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:
Missouri Broadcaster to FCC: Scrap Caps to Save Local Radio
John Zimmer, president of Zimmer Radio, has filed an ex parte letter with the FCC urging the removal of local radio ownership caps in the 2022 Quadrennial Review. The request follows his successful challenge to the TV Top‑Four prohibition and aligns with the NAB’s deregulation agenda. Zimmer argues that the 1996 caps are outdated in a market now dominated by streaming services and digital ad platforms, and that consolidation would help small‑market stations sustain jobs and local news. He proposes allowing owners to hold more stations per market to spread costs and broaden programming.
The True Value Of Relationship-Building Skills
Radio sales professionals are shifting relationship building from a soft skill to a strategic advantage. Top sellers view relationships as a craft, deliberately practicing listening, problem discovery, and meaningful follow‑ups. Consistent, value‑driven touchpoints and disciplined tracking translate into higher trust,...
A Local Content Realization
Steve Allan argues that the bulk of "local" radio content is actually commercial advertising, outstripping locally produced talent by roughly four to one. He points out that many stations devote 12‑16 minutes per hour to ads, half of which are...
Turn on, Tune in, Trust No One: The Paranoid Style Captures TV
The article examines how the “paranoid style” has become the dominant narrative in television, with conspiracy thrillers now the most popular genre. It links the surge to a broader societal distrust fueled by political polarization, misinformation, and high‑profile security incidents....
Connoisseur’s WZSR Mobilizes Fox River Flood Response
Connoisseur Media’s Star 105.5 (WZSR) activated a rapid flood‑relief effort after severe storms swamped Chicagoland’s Fox River communities. Morning hosts Joe Cicero and Tina Bree used the station’s live‑on‑air platform to request sandbag volunteers, drawing residents of all ages to the affected...
Fox Sports Looks for a ‘Miracle’ With Its World Cup Promo Campaign
Fox Sports has launched its FIFA World Cup promotional campaign with a new TV spot titled “Miracle.” The ad imagines U.S. Men’s National Team star Christian Pulisic scoring a last‑minute goal to win the tournament, set to Elvis Presley’s “The...
Top Trends Are Dwindling. What Will Be the Next Big Thing?
The latest publishing deal roundup reveals a sharp slowdown in once‑hot genres like romantasy and rom‑com, while proven names such as David Baldacci and James Patterson continue to dominate bestseller charts. Horror’s brief surge has faded, and the market appears...
The Reader Who Left Your Article Early Might Be Your Most Engaged User
Regula Marti argues that engagement is not a single metric; the same reader behavior can signal success or friction depending on context. She urges publishers to segment audiences and examine session‑level data rather than relying on article averages. A case...
One Final Call: "The Night Agent" Starts Production on Fourth and Final Season
Netflix and Sony Pictures Television have begun filming the fourth and final season of the political thriller The Night Agent in Los Angeles. The series, which debuted in 2023, quickly rose to Netflix’s Most Popular list and has held a...
Lee Harris Joins WABC As ‘Worldwide News Network’ Readies Launch
Red Apple Media, owner of WABC Radio, announced the upcoming launch of the Worldwide News Network, a global audio news platform delivering real‑time, English‑language reporting across broadcast, streaming, and smart‑speaker channels. The company appointed veteran Lee Harris, former WINS and...
Robert Irwin’s Mother Clarifies if She’ll Compete in DWTS
Terri Irwin, mother of wildlife icons Robert and Bindi Irwin, said she hasn’t ruled out joining Dancing with the Stars after both children won separate seasons. Speaking at the 3rd Annual Steve Irwin Gala, the 61‑year‑old said she will review...
Nukkad Naatak, Haq, Kennedy and More: How Streaming Is Giving a Second Life to Theatrical Outcasts
Nukkad Naatak, a low‑budget indie Hindi film made for under ₹1 crore (≈ $120,000), struggled to find theatrical support but after debuting on Netflix it entered the platform’s top‑10. Similar turnarounds occurred for titles such as Haq, Kennedy, Dhadak 2 and Vadh 2, which...
Swimming World Accepting Applications for Summer Internship Program; Journalism and Social Media
Swimming World announced its 2026 remote summer internship program, accepting applications until May 11 for positions in journalism and social media. The 13‑week program runs from May 18 to August 21 and targets college students and professionals interested in aquatic sports coverage. Interns...
"Son of a Critch" Gets Ready to Graduate as Cameras Roll on the Final Season of the Coming-of-Age Comedy
CBC has started filming the fifth and final season of the coming‑of‑age comedy *Son of a Critch*, a 12‑episode run that will wrap production by June 18, 2026. The season returns to 1992, Mark Critch’s senior year, against the backdrop...
Vodafone Idea Forays Into Micodramas with Bullet Microdrama App
Vodafone Idea Limited (VIL) has partnered with Bullet Microdrama to add the latter’s short‑form library to its Vi Movies & TV OTT service. This marks the first telecom‑level microdrama deal in India and makes the content available to users at no charge. India accounted...
Monsta X's "Heal" Poised for Fourth Billboard Pop Airplay Hit
Another monster at radio: @OfficialMONSTAX's "Heal" is likely to enter Billboard's Pop Airplay chart this week, which will be Monsta X's fourth entry on the radio chart https://t.co/R0YcaqiNmU
CORTIS' “Go!” Breaks Top 30 Ahead of New Album
Can't stop CORTIS: Just ahead of the release of @CORTIS_BIGHIT's new 'GREENGREEN' album today, CORTIS' "Go!" has cracked the Top 30 of Mediabase's U.S. Top 40 pop radio chart https://t.co/mQAcYg87eD
Women-Centered, Artist-Owned: A Q&A With Chera TV
Chera TV debuted this spring as the first artist‑owned vertical streaming platform, launching its inaugural drama *To Her Beat* for a one‑time price of $14.99. The service forgoes a subscription model, instead offering a gamified points system where 15,000 points...
9-1-1 Season 9 Episode 18 Release Date, Time, Where to Watch
The ninth season of the emergency‑services drama 9‑1‑1 returns with episode 18 on May 7, 2026, airing at 8 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. Pacific) on ABC. The episode follows Buck confronting his past after an electrical emergency and Maddie navigating a new supervisory role....
Maverick Entertainment Announces Peacock Premiere Date for "Another Man's Wife" Starring Sydney Mitchell, Moritz J. Williams, and Taye Diggs
Maverick Entertainment announced that its original film “Another Man’s Wife” will debut exclusively on Peacock on May 8, 2026. The drama, produced by Doug Schwab and starring Sydney Mitchell, Moritz J. Williams and Taye Diggs, follows a couple confronting job loss, a cancer...
Jack Thorne's 'Lord of the Flies' Is a Timely, Engrossing Miniseries True to Novel
Jack Thorne’s four‑part Netflix miniseries reimagines William Golding’s 1954 novel *Lord of the Flies* with a modern visual style and improvised dialogue. The adaptation stays true to the book’s core events while inserting new back‑story scenes that flesh out characters...
Wikipedia Founder Brands Australia’s Social Media Ban an ‘Unmitigated Disaster’ and ‘Embarrassment’
Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, denounced Australia’s new ban on under‑16s using major social‑media platforms as an "unmitigated disaster" and an "embarrassment." He argued the policy forces children into surveillance‑heavy environments and ignores community‑based moderation models that Wikipedia champions. Wales...
Paris Hilton Gives Definitive Answer on Chances of Replacing Mom Kathy on RHOBH
Paris Hilton told PEOPLE at the Breakthrough Prize ceremony she will not replace her mother, Kathy Hilton, on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, citing the show’s drama and her packed schedule. She praised Kathy as the franchise’s original queen....
Ranveer Allahbadia Announces Documentary on India’s Got Latest Row After Reunion with Samay Raina on Kapil Sharma’s Set
Ranveer Allahbadia and comedian Samay Raina reunited on Kapil Sharma's Netflix‑streamed show, marking their first joint appearance since the heated India’s Got Latent controversy. The episode quickly rose to the top of streaming charts, generating widespread buzz. In his Beer...
Filming Begins on the Third and Final Season of "Breathless"
Netflix announced that filming has begun on the third and final season of its Spanish‑language hospital drama *Breathless*. The eight‑episode arc introduces new talent—including Belén Cuesta, Asia Ortega and Carlos González—while retaining core stars such as Najwa Nimri and Blanca...
Denial Despite Direct Quote Undermines Credibility
Amazing. He does it yet again. Says a thing. Denies he said it, even when it is QUOTED to him. In this case, in the same interview. So are his words meaningless? What. a. joke.
The Devil Wears Prada 2 Streaming Release Date Estimate, News & Updates
The Devil Wears Prada 2 opened in theaters on May 1, 2026 under 20th Century Studios. A definitive streaming launch date has not been announced, but industry analysts project an August 2026 debut on Disney-owned platforms. Disney is expected to...
Who Actually Owns AI Governance?
Advertisers are confronting a new layer of complexity as AI becomes integral to ad tech, forcing organizations to grapple with AI governance alongside existing privacy, security, and data responsibilities. A recent IAPP survey shows 48% of companies lack sufficient budget...
Social Media App Spill Wants Relevance More Than Reach. Can Its Culture‑First Ad Model Scale?
Spill, a Black‑founded social app launched after Twitter’s 2022 turmoil, has built a culture‑first ad model that prioritizes trust and relevance over raw reach. By integrating revenue, safety, community and creator functions under a single “life‑cycle” leader, it aims to...
VELUX Explores the Magic Above Us in New Global ‘Planes’ Campaign via Twenty, Copenhagen
VELUX, in partnership with Copenhagen agency Twenty, has launched the global brand film “Planes,” a poetic story that follows a child’s fascination with aircraft and a skylight that opens her room to the sky. The campaign, built around the platform...
Coles 360 Builds on Momentum with Two Strategic Appointments
Coles 360 announced two senior hires to sharpen its retail‑media offering in Australia. Dave Moline, formerly of Target’s Roundel, becomes Head of Ad Product, while Michael Savio, with experience at Coupang and Etihad Airways, takes charge of Data Intelligence and...
I Spent $250K on Agencies and Couldn’t Link a Single Dollar to Revenue
The author spent roughly $250,000 on marketing agencies for two startups, yet could not trace any dollar of revenue back to that spend. Traditional agency contracts reward activity—retainers, media budgets, and deliverables—rather than commercial outcomes. As a result, metrics like...
SVG Sit Down: NEP America’s Mike Werteen on How Great Tech, Better People Drive Success
Mike Werteen, president of NEP Americas and global chief commercial officer, discussed how the company balances cost‑effective production with heavy capital investment amid a packed event calendar that includes the Super Bowl, Olympics, NBA All‑Star Weekend, World Cup and the...
FLEX Launches on 9Now with Brand “Casting Call”
FLEX, a Bondi‑based micro‑reality series, has launched on Australia’s streaming service 9Now and on TikTok and Instagram. The show delivers daily 1‑2 minute unscripted episodes and a weekly 22‑25 minute installment, marking the country’s first foray into the global micro‑drama...
Pub.Call: AI Automation Show + Tell with Matthew Rance (April 9, 2026)
In an April 9 Pub.Call session, Matthew Rance of Immediate Media demonstrated how to embed AI into publishing workflows with a fully automated daily newsletter. The system ingests raw content, transforms data, applies generative AI to summarize and rank relevance,...
Pub.Call: BSI Publisher Quality Utility (April 21, 2026)
The Brand Safety Institute unveiled its Publisher Quality Utility, a diagnostic platform that reveals how ad‑tech vendors, block lists, and browsers score publisher sites. Hearst Magazines has adopted the tool as an early‑warning system, flagging domains that are mistakenly labeled...
From Ad Tech Tax to AI Data Brokers: The New Middlemen Keep 100%, Publishers Say
Publishers are confronting a new threat: third‑party content scrapers that take 100% of their articles without compensation. Analysts estimate the "scraper economy" at roughly $1 billion, with 21 identified vendors such as Firecrawl, Exa, Brave and You.com. These firms rebrand as...
TikTok Recreates Its Ads for Billboards Through Vistar Partnership
TikTok has launched a new out‑of‑home offering with Vistar Media that recreates TikTok ads specifically for billboards and other digital screens, rather than simply resizing existing mobile creative. Vistar’s in‑house studio works with brands to redesign campaigns for various screen...
The State of Generative AI in the Creator Economy
Generative AI has moved from a peripheral experiment to a core component of creator workflows in 2026, with 80% of creators using AI tools at some point. Platforms such as YouTube are cracking down on low‑quality AI videos, removing 16...
What 18 Years as an Advertiser Taught Me that Publishers Can Use Today
Shai Almagor, a former senior advertiser now leading Kueez’s SSP client team, shares why brands still buy on the open web and how publishers can capture that spend. He identifies three advertiser motivations—cost‑effective reach beyond walled gardens, brand adjacency with...
Apex
Netflix’s new thriller *Apex* stars Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton and Eric Bana in a stark, R‑rated survival tale set in Australia’s Blue Mountains. Director Baltasar Kormákur eschews green‑screen effects, filming on location to let the landscape become a hostile character....
When the Buyer Is a Machine: Why Agentic Commerce Threatens the Trillion-Dollar Advertising Model
In 2025 the global ad market topped $1 trillion, but the same year saw the first AI‑agent‑mediated programmatic ad deal and ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout handling purchases on major retailers. This marks the rise of "agentic commerce," where AI agents complete discovery,...
‘Watson’ Finale: Creator Craig Sweeny Reflects On How Series Ended, Its 2-Season Run And What Could’ve Been For John &...
CBS cancelled the medical drama *Watson* after two seasons, turning the Season 2 finale into a de‑facto series finale. In the closing episode, Dr. John Watson sacrifices his life‑saving glioblastoma surgery to treat a real‑world Sherlock Holmes, leading to a seizure...
Seeking Honest Comparison: Hermes Vs. OpenClaw
I caved and downloaded Hermes to try. For those of you who have tried both Hermes and OpenClaw what difference do you notice? No shilling please, just want some honest opinions
Google’s Suzana Ristevski Reveals How To Market The Ubiquitous
Google’s Australia‑New Zealand CMO Suzana Ristevski told the AANA × B&T Brand Masters podcast that marketing a brand as pervasive as Google requires shifting spend from traditional advertising to superior user experiences. She highlighted that while Google dominates search and sells Pixel devices,...
Weekend Ratings (1-3/05/2026): Game Shows Outperform Sport
Australian free‑to‑air networks saw game shows eclipse sport in the weekend of May 1‑3, 2026. Seven’s "The 1% Club" attracted over 1.7 million viewers with 852,000 staying for the full hour, while Nine’s "The Floor" logged 1.59 million reach and ranked fourth‑most watched. Both formats outperformed...
BBC News to Cut Up to 2,000 Jobs in 15% Cost‑Saving Drive
BBC News announced plans to eliminate as many as 2,000 positions, roughly 15% of its staff, in a sweeping cost‑saving programme. The cuts come weeks before former Google executive Matt Brittin takes over as director‑general, underscoring financial pressure on the...
Big Ten Distributes Record $1.37 B to Member Schools for 2025‑26
The Big Ten Conference announced a historic $1.37 billion distribution to its 18 member institutions for the fiscal year ending June 30 2025, an average of $76.1 million per school and a $490 million jump from the prior year. The surge reflects the league’s first...
Whitney Leavitt Exiting ‘The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives’ Cast
Broadway star Whitney Leavitt announced she is exiting Hulu’s reality series “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” as she wraps her final performance as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago. Leavitt, who joined the Emmy‑nominated show in 2024 after a...
Mrs Mangel Portrait Pulls $19,500 for Dementia Australia
The iconic Mrs Mangel portrait from the Australian soap "Neighbours" sold for AU$19,500 (approximately US$12,900) after a week‑long online auction that attracted 104 bids. A buyer from the United Kingdom secured the piece, with participants spanning the US, Singapore, Italy,...