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:
The Boys Season 5 Includes A Surprise Return From A Season 3 Guest Star
Season 5 of Amazon’s The Boys delivers a surprise cameo as Paul Reiser returns to reprise his Season 3 role, The Legend, in Episode 6. The veteran Vought executive is enlisted by the Boys to help locate the coveted V‑One serum, leading to a tense, darkly comic face‑off with Homelander. The storyline weaves The Legend’s shady past with current power struggles, adding depth to Vought’s hierarchy while delivering fan‑service moments. The episode airs on Prime Video this Wednesday, continuing the series’ weekly release cadence.
You Should Still Fact-Check the 'Expert Advice' In Google's AI Summaries
Google is expanding its AI search overviews to surface "expert advice" pulled from community platforms such as Reddit, displaying quoted excerpts and the author’s handle. The rollout adds inline source links and previews to help users verify the information. However,...
Google Offers EU Concessions on News-Search Ranking to Head Off a Fresh DMA Fine
Google has submitted a remedial proposal to the European Commission to modify its "site reputation abuse" policy for news sites, aiming to settle a Digital Markets Act (DMA) antitrust probe. The investigation, launched in November 2025, alleges Google demotes news...
Would Ted Turner Have Prevented the Downward Spiral of Television’s Economic Value, Reputation, and Advertiser Commitment?
Ted Turner's failed 1985 bid to acquire CBS marked a turning point, as the broadcast industry chose preservation over the disruptive vision that had built CNN and cable networks. The ensuing decades saw a cascade of mega‑mergers—Viacom‑Paramount, AOL‑Time Warner, AT&T‑Time...
Clifford Is Coming Back… And Pbs Is Making Him Bigger than Ever
PBS Kids announced a new animated reboot of Clifford the Big Red Dog slated for 2027. The series, produced by 9 Story Media Group with animation by Brown Bag Films, will consist of 26 eleven‑minute episodes that emphasize comedy and...
Navigate The Next Era Of Search At Forrester’s CX Forums
Zero‑click search has become mainstream, with 26% of U.S. online adults using ChatGPT in the past month to research products. This shift pushes answer engines like Google AI Mode and ChatGPT to the top of the discovery funnel, delivering high‑quality,...
When Broadcast News Abandons the Climate Beat, Movement Media Steps In
In 2025 U.S. broadcast networks delivered just eight hours of climate coverage—a 35% drop from the prior year, according to Media Matters. Climate justice appeared in only 2% of segments, fossil‑fuel topics 8%, and white men accounted for more than...
Comic Creators Struggling to Survive Despite a Thriving Industry
A new UK Comics Creators Research Report reveals that despite record sales, most creators are financially insecure. In 2025 the market hit £78.7 million (about $100 million), a 13.9% rise, yet 89% of creators earning from traditional publishing earn below the national...
Bayern Munich v PSG Live Stream, TV Channel – Where to Watch Champions League on Tv Today
Bayern Munich will host Paris Saint‑Germain for the Champions League semi‑final second leg on 6 May 2026, kicking off at 20:00 BST and streamed in the UK on TnT Sports 1. PSG entered the match after a historic 5‑4 first‑leg win in Paris,...
Zuckerberg 'Personally Authorized and Encouraged' Meta's Copyright Infringement
Five leading publishers and author Scott Turow have filed a lawsuit in the Southern District of New York accusing Meta and CEO Mark Zuckerberg of personally authorizing the illegal scraping of millions of copyrighted books, journal articles and web content...
Ted Turner
Ted Turner’s launch of CNN in 1980 introduced the world’s first 24‑hour news channel, using satellite and cable to create a continuous news stream. The model sparked a wave of superstations and reshaped how audiences consume information, offering real‑time coverage...
AI Promises Creative Scale. Marketers Discover They Now Need 10 Times More Ads
Marketers are confronting an unprecedented demand for creative assets as AI platforms enable rapid production at scale. A joint Ipsos‑Smartly study finds brands are now creating roughly ten times more ads to stay competitive, yet effectiveness hinges on combining high...
Kash Patel's Lawsuits Threaten Free Press Accountability
Kash Patel suing journalists and reportedly targeting reporting he does not like should concern everyone. A free press is not the enemy. It is part of accountability. Journalists should be able to do their jobs without fear of retaliation or intimidation by...
The End of Ads: Coinbase Engineer Says AI Agents Could Kill the Internet’s Favorite Business Model
Coinbase engineering head Erik Reppel warned that autonomous AI agents could render the web’s ad‑based revenue model obsolete, as software bypasses human‑focused ads entirely. He promoted the x402 protocol, built on the dormant HTTP 402 status code, to enable crypto‑powered micropayments...
Here’s To You, Ted Turner
Ted Turner’s founding of CNN in 1980 introduced the first 24‑hour news channel, reshaping how information is delivered worldwide. His hands‑on outreach secured political figures like Jerry Brown and enabled rapid coverage of crises, exemplified by the network’s on‑the‑fly reporting...
Introducing Open Tab
In this off‑beat episode, the host muses about the trade‑off between security and freedom while reflecting on the pressures of running a popular New York newsletter. They discuss the looming influence of AI, noting that while AI adoption is inevitable,...
FIFA World Cup 2026: Peacock Launches Visión De Campo (Aka Pitchside Live), Will Stream All 104 Matches in Spanish
Peacock will stream every one of the 104 FIFA World Cup 2026 matches in Spanish, pairing Telemundo's exclusive commentary with Dolby Atmos sound. The service debuts Visión de Campo, a vertically optimized, multi‑angle mobile view that lets fans watch the...
Ontario Creates Unveils 16-Author Trillium Book Award Shortlist, Highlighting Provincial Talent
Ontario Creates announced the 16 finalists for the 2026 Trillium Book Award/Prix Trillium, showcasing a mix of English and French writers across fiction, poetry, memoir and nonfiction. The shortlist, released on May 5, positions the award ceremony on June 10...
Xbox Adds Forza Horizon 6, Subnautica 2 and 11 More to Game Pass
Xbox unveiled a slate of 13 new Game Pass titles for May 2026, headlined by Forza Horizon 6, Subnautica 2 and the narrative adventure Mixtape. The rollout follows a price cut that lowered Game Pass Ultimate from $29.99 to $22.99 per month,...
Sky Extends Formula 1 Rights Deal Into Next Decade
Sky Group has extended its exclusive Formula 1 rights in the UK and Ireland through the 2034 season and in Italy through 2032, adding a five‑year extension worth roughly $254 million per season, up from about $164 million. The deal covers every practice,...
Fubo Integrates Hulu + Live TV Into Package Options On Its Homepage
Fubo has updated its homepage to showcase Hulu + Live TV as a selectable option alongside its own streaming packages. The Hulu bundle is priced at $89.99 per month and offers more than 95 channels, while Fubo’s plans range from $73.99 to $103.99...
Yahoo Teams with Kochava to Launch Agentic AI DSP Workflow Platform
Yahoo has partnered with Kochava to embed a dedicated Yahoo DSP workspace inside Kochava's StationOne platform, creating an AI‑driven “agentic” workflow for programmatic buying. The move signals a shift toward autonomous media‑buying tools and could redefine how demand‑side platforms operate.
NYT Subs Surpass 13 Million, ARPU Sneaks Higher
The New York Times reported 13.08 million total subscribers in Q1, a 2.3% increase, with digital‑only subscriptions driving most of the growth. Digital‑only revenue rose 16.1% year‑over‑year, while print revenue slipped 9.8%, pushing overall revenue up 17.3% to $712 million. Average revenue per user...
New Children’s Imprint at TokyoPop
TokyoPop announced the launch of a new children’s imprint, TokyoPop Kids, slated for release this fall. The line will publish manga, graphic novels, picture books, chapter books, and middle‑grade novels aimed at younger readers. By creating a dedicated imprint, TokyoPop...
Creators Take the Spotlight at White House Correspondents' Weekend
The White House Correspondents' Weekend spotlighted YouTube creators as vital contributors to modern journalism, underscoring the evolution of the free press beyond traditional newsrooms. YouTube’s Director of News & Civics Partnerships, Brandon Feldman, highlighted the platform’s role in reaching audiences...
POP.STORE Signs as VidCon Anaheim 2026 Title Sponsor to Launch Agentic AI Commerce Platform
POP.STORE, a creator‑monetization platform owned by CommentSold Group, has been named the title sponsor of VidCon Anaheim 2026. At the event the company will debut ECHO‑ME, an agentic AI commerce platform that automates engagement, content creation, brand‑deal monitoring and direct‑message...
Links of Interest: May 6, 2026
Jane Friedman’s premium newsletter offers weekly reporting and analysis on traditional publishing, marketing, culture, and AI, targeting industry professionals. Subscribers gain access to over 3,000 searchable premium articles and continuously updated private resource guides. The paid model emphasizes curated, ad‑free...
Peacock Takes Us Back to Miami for “M.I.A” Vice and Vengeance
Peacock debuting "M.I.A," a nine‑episode crime‑revenge series set in the Florida Keys, arrives on May 7. Created by Bill Dubuque of "Ozark" fame and run by former "Dexter" showrunner Karen Campbell, the show follows sisters Etta Tiger Jonze (Shannon Gisela) and...
Chronicle Accepting Unagented Children’s Work Through May 10
Chronicle announced that it will accept unagented children’s book manuscripts through May 10, coinciding with Children’s Book Week. The call is open to writers without literary representation, offering a direct route to the publisher’s editorial team. Submissions are limited to the...
Lightcraft Technology Unveils Spark Story Interactive Previs Tool
Lightcraft Technology has launched Spark Story, an interactive previs platform that lets filmmakers construct 3D shots, edit scripts, and generate shot lists in real time via browser and mobile apps. The tool integrates realistic camera models, motion physics, and imported USD...
CNN Legend Christiane Amanpour Expresses Concern About Ellison Takeover
Christian Amanpour warned that Paramount Skydance’s planned takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, which would merge CBS News and CNN, could jeopardize editorial independence. She cited the recent decline in viewers and revenue at CBS’s *60 Minutes* after Skydance assumed control, suggesting similar interference may...
Day 15: Her Video Got 99% of People to Show Up
Creator Sam Vander Wielen introduced a video‑first onboarding flow that asks new subscribers a single question and replies with a personalized video. Using VideoAsk, she sent over 250 individual video responses for a recent workshop, resulting in almost all recipients...
Submit Your Writing to Be Featured in The Open Letters
The Open Letters, a Substack publication with over 40,000 readers and part of a 160,000‑subscriber network, is accepting submissions for its June‑August issues. Each month eight essays are chosen, with June offering six slots and July/August eight each, and the...
"Moreish" Thriller Branded "Guaranteed, Preposterous Fun" Jumps to UK Streamer's Number One Spot
Channel 5’s new thriller *Number One Fan* has vaulted to the top of the broadcaster’s streaming chart, driven by the star power of Jill Halfpenny and Sally Lindsay. All four episodes are now available on the 5 app, with the series...
Despite Enthusiasm over Its ChatGPT Tie-Up, Criteo’s Shares Slide on Downgraded Revenue Forecast
Criteo announced a partnership with OpenAI that generated excitement, but its Q1 results fell short of expectations, prompting a share‑price decline. Revenue dropped 6% year‑on‑year to $425 million, with retail‑media revenue plunging 31% to $41.3 million. The company cut its 2026 revenue...
After Nykaa, Zee Files Rs 25 Crores Lawsuit Against JioStar; Alleges Unauthorised Music Usage
Zee Entertainment has filed a lawsuit against JioStar, the Reliance‑Disney joint venture, alleging unauthorized use of its music catalogue. The Delhi court filing seeks roughly $3 million in damages and an injunction to stop further infringement. Zee says its songs were...
Paramount+ and DSports Take the FIFA World Cup to Latin America
Paramount+ and DSports have forged a strategic alliance to broadcast every one of the 104 matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup across six key Latin American markets—Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Uruguay. The partnership delivers 24/7 live streams...
Bigger Agency ≠ Better: Creative Fatigue Hurts Performance
One of our clients swapped to a larger well known agency around 6-7 months ago but kept us on as view access to the account. 6 months later and our ads are still spending 45% of the total budget. Very little...
F1 Secures Long-Term Sky Sports Broadcast Deal Until 2034
#Formula1 has reached a new multiyear agreement with #Sky Sports to continue broadcasting #F1 through the 2034 season in the United Kingdom and Ireland and through 2032 in Italy. $CMCSA
Mourning 'The Mouth of the South'
On the day Ted Turner died, CNN’s chief correspondent Christiane Amanpour warned that the network’s independence could be compromised under new owner David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance. The Anti‑Defamation League reported a 33% decline in antisemitic incidents to 6,274 in 2025, though...
The Wives Netflix Comedy Eyes Emmy Nominations
EXCLUSIVE: The wives are still hunting. And now, it’s for the Emmys. Lionsgate and 3 Arts Entertainment produced series, which streams on Netflix, will submit in the comedy categories for consideration. https://t.co/Eqv1aj9SVZ via @variety
The Hunting Wives Targets Comedy Emmy Honors with Snow, Åkerman
‘The Hunting Wives’ Shoots Its Shot in Comedy Emmy Races, Brittany Snow and Malin Åkerman Go Lead (EXCLUSIVE) https://t.co/Eqv1aj9SVZ via @variety
Data-Driven Thumbnails and Titles Drive YouTube Growth
YouTube growth isn't just about great content anymore. 👀 It's about testing what gets people to click. Thumbnails. Titles. Data. Creativity still matters. But data is what scales it. 🎯 https://t.co/E6UezYOUCh
When Creation Costs Collapse, What Remains?
Been looking forward to this one for a while. Mitch and I talk AI + games, and try to answer the question that matters most: What survives when the cost of creation collapses?
SNL UK’s Unique Production Process and Lorne’s Limited Role
I was skeptical at first, but I really love what SNL UK is doing. So I wanted to know how the process of making SNL UK differs from its American counterpart and how much Lorne Michaels is actually involved, so...
Turner's Apocalyptic Sign‑off Beats Him, Not CNN
Ted Turner has a sign off video prepared in case the end of the world happened. As it happened, CNN did outlast Ted Turner. We will see by how much. https://t.co/6sg2A8iGXl
Demanding Reporter's Phone Reveals Hypocrisy over Fabricated Stories
“One last question, sir. If, as you say, the reporter ‘fabricated’ those stories about you without talking to anybody from your department, why are demanding to search her phone … for leaks … from your department?” https://t.co/1nRIB4EQfw
2pm SportsCenter Posts Biggest YoY
Interesting. The 2pm ET @SportsCenter saw the biggest YOY growth of any ESPN studio show in April. Gets just under 400K viewers these days. ESPN seeing potential opportunity there for @PSchrags ?
Turner Mulls CNN Reacquisition, Malone Reveals in Memoir
As John Malone wrote in his memoir, Ted Turner had contemplated trying to buy back CNN as recently as 2018 https://t.co/Ld8BHK4yPG
Report Highlights Aggressive Assault on Free Press
Deeply concerning report. And that’s before noting another recent report of NYT reporter investigated and WashPost reporter having her devices seized. These aggressive violations of a free and plural press were expected at some point under this leadership. Unfortunately....