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.
HBO Max Launching in 12 New APAC Markets in March
Warner Bros Discovery will launch HBO Max direct‑to‑consumer in twelve Asia‑Pacific island markets on March 26, 2026. The rollout follows recent European launches in Italy and Germany and precedes the UK and Ireland debut. The service will bundle HBO, Harry Potter, DC, Cartoon Network, Max Originals and Discovery titles under one subscription. Pricing and local partnership details remain undisclosed, with announcements expected in the weeks leading up to launch.
Samsung Ads’ Smart TV Carousel Delivers for Non-Endemic Brands
Samsung Ads introduced an Immersive Carousel ad unit on its European Smart TV home screens, supporting up to five rotating tiles per placement. The format appears on more than 70 million Samsung TVs, auto‑rotating every five seconds and also navigable via...
1023. Emily Nemens
Emily Nemens, author of the Tin House novel Clutch, gained early acclaim with her debut The Cactus League, which was a New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and featured on NPR and Lit Hub’s 2020 favorites lists. Her short fiction...
ITV, Disney Expand Relationship with Primetime Linear Deal
ITV and Disney have extended their UK partnership by bringing two Hulu Original series to ITV1’s primetime linear schedule. The first, “The Stolen Girl,” premieres on February 25, followed later by “The Twisted Tale of Amanda Knox.” The titles will air under...
A Resource for AVP News
A Reddit‑based weekly roundup, Last Week in AVP #107, aggregates the most compelling Apple Vision Pro (AVP) news, reviews, and videos into a single, ad‑free page. The edition highlights Apple’s potential immersive Formula 1 demo at the March 4 event, teases the...
FOX 12 Plus Will Become The Home of the Portland Fire and Portland Thorns With New Focus On Women?s...
Portland’s WNBA expansion team, the Fire, and NWSL club, the Thorns, have signed a multi‑year media partnership with Gray Media’s KPDX (FOX 12 Plus). All Fire games will air on FOX 12 Plus with select simulcasts on FOX 12, while the Thorns continue their expanded...
What Live Sports Still Do Better Than Anything Else
Live sports remain the last true appointment viewing in an on‑demand world, delivering real‑time, unscripted emotional moments that cannot be paused or replayed. Over the past decade, cloud production, remote workflows and hyper‑personalized streams have broadened access and lowered costs....
Congo-Kinshasa: Journalists Investigating Fatal Mining Disaster Denied Access
Journalists probing the Rubaya coltan landslide that killed more than 200 miners were barred by M23 rebels on Jan. 28, highlighting a tightening media blackout in eastern DRC. The disaster, tied to unsafe artisanal mining, underscores the mineral‑fuelled conflict between rebel...
DMG Media’s Danny Groom on How AI Is Changing Content and Talent Strategy
DMG Media CEO Danny Groom told The Definitive AI Forum that AI is reshaping the Mail’s content model, moving from mass‑reach to targeted, personalized output. The company is piloting an AI‑powered dynamic paywall in Australia and has cut article volume...
BBC Radio 2 and Radio 4 Feature in BPG Nominations
BBC Radio 2 and Radio 4 presenters dominate the audio categories at the 52nd Broadcasting Press Guild Awards. The shortlist includes Sara Cox, Trevor Nelson, Anna Foster, Sue Mitchell and Jamie Theakston for Audio Presenter of the Year. Radio 4’s...
GoWit Announces Partnership with Publicis Media Middle East to Scale Commerce & Retail Media Across MENA & Türkiye
GoWit, a commerce‑enablement platform, has entered a strategic partnership with Publicis Media Middle East to expand its retail‑media solutions across the MENA region and Turkey. The collaboration will combine GoWit's AI‑driven shopping tools with Publicis' extensive media network, enabling brands...
Move over Music: Audiobooks Power Australia’s Workouts
Audible Australia’s new research shows audiobooks are eclipsing music as the preferred soundtrack for morning routines and workouts. Thirty‑two percent of Australians consider audio essential for setting the day’s tone, while 34% specifically choose audiobooks over playlists during exercise. Among...
Why some Creators Are Now Back Auditing Their Brand Deals
In this episode, Digiday hosts Tamika Baziel, a B2B creator, who explains why she audited and ultimately severed her partnership with Hootsuite after learning of its collaboration with ICE and concerns about surveillance culture. She details her systematic audit process—using...
Samsung Ads Launches Immersive Carousel Home Screen Ad Unit
Samsung Ads has introduced an Immersive Carousel ad unit for Samsung Smart TV home screens across Europe, allowing up to five interactive tiles that rotate automatically or can be navigated with the remote. The format appears on the home screen,...
Menarini Consolidates APAC Media Mandate with Agency Appointment
Menarini Asia‑Pacific has appointed Omnicom Media’s PHD as its regional media agency, expanding the partnership to seven additional markets—India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam and Korea—effective January 1 2026. The new remit consolidates media planning and buying across Menarini’s pharmaceutical and consumer‑health...
Conan O’Brien Says He Reaches “More People Now” After Leaving Late-Night
Conan O'Brien says his podcast "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend" and HBO Max travel series now reach more people than his former TBS late‑night show, which ended in 2021. He argues the traditional late‑night talk‑show format is fading, replaced by...
Senator Blumenthal Demands FCC Records Over Colbert Censorship Claim
Scoop: Sen. Richard Blumenthal has written a letter to David Ellison demanding answers and records pertaining to Stephen Colbert's claim of FCC censorship. Details in @get_status: https://www.status.news/p/stephen-colbert-blumenthal-letter-david-ellison-fcc
First Daily Paper Halt Since 1872 Marks Historic Shift
“…The decision marks the first time that management has called off production of a daily paper since the organization’s founding in 1872.”
IKEA Returns to Australian Survivor: Redemption as Major Brand Sponsor
IKEA is returning as the principal sponsor for Australian Survivor: Redemption, extending its partnership with Network 10 and Paramount+. The renewed deal deepens in‑show integration, featuring IKEA‑branded food rewards, sleep solutions, and daily gift‑card competitions during pivotal moments. The brand cites...
Meta Keeps Finding New Ways to Not Pay Its Creators
Meta’s new Facebook creator monetization program has exploded to 12 million participants, yet the platform still distributes only about $2 billion to creators each year. By contrast, YouTube shares more than $30 billion, and Instagram Reels generate $50 billion in revenue with minimal payouts....
Site Ranks #25, Exploring Generative Media Frontiers
My site hit #25 in rising tech publications. I'm mapping the frontier of creation & computing. Written + video deep dives on generative media, spatial intelligence and world models. Check it out https://t.co/p2pWlEprPm https://t.co/flKQxCFmnz
NAACP Image Awards: Michelle Obama, Will Packer, Kendrick Lamar Among Night 1 Winners
The NAACP Image Awards kicked off their 57th ceremony with Night 1 winners, highlighting achievements across literature, short‑form media and digital creation. Michelle Obama captured the Outstanding Literary Work – Biography/Autobiography award for her fashion‑focused book *The Look*, while producer Will Packer...
Maksim Chmerkovskiy To Lead Vertical Series ‘Wild Silence’ For Holywater Microdrama Platform My Drama
Maksim Chmerkovskiy, former *Dancing with the Stars* pro, headlines the vertical drama *Wild Silence* on Holywater Tech’s My Drama platform. The series marks the first U.S. vertical production to feature a reality‑TV star in a leading role and follows two...
Mallory Elevated, Miller Hired in JVC Fort Walton Update
JVC Broadcasting has promoted Scott Mallory to Operations Manager of its Fort Walton Beach radio cluster, formalizing his expanded duties overseeing programming, team coordination, and brand execution. The company also hired Brad Miller as Production and Promotions Lead, adding a veteran with...
FBI: Season Eight Ratings + Viewer Votes
CBS has renewed the flagship FBI series for a ninth season while cancelling its two spin‑offs, FBI: Most Wanted and FBI: International. Season 8 posted a 0.38 rating in the 18‑49 demographic and attracted 6.14 million live‑plus‑same‑day viewers, a solid performance by...
Mario Gabelli: Value Investing Ideas for 2026
Mario Gabelli highlighted at the Barron’s Roundtable 2026 that value investors should target mispriced experiential assets such as media, sports franchises, and entertainment companies. He cited Madison Square Garden Sports as trading at roughly half its calculated intrinsic value and...
FAST Trend Report 2026: What’s Trending?
Free ad‑supported streaming TV (FAST) has become the new normal in 2026, reshaping audience habits, advertising models, and content monetisation. International programming, especially Asian dramas and anime, generated $8 billion in streaming revenue between 2020‑2024, while FAST sports channels grew 105%...
Data: Champions League on Prime Video Attracting New Advertisers
Amazon Ads reports a surge in demand for UEFA Champions League advertising on Prime Video, attracting brands across automotive, financial services, lifestyle and travel. Brand‑lift studies show average lifts of 20% in favourability, 14% in familiarity and 21% in purchase...
McCann Group NZ Appoints Zac Stephenson as Managing Director, Media; Terri Collier Promoted to Newly-Created Chief Client Officer Role
McCann Group New Zealand announced Zac Stephenson as Managing Director, Media, effective 9 March, and promoted Terri Collier to the newly created Chief Client Officer role. The duo, who previously collaborated at DDB, will steer the agency’s shift toward a fully integrated,...
FCC Warns Montana FBO Over Unlicensed Radio Transmissions
The Federal Communications Commission issued a Notice of Unlicensed Operation to Beacon Air Group, the fixed‑base operator at Billings‑Logan International Airport, for transmitting on the VHF aircraft band at 128.825 MHz without a license. The unauthorized signal interfered with a co‑located...
How to Watch No. 5 Houston Vs. No. 14 Kansas: Feb. 23, 2026 Men's Basketball Game
On Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, No. 14 Kansas Jayhawks (20‑7, 10‑4) will host No. 5 Houston Cougars (23‑4, 11‑3) at Phog Allen Fieldhouse. The game, a pivotal Big Monday showdown, tips off at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN. Both programs are seeking to rebound...
Maureen McCollum Moves From WPR to WUWM Leadership Role
Maureen McCollum has been hired as Vice President of Content for Milwaukee NPR affiliate WUWM 89.7. The former Wisconsin Public Radio journalist and host will steer the station’s editorial strategy and drive its shift toward a multi‑platform public media model. McCollum...
Direct-to-Consumer Infrastructure Powers J. Cole’s Album Sales
Direct-to-consumer is still a big opportunity, even for the biggest artists in the world. That’s the opportunity EVEN saw. Build the infrastructure once, make it work at every scale, and help artists turn moments into sales. The company just powered J....
How to Watch Louisville Vs. No. 18 North Carolina: Feb. 23, 2026 Men's Basketball Game
On Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, No. 18 North Carolina hosts Louisville in a pivotal ACC showdown at 7 p.m. ET in Chapel Hill. Both teams sit at 9‑5 in conference play, making the game critical for postseason positioning. The contest will...
Woolworths Senior Media Manager Joins Comcast’s FreeWheel
Comcast’s FreeWheel has hired Woolworths senior media manager Alan Jenner as Director of Platform Partnerships for Australia and New Zealand. Jenner spent nearly five years leading programmatic at Woolworths and previously held senior roles at LiveRamp, Comscore, Optus and Telstra. FreeWheel,...
Is The New York Times a Games Company? A Familiar Debate Continues
The New York Times now has more bundle subscribers than those who pay for news‑only, reflecting a strategic shift toward ancillary products such as Wordle, cooking guides, and The Athletic. The company has stopped offering a pure news subscription to new customers,...
KPGZ Captures Kearney Championship Run With Comrex
102.7 KPGZ in Kearney, Missouri leveraged Comrex’s FieldLink sideline reporter codec to enhance its live coverage of the Bulldogs’ high‑school football playoff run. The FieldLink system, which uses the free FieldTap app on iOS and Android smartphones, provided crisp, wireless...
Online News Act: Game‑Changer for Press, Irritant to Tech Giants
Online News Act is a “trade irritant “to Google and Meta, and govt carrying its water, but it’s a “game changer” for a free and plural press living with a massive imbalance in bargaining power - now in the case...
Cyabra Mislabels Real Palestinian Accounts as Bots
If we want to talk about manipulation I think it's important to note Cyabra (company POLITICO's story is based on) is an Israeli AI startup that does not have a good record of identifying who is and who isn't bots....
Google Discover Update: Early Data Shows Fewer Domains In US via @Sejournal, @MattGSouthern
NewzDash’s early analysis of Google’s February 2026 Discover core update shows a shift toward locally relevant, in‑depth content and a drop in click‑bait style items. In California, local articles in the top 100 rose from 10 to 16, while Yahoo’s presence fell...
Paramount Submits Upgraded Offer to Acquire WBD
New: Paramount has made a new and improved offer for WBD. Expect WBD to respond soon. https://t.co/CW7caCn4xm
Google's Proxy Attacks Meta, Shifts Child Safety Debate to Age‑Gating
Google proxy Chamber of Progress has really unleashed on Meta over its debate on the right and wrong way to protect children from harm. Playing out in LA, New Mexico and NdCal courts. Making it all about age-gating rather than...
TEGNA Brings More ‘9News’ To Denver Viewers
TEGNA has added two new 30‑minute “9News” broadcasts at 12:30 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. on its MyNetwork TV affiliate KTVD‑20 in the Denver‑Boulder market, also streaming via the 9News+ app. The 5:30 p.m. slot competes directly with NBC Nightly News on KUSA‑9. TEGNA...
Online News Acts Force Google Deals, Meta Hostility
For all who moved on once Australia then Canada passed their Online News Act, “it’s been a gamechanger” as Google was brought to the table to do deals noting Meta took a different approach by going hostile on news. 1/3...
Weekly Dashboard – Feb. 20, 2026
ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro told CNBC that rumors of a Disney spinoff are unfounded, emphasizing that ESPN is a core component of Walt Disney Company’s long‑term strategy. He highlighted the network’s integrated approach, linking ESPN’s content with ABC broadcasts and...
OmniPlayer 3 Enters The U.S. Marketplace
M&I Broadcast Services, part of Valsoft, has introduced OmniPlayer 3, its flagship radio‑automation platform, to the U.S. market. The software, already a staple in the Dutch radio sector and used by the BBC, promises to streamline workflows and future‑proof broadcast operations....
An iHeartMedia Tweak Seek Requires A Redo
iHeartMedia filed an FCC minor‑change application to shift WROV‑FM’s city of license from Martinsville, Va., to New Castle, Va. The FCC’s Audio Division rejected iHeart’s claim that the move would serve a larger population, citing a staff engineering analysis that shows...
Kazakh Journalists Are Being Fined for Surveying Public Opinion on the Upcoming Referendum
Kazakh authorities have fined journalists and a media outlet for conducting online polls about the March 15 constitutional referendum, citing violations of the country’s referendum‑survey law. The Prosecutor General’s Office requires pre‑approval for any poll, a rule that has blocked...
Sony Film CEO on Losing ‘Sinners’ and the Endless Big Tech Battle
In this episode, Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group chairman Tom Rothman discusses Sony’s recent slate—including new Spider‑Man, Jumanji, Resident Evil, and the original animated film Goat—and how the studio thrives without its own streaming platform by partnering with giants like...
CBS Highlights Ratings Competition, Undermining Netflix Antitrust Claim
Funny to see CBS promote Nielsen ratings showing robust competition for U.S. TV audiences that contradict its parent company’s antitrust narrative that Netflix is too dominant… https://t.co/z1adVe6D1T