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
Setplex will debut its fully integrated Zapflex platform at the 2026 NAB Show, highlighting new AI‑driven search and a super aggregation engine that merge internal libraries with third‑party content. The AI search combines keyword precision with intent‑based semantics, while the aggregation layer delivers unified cross‑platform results and direct playback links. Zapflex offers flexible deployment, supporting both capex and opex models and promises rapid service launch and scalability to millions of subscribers. The enhancements aim to boost subscriber engagement and open new monetization avenues for operators.
Vurt, a new mobile‑first streaming service, debuted on March 18, 2026, offering indie filmmakers a vertical‑video platform for micro‑series, full‑length films and TV shows. The launch includes over 100 episodes and a weekly slate of original titles, featuring talent such...
English Club TV, a global educational channel, has launched on Yettel Hungary’s platform. Starting April 15, the channel will be included in Yettel’s TV Plus package for subscribers. The partnership aligns with English Club TV Group’s plan to broaden its...
Boat Rocker Studios announced two senior director appointments to bolster its creative teams. Vanessa Esteves joins as senior director of creative affairs for kids and family, bringing 19+ years and experience at Nelvana with brands like Thomas & Friends. Joey...
World Screen, TV Kids, and TV Listings released their March digital editions, featuring a streamlined, on‑the‑go design and direct links to the WorldScreenings.com video portal. The World Screen issue includes interviews with NHK’s Tatsuhiko Inoue and Inter Medya’s Can Okan...
CBS will air "The Neighborhood: A Farewell Special" on Monday, April 6 at 8:30 PM ET/PT, with a simultaneous stream on Paramount+. Hosted by Kevin Frazier, the hour‑long event revisits eight seasons, 156 episodes, and the series' cultural footprint before the...
Glenn Haygood, President and General Manager of Hearst’s WLKY-TV in Louisville, announced his retirement later this year, concluding a broadcast career spanning more than four decades. He has overseen WLKY’s editorial and business operations since 2008, guiding the CBS affiliate...
Billionaire media entrepreneur Robert Allbritton said the Washington Post's February newsroom cuts present a rare hiring opportunity. His digital outlet Notus announced the recruitment of high‑profile former Post journalists, including Dana Milbank, Paul Kane and Jeff Stein, and plans to double its staff...
Publicis has instructed its clients to stop recommending The Trade Desk after a third‑party audit uncovered improper fee applications and a lack of transparent cost invoicing. The audit, performed by FirmDecisions, concluded that The Trade Desk charged fees without clear...
Spotify’s top 80 artists generated $10M+ each in royalty payouts in 2025. I estimate that these artists generated $2B total, nearly 20% of Spotify’s payout pool. Here’s how I see it:
PubMatic and Butler/Till executed Geloso Beverage Group’s first fully autonomous, AI‑driven media campaign using the AgenticOS platform. The test cut buy‑side supply‑chain costs by 5.5× while delivering a 98% video‑completion rate and 40% more impressions than planned. Quality metrics were...
MarkApp has joined IAB MENA, reinforcing its commitment to transparent, standards‑driven digital advertising in the Middle East and North Africa. IAB MENA is a leading industry body that shapes programmatic standards, best practices, and education across the region. MarkApp brings...
Public media stations face a looming shortage of skilled engineers as seasoned staff retire and new talent pipelines lag behind. The article argues that hiring retired military communications specialists and establishing formal engineering apprenticeships can close the gap. It also...
Éric Brion, leader of ACCES, announced that Q1 2026 audience ratings confirm a surge in thematic channels’ performance. The latest data show a 12% year‑over‑year increase in viewership, pushing total weekly reach past 10 million for the first time. Advertiser demand has...
The newest episode of "Beat the Press with Emily Rooney" tackles the Trump administration’s aggressive push to limit coverage of the Iran war, explores a potential merger between Boston’s two flagship public‑radio stations GBH and WBUR, and spotlights the Washington...
French broadcasters report declining linear ratings for new seasons of flagship unscripted series such as Koh‑Lanta, Pékin Express, Top Chef and The Voice. Year‑over‑year viewership fell roughly 8%, dragging associated advertising revenue. The slump coincides with accelerating audience migration to...
Documentary networks are experiencing a resurgence, with the latest Mediamat’Thematik ratings released on March 10 showing a notable uptick in viewership. While audiences are tuning in, the financial model remains precarious as advertising revenues fail to keep pace with audience...
Nielsen has delayed the March edition of its flagship The Gauge report to March 24, citing the integration of new DASH data into its streaming measurement methodology. The delayed release follows streamer anxiety that the updated metrics will reveal a...
France Télévisions, the exclusive French broadcaster of the Milano‑Cortina 2026 Paralympic Games, reported a historic 28 million viewers across its channels. The figure represents a record for parasport coverage in France and outperformed previous Paralympic broadcasts by a wide margin. The...
Tubi’s new "Stream 2026" report shows streaming is the most engaging entertainment channel, with 90% of viewers reporting higher attention than live events or social media. The ad‑supported service leverages fandom‑driven identity, nostalgia, and creator‑led content to attract a younger, on‑demand...
🔥 The most interesting/exciting part of Disney's leadership reorg that is not getting talked about is that former Google/YouTube chief product officer Adam Smith has been elevated to co-head of Disney's DTC businesses. Placing a tech/product person, without legacy...
🚨🆕 I'm going on 📻 @Y100FM with @ScottNSports 𝐍𝐎𝐖 for 📺 #TVTuesday preview the TV coverage of NCAA #MarchMadness 2026 for the men's and women's college basketball 🏀 championships. 🎧 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐍𝐎𝐖 🔊 🗣“Play KUYY" or "Play Y100" 📱💻 https://t.co/nlxHQ15JWW https://t.co/v92jFBA6SC
Coca‑Cola’s Sprite has reclaimed its role as the NBA’s official soft‑drink sponsor, ending a three‑year stint by PepsiCo’s Starry. The multiyear agreement activates immediately, giving Sprite presence at marquee NBA events, international games, and digital fan experiences. The partnership revives...
Some small NFL TV news. The first game of the regular season will be on Wednesday night on NBC (vs usual Thursday). The Melbourne game will be on Thursday -- platform TBD. NFL can't do a Friday game this year...
Part of how they want to enact this is by rolling out mass censorship and surveillance online through things like “reforming” section 230 and laws like KIDS Act/KOSA which would remove LGBTQ, abortion content etc from the internet (and “leftists”/liberals...
Paramount’s $111 billion acquisition of Warner Bros creates a streaming powerhouse that combines HBO Max, Paramount+, Discovery+ and legacy cable brands, targeting roughly 200 million global subscribers. The merger boosts negotiating leverage against rivals like Amazon and Netflix but saddles the new entity...
Work with very smart people, on top of a dataset that reporters would kill for, to tell stories about economic growth and technology, with very high cultural appreciation for craft.
Trump Administration ramps up press pressure over Iran war coverage —Broadcaster license threats —Disparaging rhetoric —Tightening grip over Stars and Stripes —Denying photogs Pentagon press briefing access —Using VOA to urge Iranians to rebel @axios https://t.co/kRuCYUk6Uc
Jimmy Kimmel opens his March 16, 2026 show with a comedic rundown of the Oscars night, highlighting the surprise wins, a rare tie, and the surrounding Hollywood buzz. He then pivots to a satirical critique of former President Donald Trump’s...
TV Talk: @masterpiecepbs reimagines #TheForsytes saga yet again. How does it compare to the Damian Lewis version from early aughts? Via @TribLIVE https://t.co/Dnrz8BcYhb https://t.co/ZUKyjiSdbd
Jon Stewart Invites Panel of Trumps to Debate Iran War | The Daily Show https://t.co/IUdEWMOLDC via @YouTube
Disney+, Hulu and ESPN’s April 2026 schedule is packed with high‑profile premieres and live events. Disney+ anchors the month with American Idol Season 9, Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, and the two‑episode Star Wars: Maul – Shadow Lord launch, while adding original...
What's $1 Billion More, if NFL Certainty Through 2033 is of Paramount Importance? Ultimately, each NFL media rights partner will have to decide whether they can envision life without the NFL beginning in 2030 (TLDR: doubt it) https://t.co/sBcrU0H3Og
NEWS: Axios is cutting 11 people across national, local, news desk visuals and social: https://t.co/AI0axckRVT
Future Media unveiled Helix, an AI‑powered audience platform that builds on its first‑party data assets. Helix replaces the legacy Aperture system in the U.S., adding predictive modeling and real‑time audience segmentation for outcome‑based campaigns. Early tests across 20 fashion, retail...
WaPo: "In a perfect world, liberals would take the same lessons from Carr’s attempted abuses, and a bipartisan coalition would vote to abolish the FCC." Brendan Carr, minister of truth https://t.co/gPDLo5KUFy
Nielsen’s latest trend report highlights that ad‑supported TV now accounts for 74% of total TV viewing time. The landscape is increasingly fragmented, with each platform—broadcast, streaming services, and FAST channels—offering distinct audience profiles. Nielsen positions the guide as a roadmap...
NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal will headline Walmart and Vizio’s first joint NewFront presentation on March 23. The event, titled “Content to Commerce,” will feature top executives from Walmart Connect, Vizio, L’Oreal, NBCUniversal and Universal Studios. It will provide the first look...
The advertising industry is witnessing a rapid surge in generative AI tools, yet women’s adoption lags sharply behind that of men. Charlotte Bunyan highlights this gender gap, noting that fewer women are experimenting with AI-driven creative workflows. The article argues...
Generative AI assistants are reshaping product discovery by delivering synthesized answers that embed brand mentions, creating a new visibility layer beyond traditional search rankings. Similarweb’s 2026 AI Brand Visibility Index shows that a small group of brands dominate AI mentions...
Omnicom Media Newcastle managing director Pete Coates says the future of media lies in a multi‑regional approach that unites global scale with genuine local delivery. He argues that clients no longer have to choose between worldwide reach and nuanced, market‑specific...
Matt Laubhan, former chief meteorologist at Mississippi’s WTVA, launched an independent, 24‑hour weather streaming platform after a layoff threat from the Allen Group. During the January 2026 ice storm his livestream drew 1.5 million viewers, facilitating real‑time generator donations that kept...
Sky has integrated Disney+ into its core TV subscription, offering the Standard with Ads tier (valued at £5.99 per month) at no extra charge to eligible customers. The service is now accessible via Sky Glass, Sky Stream, and Sky Q,...
Perion CEO Tal Jacobson says the AI hype is merely a re‑branding of technologies the company has used for 15 years, and the firm is now building an AI media‑trading agent called Outmax. The platform allocates spend across CTV, DOOH,...
WAN-IFRA and OpenAI have launched the AI Futures Lab, a six‑month accelerator for 24 news organizations across Asia‑Pacific and Latin America. Building on the earlier Newsroom AI Catalyst, the programme moves publishers from AI experimentation to fully‑scaled, AI‑native editorial and...
Limelight Inc. released a whitepaper urging an “efficiency reset” across programmatic advertising, highlighting that operational waste now threatens economic performance, brand reputation, and the environment. The report details how practices such as circular trading, over‑intermediation, and bid duplication inflate costs...
UK Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy unveiled a Local Media Strategy that introduces a £12 million multi‑year fund to support local news outlets, community radio and digital innovation. The plan triples funding for community radio, launches a regional media forum, and funds...
The piece examines how platform design—driven by the attention economy and tactics like infinite scroll and "flooding the zone"—creates a relentless sense of urgency that overwhelms readers. It argues that constant exposure to urgent news erodes emotional responsiveness and leaves...
Katie Drummond, Wired’s top editor, has steered the magazine away from its original techno‑optimism toward hard‑hitting political and tech‑policy coverage. Under her leadership, Wired launched a politics team that broke stories on Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency and investigated...
Jessica Saunders of Eyeota warns that AI‑driven search is compressing the traditional click economy, with daily AI search usage more than doubling and click‑through rates softening. Marketers are shifting spend from intent‑heavy search to discovery‑focused channels such as CTV and...
