Today's Media Pulse
Online video subscriptions top 2.2 bn, revenue hits $176B
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 for the first time as pay‑TV revenue fell to $170 billion. Growth is expected to slow to single‑digit rates in 2026, prompting operators to focus on monetising existing users.
Vinylthon 2026 Set to Spin Up at 230 Stations Worldwide
Vinylthon 2026 will run April 18‑19, with roughly 230 radio stations—from college FM outlets to streaming services—spinning vinyl to raise scholarship funds for aspiring broadcasters. The College Radio Foundation organizes the global fundraiser, encouraging stations to broadcast vinyl‑only programming all weekend. A dedicated WVYL pop‑up on Live365 will stream hour‑long shows featuring vinyl and specialty content. The inaugural Vinylthon Legend Award honors top‑40 legend John Landecker for his five‑decade impact on radio.
Trust Me: The False Prophet Season 2: Cast, Rumours & Release Date
Netflix’s true‑crime docuseries *Trust Me: The False Prophet* has become the platform’s most‑watched show this week, logging 9.8 million views and topping charts in 14 countries. The four‑part series follows cult expert Christine Marie and filmmaker Tolga Katas as they infiltrate...
NAB Show: FOR-A America Announces New AI Functionality On FOR-A IMPULSE and Immediate Delivery of MixBoard & HVS-Q12
At NAB Show 2026, FOR‑A America unveiled AI‑enhanced capabilities for its software‑defined IMPULSE live‑production platform, adding an AI‑assisted Graph Editor that auto‑creates node graphs and system diagrams. The company also announced the immediate availability of MixBoard, a GPU‑accelerated software switcher...
Google Ads API to Require Multi-Factor Authentication
Google is rolling out mandatory multi‑factor authentication (MFA) for new OAuth 2.0 refresh tokens generated through the Google Ads API, starting April 21, 2026. Existing tokens will keep working, but any new authentication will require a second verification step such as a...
Zee Entertainment Announces Strategic Investment in PhantomFX
Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. announced a strategic investment of up to Rs 116 crore (about $1.4 billion) in visual‑effects studio Phantom Digital Effects Ltd. (PhantomFX) via convertible debentures, pending shareholder approval. The partnership gives Zee access to PhantomFX’s U.S. and UK studios, AI‑driven...
Hightouch Launches Ad Studio
Hightouch unveiled Ad Studio, an AI‑powered module of its Agentic Marketing Platform designed to automate the creation of on‑brand ads at scale. The tool leverages a proprietary Brand Context Layer that taps into digital asset management systems, past campaign data, and...
Macnica Expands ST 2110 Platform With New MEP25 For 25gbe Media Workflows
Macnica announced the MEP25 SmartNIC, a 25‑GbE‑optimized media I/O card that extends its ST 2110 transport platform to standard compute environments. The FPGA‑based card offloads real‑time video, audio and metadata transport, reducing CPU load while preserving deterministic, low‑latency performance. At NAB,...
The Washington Star Is Back, and so Is Its Long-Running Rivalry with The Washington Post
Forty‑five years after the original Washington Star folded, its digital successor NOTUS is rebranding as The Star and expanding its newsroom to 95 journalists by year‑end. The move aims to exploit recent cutbacks at the Washington Post, especially in local...
Zig-Zag To 4/20 Stoners: Slow It Down
Zig‑Zag is reviving its rolling‑paper heritage with the "Life’s Fast, Burn Slow" campaign, debuting lounge‑style activations at 4/20 music festivals across six states. The brand aims to slow the pace of consumption by offering dedicated spaces for rolling, relaxing, and...
ATX TV Festival Announces Indie TV Pitch Competition Finalists
The ATX TV Festival announced the ten finalists for its 2025 Indie TV Pitch Competition, spanning comedy, drama, sci‑fi and dramedy formats. The finalists will pitch their series to a panel of seasoned showrunners, producers and executives during the May 28‑31...
If You Can’t Wait for Rivals Season 2, You Need to Watch These 5 Addictive TV Shows
Disney+ is expanding its prestige drama slate with *Rivals* season 2, a twelve‑episode continuation of the Jilly Cooper adaptation that earned a 93 percent Rotten Tomatoes rating. The first three episodes drop on May 15, 2026, after the original eight‑part series premiered in...
What’s up with Those Museum of Sex Bus Ads?
The Museum of Sex has wrapped more than 3,000 New York City MTA buses with its logo, a campaign that began in December and will run through the end of the year. Founder Daniel Gluck says the omnipresent ads have...
Experts Slam Non‑specialist Analogies in AI Debate
I love it when podcast hosts and newsletter compilers cite other non industry or non expert sources on a complex issue to try and dispute one of the architects of the entire AI revolution... Jensen on nuclear weapons analogy: "Comparing...
Sheridan Smith & Michael Socha in UK Crime Series 'The Cage' Trailer
BBC has released the trailer for "The Cage," a new British crime‑thriller set to debut on iPlayer on April 26, 2026. The plot follows Liverpool casino workers Leanne (Sheridan Smith) and Matty (Michael Socha) as they each plot to steal...
Listener Details Through Broadcast Data: A CACO-Fueled Opportunity
A Miami-based entrepreneur has launched a patent‑pending real‑time middleware platform designed specifically for the broadcast sector. The system creates a bidirectional data loop that connects listeners, a localized AI interface, and station operations, enabling instant feedback and content personalization. Marketed...
Agentic Web Arrives: 5 Key AI Search Shifts
The Agentic Web is Here: 5 AI Shifts I'm Discussing with Clients about AI Search - Marie Haynes https://buff.ly/VRW47KT
Organic Social Media Marketing Best Practices for Hotels in 2026
In 2026 hotels must treat organic social media as a strategic asset, focusing on consistent posting, deep audience insight, and high‑quality content. The article recommends three to five weekly posts, a monthly content calendar, and regular polls to refine messaging....
Kim Gura Video‑Calls Teen Daughter on Live TV, Showcasing Modern Fatherhood
During the April 16 broadcast of tvN STORY’s “Parenting Intern,” comedian‑host Kim Gura placed a live video call with his six‑year‑old daughter on air, using the segment to model an engaged, tech‑savvy dad. The moment sparked conversation about how Korean...
Streamflation Surge: Price Hikes Push Average Household Spend to $69/Month
Streaming services have collectively raised subscription fees, driving the average U.S. household to spend $69 a month on four platforms. Surveys show 73% of consumers are frustrated, and half say they will cancel or downgrade, warning of churn as “streamflation”...
SportyTV Secures Pay‑TV Rights for All 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 Matches in South Africa
SportyTV has signed a landmark agreement with FIFA to broadcast every one of the 104 matches of the 2026 World Cup on a pay‑TV basis in South Africa. The deal, secured just a year after the platform’s market entry, positions...
Influencers Are Replacing Themselves With AI Clones
Influencers are increasingly deploying AI-generated digital twins to extend their brand presence around the clock, prompting talent agencies such as CAA to treat clone management as a strategic priority. Legal counsel warns that without explicit consent, these likenesses could expose...
OpenAP Selected As A Weigel Partner
Weigel Broadcasting announced a partnership with advertising technology firm OpenAP. The deal will bring OpenAP's data‑driven audience measurement and targeting tools to Weigel's suite of digital multicast networks, including the popular classic‑TV channel MeTV. By integrating advanced analytics, the collaboration...
Joe Rogan Is Top Podcaster Of 2026 So Far—As He Ramps Up Criticism Of Trump
Joe Rogan’s The Joe Rogan Experience retained its position as the most‑listened‑to U.S. podcast in Q1 2026, outpacing the second‑place Crime Junkie by more than 2.5 times. The audience remains overwhelmingly male—about 78%—and the show continues to draw massive YouTube views, highlighted by...
Reed Hastings’ Netflix Exit Calls For A Warner Bros. Discovery Rethink
Reed Hastings announced his departure from Netflix, prompting a 10% slide in the streaming giant’s share price and erasing roughly $40 billion of market value. The decline highlights investors’ view of Hastings as the chief architect of Netflix’s transformation from DVD...
'For All Mankind' Alternative Timeline vs Reality: How Apple TV's Sci-Fi Show Diverges From History
Apple TV+’s sci‑fi series *For All Mankind* reimagines the Cold‑War space race, letting a Soviet cosmonaut plant the first Moon flag in 1969 and inserting women onto the lunar surface within months. The show compresses decades of aerospace progress, showing lunar...
Coachella 2026 Weekend Two YouTube Preview
YouTube is the exclusive home for Coachella 2026 Weekend 2, kicking off today at 4 PM PT/7 PM ET. The livestream adds the Yuma Stage and features a surprise performance by Kacey Musgraves. New interactive tools include “Watch With” creator parties, cinematic 4K on three stages, vertical...
Press Publish with Noelle Acheson and Brady Dale
In this episode of Press Publish, Noelle Acheson chats with veteran journalist Brady Dale about his journey from Coindesk to Axios and ultimately launching his own Substack newsletter, Front Stage Exit. Dale explains why he left mainstream media—lack of audience...
Vizrt To Feature Newly Introduced AI Keyer At 2026 NAB Show
Vizrt will debut its AI‑powered Keyer at the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas, demonstrating a tool that automatically isolates human subjects and inserts AR graphics without green screens. The solution, trained on diverse real‑world footage, works in any lighting condition...
Apex-RF To Launch RAINIER Wireless Camera Transmission System At 2026 NAB Show
Apex‑RF is debuting its RAINIER wireless camera transmission system at the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas. The solution delivers sub‑50 ms latency, 4K 12G SDR/HDR video, and Wi‑Fi 7 mesh networking across 5‑7.3 GHz. RAINIER combines video, camera control, intercom and IP infrastructure into...
AI Drafting My Stories? Over My Dead Body
The Wired opinion piece argues that using AI tools like Claude or ChatGPT to draft news stories threatens the craft of journalism. It highlights a growing tension between newsroom efficiency and the loss of human voice, citing veteran writers who...
Yesterday's Bluesky Outage Was No Accident
Bluesky suffered a sophisticated distributed denial‑of‑service (DDoS) attack that began around 11:40 p.m. PT on April 15, causing intermittent outages throughout Thursday. The platform’s engineers worked through the night to mitigate the flood of traffic, and service was restored by early Friday...
Junk or Jackpot Finale Tops Charts—Binge-Worthy Treasure Hunts
Junk or Jackpot is streaming right now on @hgtv @hbomax and @discoveryplus. Our Season 1 finale hit #2 on all of discovery+. Six episodes. Collectors with insane stuff. Home renovations funded by what we find. Laughing, crying, jaw-dropping appraisals. If...
2026 NAB Show Exhibitor Insight: LTN
LTN unveiled major upgrades to its global IP video network at the 2026 NAB Show, promising 99.9999% reliability, full‑market reach and up to 60% lower distribution costs as C‑band spectrum repurposing pressures satellite capacity. The enhancements add expanded monitoring, a...
CEO Predicts ‘Next Golden Era’ for Content Amid Legacy Media Destruction
Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince warned that AI is set to dismantle many legacy media companies, ushering what he calls a “next golden era” for content creation. He argued that hyper‑local, differentiated journalism will become increasingly valuable as AI‑driven platforms seek...
WSJ’s Newsroom Staff Ranks Themselves As Intermediary or Above in AI. How Did Leadership Win Them Over?
The Wall Street Journal’s newsroom has moved from early AI curiosity to an intermediate‑or‑higher proficiency, with staff self‑rating their AI skills above many peers. Director of newsroom data and AI Tess Jeffers reports that experimentation doubled in a year and...
Snail Mail and Bird Brains
The post highlights a wave of Gen Z‑driven trends, from record‑breaking TV viewership—Euphoria’s season 3 debut pulled 8.5 million viewers, a 44% jump—to the rise of niche revenue streams like snail‑mail subscription clubs that can net artists $16,000 a month. Fashion follows with...
Through A.I. Glasses-Powered Translation, Korea’s Theaters Hope for a K-Pop Moment
South Korean theater producers, backed by the Korea Tourism Organization, are deploying AI‑powered translation glasses to break language barriers for domestic and touring productions. The glasses, linked to a smartphone app, display real‑time subtitles in Korean, English, Japanese or Chinese...
Reaching For More Reach
Multicultural media firms, traditionally serving niche audiences, are now bundling their first‑party data to sell audience segments across websites and CTV. This shift comes as they grapple with falling traffic, a hostile political environment, and waning brand commitments. Meanwhile, retail...
Reaching For More Reach
Multicultural media firms are repackaging their first‑party audience data to sell across platforms, a strategy born from shrinking RFP volumes and declining traffic. Publishers face political headwinds and weaker brand commitments, prompting innovative retargeting approaches. At the IAB Connected Commerce...
Coming Soon: The New CNN
RJ Matson’s latest editorial cartoon imagines a Trump‑approved merger that would place Larry Ellison in control of CBS and CNN, merging the CNN logo with Trump’s likeness. The illustration also features logos of Skydance, Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, underscoring...
Threads Finally Recognizes Web Power Users' Importance
I’m just glad that after two years, they’ve finally acknowledged that power users (brands, journalists, etc.) use Web, and that Threads Web should be treated with similar importance as other platforms
CTV's AI‑driven ID Graph Fuels Full‑funnel Growth
Wow, @vibedotco hitting $227M ARR with +264% YoY growth tells you exactly where advertising is heading. CTV has finally cracked the performance code. Advertisers are shifting 30%+ of their total marketing budget into one channel, that level of conviction drives serious...
Roku Surpasses 100M Global Households
Roku announced it has surpassed 100 million global streaming households, with roughly 75‑80 million located in the United States. The company’s Roku OS‑powered devices now command about 55 % of the connected‑TV market, outpacing Amazon Fire TV’s 35 % share. In Q4 2025 Roku...
AI Videos Outshine Hollywood's Diminishing Production Value
I originally thought this was some kind of fan-made AI video, which is both a testament to how good the AI video generators have become and a grim sign of how bad the “big” expensive Hollywood movies look now
AI Generates Claude Design Video From Blog and Tweets
Made this 30 second video of Claude Design just by pasting in the Claude Design blog post and some tweets from @AnthropicAI employees Kinda speechless. https://t.co/9uFxO3LKzf
Iran’s AI Memes Are Reaching People Who Don’t Follow the News – and Winning the Propaganda War
Iran’s state‑linked Explosive Media has deployed AI‑generated Lego‑style videos with rap soundtracks, amassing billions of views since February. Dubbed “slopaganda,” the clips blend disinformation and antisemitic tropes with humor, targeting users who avoid traditional news. By mimicking the tone of...
Timeline Reveals Build‑up to Eric Swalwell Story
‘Keep digging’: What happened in the days leading up to the @sfchronicle Eric Swalwell story: https://t.co/PkEkbdDtfV
Op-Ed: What Ciara Miller Revealed About the Rules for Black Women on Reality TV
The op‑ed examines how Black women on reality TV navigate an unspoken rule to feel deeply while showing little. It uses Bravo star Ciara Miller’s calm response to her ex’s public new relationship as a case study, contrasting her treatment...
ABC News Is #1 on Sunday Morning and Friday Night
ABC News solidified its dominance in the week of April 6, 2026, with "This Week with George Stephanopoulos" posting 2.78 million total viewers – its 11th consecutive week at #1 and the widest lead over NBC’s "Meet the Press" in more than a decade....
The Economics of Buffering: Why Milliseconds Decide Streaming Growth
Buffering is no longer a mere technical hiccup; it directly threatens streaming revenue. The article notes that 70% of viewers abandon a live stream after just two buffering incidents, linking playback quality to retention and margin. Four infrastructure weaknesses—encoding bottlenecks,...