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:
Save The Dates: Dark Matter Season 2, Mindy Kaling's Hulu Comedy, And More
Apple TV+ announced that Dark Matter Season 2 will premiere on Friday, August 28, with weekly episodes leading to an October 30 finale. The sci‑fi drama returns starring Joel Edgerton and Jennifer Connelly, continuing the multiverse storyline. Hulu will launch Mindy Kaling’s comedy Not Suitable For Work on June 2, dropping the first three episodes. CBS is reshuffling its late‑night lineup, moving Stephen Colbert’s show and adding Byron Allen’s Comics Unleashed at 11:35 p.m.
LLM-Referred Traffic Converts at 30-40% — and Most Enterprises Aren't Optimizing for It
The rise of AI agents is reshaping web discovery, giving birth to Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) where content must be understood and cited by large language models rather than clicked by humans. Enterprises that continue to rely solely on traditional...
UOL Transmitirá Brasileirão Feminino E Brasileirão Masculino Sub-20
UOL has secured rights to broadcast the 2026 Brasileirão Feminino Série A and the Brasileirão Masculino Sub‑20. Matches will stream for free on the UOL channel and its YouTube Sports feed, while select games will be exclusive to the paid UOL Play...
From TV Deals to Titles: Why the Big Ten’s Money Machine Is Just Getting Started
The Big Ten Conference leveraged its $7 billion television contract to dominate the 2025‑26 college sports season, capturing national titles in football, women’s basketball and men’s basketball. Michigan’s 69‑63 win over UConn secured the men’s basketball championship, marking the first triple‑title...
Know Your Audience Deeply to Win
The creator who understands the viewer best wins. ✅ Where they are. ✅ How they feel. ✅ What they want. ✅ What they need.
LinkedIn Reportedly Eyeing Acquisition of All-In Podcast
LinkedIn rumored to be bidding to acquire The All-In Podcast, with plans to rebrand it as The Linked-In Podcast.
Ticker Announces New Entrepreneurship Series THE FOUNDERS METHOD
Ticker, the global news‑streaming platform, announced the launch of its original entrepreneurship series “The Founders Method.” Hosted by memobottle co‑founders Jesse Leeworthy and Jonathan Byrt, the show dives into the decisions, challenges and systems that shape modern startups. The debut episode...
Women's Basketball Viewership Soars Past 9 Million
Attn: Women's Basketball fans. UCLA-South Carolina averaged a massive 9.9M viewers. Beat last year's 8.6 million viewers across ABC and ESPN for UConn-South Carolina. Think about this: The national title game averaged 4.68M just four years ago. https://t.co/VIDYRkMw6d
Inside the Lucrative World of Journalism Award Consultants
There’s a great story to be written about the business of journalism awards and “awards consultants”
Oscars to Stay in March for ABC’s Final Two Ceremonies, in 2027 and 2028
The Academy has confirmed that the 99th Oscars will be held on March 14, 2027 and the centennial 100th ceremony on March 5, 2028. Both events will air on ABC, marking the network’s final two broadcasts of the awards. The...
X Expands AI Translations and Adds In-Stream Photo Editing
X announced that its Grok‑powered AI auto‑translate is now enabled for all users worldwide, replacing Google Translate as the default engine. The platform also rolled out a new reply setting that allows Premium users to let second‑degree connections comment on...
The Winner of the First James Patterson & Bookshop.org Prize Is One of Last Year’s Buzziest Titles
Bookshop.org and bestselling author James Patterson launched their inaugural prize for debut novels published in the United States within the past year. Virginia Evans’ epistolary work, The Correspondent, was named the winner, with Milo Todd’s The Lilac People as runner‑up....
Instagram Looks to Grow Notes Engagement
Instagram is expanding its Notes feature so that any follower, not just mutual connections, can view a creator's brief comments. The change follows strong adoption among teens, who post ten times more Notes than older users. Earlier attempts to place...
New 50 Cent Docuseries Heads To Hulu
Hulu has ordered a new docuseries that chronicles 50 Cent’s journey from the streets of Queens to global cultural dominance, with veteran documentarian Mandon Lovett directing. The series will spotlight the rapper’s recent $500,000 charitable contributions to Shreveport nonprofits, funded by...
Snap Promotes Group Topic Chats
Snapchat has expanded its platform with public Topic Chats, letting users join themed group conversations. The #marchmadness chat alone drew over 45,000 participants, peaking at 40,000 concurrent users. This marks a strategic pivot from Snap’s traditionally private, friend‑centric messaging to...
Oscars Delayed Due to ABC’s Packed Feb Lineup
Likely reason why the #Oscars are so late: ABC’s first-quarter 2027 slate includes its first as the distributor for the #Grammys on Feb. 7, under a new 10-year deal running through 2036. ABC is also set to televise #SuperBowlLXI on Feb....
The Testaments Shines as a Stunning Handmaid Sequel
‘The Testaments’ Is a Stunning Follow-Up to Hulu’s Dystopian ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’: TV Review https://t.co/0tSuPorlgJ via @variety
YouTube Expands Media Kit Insights and Adds AI Tools
YouTube has upgraded its Media Kit, now including family‑status and household‑income metrics to give creators richer audience demographics. The enhanced kit helps creators produce data‑rich PDFs for brand‑sponsored deals. In parallel, YouTube’s Create app gains Google’s Nano Banana AI image‑generation, letting...
Judge's Injunction Threatens Nexstar‑Tegna Merger Completion
⚡️ The Big Chill: How Judge Nunley’s Injunction Could Ice Broadcast M&A ⚡️ $NXST Given the harshness of Nunley’s March 28th Temporary Restraining Order, we believe the most likely outcome will be a preliminary injunction barring Nexstar and Tegna from...
Journalists Flock to Call President for Upcoming Remarks
loving this trend of every journalist calling the president to ask what he’ll say in a few hours
Why CTV Transparency Matters for Local Advertising
Connected TV (CTV) has become a primary growth channel for local advertisers, but transparency has lagged behind the rapid scale. Peer39 reports that 60% of CTV bid requests lack usable program‑level data and only a third contain genre tags, creating...
Here Are the Dates of the 2027 & 2028 Oscar Telecasts – the Last Ones Before the Show Moves to YouTube
The Academy and ABC have confirmed that the 99th Oscars will air on March 14, 2027, and the centennial 100th ceremony will be held on March 5, 2028, both from the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. These dates follow the traditional...
AP Threatens Legal Action as Lee Seeks Contract Exit
Scoop: AP threatens Lee Enterprises over potential contract breach — Lee said last month it wants to terminate its contract w AP. Has suggested it's because of its focus on local coverage — AP says its legally bound to their deal, which...
SF’s AI Billboards Should Terrify Us. Humans Are Already Gone
A recent drive from San Francisco to Oakland revealed dozens of AI‑only billboards, stripped of any human imagery and filled with tech jargon like “workflow” and “prompt.” In contrast, nearby Los Angeles ads still rely on people, color, and storytelling. The author...
SEO Firms Race to Game AI Search Citations
The AI search boom created a new arms race as SEO firms and brands tried to manipulate search to get cited by ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google’s AI tools https://t.co/hxKdN24GNX #ArtificialIntelligence #Innovation #Technology #Tech #TechNews https://t.co/2QgbSDAR9y
PREC Returns Amid Turbulent Times in Pubradio
The Association of Public Radio Engineers (APRE) will host its 26th Public Radio Engineering Conference (PREC) in Las Vegas on April 16‑17, just before the NAB Show. The event’s guiding theme, “what’s next,” tackles the uncertain future of public broadcasting...
Podchaser Releases March “Power Score,” Measuring Post-Launch Succeses
Podchaser has launched its first Power Score, a numeric ranking that evaluates podcasts released in the past month based on audience growth, engagement and distribution reach. The March edition named "The Book Club" as the top‑scoring show with an 81...
Sen. Warren Urges FCC to Shield Fans From Media Consolidation
Senators Elizabeth Warren and Rep. Pat Ryan urged the FCC to intervene against growing sports‑streaming consolidation, warning that bundled packages force fans into exorbitant fees. They highlighted recent deals—including Disney’s $220 million cash purchase of a 72.9% stake in Fubo and...
Raye Unveils Hope‑Infused Debut Solo Album ‘This Music May Contain Hope’
British pop/R&B star Raye announced her debut solo album ‘This Music May Contain Hope’, emphasizing hope as its core theme and revealing a collaboration with film composer Hans Zimmer. The interview, aired on NPR’s Morning Edition, highlights her artistic evolution...
Spotify’s Prompted Playlists Can Help You Find New Podcasts to Listen To
Spotify has expanded its beta Prompted Playlists feature to include podcasts, allowing Premium subscribers to generate AI‑curated episode collections using text prompts. The rollout is limited to English‑speaking markets—U.S., Canada, U.K., Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and Sweden—and remains in beta. Users...
International Booker Prize 2026 Longlist Unveiled with 13 Translated Works
The Booker Prize Foundation released the International Booker Prize 2026 longlist, naming 13 translated works that will compete for the world’s most influential award for translated fiction, with the winner to be announced in May. The announcement spotlights the growing...
Sony Will Lay Off Hundreds Of TV & Movie Studio Employees
Sony Pictures Entertainment announced a restructuring that will eliminate several hundred jobs across its film, television and corporate divisions, affecting a modest slice of its 12,000‑plus global workforce. The changes follow the appointment of Ravi Ahuja as chairman and CEO,...
Italian Court Declares Netflix Price Hikes Illegal, Orders Refunds for Subscribers
A Rome court ruled that Netflix's subscription price increases in Italy from 2017 to 2024 violated local consumer‑protection rules, ordering the streaming service to refund affected customers. Netflix announced it will appeal the decision, highlighting a potential precedent for digital...
'Lords of Laggard Hill: Viva Lake Lago' Released Along with BTS Featurette
After a two‑year break, the indie comedy series Lords of Laggard Hill has launched a 25‑minute short film titled Viva Lake Lago, available on YouTube, Vimeo, and its website. The episode continues the show’s hand‑drawn, DIY aesthetic inspired by 1990s...
The Out-of-Touch Adults' Guide to Kid Culture: What Does '7x7=49' Mean?
A new wave of Gen Z TikTok culture blends absurdist slang, surreal memes, and quirky dance moves. The “7x7=49” meme has become shorthand for an intuitively attractive equation, while “lowkenuinely” fuses low‑key sincerity with genuine emphasis. Hulu’s *Pizza Movie* exemplifies...
Kid Mero, Don Cheto Join Sigma Audio Networks’ National Lineup
Hot 97’s *Mornings with Mero* is moving from a New York‑only slot to a national audience through MediaCo’s Sigma Audio Networks, which also secured Spanish‑language star Don Cheto for broader distribution. The deal centralizes syndication and advertising sales for both...
Netflix's One Piece Season 3: What Is The Battle Of Alabasta, And Why Are Fans So Excited?
Netflix announced that its live‑action "One Piece" will return with Season 3 in 2027, just a year after the second season. The new season will adapt the pivotal Battle of Alabasta arc, pitting the Straw Hat crew against Sir Crocodile and...
Baseball’s “Massive Opportunity” For Audio: Audacys’… Um … Pitch
Audacy has teamed with the New York Mets and Sportsbug to provide real‑time digital radio play‑by‑play of Mets home games at Citi Field, launching on March 26. Sportsbug’s technology cuts the typical 30‑ to 90‑second audio delay to under one second, allowing...
How Newsrooms Are Bringing Their Archives to Life
Newsrooms are unlocking decades‑old content with AI and simple database tools. The Guardian created an internal chatbot that lets journalists query its archive, while Italy’s L’Eco di Bergamo transformed 70 years of obituaries into a searchable family‑history database. French outlets...
10 Unpacks Reality TV’s Wildest Moments in New Clip Series THE GREATEST
Network 10 is launching "The Greatest," a clip‑show series that revisits the most shocking moments in Australian reality television. The program, originally slated for a late‑2025 debut, will now premiere on Sunday 12 April at 8:10 pm, featuring a rotating panel of...
Harlan, Kalani and Kesha Secure Spots in AUSTRALIAN IDOL Grand Finale
Australian Idol announced its Top 3—Harlan Goode, Kalani Artis and Kesha Oayda—after a live vote on Tuesday night, eliminating John Van Beek, Jacinta Gulisano and Trè Samuels. The episode opened with the remaining six contestants delivering a group rendition of Adele’s “Set...
Putting Customers at the Center of Innovation: Inside MediaRadar’s Early Adopter Program
MediaRadar has launched an Early Adopter Program that places customers at the heart of product development, turning them into co‑creators rather than post‑launch reviewers. The first output, a Market Intelligence view, equips media sellers with a top‑down snapshot of advertising...
The 40% Attention Gap Hiding Inside YouTube
Vevo senior director Richard Brant warns that advertisers often mistake Vevo’s premium music‑video network for a generic YouTube channel, overlooking the distinct viewing contexts on the platform. Research commissioned by Vevo with Amplified Intelligence found a 40% uplift in viewer...
Prime Video, Foxtel, ABC Commissioners Set for SCREEN FOREVER 40 Panel
Screen Producers Australia announced a State of Play panel at SCREEN FOREVER 40, moderated by journalist Virginia Trioli, featuring commissioners Alexandra Gilbert (Prime Video), Daniel Monaghan (Foxtel) and Jennifer Collins (ABC). The discussion will focus on tighter commissioning, evolving audience...
Copywriters Mistake Their Own Writing for AI
am pretty sure this isn't AI but instead copywriters who are convinced this is elevated copywriting and that's why everything was trained like this https://t.co/cozWKKV6BK
YouTube’s New TV Tools, Prompted Playlist on Spotify, & More
YouTube unveiled a suite of TV‑focused tools, including the FAST‑style “Stations” channel launching with Coachella coverage and a “TV Companion” feature that links smartphones to smart‑TV playback and comments. The platform also extended its Ask chatbot to smart TVs, aiming...
Kikkoman Embraces Gen Z’s Love of Japanese Culture in New Campaign
Kikkoman has unveiled a multiyear, anime‑inspired campaign called “Unleash Legendary” aimed at Gen Z home cooks. Developed with agency BSSP, the effort features a 30‑second spot voiced by Christopher Sabat and two 15‑second videos, running across YouTube, paid social, connected TV, programmatic...
Australian Government Not Posturing with SMMA Enforcement Efforts: Wells
Australia’s Social Media Minimum Age (SMMA) law, effective Dec 2025, has entered its first enforcement phase. A March 2026 eSafety compliance report shows 23 legal notices issued, 16 platform meetings, and the removal of roughly 4.7 million under‑age accounts, with an additional 310,000...
Federal Appeals Court Supports Injunction Against ICE in L.A. Press Club Lawsuit
A federal appeals court upheld the preliminary injunction that bars the Department of Homeland Security from using excessive force against journalists, observers, and peaceful protesters during ICE raids in Southern California. The Ninth Circuit concluded the plaintiffs are likely to...
Five Guys Serves up Largest Integrated Brand Campaign to Date
Five Guys unveiled its "Your Burger Guy" campaign, the chain’s largest integrated brand effort to date, featuring three 30‑second spots and a multi‑channel rollout across film, social, digital, audio and in‑store media. Developed by independent agency Chemistry, the campaign leans...