Today's Media Pulse
Publicis resumes recommending The Trade Desk after fee dispute
Publicis has lifted its ban and is again recommending The Trade Desk to advertisers, ending a months‑long clash over alleged hidden ad‑tech fees. The dispute had driven The Trade Desk’s shares down roughly 13% and prompted the exit of its chief marketing officer. Both firms issued a joint statement confirming the reconciliation.
Also developing:
By the numbers: K-LOVE acquires Baltimore station in undisclosed deal
TikTok Ad Campaigns Drive Movie Ticket Purchases
TikTok released data, in partnership with measurement firm Samba, linking ad exposure to real‑world movie ticket purchases across 38 U.S. campaigns from early 2023 to mid‑2025. The analysis shows a median 172% lift in purchase rates for exposed audiences, with horror titles achieving a 215% lift. Incremental return on ad spend reached $1.70, delivering performance over 15× more efficient than linear television, and 60% of TikTok‑driven sales came from viewers who never saw TV ads.
U.S. On-Demand and Non-Interactive Music Subscribers Hit 130 Million in 2025, Report Estimates — Up From 29 Million in 2016
The MusicWatch Annual Music Study estimates that U.S. on‑demand and non‑interactive music subscribers reached a record 130 million in 2025, up from roughly 29 million in 2016. The figure is derived from a comprehensive consumer survey and aligns closely with hard‑data sources...
650+ Hours, 20 Champions, One App: 2026 NCAA Winter Championships Highlight ESPN’s Massive March Takeover
ESPN is launching an unprecedented 650+ hours of live coverage across 20 NCAA winter championships this March and April, streaming everything from women’s basketball and wrestling to gymnastics and ice hockey. The programming will be distributed across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2,...
Stan Sport Expands Tennis Coverage with WTA Tour Rights Deal
Australian streaming service Stan Sport has secured a sub‑licensing agreement with beIN Sports to broadcast the entire WTA Tour, covering every 250, 500 and 1000‑level tournament as well as the season‑ending WTA Finals. The rights add a year‑round women’s tennis pillar to...
Experts Warn Age‑verification Laws Create Global Surveillance Network
371 security/ privacy academics, including a Turing Award winner, just issued a letter saying age verification laws are building global surveillance infrastructure. Every search, message, and article read would require ID verification. Democrats are working w/ Republicans to push these laws...
Press Allows Politicians to Manipulate News Narrative
The American press are letting them. And then the #BrokenTimes editorial board bothsides even this... Politicians Are Trying to Control the News https://t.co/SKjiPhNbe1 https://t.co/zNDaP3UHNs
ESPN to Air Animated Version of Capitals Vs. Rangers NHL Game
ESPN announced its third real‑time animated NHL broadcast, the “Inside Out Classic,” featuring the Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers on April 5. The telecast blends Pixar’s *Inside Out* characters with live player data using NHL Edge positional tracking and Sony’s Hawk‑Eye...
Calling Layoffs “Efficiency” Earns Swift, Repeated Backlash
New rule: if you use the word “efficiency” to try and sound better/smarter/more caring than saying “layoffs” or “jobs lost,” immediate big kick in the butt. Immediate. And repeated.
Audiochuck Hires Matt Shanfield to Lead New TV, Film Division
Audiochuck, the true‑crime podcast network behind hits like “Crime Junkie,” has appointed Matt Shanfield as Head of Television and Film to spearhead a new division. The unit will adapt the company’s podcast catalog for global streaming platforms while also developing...
Seven Unveils First Look at Adrian Portelli Backed MY RENO RULES
Seven has unveiled "My Reno Rules," a new renovation competition backed by billionaire Adrian Portelli that promises the largest giveaway in Australian television history. The format pits four teams of everyday Australians against each other to transform two neighboring rundown...
Q&A: ATSC’s Luiz Fausto on Ensuring 5G Broadcast Delivery Via 3.0
ATSC is finalizing an amendment to its Recommended Practice A/327 that details how ATSC 3.0 broadcasters can interleave 5G Broadcast waveforms within the same RF channel. The proposal leverages ATSC 3.0’s built‑in time‑domain sharing mechanisms, requiring no changes to the core standard, and...
CBC News Network and ICI RDI Are Now on Prime Video
CBC/Radio-Canada announced that its all‑news channels, CBC News Network and French‑language ICI RDI, are now available on Amazon Prime Video as add‑on subscriptions. The service costs $5 per month and includes a seven‑day free trial, delivering 24/7 live breaking‑news coverage....
Why Concert Films Like ‘Stray Kids’ and ‘EPiC’ Are Hot Tickets at the Box Office
Indie distributor Bleecker Street turned the K‑pop concert film “Stray Kids: The dominATE Experience” into an event‑cinema hit by limiting showtimes to a single evening per theater. The scarcity tactic drove $1.4 million in ticket sales within 24 hours and the film...
KIDS Act Threatens Children’s Rights, Must Be Stopped
My piece on the grave dangers of the KIDS Act that congress is trying to ram through this week is one of the top stories on The Intercept. Read it here: https://t.co/Ikr00eJA7K https://t.co/eoWgDmgCkG
February Podcast Production Drops to New 12-Month Low (Listen Notes)
Listen Notes reports a 12% decline in new podcast launches in February, dropping to 12,852 from January's 18,863. The figure marks the lowest monthly addition in the past 13 months, though it still adds nearly 13,000 titles to the global...
A ‘Complex’ Chapter 11 Case for Cumulus Arises In Houston
Cumulus Media, the third‑largest U.S. radio broadcaster, filed a voluntary Chapter 11 reorganization in Houston on March 5, 2026. Judge Alfredo Perez has been assigned to oversee the case, which the company labels as "complex" due to multiple subsidiary filings. Co‑counsel from...
An ‘Ice Cream Castle’ Captures Two Ohio FMs
Kimberly and Kenneth Smith have created Ice Cream Castle LLC in West Union, Ohio, and are set to purchase two FM stations: a Class A outlet serving Georgetown and its Class C3 sister station in Ripley. The acquisition marks the...
Disney Slashes Bundle Price 62% to Drive Q1 Growth
Disney is looking to crank up its streaming subscriber numbers for the first quarter of 2026 — introducing a 62% price discount on the ad-supported Disney+/Hulu bundle for a three-month period https://t.co/ThNJ10Kpe2 via @variety
The Playbook Behind One of the Fastest-Growing Social-First Newsrooms
The News Movement, launched in 2020, built a newsroom that creates journalism native to TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts, targeting Gen Z. Its reporters are “triple‑threat” video journalists who shoot, edit and publish stories directly on social feeds, bypassing traditional websites....
What ‘Hoppers’ And ‘The Bride’ Tell Us About At-Home Demand
The article argues that pre‑release audience intent data can forecast a film’s performance across theatrical and at‑home windows. Using Pixar’s *Hoppers* and Warner Bros.’ *The Bride* as case studies, it shows how theatrical intent and home‑viewing intent percentages, plus willingness...
Natalia Dyer Signs With CAA
Natalia Dyer, fresh from the Stranger Things finale, has signed representation with Creative Artists Agency. The move follows her casting in Amazon MGM’s upcoming romantic comedy “Goodbye Girl,” alongside Kiernan Shipka and Cole Sprouse. Dyer also retains representation from Circle...
Nexstar Moves Forward With TEGNA Tender Offer Following FCC Visit
Nexstar Media Group announced a cash tender offer to repurchase its 5% senior notes due 2029, a move directly tied to the pending acquisition of TEGNA. The offer, managed by BofA Securities, J.P. Morgan, and Goldman Sachs, will remain open...
To Survive the AI Age, Publishers Are Finally Working Together
Publishers in the United Kingdom have launched SPUR, a standards alliance that brings together the BBC, Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, Sky News and The Guardian to protect their content from unchecked AI use. The group aims to establish guardrails for responsible AI, simplify licensing...
Scott Patterson On His Decision To Leave ‘Sullivan’s Crossing’ After 3 Seasons: “The Creative Differences Were Becoming Untenable”
Scott Patterson announced his departure from the CW‑aired drama Sullivan’s Crossing after three seasons, citing untenable creative differences with showrunner Roma Roth. Patterson emphasized his affection for the Sully character and clarified that the exit was his own decision, not...
Everything We Know About ‘The White Lotus’ Season 4 So Far
HBO’s anthology drama *The White Lotus* is gearing up for a fourth season set in France, marking a return to Europe after previous locations in Hawaii, Italy and Thailand. Deadline reports that Helena Bonham Carter, Alexander Ludwig, AJ Michalka, Chris Messina, Marissa Long...
‘High Potential’ Renewed For Season 3 As ABC Hunts New Showrunner Following Todd Harthan Exit
ABC has officially renewed the procedural drama "High Potential" for a third season, even as the series searches for a new showrunner after Todd Harthan announced his departure to co‑create the live‑action adaptation of "Eragon." The show, starring Kaitlin Olson...
Washington Post Picks Veritone for Content Licensing, Archiving
Veritone has signed a multi‑year, global licensing agreement with The Washington Post to distribute the newspaper’s video journalism. The AI‑driven platform will make both current reporting and archival footage searchable for media companies, producers, and digital creators. Executives say the...
Spain’s Recorded Music Market Grew 13.7% in 2025… with Subscription Streaming Revenues up 19.2% YoY
Spain’s recorded music market posted €409.5 million in wholesale revenue for 2025, up 13.7 % year‑on‑year. Subscription streaming drove most growth, generating €214 million and rising 19.2 % YoY, representing 71.3 % of streaming income. Physical formats rebounded, with vinyl sales up 44.9 % and overall...
DHD to Unveil Benefits of New Firmware at NAB Show
DHD Audio will showcase firmware 10.4 at the 2026 NAB Show, extending capabilities of its DX2, RX2, SX2, TX2 mixers, RM1 portable unit, and XC3/XD3/XS2 processing cores. The update adds flex channels, mic preamp control, and channel categories, enabling more...
Channel 7 Still without Late News More than a Year After Axing THE LATEST
Seven’s commercial late‑night bulletin The Latest, launched in 2018, was axed in early 2025 and has not been replaced. The network now only airs occasional updates for breaking stories, leaving it as the sole Australian commercial broadcaster without a regular...
Is This the Biggest TV Weekend for Sports Fans on KAYO
Kayo Sports and Foxtel are delivering a record‑dense weekend, headlined by the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix and the season openers of the AFL and NRL. The schedule also features Australia Women’s cricket Test, extensive NBA coverage, NBL playoffs, and two...
Could Alcohol Advertising on TV Soon Face Stricter Rules?
Australia’s media regulator, the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA), has launched an eight‑week public consultation to review how alcohol advertising appears on commercial free‑to‑air television. The review, running until 5:00 pm on 30 April 2026, will assess the volume, frequency and placement...
My Virtual Journey Has Been a Real One
The author recounts deploying Telos VXs, a virtual VoIP phone system, in Buffalo and Denver broadcast facilities, using an Avaya SIP server and an Ubuntu container. The installations performed flawlessly, earning immediate praise from on‑air talent. This experience sparked a...
City of Bellevue In Iowa to Sunset Cable TV, Citing Streaming Network Competition
The City of Bellevue, Iowa, announced it will discontinue its municipal cable television service on October 1, 2026 after nearly twenty years of operation. The decision cites mounting competition from streaming platforms and rising financial pressures. Residents were notified through...
Congress Pushes to End Internet Anonymity, Threatening Free Speech
I wrote about the House hearing today, how Congress is trying to strip anonymity from the Internet, and the devastating effects that has for @theintercept https://t.co/Ikr00eJA7K
Ruth Jones' New BBC Period Drama "True to the Spirit of Pride and Prejudice" Confirms Release Date
BBC’s new period drama *The Other Bennet Sister* will debut on Sunday, 15 March at 8 pm on BBC One, with the first five episodes available on iPlayer at 6 am the same day. The ten‑part series reimagines Jane Austen’s world through Mary...
Dolan Takes Key Ad Sales Role At Compass
Dolan, former VP of Agency and Retail Partnerships at Consumable, has left a 12‑year tenure at Crystal Media Networks to join Compass Media Networks in a senior advertising sales role under President Paul Gregrey. The move positions her at the...
How Brands Are Measuring Value Across the Entire Customer Journey
Advertisers struggle to monetize brand‑building efforts, with only 53% confident in ROI measurement. Amazon Ads introduced Long‑Term Sales (LTS), a metric that assigns monetary value to shopper actions across the full journey using its authenticated identity graph. LTS combines short‑term...
Net Insight to Introduce Nimbra Live Intelligence at 2026 NAB Show
Net Insight will unveil its Nimbra Live Intelligence platform at the 2026 NAB Show, positioning it as a unified solution for live‑media production, distribution and protection. The system‑level platform promises predictable behavior across on‑premise networks, public internet and cloud environments...
Press Bravely Brings Middle East Images Amid Risks
Grateful for the work of the press bringing us images and facts out of the Middle East despite tremendous risks. Here CNN now in Iran heading toward Tehran. https://t.co/vjNd08oIbb
Journalists Push Back Against Parent Companies’ Contracts with ICE
More than 200 journalists at Law360 and its sister sites signed a letter demanding that parent company RELX terminate its $22.1 million, five‑year contract with the Department of Homeland Security that gives ICE access to a LexisNexis Risk Solutions database. A...
Yankees Announce 2026 Prime Video Game Schedule
The New York Yankees have announced that 21 of their 2026 regular‑season games will be streamed exclusively on Amazon’s Prime Video for fans within the team’s local broadcast footprint. YES Network will produce the telecasts, including a 30‑minute pre‑game show,...
Will The Trade Desk Right-Size Its Margins?
The Trade Desk faces criticism for a complex, opaque fee structure that includes platform, data, and bid‑shading charges. Consultant Sarah Caputo argues the DSP should lower its take rate and simplify fees, especially the double‑digit bid‑shading fee on savings. Recent...
Dunk Neos and Mediocrity Hell
The post highlights four distinct cultural moments: Addison Rae fronts Lucky Brand’s new 1990s‑inspired campaign, Rob Rausch teams up with audio‑erotica startup Quinn, engineering student Bhavitha Mandava is profiled for opening a Chanel show, and the author joins the EIC...
Harmonic To Unveil Next Generation Spectrum X Media Service At 2026 NAB Show
Harmonic will debut its next‑generation Spectrum X media server at the 2026 NAB Show, showcasing a suite of AI‑enhanced video appliances and SaaS solutions. The new server streamlines ingest and playout, while the XOS Advanced Media Processor adds ATSC 3.0 and DTV+...
Truth Is Everyone’s Responsibility
A memorandum of understanding was signed between leading Philippine news outlets and the Presidential Communications Office to tackle the surge of fake news. The article argues that disinformation has become a structural threat to democracy, eroding public trust and distorting...
Netflix Shares InterPositive AI with Partners, Not Public
Netflix will offer access to InterPositive’s AI-powered tech to its creative partners and does not have plans to sell it commercially in the marketplace https://t.co/w8xyM2pXhz via @variety
75k AMA Equals TV Viewership
While a massive number, it’s not actually. If my math is right, it’s about 75k AMA which approximates TV viewership. Global yet significantly smaller than SC. Love to know what percent is US and by sport. Regardless, YT is destination...
Domino’s Redefines Celebrity Meals in Social-First Campaign
Domino’s is rolling out a social‑first campaign that showcases influencer‑crafted pizza combos ahead of March Madness, promoting its under‑$10 “Best Deal Ever.” The initiative pairs creators like Jesser, Trisha Paytas and Courtney Cook with college basketball players, and includes a partnership with...
TNT Secures Exclusive U.S. FIBA Rights Amid Merger Uncertainty
This is exactly the type of deal I discuss in today's newsletter ... will a Paramount/WBD merged company do these smaller sports rights deals anymore? The calculus will definitely change for TNT ... https://t.co/DvKzUkqcDr