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:
Is This MY RENO RULES’ Most Controversial Reveal so Far?
The mother‑daughter duo Emma and Michelle received the lowest score of the night on My Reno Rules, earning 21.5 out of 30 after judges slammed their black‑tiled ensuite as one of the worst bathrooms seen on the series. Julia Green, Simon Cohen and Neale Whitaker all criticized the lack of cohesion and the dark, blocky aesthetic, leaving the pair visibly deflated. In contrast, Franky and Isaac rebounded with a perfect 10 from Whitaker and a 28.5 score, while Mitch and Shaz maintained the overall lead. The competition is now halfway through with a $1 million prize at stake.
Goodell Praises Streamers, Suggests Netflix “Bigger” Than some Nets
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell praised streaming platforms as potentially more fan‑friendly than traditional cable, highlighting Netflix’s reach as larger than several regional broadcast affiliates. The league is actively exploring a new five‑game streaming rights package and has been meeting with...
Scripps Channels Restored to Comcast’s Xfinity TV Under New Deal
Comcast and the E.W. Scripps Company have reached a new carriage agreement that restores Scripps-owned local stations and national networks to Xfinity TV in markets such as Detroit, San Diego, Tucson and Baltimore. The blackout, which began in early April...
ESPN Sets NBA PLAYOFFS Semi Finals with Star-Studded Matchups
ESPN has released its Australian broadcast lineup for the 2026 NBA conference semi‑finals, slated for May 6‑7 on ESPN2 and ESPN. The Eastern Conference pits top‑seed Detroit Pistons against the hard‑fought Cleveland Cavaliers, while the Western Conference features defending champion Oklahoma...
What Does the TikTok Sale Mean for Advertisers?
On January 22, 2026 TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC—backed by Oracle, Silver Lake and MGX—acquired majority control of TikTok’s U.S. operations, while ByteDance retained a 20% stake. The platform’s ad infrastructure, auction mechanics and creator ecosystem remain active for its...
SBS Food Series May Be Pulled by TVNZ Following Allegations
New Zealand food series "Taste of Art" is set to debut on SBS Food amid serious allegations that star chef Vaughan Mabee harassed women in the workplace. TVNZ is reviewing whether to pull the show from its streaming service TVNZ+...
Renewed: Death in Paradise
BBC’s hit mystery series Death in Paradise has been green‑lit for two more seasons, taking it to Seasons 16 and 17, along with two Christmas specials. Production has already begun on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, reuniting the core cast including...
Vote With Your Voice: Pluto TV Kicks Off Its 2026 Fandom Showdown
Pluto TV has rolled out a 2026 “Battle of the Fandoms” Sweet 16 tournament, pitting iconic sci‑fi, supernatural and cult series against each other in a bracket format. Rather than a simple poll, fans must rally support through comments, turning...
Threads Finally Brings Messaging to the Web
Meta has launched web-based direct messaging for Threads, bringing one‑on‑one and group chats to desktop browsers. The new “Messages” tab includes an inbox, request folder, search, and quick‑start features, aligning Threads with rivals like X and Bluesky. According to Meta,...
Guru Studio Expands ‘True and the Rainbow Kingdom’ with Mindfulness-Focused Shorts
Guru Studio is launching a new series of mindfulness‑focused shorts called True & You on YouTube and YouTube Kids, timed for Mental Health Awareness Month in May. The bite‑sized videos feature guided breathing exercises and ASMR‑style relaxation, using the popular...
It’s Still ‘Business as Usual’ for Cannes Lions Attendance This Year—Mostly
Cannes Lions is expected to host over 13,000 attendees this year, essentially matching last year’s turnout despite geopolitical tension, soaring oil prices and ongoing agency consolidation. While some holding companies such as WPP are scaling back on ancillary perks, most...
In the Age of AI, Human Creative Output Is Becoming a Luxury
A growing body of research shows that audiences consistently rate AI‑generated poetry, fiction and essays lower once they are told the work is machine‑produced, a phenomenon researchers call the “AI disclosure penalty.” The effect persists across 16 experiments and outweighs...
Netflix Comedy Chief Gives Mealymouthed Explanation for Booking Louis C.K.
Netflix’s comedy division confirmed that Louis C.K. will appear at the upcoming "Netflix Is a Joke" festival, despite his 2017 sexual‑misconduct allegations. The decision was justified by the platform’s data‑driven focus on ticket‑selling power and the comedian’s recent successful special....
"Gary" Gives in to The Bear's Worst Tendencies
Hulu released "Gary," a surprise hour‑long prequel to FX’s acclaimed series The Bear, starring Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss‑Bachrach, who also wrote the episode. The story follows Richie and Mikey on a chaotic day in Gary, Indiana, ending with a...
Arc XP Connect London 2026
Arc XP Connect 2026 is an invitation‑only executive forum held on June 10 in London for senior media leaders. The one‑day event will explore monetization tactics, audience‑engagement strategies, and AI‑driven organizational transformation. Participants will hear case studies from The Washington...
Google’s Preferred Sources Are Officially Live: The Marketing Impact
Google has rolled out Preferred Sources worldwide, letting users star the publications they trust so those outlets appear more often in Top Stories and a new "From your sources" carousel. The feature adds a user‑driven layer to search personalization, moving...
Music Catalogs Lose Value when Used in Low‑end Ads
“If you start putting these things in a f****** Ford Escort commercial, they become less and less valuable.” troycarterofficial talks about the rise of music catalog sales.
OpenAI Rolls Out Ad Tools, Targeting SMB eCommerce
ChatGPT launches a CAPI, a pixel, and self-serve "It’s not hard to imagine how the ad platform evolves from here. OpenAI is almost assuredly building a platform in the image of Meta’s, which means it will cater the platform to...
Will OpenAI’s New Measurement Tools And Ads Manager Prove Its Worth As An Ad Channel?
OpenAI unveiled a self‑serve ads manager and a conversion API (CAPI) alongside a cost‑per‑click (CPC) bidding model, shifting from its earlier high‑minimum, CPM‑only approach. The new platform eliminates the $200,000 minimum spend—now fully removed after a recent $50,000 reduction—making ChatGPT...
Will OpenAI’s New Measurement Tools And Ads Manager Prove Its Worth As An Ad Channel?
OpenAI has unveiled a self‑serve ads manager and a conversion API (CAPI) alongside a cost‑per‑click (CPC) bidding option for ChatGPT ads. The new platform eliminates the previous $200,000 minimum spend, later reduced to $50,000, allowing smaller advertisers to buy directly...
The FBI Searched a Washington Post Reporter’s Home. She Is Now a Pulitzer Prize Winner.
In January, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s home, seizing her iPhone and other devices as part of a probe into a contractor alleged to have leaked classified information. Natanson had spent the previous...
Connecticut Passes Law Banning Sale Of Location Data, Regulating Ad Volume
Connecticut lawmakers passed Senate Bill 4, a privacy measure that bans the outright sale of precise geolocation data and imposes new limits on surveillance‑based pricing and ad volume in streaming. The bill also requires data brokers to register with the state...
Media’s “Find Us” Problem
Public media is confronting a retention crisis, not a lack of generosity. Audiences are drifting away because one‑off interactions replace the daily habit once provided by broadcast radio. Only about 12% of Americans now get news from radio, a steep...
Look Who’s Talking: ESPN Integrates New Automated Commentator-ID Technology Into Scorebar Graphic for UFL Coverage
ESPN has deployed an automated commentator‑ID system, called AutoMic, into the scorebar graphic for United Football League (UFL) broadcasts. The workflow monitors up to 64 live audio sources, translates microphone activity into real‑time metadata, and lights up the speaker’s name...
Twitch Cracks Down on Omoggle Face‑maxxing Streams
Twitch is actively issuing warnings to streamers who are doing Omoggle on stream. Omoggle is a live 1v1 arena-style face-looksmaxxing service, similar to Ome/Monkey app, in that it randomly pairs you with a stranger. Example of Quin69 being mogged:
Inside Netflix: How to Sell a Show There Right Now
The post breaks down how creators can successfully pitch shows to Netflix, outlining the streamer’s current content appetite and spending outlook. It highlights that under content chief Bela Bajaria, Netflix continues to chase female‑driven thrillers, action series, YA dramas, and...
Reddit Is Blocking Its Mobile Site for Some Users, but There's a Fix
Reddit has begun blocking its mobile website for a subset of logged‑out users by displaying a large, non‑dismissable pop‑up that forces a download of the native app. The pop‑up appears after a thread loads and halts further scrolling, effectively stopping...
The $100 Billion Problem Lurking Inside Digital Video Ads
The digital video ad market has morphed from a transparent, relationship‑driven TV model into a sprawling programmatic ecosystem riddled with hidden fees and fraud. Industry estimates suggest tens of billions—potentially up to $100 billion—are siphoned each year, with some insiders claiming...
AI Image API Understands Brief, Eliminates Prompt Engineering
I just watched a single API call replace an entire creative team's workflow. @LumaLabsAI shipped Uni-1. It is the first image API that thinks before it generates. Here is what that actually means. Every other image model treats your prompt like a search...
The Intercept Didn’t Just Publish a Story About ICE — It Drove It Around JFK
The Intercept responded to the Trump administration’s deployment of ICE agents at U.S. airports by publishing a tip sheet on protecting phones, which attracted over 150,000 pageviews and a million Instagram views. To amplify the message, the outlet rented a...
TikTok Partners with Vistar Media to Expand Out of Phone Ad Campaigns to over 1M Digital Out-of-Home Placements
TikTok has teamed with programmatic out‑of‑home platform Vistar Media to extend its Out of Phone ad product to more than 1.1 million digital OOH placements, including high‑visibility sites such as Times Square. The partnership builds on the October 2023 launch that originally...
The Great Dane Returns: Peter Schmeichel Joins FOX Sports For 2026 FIFA World Cup
Peter Schmeichel, the former Manchester United and Denmark goalkeeper, is returning to FOX Sports as a lead analyst for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The network announced his addition alongside other soccer legends such as Clarence Seedorf, Javier Hernández, Zlatan...
25-Year Netflix User Divided Over New Clips Feature
I've been a Netflix subscriber for 25 years, and I can't decide if Clips is the best or worst thing to happen to the mobile app https://www.techradar.com/streaming/netflix/ive-been-a-netflix-subscriber-for-25-years-and-i-cant-decide-if-clips-is-the-best-or-worst-thing-to-happen-to-the-mobile-app
Save the Date: SVG Remote Production Forum Heads to WBD’s Techwood Studios in Atlanta on Sept. 23-24
The Society of Video Game (SVG) Remote Production Forum will take place on September 23‑24, 2026 at Warner Bros. Discovery’s Techwood Studios in Atlanta. The two‑day event will showcase the newly reimagined Techwood Campus, now one of the nation’s largest remote‑production hubs for live‑sports....
NCLT Refers Eros–Aanand L Rai Dispute to Arbitration
The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has sent the dispute between filmmaker Aanand L Rai and Eros International Media to arbitration, rejecting Eros' claims of oppression and mismanagement. The tribunal ruled that the issues are fundamentally contractual...
Philo Adds AMC’s All Reality Streamer to Bundle Package
Philo is adding AMC Global Media’s new All Reality streaming service to its Bundle Plus tier, giving subscribers access to reality‑TV titles such as “The Braxtons,” “Marriage Bootcamp,” and “Bridezillas.” The addition comes at no extra charge, keeping the Bundle Plus price...
Andrew Zimmern’s ‘Bizarre’ Strategy — Which Started With an Exorcism — Helped Him Break Into TV and Build a Food...
Chef Andrew Zimmern broke into television by reshaping a rejected educational pitch into the sensational “Bizarre Foods” concept. After a daring exorcism segment in Ecuador, the footage caught the attention of Jay Leno’s Tonight Show, delivering the series a national...
Listen to My Guest Spot on Ilana Glazer's Podcast
ICYMI, catch me on the latest episode of It’s Open with Ilana Glazer 🧡🎧 https://tr.ee/VslKT9-5ZN
Conan Mocked His Own Debut with Self‑critical Op‑ed
The day Late Night with Conan O’Brien premiered in 1993, The New York Times ran an op-ed titled "O’Brien Flops," warning readers to have "grave doubts about his prospects." It was written by Conan O’Brien himself. https://t.co/DVQUhk8NRM
Spectrum News 1 Rolls Out to Xfinity TV Customers in Houston
Charter Communications has extended its content‑sharing deal with Comcast, adding Spectrum News 1 Houston to Xfinity TV line‑ups in the city. The 24‑hour local news channel, now on Comcast channel 1127, delivers Houston‑focused reporting, weather and community stories alongside national feeds. Charter...
Prime Video's “House of the Spirits” Loses Its Magic
wrote about the lost magic in prime video’s lush THE HOUSE OF THE SPIRITS adaptation https://t.co/TY7Kgf9Jd8
Missed Chance to Brand Tonight Show with “Spend The Night”
I think there was a missed opportunity here to use 'Let's Spend The Night Together' as a slogan....
KS95 Keeps Eagan, Makes Minneapolis Role Official
Chris Eagan has been named permanent Vice President of Brand & Content for KS95 (KSTP) in Minneapolis‑St. Paul, while retaining his VP role for Chicago’s 101.9 The Mix and Throwback 100.3. Eagan, who joined Hubbard Radio in January 2025, previously spent 16 years at...
Spotify Prepares Major AI Product Launch Soon
Spotify’s major AI product push is coming…soon. $SPOT The LightShed Podcast, Ep. 312. With @BrandoLightShed and @WaltLightShed https://t.co/408wSPk8by
Blondie's Meta Twist Spooks Even Sleepy Daisy
'Blondie' is getting a little too meta for its own good, and even Daisy, the normally sleepy dog who rarely does anything noticeable, is roused and worried by the dark possibilities... https://t.co/Ut0PtVYs95
Missing VTuber Filian Sparks Concern After Wiping Content From the Internet
Independent VTuber Filian erased her presence on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, X and Discord on May 1, 2026 after a year‑long hiatus. The purge removed a channel with 3.14 million YouTube subscribers, 1.3 million Twitch followers and a TikTok profile boasting 1.1 million followers. Fans are...
White Lotus Season 4 Debuts at Cannes, $120 M Production
‘The White Lotus’ Crashes Cannes: Inside Season 4’s Storyline, Helena Bonham Carter’s Exit and a $120 Million Production https://t.co/CIWKKPVEO9 via @variety
Netflix Clips: Underpowered Yet Surprisingly Addictive
We go hands-on with Netflix's new Clips feature and find it both underpowered and addictive. https://t.co/HPm768Fc9g
Proposed Plan Enforces Mass Surveillance, Bans Minorities Online
The framing of this story is insane. Their “plan” is extreme mass surveillance that would effectively ban immigrants, LGBTQ people, etc from using social media and enact sweeping censorship of online speech.
Ohio State Can't
Yeah, I think the answer here is pretty obviously "hey Ohio State, you don't own the broadcast rights to your games, we do, so you can't sublicense them. There's no B1G TV without you, so we'll see your ass in...