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.
Spotify Q4 Report Exceeds Expectations; Stock Bounces
Spotify's Q4 2025 earnings beat expectations, driving a sharp rebound in its stock price. Revenue grew 13% YoY to €? and gross margin hit 33.1%, delivering €1.17 billion in net income and EPS of €4.43, well above forecasts. Monthly active users rose 11% to 751 million and premium subscribers increased 10% to 290 million, underscoring strong user growth. The report also marks CEO Daniel Ek's transition to Executive Chairman, while AI‑enhanced features like Prompted Playlists helped sustain momentum.
You’ve Got Jmail
The episode explores Jmail, a web tool that lets users browse Jeffrey Epstein’s email archive in a Gmail‑like interface, created by AI programmer Luke Igel and developer Riley Walz to make the massive DOJ data dump hyper‑legible. Igel discusses how AI enabled...
A Tale of Two Lists: Top New and Existing Podcasts of Q4
The episode examines Edison Research’s latest podcast metrics, contrasting the Top Ten New Podcasts of 2025 with the broader Top 50 Podcasts of Q4, which includes stalwarts like The Joe Rogan Experience and Crime Junkie. The hosts highlight that none of...
Journalism’s Return to Community Is Necessary – but Risky
Journalists are rediscovering newsletters as community‑building tools, but success hinges on genuine two‑way interaction. The article warns that publishers often mistake hosting for ownership, leading to community loss when platforms change. Real‑world examples, from a 2000s B2B community migration to...
263. Smart Isn’t the Same as Clear: How to Sharpen Your Ideas
In this episode, Matt Abrahams talks with Nick Thompson, former editor‑in‑chief of Wired and current CEO of The Atlantic, about why clear, authentic communication beats cleverness in today’s noisy, AI‑driven world. Thompson emphasizes the power of specificity, honest voice, and...
To Ensure Audiences Return, Invite One Meaningful Action Early
Publishers are rethinking first‑time interactions by offering a single, personal action that lets new visitors declare a preference, such as saving a story, following a topic, or joining a focused newsletter. Research shows these early choices generate stronger propensity signals...
DCN’s Media Industry Must Reads: Week of February 12, 2026
This week’s DCN media roundup highlights several pivotal developments shaping the industry. Hollywood is gearing up for a new round of labor talks between actors and writers, while publishers and politicians intensify efforts to curb Google’s ad‑tech dominance. Apple faces...
Grok Is Now Editing Itself
The episode examines Grokipedia, Elon Musk’s AI‑generated Wikipedia alternative, and reveals that its chatbot Grok has become the primary editor, submitting and approving over three‑quarters of all suggested changes. Analysis by the Tow Center shows Grok’s self‑editing surged in December,...
Join FIPP for Events Around the World in 2026
The merger of FIPP with WAN‑IFRA has created a packed 2026 agenda of global media events. In April, the WAN‑IFRA AI Forum in Frankfurt will examine artificial intelligence’s impact on content creation and audience engagement. June brings the World News...
FCC Sets Requirement to Promptly Update FCC Registration Numbers – No Need to Panic, But Licensees Should Ensure All FCC...
The FCC has finalized a rule requiring all users of the Commission Registration System (CORES) to update their FCC Registration Numbers (FRNs) within ten business days of any contact‑information change. The regulation, introduced in a robocalling proceeding, replaces the vague...
Britney Spears Sells Catalog
The episode discusses Britney Spears' reported sale of her music catalog to independent publisher Primary Wave, noting the lack of confirmed details and price. It places this deal in the context of recent high‑profile catalog sales by artists like Queen,...
A Copyright Expert’s Big Idea: Force Google and Other AI Companies to Pay News Publishers
AI-powered Google search and chatbots are diverting 30‑40% of traffic from news sites. Copyright expert Paul Gerbino proposes a recurring‑fee model, forcing AI firms to pay publishers each time their content is used for training or retrieval. He urges collective...
New Research to Learn From
Recent research highlights a growing "proximity paradox" in news consumption: 44% of surveyed voters say it’s harder to stay informed about their own communities than national affairs. In news deserts, residents turn to social media and other non‑journalistic sources, yet...
SiriusXM Rebounds in Q4 Subscribers
SiriusXM’s Q4 earnings showed flat revenue year‑over‑year but a notable subscriber rebound, with 110,000 new self‑pay users offsetting a full‑year loss of 301,000. Monthly churn among self‑pay customers improved, falling to 15% from 16% YoY, leaving the company with a...
‘An Instinct for Exploration’
Marcela García reflects on a lifelong instinct to explore, tracing it from a pink bike in Monterrey to a Harvard journalism degree and a career at The Boston Globe. Early influences—her mother’s entrepreneurial drive and her father’s love of fiction—shaped...
James Cridland’s Radioland: New Australian Broadcast Rules – Covering AI and Kids
In this episode, James Cridland examines Global’s innovative WSQK radio station, a 24/7 broadcast created to immerse listeners in the Stranger Things universe. He highlights how the station’s meticulous 1980s sound design, authentic jingles, and seamless integration of news, DJ segments,...
As Jeff Bezos Dismantles The Washington Post, Five Regional Papers Chart a Course for Survival
Jeff Bezos is reportedly scaling back operations at The Washington Post, highlighting the broader challenges facing legacy media. In contrast, five large regional newspapers have demonstrated sustainable pathways by anchoring themselves in community interests rather than profit extraction. These outlets...
More Reach, Less Power: Copyright in Digital Markets Today
Digital distribution has dramatically expanded creators' reach, but platform ecosystems now dominate visibility, pricing, audience data, and monetisation. This shift has eroded creators' bargaining power, even as publishers access larger audiences. Axel Springer’s new research frames copyright as an economic...
The NFL Told You Why It Booked Bad Bunny
The episode examines the NFL’s decision to book Bad Bunny for the Super Bowl halftime show, highlighting the backlash from conservative figures who framed the Spanish‑language performance as un‑American. It explains that the league’s motive was purely commercial: tapping into...
Coach Communities Ignored by Cultural Tourism to Tell Their Stories
Since 2017, StoryWorks has merged investigative reporting with community theater in Mississippi's Delta, culminating in the Delta Cultural Heritage Ambassadors Program. Backed by the Walton Family Foundation and Delta State University, the initiative trained 21 residents of Coahoma County in...
DAZN’s NFL Game Pass Stream of Super Bowl LX Looking Good; Detailed Tech Specs
DAZN is delivering the Super Bowl LX live to NFL Game Pass subscribers outside the United States for £0.99, using NBC’s international feed in native 1080p 59.94 fps HDR10 with Dolby 5.1 surround. The stream employs an 8 Mbps HEVC main‑10 ladder for HDR and...
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: February 2, 2026 to February 6, 2026
Congress reauthorized funding for the FCC and other agencies, preventing a shutdown and keeping regulatory operations running smoothly. The FCC implemented a new CORES database rule that forces broadcasters to update their FCC Registration Number and related contact details within...
5 Ideas For The Interested This Week
The newsletter curates five actionable ideas for creators, ranging from a candid podcast about an imagined social platform to a roundup of 40 newsletter experts sharing monetization tips. It spotlights a LinkedIn "Every Day CTA" strategy that generated $7,000 daily...
Jeff Bezos Gutted the Newsroom. He Kept the Megaphone.
The episode examines Jeff Bezos' strategic dismantling of the Washington Post newsroom while preserving and reshaping its opinion section into an ideological megaphone aligned with his free‑market, libertarian views. It details the massive layoffs of journalists, the removal of editorial...