Today's Media Pulse
Online video subscriptions top 2.2 bn, revenue eclipses pay‑TV
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, overtaking pay‑TV's $170 billion for the first time. Growth is expected to slow to single‑digit in 2026 as operators shift focus from acquiring new users to monetising existing ones.
10 Local ABC, CBS, FOX & NBC Are Getting New Owners
Gray Media and Allen Media Group have completed a $171 million deal to transfer ten television stations across ten U.S. markets. Gray acquired three new‑market stations in Mississippi and Indiana on March 26, 2026, and closed on seven overlapping stations on May 2, creating duopolies in those areas. The transaction expands Gray’s footprint in mid‑size markets while allowing Allen Media to streamline its broadcast portfolio. FCC waivers cleared the ownership rules, enabling the phased closings.
TheWrap Launches 'The Ledger' Newsletter to Track Hollywood Finance
TheWrap introduced The Ledger, a weekly finance‑focused newsletter aimed at media and entertainment investors. Founder Jon Lafayette will feature insights from industry veterans like GAMCO CIO Chris Marangi, covering everything from streaming valuations to AI’s role in content creation.
Iran’s Meme War Against Trump Ushers in a Future of ‘Slopaganda’
Iran has escalated its information campaign by flooding social platforms with short, cartoon‑style videos that lampoon U.S. President Donald Trump. Early attempts to garner sympathy through emotional appeals failed, prompting Tehran to adopt a more aggressive, pop‑culture‑driven approach. The memes...
Brilliant Minds: Season Two Ratings + Viewer Votes
NBC’s medical drama *Brilliant Minds* returns for a second season, but its future hinges on modest Nielsen numbers. Season 1 averaged a 0.23 rating in the coveted 18‑49 demographic and drew 2.97 million viewers, setting a low baseline for renewal. Early season‑2...
NBC Debuting New WNBA Marketing Campaign During Kentucky Derby
NBC has locked in a WNBA media rights agreement through 2036, guaranteeing more than 50 regular‑season and first‑round playoff games each season across Peacock, NBC and USA. The partnership kicks off with a May 10 Aces‑Sparks matchup on USA Network, followed...
Stumble: Cancelled; NBC Cheerleading Sitcom Won’t Be Back for Season Two
NBC announced the cancellation of the mockumentary‑style comedy Stumble after its 13‑episode debut, meaning no season two for 2026‑27. The series, loosely inspired by Netflix’s docuseries Cheer, followed a Texas junior‑college cheer coach navigating a career setback. It aired on...
CHiPS Finale: Ponch Teams
📺 May 1, 1983: Ponch (Erik Estrada) got help from the teenage ex-members of his Explorer troop to catch a group of junior-high extortionists in the series finale of “CHiPS” on NBC. The police drama ran six seasons. https://t.co/9OSyKq26Vj https://t.co/a66pG9PYcE
Brilliant Minds: Cancelled; No Season Three for NBC Medical Drama
NBC announced the cancellation of the medical drama *Brilliant Minds* after two seasons, confirming there will be no third season. The series’ second season, which began airing later this month, delivered a 0.14 rating in the 18‑49 demographic and 1.87 million...
Fire Country, 3 More CBS Dramas To Get Reduced Episode Orders Next Season
CBS announced that four returning dramas will receive shorter seasons for 2026‑27. "Fire Country" drops from 20 to 13 episodes, while the NCIS spin‑offs "Origins" and "Sydney" will each run 10 episodes, down from 18‑20. "Matlock" also shrinks to 13...
Hearst Investigative Reporting Winners Announced
The Hearst Journalism Awards Program announced winners of its 2025‑2026 Individual/Team Investigative Reporting Competition. Livia Ziskey of the University of Nebraska‑Lincoln captured first place and a $3,000 prize for her piece on illegal juvenile confinement. The competition drew 71 entries...
How to Make a BOOK Into a Bestseller
In this episode, Planet Money chronicles the launch of its own book and the nail‑biting wait for the New York Times bestseller list, while exposing the opaque, high‑stakes system that determines bestseller status. Host Alexi Horowitz and book editor Tom Mayer...
Meta Q1 FY26 Ad Revenue Jumps 33% as AI Drives 12% Rise in Average Ad Price
Meta announced first‑quarter FY26 advertising revenue of $55 billion, up 33% year‑over‑year, while the average price per ad rose 12%. The surge stems from AI‑powered ranking upgrades, new generative‑ad tools and a rapid expansion of business‑AI usage.
NBC Cancels Brilliant Minds and Stumble
NBC announced the cancellation of the medical drama Brilliant Minds after two seasons and the freshman cheerleading comedy Stumble after one season. Both series struggled to meet the network’s ratings expectations, prompting the decision. The move leaves Law & Order...
How Liberal Media Sold A Genocide
Adam Johnson’s new book *How To Sell A Genocide* argues that mainstream liberal outlets such as The New York Times, CNN and MSNBC crafted a subtle narrative that gave the Biden administration and Israel political cover for the Gaza war. Johnson contends...
Big Tech and Networks Threaten Local TV Survival
What is @KrisKobach1787 going to say after Big Tech and the Big Four TV networks squeeze local TV station owners into oblivion, leaving the American underclass dependent on a U.S. version of the @BBC run by people who call...
Stumble Canceled At NBC
NBC announced the cancellation of the mockumentary comedy "Stumble" after just one season. The series, which debuted in November on NBC's Friday night slot, concluded its storyline with the Season 1 finale on March 13, effectively serving as a series finale. Starring...
Brilliant Minds Canceled At NBC
NBC announced the cancellation of the medical drama “Brilliant Minds” after two seasons. The series, starring Zachary Quinto as neurodivergent neurologist Oliver Wolf and loosely based on Dr. Oliver Sacks, had its final six episodes set for a May 27 release. The...
Google’s Preferred Sources Is Now A Global SEO Signal via @Sejournal, @Martinibuster
Google has expanded its Preferred Sources feature to every language supported by Google Search, updating its Search Central documentation to reflect global availability. The change introduces downloadable button assets in 16 languages, enabling publishers worldwide to invite users to select...
Claude Now Creates Professional Videos From a Single Prompt
The Pika x Claude MCP integration is wild. 26 video skills now sit inside Claude. No editing software. No timeline. No render queue. Drop a GitHub URL → get a walkthrough video with a lip-synced presenter and captions. Hand it a topic →...
Save The Dates: J.Lo's Office Romance On Netflix, My Adventures With Superman Season 3, And More
Netflix is set to debut the romantic comedy "Office Romance" starring Jennifer Lopez as airline CEO Jackie Cruz and Brett Goldstein, a "Ted Lasso" favorite, on June 5. The film pairs the two leads in a high‑stakes office love story that...
Five Questions with Katie Phang
Journalist Katie Phang has filed a lawsuit against Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, alleging that the Justice Department’s failure to comply with the Epstein Files Transparency Act hampers her ability to report. The suit claims the DOJ’s non‑compliance violates her...
Wednesday TV Ratings: Survivor, Chicago PD, MasterChef, Police 24/7, Shark Tank,
Wednesday, April 29, 2026, saw a full slate of new episodes across major broadcast and cable series, including Survivor, Shark Tank, The Greatest Average American, and several Chicago franchise titles. Reruns of Police 24/7, Shark Tank and Celebrity Wheel of Fortune filled the...
Subscribe to Free Democracy Docket Newsletter Today
If you aren't subscribed to Democracy Docket, you missed tonight's nightly newsletter. With everything going on right now, make sure you are signed-up. It's free, helps me spread the word, but is not available on the website. https://bit.ly/4meZPiV
Jason Watkins' 'Unmissable' Historical TV Show Is Streaming Right Now
British actor Jason Watkins teams with historian Tracy Borman for a one‑off documentary, *The Betrayal of Anne Boleyn: Inside the Tower of London Special*, now streaming on Channel 5’s My5 platform. The program retraces Anne Boleyn’s life from Hever Castle to...
Seven Unveils Refreshed 7NEWS Tasmania Team for Hobart Move
Seven Network is shifting the production of its flagship 7NEWS Tasmania bulletin from Launceston to a new studio in Hobart, debuting on May 25. Veteran anchor Kim Millar will present the 6 p.m. weekday slot Monday‑Wednesday, while weekend presenter Michael Maney...
The Onion and Tim Heidecker’s InfoWars Takeover Delayed by Texas Court
The Onion’s plan to hand control of InfoWars to comedian Tim Heidecker has been temporarily halted after the Texas Third Court of Appeals granted an emergency motion filed by Alex Jones’ lawyers. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for...
World War Alfonsi
Veteran 60 Minutes correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi was honored with the Ridenhour Courage Prize at the National Press Club. The award recognized her investigative work on the Salvadoran CECOT prison, which was delayed by new editor Bari Weiss. Alfonsi publicly accused Weiss of...
Netflix Plans First Wide Theatrical Release With ‘Narnia’
Netflix announced it will give Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of “The Magician’s Nephew” a wide theatrical run before streaming. The film opens in cinemas on Feb. 12, 2026 and arrives on Netflix on April 2, marking the company’s first month‑long theatrical window for...
Spotify's New 'Verified' Badge Confirms Musicians Like Taylor Swift, Drake Aren't AI
Spotify has introduced a green “Verified by Spotify” badge to distinguish human musicians from AI‑generated accounts. The badge appears next to artists who have at least 10,000 active listeners for three consecutive months and an identifiable off‑platform presence. Initial recipients...
Bringing Real-Time AI Into Live Video Workflows: AWS Elemental Inference at NAB
AWS introduced Elemental Inference, embedding real‑time AI directly into its Elemental media stack to transform live video workflows. In partnership with Fox Corp., the service automatically reframes 16:9 feeds into vertical formats, detects highlights, and outputs parallel streams for social...
Netflix Launches Greta Gerwig’s Narnia Worldwide with 49‑day Theatrical Window
It is a massive development that Netflix has authorized the wide release on February 12, 2027 in movie theatres globally — so very importantly with a traditional 49-day exclusive theatrical window — of acclaimed director Greta Gerwig’s newest film...
NBC Pulls Two New Series From Lineup
#NBC has canceled sophomore medical drama #BrilliantMinds & freshman cheerleading comedy #Stumble. #WarnerBros & #Universal produced the former; Universal the latter. $CMCSA $WBD
Where You've Seen The Neighbourhood's Lyndsey and Louise Before
The Neighbourhood’s fifth episode saw the exit of Liverpool twins Lyndsey and Louise Scott, who left the competition after a brief but impactful stint with their partner Rosie. Their early strategic moves, including a surprise vote against the Uni Boys,...
Countdown Clocks Heighten Awareness of Ad Frequency
Streaming services telling you how long the ad breaks are with a countdown clock really makes you even more cognizant of how many there are
1988 TV Sequel “Splash Too” Premieres on ABC
📺 May 1, 1988: TV movie “Splash Too” starring Amy Yasbeck and Todd Waring, the sequel to the 1984 theatrical film “Splash”, originally aired on ABC. https://t.co/s3zVrWge61 https://t.co/Thwp123bJW
HBO Max Drops Support for Millions of Older Fire TV Models
HBO Max announced that its Fire TV app will no longer run on devices using Fire OS 5, raising the minimum supported version to Fire OS 6. Amazon’s Fire TV lineup, including the popular 2nd‑gen Fire TV Stick, has not received major...
Wuthering Heights Tops HBO Max’s May Romance Lineup
Wuthering Heights leads the line up of new HBO Max romantic movies you won't want to miss in May. https://t.co/3pi3VWOslw
News Emmys to Host White House Correspondents Awards
Scoop in tonight’s email… The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has offered to host the White House Correspondents’ Association’s awards ceremony at its News Emmys ceremony later this month in New York… More details: https://t.co/aUkyssMv7F @PuckNews
Prime Video Thriller with a 'Brilliant, Battle-Scarred' Detective Announces New Cast Additions
Prime Video’s upcoming thriller "Bishop" has expanded its ensemble, adding Ulrich Thomsen, Erik Svedberg‑Zelman, John Larroquette and Rob Yang to a cast already led by Joel Kinnaman as homicide detective Bishop Graves and John Malkovich as his powerful father, Lincoln Graves. The series, created by...
Netflix Gives Narnia Film 49-Day Exclusive Theatrical Run
Netflix is releasing Greta Gerwig's adaptation of The Chronicles of Narnia exclusively in theaters for 49 days. Netflix says this is not a change in strategy, but this is the first time the company has ever put a movie in...
Disney CEO Targets Unified Super App Across All Platforms
New Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro wants the company to create a super app, uniting its films, TV shows, parks passes, games and merchandise within Disney+. His predecessor talked about this for years. Can D'Amaro finally get it done? New with @tgbuckley https://t.co/e60a05d9li
NYT Names Camiguin Island a Must‑Visit Spot for 2026, Boosting Philippine Adventure Tourism
Camiguin Island has been singled out as the sole Philippine entry in the New York Times' "52 Places to Go in 2026," spotlighting its untouched beaches, volcanic hikes and cultural festivals. The endorsement arrives as the government nears completion of...
Comcast Revises NFL Network Statement, Adds Incendiary Tone
Update - Comcast amended its statement on NFL Network going dark in a carriage dispute to make it more incendiary https://t.co/q0XPV8A9hS
NYT Could Secure Second Cup Coffee Sponsorship
First, I hope The Athletic staffers can occasionally hang out here. But more importantly: Big opportunity for the NYT to get a coffee sponsorship from Second Cup. "All the coffee that's fit to drink. Second Cup is a proud sponsor of...
Every Taylor Sheridan TV Show and Movie Coming in 2026 and Beyond
Taylor Sheridan’s 2026‑2029 slate cements his status as television’s most prolific creator. Paramount+ will roll out new seasons of "Dutton Ranch," "Lioness," "Landman," "Tulsa King," "The Madison," "Mayor of Kingstown" and a second season of "Marshals," while his first theatrical return...
Dark Money Pays Influencers to Demonize Chinese AI
A Dark-Money Campaign Is Paying Influencers to Frame Chinese AI as a Threat https://t.co/QyPyez4PyO https://t.co/CZHpXg0sZE
Jodie Sweetin Gets $0.01 Residual Check, Spotlighting Streaming’s Impact on Legacy TV Pay
Jodie Sweetin disclosed that her latest residual payment for Full House was just one cent, underscoring how streaming has eroded traditional syndication revenue. The revelation has reignited industry talk about outdated royalty structures and the stark contrast with shows like...
Optus CEO Defends Silence After 12‑Hour Outage During Senate Inquiry
Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin told a Senate inquiry why she delayed public comments after a 12‑hour network outage that affected 10 million Australians. She said she waited until cyber specialists ruled out malicious activity, while senators and the communications minister...
Say Hello to the Sneaker News AI Agent
Sneaker News has launched an AI‑powered chatbot, the Sneaker News Agent, on WhatsApp through a partnership with Stardust. The bot pulls answers directly from SneakerNews.com, delivering release dates, images, restock alerts, and historical sneaker data in a conversational format. It...
Instagram Algorithm Update Discourages Reposted Content
Instagram has revamped its recommendation algorithm to demote accounts that primarily repost photos, carousel posts, or reels, emphasizing original, creatively edited content. The platform reports that 75% of U.S. recommendations now stem from posts it deems original. Meanwhile, eBay is...