. AI‑driven tools now auto‑generate metadata, apply speech‑to‑text transcription, and recognize objects, shrinking asset search times from minutes to seconds. These...
Stream It Or Skip It: ‘The Dark Wizard’ On HBO Max, A Docuseries About Climber And Thrill Seeker Dean Potter
HBO Max’s four‑part docuseries *The Dark Wizard* chronicles the life of Dean Potter, the pioneering free‑solo climber, highliner and BASE jumper who reshaped extreme sport in the 1990s. The series blends rare archival footage, animated journal excerpts, and interviews with...
Get All News Instantly—Stop Waiting for Tweets
Find me here - https://t.co/hilpk72Y87 Save the time - Don't wait for my tweets. Get the best newsflow around. All the news services congregate here. Competitors and discords lurk Where you at? Stop waiting"
Broadcasters vs Big Tech: The Streaming Challenge
At NAB 2024, broadcasters acknowledged that big‑tech platforms now dominate local advertising, forcing traditional TV stations to rethink survival strategies. The pending Nexstar‑Tegna merger, currently stalled by a federal judge, highlights the industry’s urgent need for scale, yet consolidation alone...
From Podcast ‘Yap’ to Prime-Time Power Play: Lucy Jackson and Nikki Westacott Take on Hit Drive
Lucy Jackson and Nikki Westacott, the duo behind the popular "The Happy Hour" podcast, stepped into the Hit Network’s national Drive slot in the week of 6 April, filling in for Carrie & Tommy during a survey break. The transition marks...
Broadsign Partners with JB Hi-Fi to Accelerate Retail Media Network
Broadsign announced a partnership with Australian electronics retailer JB Hi‑Fi to power its in‑store retail media network across more than 200 locations. The Broadsign Platform will centralise campaign planning, execution, optimisation and reporting, giving JB Hi‑Fi real‑time control from a single hub....
Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Unchosen’ On Netflix, Where A Woman In A Christian Cult Meets An Escaped Convict And...
Netflix's new British thriller "Unchosen" follows Rosie, a mother in a rigid Christian cult, who hides an escaped convict after he rescues her daughter. The series, created by Julie Gearey, juxtaposes the cult's oppressive rules—such as banning phones—with the convict's...
Your Source for Podcast Solutions.
Videoguys positions itself as a one‑stop shop for professional podcast production, offering everything from PTZOptics multi‑camera rigs and Sony wireless microphones to all‑in‑one encoders like the YoloLiv YoloBox. The catalog also includes workflow tools such as the Elgato Stream Deck...
TV Review: Gimbap and Onigiri
TV Tokyo’s 2026 drama *Gimbap and Onigiri* follows Rin, a Korean animation graduate student, and Taiga, a Japanese diner cook who bond over shared meals. Their romance unfolds amid language slips, cultural nuances, and the pressures of unsociable work hours....
TriCoast's Nick Risher On Why Owning The Content Changes The Math
TriCoast Media, a film distributor with a 5,000‑title library and four FAST channels, has evolved into a supply‑side platform (SSP). By offering its content to publishers at a reduced revenue‑share rate, it can secure cheaper CPMs for backfill inventory. This...
The Dealmaking 3: NBA Playoffs on NBC, NFL Draft AI & $7M for Athletes
The Dealmaking 3 highlights three major sports‑industry moves. NBC Sports has signed an 11‑year agreement to broadcast NBA playoff games, marking its return to the league’s postseason. Amazon’s NFL Draft AI, branded as NFL IQ, now provides live fan‑prediction updates every...
A Must‑Listen on YUNews’ Success Story
nice listen for all those intrigued by the success of @YUNews and all @elliotsteinmetz and crew have done. @D3Ticker
Inside the Heart and Mind of Hasan Piker
Hasan Piker, a Turkish‑born streamer, has become one of the most watched left‑leaning political commentators on Twitch, reaching hundreds of thousands of viewers daily. His confrontational style, rooted in a childhood of questioning authority, has drawn intense scrutiny from both...
So… You Saw the $1 Drop, Right?
RadarOnline announced that its premium service, The Vault, is now available for a limited‑time price of $1. The offer includes daily exclusive coverage of Hollywood, royalty, true‑crime developments, unfiltered court documents, and access to a private chat community. The promotion...
Stranger Things Returns to Netflix This Week—But It’s Not What You Think
Netflix is adding an animated spin‑off to the Stranger Things franchise, titled Stranger Things: Tales from ’85, which premieres on April 23, 2026. The ten‑episode series is set in the winter of 1985, bridging the narrative gap between Seasons 2 and 3 of the...
Context Matters: How to Target Smarter When Tracking Gets Worse
With third‑party cookies disappearing, 60% of brands feel unprepared, leaving small advertisers especially vulnerable. Lacking first‑party data and limited budgets, they struggle to track and retarget prospects. Contextual targeting—matching ads to page content—offers a cookie‑free solution, delivering up to tenfold...
RAIN Notes: April 21
Bauer Media has partnered with Experian to bring data‑driven, hyper‑local targeting to its digital radio advertising. Experian’s MicromarketerG3 aligns listening areas with postal districts, feeding the audioXi platform so ads reach the right listeners in specific neighborhoods. The combined solution...
CMG Offers Spanish-Language Newscasts In ‘First Coast’
Cox Media Group’s Telemundo affiliate in Jacksonville will debut a Spanish‑language local newscast, "Noticias Jacksonville," on May 4, airing on WFOX‑30.4. The program marks the first en‑español local news offering in the First Coast market. Anchor Karen Taffanelli will also serve...
Stream It Or Skip It: ‘UNTOLD: The Shooting at Hawthorne Hill’ on Netflix, a True-Crime Story From the World of...
Netflix’s UNTOLD series adds a new entry, "The Shooting at Hawthorne Hill," chronicling the 2019 attempted murder of dressage rider Lauren Kanarek by former Olympian trainer Michael Barisone. The documentary uniquely features on‑camera interviews with both the victim and the...
How to Spot AI Audiobooks on Libby
Libby, the library e‑reading app, now labels AI‑generated audiobook narrations as “synthesized voice” or “digital voice,” allowing users to identify synthetic narrators. The article explains how to locate these tags in the NARRATOR section and how to search for them,...
🎧 Power, Delusion & Matthew Macfadyen’s Post-‘Succession’ Bet
Matthew Macfadyen, fresh off two Emmy‑winning seasons of Succession, confronts the post‑show slump by starring as Charles Guiteau in Netflix’s limited series Death by Lightning. The four‑episode drama, filmed in Budapest to stand in for 1880s America, offers a self‑contained...
Justin Bieber’s ‘SWAG’ Re‑enters Billboard Top 10, Extending Record‑Breaking Chart Run
Justin Bieber’s comeback single “SWAG” re‑entered the Billboard 200 at No. 7 following his headline performance at Coachella 2026. The surge adds to his already historic chart tenure, underscoring his enduring commercial pull and the impact of live‑event promotion.
‘Marketing Brew Weekly’ Won a Webby!
Marketing Brew Weekly, the weekly podcast extension of the Marketing Brew newsletter, won a 2026 Webby Award in the Marketing category. Launched in September 2025, the show eschews traditional interview formats in favor of editorial‑team style discussions on topics like...
Laura Vogt’s 20‑Year Path to Publication Highlights Patience as a Publishing Superpower
Laura Vogt, a writer who spent 20 years navigating rejections and revisions, shared a personal essay on Writer’s Digest explaining how patience helped her finally secure a publishing contract. Her story offers a candid look at the long‑haul reality many...
Netflix Hikes Ad‑supported Tier to $8.99 and Premium to $26, Prompting Cost‑saving Tips
Netflix increased the price of its ad‑supported subscription to $8.99 per month and its premium tier to $26. The move adds pressure on households already spending an average $69 on streaming, spurring a wave of cost‑cutting tactics and highlighting the...
Vivendi Posts Flat Q1 Revenue of €69 Million, Highlighting Media Sector Strain
Vivendi announced first‑quarter 2026 revenue of €69 million, unchanged from a year earlier, while its gaming arm Gameloft also posted flat sales of €68 million. The stagnant top line underscores broader challenges confronting traditional media firms amid evolving consumer preferences.
What IMAX Got Right While the Rest of the Movie Industry Flatlined
Domestic box‑office revenue has stalled under $9 billion for three years, yet IMAX posted a record $449 million domestic haul and $1.28 billion globally, a 40% year‑over‑year rise. With only about 1% of North American screens, IMAX captured nearly 20% of opening‑weekend grosses...
Pocket FM Names Lalit Gangwar COO to Accelerate Global Expansion
Pocket FM announced the promotion of Lalit Gangwar to chief operating officer, tasking him with scaling the audio platform into new international markets. The move comes as the company leverages an OpenAI partnership to support more than 300,000 creators and...
How a Niche YouTube Channel Became a Multi-Platform Travel Business
Jessica Dante left a corporate travel role to launch a YouTube channel that delivers hyper‑specific London travel advice. By concentrating on a single city, her videos quickly surpassed a million views and attracted a "drive‑by" audience of trip planners. She...
Mobile Messenger and Telescope Team Up to Power Mobile Fan Engagement for Entertainment Brands
Mobile Messenger and Telescope have formed a joint initiative to bring industry‑leading mobile participation media solutions to entertainment brands. The partnership combines Mobile Messenger’s aggregation and secure billing platform with Telescope’s high‑throughput participation‑TV technology, promising real‑time fan interaction and new...