Know What's Happening in Media
Know What's Happening in Media
Indian TV market braces for sales dip as production costs surge
Rising RAM prices, higher plastic and ocean‑freight costs linked to the West Asia crisis, and a weakening rupee have pushed entry‑level 32‑inch TV prices up about 20% to $133, up from $108 six months ago. Counterpoint Research expects shipments to fall 5‑6% as consumers down‑trade to smaller screens.
Also developing:
By the numbers: K-Love seeks FCC approval to acquire radio station WFCC
Amaze, the creator‑powered commerce platform, announced new live‑shopping capabilities that let creators and brands sell products directly within live streams. The tools include instant in‑stream purchasing, real‑time audience interaction such as comments, polls, dynamic product highlights, and time‑limited promo codes. Amaze says the features will blend storytelling, community, and commerce, giving creators a more authentic sales channel. The launch comes as surveys show a strong shift toward creator content, with 67% of U.S. adults finding it more original than TV.
Former TalentX and YMU executives launched Glossary Artists, an independent talent management firm focused on creator‑owned IP and long‑term brand development. Based in Los Angeles and Miami, the women‑led agency gives managers freedom to innovate across beauty, fashion, gaming, food...
Renowned director Quentin Tarantino and legendary actor Sylvester Stallone have partnered on a new six‑episode television series set in the 1930s. The production will be shot entirely in black‑and‑white using authentic 1930s cameras to capture the era’s visual texture. Tarantino...
State prosecutors in New Mexico have brought a trial against Meta, alleging the company concealed the mental‑health dangers its platforms pose to children. If jurors find Meta liable under the state’s Unfair Trade Practices Act, sanctions could total billions of...
President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly backed the Ellison family’s bid to acquire CNN as part of Paramount‑Skydance’s $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery, while the DOJ antitrust division reviews the deal. Meanwhile, xAI faces a class‑action lawsuit alleging...
Jimmy Kimmel Live secured the No. 1 spot in late‑night for adults 18‑49 for the third straight week, posting a 0.16 rating and dominating six of the last seven weeks. The March 5 episode featuring Zach Braff, Donald Faison and Chris Fleming delivered the week’s peak rating...
Australian electronic duo Breathe., together with agency Group Speed, overhauled their Spotify presence by reactivating five‑year‑old catalog tracks and launching a data‑driven artist playlist. The playlist paired Breathe. with slightly larger, stylistically similar acts and was promoted through Spotify’s ad...
The Kyiv Independent, Ukraine’s premier English‑language newsroom, has expanded from 19 staff in 2021 to 85 employees in 2026 while operating under full‑scale war. It sustains itself financially through a reader‑driven model—70% of revenue comes from a 28,000‑strong global subscriber...
Example of a manual action being removed for this publisher. Looks like they cleaned up the problem relatively quickly and had the manual action removed. Now showing back up across Google surfaces. Of course, they probably will not return...
Bari Weiss and Tom Cibrowski just sent an email to CBS News staff notifying them of layoffs coming today. https://t.co/qPYMcr9FwU
Social media competitor analysis is essential for shaping a data‑driven digital strategy in 2025. The guide breaks the process into three steps: identifying direct and indirect rivals, analyzing their platforms, content, and engagement, and applying insights to improve your own...
The fix was in at the @FCC & @JusticeATR to approve the massive Nexstar-TEGNA deal. People need to know how abnormal and illegal the process was. I talk about it here: https://t.co/rmcV0J9w0N
The Premier League announced it will launch its own OTT platform, Premier League Plus, in Singapore starting the 2026‑27 season. The service was built into a six‑season bid with StarHub in 2022, providing a low‑pressure test market ahead of the league’s...
Portal Latino’s December 2025 survey of 1,691 Hispanic consumers reveals that 81% play mobile games weekly, with 61% gaming at least five days a week. Hispanic gamers show a strong appetite for culturally resonant titles, with 77% preferring games that reflect...
In 2010 CBS and Turner struck a $10.8 billion agreement to share NCAA men’s tournament rights, propelling TBS and TNT ad sales to $1.62 billion in year one and $2.26 billion by 2016. Despite record sports revenue, cable penetration fell 10 % over six...
The European Broadcasting Union and nearly thirty media organisations have warned that Lithuania’s proposed public service media law reforms could jeopardise LRT’s independence and financial sustainability. The draft includes a three‑year funding freeze, reduced tax‑based allocations, tighter revenue caps, and...
Big East commissioner Val Ackerman confirmed that the conference’s new $80 million six‑year media agreement with Fox, NBC and TNT Sports has boosted revenue but fragmented game distribution. The deal replaces a $46 million 12‑year pact and moves 30 men’s games and...
The creation of state media continues at the local level under Carr's FCC. This is even more dangerous than Ellison Inc., for people still watch local TV. FCC approves merger of local television owners Nexstar and Tegna as two lawsuits seek...
Noah Shachtman, former Rolling Stone editor, announced his new role as a contributing opinion writer for The New York Times, sparking criticism over his handling of a 2022 Rolling Stone story about FBI raid on ABC producer James Gordon Meek....
Altman Solon’s second‑part Global Sports Survey reveals a widening monetisation gap for sports rights owners as audiences increasingly consume non‑live formats. The study of 6,000 fans and 250 executives shows 42% of viewers are very willing to pay for live events...
Discovery Channel announced a slate of seven original unscripted series set to debut throughout 2026, expanding its portfolio beyond flagship shows like "Naked and Afraid." The lineup ranges from a jail‑inside look in "120 Hours Behind Bars" to a global...
The Atlanta Braves confirmed that their 2026 home opener on March 27 against the Kansas City Royals will be simulcast on the team’s own BravesVision platform and Gray Media’s network of local television stations across the six‑state Braves Country. The...
The Washington Post announced a sweeping newsroom reduction, cutting more than 300 jobs—about one‑third of its staff—and eliminating entire beats such as sports, books, and several foreign bureaus. Owner Jeff Bezos framed the move as a "strategic reset" aimed at...
Channel 4 announced that Autotrader will become the new sponsor of The Great British Bake Off, taking over from Waitrose after a two‑year partnership. The deal kicks off with the 2026 broadcast season, aligning the automotive marketplace with the show’s...
AI made content cheap. So founders did what made sense: they produced as much as possible. 500 articles. 1,000 articles. Pump the numbers. Numbers went up, then went all the way down. The problem wasn't using AI. The problem was using AI without strategy.
The Centre for Media Monitoring released an AI‑driven analysis of 41,000 UK online articles from 2025, concluding that 70 percent of coverage on Islam and Muslims is negative. The Spectator topped the list with 26 percent of its pieces classified as “very...
Netflix has begun filming its live‑action Assassin’s Creed series, confirmed by Ubisoft. The show will be set in Ancient Rome during 64 AD and features a diverse cast led by Toby Wallace and Lola Petticrew. Produced by Emmy‑nominated creators Roberto Patino...
CNN data analyst Harry Enten aired an NBC poll showing 100 percent MAGA voters still back Donald Trump, directly challenging a media narrative of a fracturing base. The same poll indicated MAGA identification rose to 30 percent of the electorate, up two...
At the FSCA Conference 2026 regulators warned that South Africa’s booming finfluencer market is a double‑edged sword. While creators are making finance more accessible and boosting financial literacy, many operate without licences and provide weak or hidden disclosures. The FSCA...
Connected TV (CTV) ad spend in the U.S. is set to near $38 bn this year, cementing its role as a core media channel. However, the rapid expansion of premium SVOD, FAST channels, and OEM interfaces has fragmented the supply, making...
Delivery driver Joe Macken spent two decades crafting a detailed balsa‑wood replica of New York City, comprising hundreds of thousands of miniature structures. The model went viral on TikTok, garnering over 10 million views and drawing widespread attention. In March 2026, the...
World Cup 2026 will be the largest ever, but its contribution to global ad growth is weakening. WARC Media forecasts a $10.5 billion uplift, just a 1.1 % increase versus the 2022 tournament, indicating fragmented impact. Advertisers must now reach fans across...
Meta is under fire in the UK after the FCA uncovered 1,052 illegal high‑risk financial ads in a single week, many from previously flagged accounts. Whistleblowers allege Meta and TikTok deliberately amplified harmful, outrage‑driven content to boost engagement. Trust issues...
Kevin Hart will be roasted live at the final night of Netflix Is a Joke Fest, held at Los Angeles' Kia Forum. The event is hosted by comedian Shane Gillis and will stream globally on Netflix on May 10, 2026....
LaLiga’s anti‑piracy drive has secured more than 2,000 convictions against hotels, restaurants and cafés since its launch in March 2019, averaging nearly one case per day. The league still has 317 investigations and 488 cases awaiting trial, underscoring the scale of...
Is this a Netflix true crime series I missed What rabbit hole am I down?!
They’re trying to ram through KOSA, a full Section 230 repeal, and a slew of other censorship and surveillance provisions under the guise of “cracking down on AI” and a tom of dumbass leftists are falling for it.
This week’s ad roundup highlights a wave of self‑aware campaigns, from Burger King’s decision to retire its iconic King mascot and crown the consumer, to Uber’s meta “Irish exit” spot featuring reality‑TV star Maura Higgins. Brands such as Ugg, JCPenney,...
Researchers leveraged Meta's 14.5 million‑user no‑ads holdout to test whether Facebook users care about advertising. In a 2022 survey of 53,166 participants from 13 countries, the median amount users would accept to quit the platform was $31.04 for ad‑exposed users and...
Read @hamandcheese's full comments to the @axios reporter below, and then see if you think this screenshot accurately or fairly reflects what he said. https://t.co/yiUivUlQpS
Instagram’s algorithm now prioritizes comment velocity over likes, saves or views when deciding which posts to amplify. Early‑hour comments act as a quality signal, prompting the platform to test the content with larger audiences. Creators can deliberately trigger this loop...
New Hub Entertainment research shows ad‑supported streaming is becoming more acceptable, especially among younger adults, with nearly two‑thirds of them indifferent to ads. Nielsen data confirms sports content leads this shift, giving leagues like the NFL leverage in licensing negotiations...
America’s Test Kitchen (ATK) has launched direct and programmatic buying for its free ad‑supported FAST channels, allowing advertisers to purchase inventory as a standalone product rather than through genre bundles. The move follows a 30% year‑over‑year rise in streaming audiences...
Hachette Book Group withdrew the upcoming horror novel “Shy Girl” after The New York Times alleged the manuscript was largely AI‑generated. The Orbit imprint halted the U.S. spring release and removed the title from its UK catalog, where only 1,800 print copies...
Nord Anglia Education has named Omnicom Media Vietnam as its agency of record for media across 19 schools in Asia, shifting from school‑level to a centralized hub. The partnership covers integrated strategy, planning and buying for markets including Thailand, India,...
Climate reporting in the United States is shrinking as legacy broadcasters slash dedicated teams and cut coverage, a reversal from the optimism sparked by the 2019 Covering Climate Now initiative. The 2024 election relegated climate to a single debate question,...
New Substack going out this evening. Lots of good stuff. You can sign up here: https://t.co/7l5OFpkdOm
Seven Network’s AFL broadcast of the Sydney Swans versus Hawthorn Hawks captured the top spot in the March 19 overnight ratings, drawing more than two million viewers and a national average audience of 727,000. The Hawks secured a 17‑point victory, playing...
Accenture Song Media is expected to secure Australia Post's media account after a competitive pitch that also featured Wavemaker and Atomic212. The prospective contract expands beyond standard media planning, incorporating a business‑transformation component that aligns with Accenture Song's consultancy strengths....
On March 26, the House Subcommittee on Communications and Technology will hold a hearing to evaluate the Telecommunications Act of 1996, marking its 30th anniversary. The session, chaired by Rep. Richard Hudson and attended by Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie,...
