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
Veritone chief revenue officer Sean King says AI has rapidly shifted from a novelty to a business essential, with autonomous agents now handling end‑to‑end tasks. At the 2026 NAB Show the company will showcase its aiWARE‑powered suite—including the Digital Media Hub, Archive IQ, Attribute & Discovery, and Data Refinery—to turn unstructured video, audio and text into searchable, monetizable assets. King highlights the growing scarcity of high‑quality public data and the need for governed, private data to train next‑gen models. The booth will also feature a panel on data governance as a new engine of enterprise value.
Carlos Gu and Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden will team up for the upcoming season of Channel 4’s Celebrity Hunted, filmed last summer and set to air in 2026. The pair describe a volatile 24‑hour chase that evolved from heated arguments into a brother‑sister‑like bond....
The British Society of Magazine Editors, partnered with author Caitlin Moran, has launched the Young Writers’ Prize targeting aspiring magazine journalists aged 18‑25. The competition awards a £12,000 cash prize, a year‑long mentorship with Moran, work experience from leading UK...
CBS Sports and TNT Sports announced that ad demand for the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is "tremendous," though they withheld specific pricing or inventory numbers. Executives emphasized that live sports continue to cut through the clutter, driving revenue across...
Episode 23 of Married at First Sight 2026 follows the couples retreat in Kiama, NSW, where a heated fallout from Bec’s toast about Rachel and Steven dominates the narrative. The group repeatedly re‑hashes the same argument, with alliances forming against...
In this live episode of The New World, editor‑in‑chief Matt Kelly chats with Substack writer David Aaronovitch about the chaotic fallout from recent Middle‑East crises, especially the U.S.‑Iran confrontation and its ripple effects on oil markets, Russia, and global geopolitics....
Channel 4's new eight‑episode drama "A Woman of Substance" premieres tomorrow, starring Jessica Reynolds as Emma Harte with Brenda Blethyn in a supporting lead. Early reviews from Metro and the Financial Times praise its engrossing storytelling and production, likening it to...
Mega 94.3, a 3 kW Class A FM station serving Carrizo Springs and Crystal City, Texas, has been sold to a new owner. The transaction is pending FCC approval, which will determine the final transfer of the broadcast license. The deal underscores...
The article proposes that brands launch dedicated "side quest" social media accounts rather than cramming all content onto a single main page. It notes that platform algorithms now surface fresh accounts quickly, citing creators who amassed millions of views within...
A historic merger- I sat down with Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison for an exclusive interview about his company’s acquisition of Warner Brothers Discovery. Check it all out on CNBC and cnbc.com
Ben Whitelaw celebrates two years of the Trust & Safety Insider newsletter, highlighting five standout articles that trace the field’s evolution from generative AI breakthroughs to new European regulations. The pieces showcase shifting priorities toward prosocial design, global policy tensions,...
Perion Network announced the launch of its Outmax AI agent on TikTok, reporting up to a 25% lift in media performance during early trials. The integration brings Perion’s AI‑native infrastructure to TikTok’s 1.6 billion‑user ecosystem, allowing advertisers to move beyond platform‑standard...
Limelight Inc has appointed Oshri Raz as Vice President of USA Strategic Alliances to accelerate the rollout of its white‑label programmatic tools across the United States. Raz brings deep ad‑tech experience from his senior roles at EX.CO, where he helped...
On March 10, 1978 CBS premiered the regular episodes of “The Incredible Hulk,” following two successful pilot movies from the previous year. Developed by Kenneth Johnson, the series starred Bill Bixby as Dr. David Banner and Lou Ferrigno as the...
A New York Times probe of over 1,000 YouTube Shorts reveals that roughly 40 percent of videos recommended to toddlers are AI‑generated, often masquerading as educational alphabet or animal lessons. The platform’s algorithm favors these low‑cost, hyper‑realistic clips, pushing them ahead of...
I almost cancelled my @WashingtonPost subscription. Being in PR, I try to support media by paying but with so many people I worked with now gone, I was on the fence about it. I already pay for: @NYTimes, @WSJ, @Business,...
German publishers and advertising groups have asked the Bundeskartellamt to fine Apple over its App Tracking Transparency (ATT) system, claiming it unfairly blocks third‑party access to advertising data while Apple’s own apps remain exempt. Apple responded with proposals to use...
The IAB Tech Lab released the Content Monetization Protocol (CoMP) Specification v1.0, a standardized framework that requires AI systems to secure commercial agreements with publishers before crawling content. The draft is open for public comment until April 9, 2026, inviting...
RAAS LAB announced a partnership with The Trade Desk, integrating its AI‑driven contextual intelligence into the demand‑side platform. The joint solution lets advertisers evaluate tone, sentiment and placement environment at the impression level, backed by URL‑level reporting. Brands and agencies...
Walmart has fully integrated Vizio into its private‑label portfolio, making the brand exclusive to Walmart and Sam’s Club stores. New Vizio smart TVs now require a Walmart account during setup to unlock full streaming and personalization features, while existing owners...
Matthew Henick, SVP of Consumer Products at The Trade Desk, unveiled the Ventura Ecosystem – an OS‑level ad infrastructure designed to streamline the CTV supply chain. He argued that too many intermediaries erode OEM revenue and obscure transparency for advertisers....
Western bootmaker Tecovas is shifting its marketing play by releasing a 14‑minute short film titled “Love Letter to Texas,” written and directed by Jeff Nichols and starring Ryan Bingham with narration by Sissy Spacek. The film premiered at the South‑by‑Southwest...
Sinclair Broadcast Group is reviving a two‑hour local morning news slot on WACH‑57 in Columbia, South Carolina. The station had dropped its local program in March 2023 in favor of the national‑focused The National Desk. The reinstated show will air...
In a new Section 230 mini‑series episode, host and legal commentator interviews Santa Clara Law professor Eric Goldman to dismantle the myth that algorithmic curation should strip platforms of their Section 230 immunity. The discussion clarifies that even a reverse‑chronological...
Seattle’s long‑running financial talk show "Talking Real Money" is leaving its home on Lotus Communications’ KNWN‑AM/FM to become a podcast‑only program. Co‑hosts Don McDonald and Tom Cock say the move aligns with the shift toward on‑demand audio, offering listeners flexibility...
Channel 4 has mandated subtitles on all new TV ads, pushing brands toward greater accessibility. Currys, praising the move, added closed captions to its “The Sigh of Relief” campaign, citing a potential reach of 18 million UK viewers with hearing loss. The...
YouTube is rolling out its AI‑powered likeness detection tool to a pilot group of politicians, journalists and other public officials. The feature scans the platform for videos that replicate a person’s face and lets verified individuals request removal, though requests...
TVB’s 2026 Purchase Funnel Study, commissioned by GfK/NIQ, confirms television remains the most influential medium across all stages of the consumer purchase journey. TV outperformed the nearest competitor, social media, by fivefold in driving awareness and led trust metrics, with...
Airwave announced an exclusive distribution, monetization and marketing partnership with The Really Very Crunchy Podcast, a rapidly growing show in the parenting category. The deal gives the comedy duo Jason and Emily Morrow full‑service network support to scale audience reach...
Gray Television, after merging with Raycom Media, now controls Savannah’s CBS affiliate WTOC‑11. A legal dispute could force Dish Network to block WTOC for its subscribers starting at 7 p.m. Eastern today. The station, a long‑standing ratings leader in Georgia’s Coastal...
Therapist and nonfiction author Oona Metz was a guest on over 50 podcasts prior to her book's launch. Here's what she learned: https://janefriedman.com/how-to-use-podcast-guesting-to-promote-your-nonfiction-book/
Barbara “Bob” Allen, veteran journalist and founder of CollegeJournalism.org, launched the Student Press Report to spotlight the financial and editorial challenges facing U.S. college newspapers. The new national news desk’s debut story warns that student media are cash‑starved and increasingly...
BBC Studios has teamed with Bauer Media Audio to become the exclusive third‑party seller of its podcast advertising in seven European markets – Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Poland, Slovakia and Portugal. The deal, executed through Bauer’s audioXi digital audio marketplace,...
Streaming platforms have fundamentally altered television consumption worldwide, shifting viewers from scheduled broadcasts to on‑demand, personalized experiences. Services such as Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime enable binge‑watching, global content discovery, and data‑driven recommendations, reshaping production and distribution models. Traditional broadcasters...
Meta announced today that it will begin applying "location fees" to ads run in countries that charge digital service taxes (DST) on digitally fulfilled ads. Those countries are: Austria: 5% France: 3% Italy: 3% Turkey: 5% UK: 2% Notably, automated campaign budget allocation logic will not take...
In a recent video, I asked if Philo pushed it too far with its $33/month price. Now, the service has brought back a $25/month plan + free trial. The cheaper plan has no additional apps. Smart move. Here is my...
Companion announced its first creator‑led audio and video podcast slate, featuring a mix of entertainment icons, mental‑health experts, and STEM communicators. The company will finance, produce, and distribute the shows through its Companion Arts studio, offering end‑to‑end services while preserving...
‘Bachelor in Paradise’ Couple Serena Pitt and Joe Amabile Team With Alex Cooper’s Unwell Network for Video Podcast About Their Relationship (and Age Difference), Reality TV and Pop Culture, and More https://t.co/Xwsr104A0l via @variety
🚨🆕 I'm going on 📻 @Y100FM 𝐍𝐎𝐖 with @ScottNSports for 📺 #TVTuesday to preview 🎬🍿 the 98th Annual #AcademyAwards #Oscars on @ABCNetwork and @hulu hosted by @ConanOBrien 🎧 𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐍 𝐍𝐎𝐖 🔊 🗣“Play KUYY” or "Play Y100" 📱 💻 https://t.co/nlxHQ15c7o https://t.co/uUUzGc0YYF
Podstock unveiled Agent, an AI‑powered assistant embedded in its analytics platform, to automate podcast‑business workflows such as performance reporting, inventory planning, and campaign execution. The tool pulls real‑time data from each organization’s Podstock instance, answering ad‑hoc queries and generating multi‑show...
Whalar Group Launches Lighthouse Studios to Build a TV-Like Schedule of Creator Content, Sets Joint Venture With Cole Bennett’s Lyrical Lemonade https://t.co/V4y1XtspOC via @variety
After Viral Timothée Chalamet Town Hall, CNN and Variety to Partner Again on Oscars Red Carpet Pre-Show https://t.co/Wa14dUYbni
Polsat Box Go has expanded its streaming catalogue by adding 23 new TV channels, pushing the total offering to almost 200 services. The new lineup includes a mix of public broadcaster TVP channels and TVN Warner Bros Discovery assets such as TVN24, TVN Turbo and...
Disney is betting on ESPN's Omar Raja to keep NBA fans tuned in to ABC as its Oscars red-carpet coverage starts, part of the company's growing focus on managing audiences around live telecasts.... https://t.co/ngxhWMK75a
My first 9 months writing online were brutal. I basically got zero likes, zero reposts, and zero comments. 3 writing tips I wish I knew 5 years ago (before publishing my first 100 posts):
MadConnect has made its Intelligent Connectivity Layer (ICL) generally available, offering a neutral infrastructure that links CRMs, CDPs, clean rooms, DSPs and other ad‑tech systems for AI agents. The ICL natively supports the open‑source Model Context Protocol (MCP), acting as...
New @axios: State AGs becoming bigger media antitrust cops: 🎸EVENTS: 27 states +DC still suing to break up Live Nation/Ticketmaster 📺LOCAL TV: State AGs considering lawsuit to block Nexstar-Tegna 📽️HOLLYWOOD: Cali state AG is vocal about concerns re: WBD/Paramount https://t.co/rXMsHy4JxJ
Sean Hannity says he's taking a different tack on his new podcast, which will make one of Fox News' truly signature personalities available to consumers off its traditional subscription-based platforms.... https://t.co/y28oaycPhx via @variety
Justice correspondent Scott MacFarlane announced his departure from CBS News, citing a desire for independence after gaining prominence for his Jan. 6 Capitol riot coverage. His exit adds to a wave of high‑profile departures since Bari Weiss assumed the editor‑in‑chief role,...
Spain has emerged as Europe’s FAST (Free Ad‑Supported Streaming TV) leader, with 35% of adults using free streaming services each month. Omdia forecasts FAST revenues at $32 million in 2025, nearly doubling to $65 million by 2030. Local broadcasters such as RTVE...
