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.
Netflix and Arrow Films Announce Stranger Things: The Complete Series, a 4K Blu-Ray Boxset that 'Fans Will Be Delighted to...
Netflix and Arrow Films announced a four‑edition Stranger Things Complete Series box set, launching in late July to mark the show’s 10th anniversary. The collections will be available on 1080p Blu‑Ray and 4K Ultra HD Blu‑Ray, covering all 42 episodes across 25 discs. Prices start at $199.99/£149.99 for the Special edition and rise to $269.99/£219.99 for the Deluxe Ultra HD version, which includes extensive memorabilia. Pre‑orders began on March 19 via Arrow Films’ online stores.
Pitch Update: Morrisons, Aviva, Taco Bell, Qatar Airways, Irn-Bru, Branston, Ineos, KP Snacks and More
Campaign’s weekly Pitch Update spotlights new advertising pitches and wins across a diverse roster of brands, including Morrisons, Aviva, Taco Bell, Qatar Airways, Irn‑Bru, Branston, Ineos and KP Snacks. The roundup highlights agencies vying for creative contracts, recent campaign launches,...
Average Post Views: The Underrated Consistency Metric
What's the most underrated social metric? I'd say Average Post Views. Anyone can go viral. Anyone can make a content calendar. But can your content consistently perform? Can you routinely get views on your videos and static posts? If you wanna dig...
‘Alpha Males’ Season 5 Sets Surprisingly Fast Return Date at Netflix
Netflix Spain announced that the Spanish comedy series Alpha Males will return with Season 5 on April 17 2026, delivering six new episodes. The season follows the five friends as they confront middle‑age realities, including a “Patriarchal Pact, Inc.” commune and new relationship turmoil....
American Gladiators: Prime Video Announces Premiere Date for Reboot Series
Prime Video is set to launch its reboot of the iconic competition series American Gladiators on Friday, April 17, 2026. The ten‑episode first season will roll out in three batches—three episodes on April 17, three on April 24, and the...
How Crumbl Leveraged CTV to Drive Mobile App Downloads
Crumbl’s inaugural connected‑TV campaign, run with Samsung Ads, delivered more than 16,000 mobile‑app downloads—213% above its goal—over a seven‑week period. The CTV‑to‑Mobile solution used machine‑learning to place ads across Samsung TV Plus, mastheads and other screen‑first environments. In the first week...
UnderCurrent Talent: A Platform Model for Scaling Niche Creators in a Consolidating Market
UnderCurrent Talent, founded in 2020, has built a platform that pairs entrepreneurial managers with niche creators across dozens of verticals, representing over 300 creators and 30 managers. The bootstrapped firm offers full‑service support—including content strategy, business development, PR, and product...
Kale’s Isha Patel: Why Fan-Powered Marketing Works Better Than Average Influencer Campaigns
Isha Patel and Luis Molina founded Kale in 2021 to turn everyday customers into a scalable, trackable marketing channel. Leveraging insights from LinkedIn’s creator ecosystem, Kale offers a fan‑advocacy platform that rewards low‑friction content and provides real‑time analytics. The company’s...
#paid Partners With Pinterest to Connect Brands With Consumers Through Creator-Led Campaigns
#paid has become an official execution partner for Pinterest’s Idea Ads, linking its creator‑brand matching technology and Handraise workflow with Pinterest’s creator ecosystem. The integration enables creators to self‑select campaigns and produce Idea Ads that blend organic inspiration with paid...
Upgrade to NCAA March Madness Live App Expands Multi-Game Viewing, Enhances Second-Screen Experience
The NCAA March Madness Live app receives its most substantial upgrade yet, adding true multi‑game viewing that lets fans stream two to four games at once across mobile, desktop, and connected devices. New lock‑screen alerts, integrated men’s and women’s bracket...
“Educational” YouTube AI Slop Encourages Kids to Play in Traffic
Recent investigations by The 74, Mother Jones and The New York Times reveal a surge of AI‑generated videos on YouTube that masquerade as educational content for children. Roughly 21 % of the platform’s feed now consists of low‑quality AI clips, with...
Meta, Google Set to Launch Soon?
SMB advertisers continue to prioritize Google and Meta for ad spend, while also allocating portions to emerging AI products. Morgan Stanley reports a 4% year‑over‑year rise in Google search ad usage and a 13% boost in advertiser ROI. AI Overviews,...
Weston McKennie to Star in Tubi Docuseries ‘Destination World Cup 2026’
Fox-owned streaming platform Tubi is expanding its World Cup coverage with a new original docuseries, "Destination World Cup 2026," featuring U.S. midfielder Weston McKennie, Spain's Marc Cucurella, and Wales' Harry Wilson. The six‑part series debuts on Tubi on April 30,...
Acast Becomes the First Global Platform to Join Spain’s Audio Academy
Acast, the world’s largest pure‑play podcast platform, announced it has become the first global platform to join Spain’s Audio Academy, an organization created in 2025 to elevate Spanish‑language audio as a cultural and economic sector. The move aligns Acast with...
Allwyn Launches In-House Creative and Content Studio
Allwyn, the multinational lottery operator, announced the launch of its own creative and content studio, named Studio 59, scheduled to open in April 2026. The in‑house facility will produce advertising, digital assets, and brand storytelling for Allwyn’s portfolio of games...
NYFestivals to Honor Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Stephen Capus
New York Festivals Television & Film Awards and Radio Awards will honor Stephen Capus, president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and former NBC News chief, with its 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award. The accolade will be presented at the Storytellers Gala on...
NRG Media to Sell Northern Wisconsin Stations to Midwest Communications
NRG Media announced the sale of its Northern Wisconsin radio portfolio, including WOBT‑AM and eleven FM translators, to Midwest Communications’ WRIG, Inc. The transaction expands Midwest’s presence in the Wausau and Rhinelander markets and brings a suite of sports‑talk programming...
Audacy Hosting “The Business of Sports Fandom” Webinar
Audacy is hosting a webinar on March 23 titled “The Business of Sports Fandom: Turning Passion into Advertiser Performance.” The panel features Audacy SVP Jason Newman, Genesco Sports Enterprises CEO Kit Geis, and former NFL star Tiki Barber. The discussion will explore...
Cross: Season Three: Prime Video Renews Crime Drama Starring Aldis Hodge
Prime Video has renewed the crime drama Cross for a third season, an eight‑episode order that will stream globally in more than 240 territories. The series, starring Aldis Hodge as detective Alex Cross, drew 40 million viewers in the first 20...
Katz and Barrett Celebrate WRVA Anniversary
WRVA, Richmond’s historic talk‑radio station, marked its centennial on March 19, 2026. The celebration featured veteran hosts Jimmy Barrett, who spent 16 years anchoring Richmond’s Morning News before moving to Houston’s KTRH, and Jeff Katz, the station’s afternoon‑drive personality for 13 years....
As AI Fuels In-Housing Surge, Agency Execs Take The Entrepreneurial Path
Artificial intelligence is accelerating a wave of in‑house creative adoption, as brands seek tighter data control and faster production cycles. A recent NewtonX/Adweek survey finds 32% of brands plan to handle nearly all creative internally within the next 12 months,...
TMTB: Daily Tech/Investing Podcast Recaps
TMTB announced the beta launch of podcasts.tmtbreakout.com, a daily service that curates the three most relevant tech and investing podcasts released each day. The platform delivers concise investment takeaways and notable quotes at 2 p.m. EST, aiming to cut through the...
Please Join Our What Works Group on Facebook to Keep up on Local News — and Our Upcoming Webinar
What Works: The Future of Local News has launched a dedicated Facebook group to keep stakeholders informed about its activities and upcoming events. The group will serve as a hub for updates surrounding the organization’s free, all‑day webinar for local...
Freely Appoints Synapse TV for Showcase Channel Operations
Freely has appointed Synapse TV to create and operate its Freely Showcase service on channel 100 of the Freely streaming platform. The IP‑only channel, available exclusively to Freely subscribers, will feature platform highlights, feature updates, and how‑to content to aid discovery....
Maya Hawke to Star in Netflix's Series Adaptation of "The God of the Woods"
Netflix announced Maya Hawke will headline its new series adaptation of Liz Moore’s bestseller *The God of the Woods*. The multi‑generational drama, set in the Adirondacks, follows the Van Laar family’s secrets after the disappearance of 13‑year‑old Barbara Van Laar. Hawke plays...
FixEd Podcast: Women in Media Leadership with JournalismUK’s Marcela Kunova
The FixEd podcast features JournalismUK’s Managing Director Marcela Kunova discussing persistent gender inequality in media leadership. She highlights the motherhood penalty, the fact that women secure only 2 % of startup funding, and the critical role of sponsors over mentors. Kunova...
Podcast Industry Insights Relaunches with Deeper Data, 7-Year Historical Charts, and New Apple Podcasts Category Explorer
Podcast Industry Insights has completed a full rebuild and relaunch, adding seven years of historical data and a brand‑new Apple Podcasts Category Explorer. The free platform now tracks nearly 3 million Apple podcasts, over 4.6 million podcasts on the Podcast Index, and...
Sky Media Opens Premium VOD Inventory to Programmatic Buying Through DV360
Sky Media announced that its premium video‑on‑demand (VOD) inventory is now available through Google Display & Video 360 (DV360), extending programmatic access across Sky’s owned and partner channels. The offering includes entertainment, drama, sport and news assets such as Sky Atlantic,...
3 Million "Outlander" Fans Drive the Epic Season Eight Premiere to a Four-Year Series High
STARZ reported that the premiere of Outlander’s final season attracted nearly three million multiplatform viewers in its first week. The episode “Soul of a Rebel” secured the #1 spot among scripted cable programs, marking a four‑year series high. Season eight,...
Peacock Renews "Nelly and Ashanti: We Belong Together" For a Second Season
Peacock has renewed the unscripted series “Nelly and Ashanti: We Belong Together” for a second season, with production slated to begin this month and a later‑year release. The eight‑episode debut, which follows the Grammy‑winning couple navigating family, careers and joint...
Spotify Marks 5 Years of EQUAL With “EQUAL: The Podcast” And Global Events
Spotify celebrates the fifth anniversary of its EQUAL initiative by launching a new artist‑led video podcast, EQUAL: The Podcast. The five‑episode series, hosted by Kim Taylor Bennett, features ambassadors Juliana, Zolita, Angela Torres, Silvana Estrada and Orla Gartland, extending the program’s...
ITV Reveals Shortlist for £1m Head First Award
ITV has unveiled the shortlist for its 2026 Head First Award, naming five brands as finalists for the £1 million prize. The competition, which celebrates breakthrough creative work, will culminate later this year with a televised ceremony. Winners will receive not only...
The Last Mile Problem: Why Publishers Need Independent AI/ML Infrastructure for Yield Optimisation
Publishers are still using manual, weekly rules for ad‑yield while buy‑side platforms have leveraged real‑time machine learning for years. The gap, called the "last mile" problem, stems from the complexity of building impression‑level data pipelines, feature engineering, and sub‑50 ms inference...
Adobe’s AI Image Generator Can Now Be Trained on Your Own Art
Adobe has opened a public beta for Firefly Custom Models, letting creators and brands train its AI image generator on their own artwork. The tool preserves specific visual attributes such as stroke weight, color palette, lighting, and character features, ensuring...
Colgate Aims for Stressed Millennials with Campaign About Resilience
Colgate launched the "Your Smile Is Your Strength" campaign on March 19, targeting millennials who juggle caregiving and work. The multi‑platform effort spans linear TV, YouTube TrueView, Disney CTV, Meta Moment Maker and TikTok Top Feed, and includes more than 30...
Emily in Paris Creator to Make New Netflix California-Set Romcom
Netflix has commissioned a new romantic comedy series, Uncorked, created by Darren Star, the mind behind Emily in Paris, in partnership with New Amsterdam writer‑producer David Schulner. Set in Napa Valley, the show follows a talented yet self‑destructive winemaker seeking...
MS NOW HIGHLIGHTS FROM MARCH 18TH 2026
The episode dissects the March 18th Worldwide Threats Hearing, focusing on how officials, especially Tulsi Gabbard, dodged questions about an alleged imminent Iranian nuclear threat while aligning with President Trump's narrative. Host David Rode and analysts Ken Delanian and Kevin...
Upstart Publisher Full Set Partners with ‘Global Newsroom’ Fuller to Publish Original Essays
Full Set, an independent nonfiction publisher, has partnered with the award‑winning global newsroom Fuller to repurpose three of Fuller’s original essays as ebook, audiobook and print‑on‑demand titles, launching in spring 2026. The pilot, announced at the London Book Fair, will...
FOX Sports, IndyCar Announce Launch of New Digital-Exclusive Series, "All In: IndyCar"
FOX Sports and INDYCAR have launched All In: INDYCAR, a digital‑exclusive series that follows drivers and teams throughout the 2026 NTT INDYCAR SERIES season. The debut episode spotlights four‑time champion Alex Palou at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg, offering behind‑the‑scenes access. Episodes...
5 Questions for… CNBC’s Morgan Brennan on New Show, Morning Call
CNBC is debuting a new early‑morning program, “Morning Call,” anchored by veteran Morgan Brennan. The show premieres Monday, March 23 at 5 a.m. ET and promises high‑energy market insights, global developments, and a rotating panel of top business leaders. Brennan highlighted the...
The End Of Easy Measurement: Building An Evidence-Based System For Marketing ROI
Marketers face a $400 billion US media spend in 2025, yet privacy restrictions and loss of third‑party IDs erode clear ROI measurement. The article argues that the era of last‑click attribution is over, advocating a deterministic‑first, closed‑loop system that combines experiments...
Netflix's "Cunning" Traitors-Style Show Confirmed for Season 2
Netflix has confirmed season two of its reality‑game series *Million Dollar Secret*, slated to debut on April 15 with three episodes, followed by additional drops on April 22 and April 29. Hosted by Peter Serafinowicz, the show pits eleven contestants against...
Sticky Video Player Fuels Massive Requests and Privacy Nightmare
I have been saying forever, "Hell hath no fury like a user scorned". And don't even get me started about the 'sticky video player' -> An analysis of a NYT article load finds 422 network requests totaling 49MB, triggering a...
Nexstar Refuses Station Divestitures Amid Consolidation Concerns
Nexstar has not offered to make any station divestures to try to appease states concerned about media consolidation resulting from its deal to merge with Tegna, says California AG Rob Bonta.
Death Threats Pressure Journalist to Rewrite Missile Strike
A journalist reported a missile strike. Then came the death threats. “You have 90 minutes left to update the lie" https://t.co/ljrUWAs3zq
Granular Data Amplifies Algorithms' Influence on Journalism
Have we always had algorithms steering our inputs? What is different now that we have more granular data? Join me with sociologist Angèle Christin as we explore how metrics shape journalism. https://t.co/Bejm4PBoKb https://t.co/8EvgToldGv
Pentagon Briefing Opens to Photographers for First Time.
Photographers from several outlets were allowed into the Pentagon's briefing today — the first time since my reporting: https://t.co/4EbXGWkVHt
VOA Returns to Air, Faces Trust Rebuilding Challenge
Voice of America is ready for its comeback. A federal judge ordered 1,000 employees back to work, and told the government to resume broadcasting. The hardest task ahead, staffers say, may be restoring trust with audiences. https://t.co/ZmF0Ky699X
Administration Undervalues Counterspeech, Needs Independent Press
Important to understand. Our administration underestimates or ignores the value of counterspeech which leans heavily on an independent and plural press of quality outlets working to get to the truth.
Twitter Breaks Stories Days Before Mainstream Media
Been happening for years now but I still grin every time I see it. Headlines being reported in the mainstream media, 2-3 days after they were first on here. Normie friends, who are on Insta/Tiktok but not on X, have...