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
Domino’s is rolling out a social‑first campaign that showcases influencer‑crafted pizza combos ahead of March Madness, promoting its under‑$10 “Best Deal Ever.” The initiative pairs creators like Jesser, Trisha Paytas and Courtney Cook with college basketball players, and includes a partnership with the “Friends Keep Secrets” podcast. The campaign arrives after Domino’s first brand refresh in over a decade and a relaunch of its mobile ordering platforms. In Q4, the pizza chain reported $1.54 billion revenue, a 6.36% YoY rise, and a loyalty base of 37.3 million members.
Sid Rosenberg, a WABC New York morning host, issued an apology after posting a tweet that labeled Mayor Zohran Mamdani a “America‑hating, Jew‑hating, Radical Islam cockroach.” The inflammatory language sparked immediate backlash from the mayor, community leaders, and the broader public. Rosenberg...
Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, March 8, moving clocks forward an hour for most U.S. regions. The shift creates darker mornings and longer evenings, affecting listeners’ mood, safety, sleep patterns, and energy use. Radio stations can capitalize on these changes by...
Talk radio once thrived on sex‑focused programming, with pioneers like Dr. Ruth, Sally Jessy Raphael, and Dr. Toni Grant capturing record shares among 18‑34 listeners. These shows expanded from brief segments to multi‑hour live call‑ins, becoming cultural staples and lucrative...
Audacy’s research shows podcast listening in the U.S. has surged from 6% of audio consumption in 2015 to 23% in 2025, overtaking both social‑media scrolling and streaming music. Adults now spend an average of 103 minutes per day on podcasts,...
In the latest Cortex episode, former Verge editor Becca Farsace discusses her transition to an independent creator, detailing how she built a self‑directed workflow for video production. She shares lessons learned from her tenure at a major tech publication and...
In this episode of Heated, climate reporter Chase Kane discusses his resignation from NBC News after eight years, citing systemic barriers that prevent climate stories from receiving prominent coverage. He describes how editorial decisions, time constraints, and a perception that...
AMV BBDO announced that longtime partners Nadja Lossgott and Nick Hulley will leave the agency at the end of April. Both have been instrumental in driving the firm’s integrated campaigns and client wins over the past decade. Their exit comes...
Guideline launched its Media Plan Management MCP Server, allowing agencies and advertisers to link any MCP‑compatible AI agent—such as Claude or ChatGPT—to its media planning platform. Built on the open Model Context Protocol, the server provides a plug‑and‑play, read‑only connection...
The latest episode of The Big Ben Show drops as a supersized special, featuring Fox News host Ben Shapiro, Iran specialist Benham, and veteran commentator Buck Sexton, who recently landed a New York Times bestseller. The trio tackles the week’s political upheavals,...
Open World, the marketing consultancy division of Loaded Holdings, has acquired influencer platform Drope.me to add automation and performance‑tracking tools to its gaming creator campaigns. The acquisition enables Open World to scale activations from dozens to thousands of creators simultaneously....
The TCWD Podcast "Who Killed the Media?" argues that journalism’s decline is engineered, not accidental, citing AI‑generated fake war footage, a war‑hawk press, and profit‑driven ownership. Hosts Jessa and Nico point to venture‑capital funding, Jeff Bezos’ controversial handling of the...
The Daily Wire’s seven‑episode series “The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin” showcases production quality that can stand beside mainstream fantasy giants like HBO, featuring strong acting, cinematography, and music. However, the show crams Stephen R. Lawhead’s expansive source material...
European drama producers and distributors are adapting to a tighter financing environment as U.S. co‑production dollars shrink and production costs rise. They are emphasizing well‑packaged deals, flexible windowing, and multi‑territory appeal, often leveraging tax incentives and strategic location budgeting. Known...
Men’s Wearhouse partnered with Ovation Group and The Trade Desk’s Kokai platform to run an audio‑only campaign from March to June 2025 across Spotify, iHeart, Acast and Pandora. The effort, aimed at younger, digitally‑first men, leveraged Ovation’s EMRge marketing intelligence...
Men’s Wearhouse partnered with Ovative Group and The Trade Desk’s Kokai platform to run an audio‑only campaign across Spotify, iHeart, Acast and Pandora from March to June 2025. The campaign, aimed at younger “Stylish Steve” and older “Professional Paul” men,...
Campaign’s Brand Buzz roundup highlights how major brands used social media last month to drive conversation and sales. McDonald’s launched a limited‑time menu item on TikTok, sparking viral user videos. Aldi promoted its new eco‑friendly packaging through Instagram Stories, while...
Kevin Joyce, veteran XR marketer, launched Evolution Publishing to back indie VR studios amid a market downturn. The publisher uses a revenue‑share model without taking equity, aiming to nurture innovative titles until VR reaches a mainstream breakout. Joyce cites Meta’s...
Thrad, a leading AI advertising infrastructure provider, announced its entry as a founding member of AgenticAdvertising.org (AAO), an initiative to develop open standards for AI‑powered ads through the Ad Context Protocol. The move comes amid OpenAI’s launch of a high‑cost,...
Lumen Research has teamed up with Netflix to launch an attention‑measurement solution that tracks how viewers engage with ads across Netflix’s ad‑supported CTV, desktop, and mobile platforms. The offering is initially available to advertisers in the UK, Germany, France, Italy,...
Radio broadcaster Cumulus Media has filed a prepackaged Chapter 11 reorganization, aiming to eliminate approximately $600 million of debt. The plan, backed by its lenders, allows the company to continue operating its 394 radio stations, Westwood One network, and podcast platform...
Zink Talent, founded in 2018 by former fashion PR executive Samantha Zink, now manages about 70 creators across beauty, skincare, fashion and lifestyle. The agency has shifted its roster criteria from raw follower counts to engagement, consistency and business discipline,...
EXTE announced a strategic integration with HUMAN Security, embedding the MediaGuard Ad Fraud Defence solution into its programmatic platform. The joint offering combines pre‑bid mitigation and post‑bid reporting to verify impressions, block bots, and curb invalid traffic in real time....
Journalists face escalating digital threats—from commercial spyware to FBI raids—making robust security protocols essential. A recent Nieman‑to‑Nieman seminar featured experts from the EFF, GIJN, and CISI who outlined practical steps such as threat modeling, device hardening, and emergency response planning....
The Nova Scotia government’s 2026‑2027 budget proposes a 30% reduction in arts, culture and heritage funding, a $14 million cut to discretionary spending, and the elimination or reduction of more than 70 grant programs worth over $130 million. A coalition of national...
MediaWise launched the G.A.M.E. program in 2025, partnering with gaming creators like Danny Peña, Riana Manuel‑Peña, streamer airie, and voice actor Greg Chun to embed media‑literacy lessons into live streams on Fortnite and other games. The initiative reached more than 150,000 viewers, using...
AccuWeather has launched its free, ad‑supported streaming channel AccuWeather NOW on Samsung TV Plus in the United States, adding the service to Samsung’s FAST platform that now exceeds 100 million monthly active users worldwide. The channel delivers 24‑hour weather programming, including forecasts, severe‑weather...
Synamedia teamed with Swiss sports‑tech firm Asport to stream the Games of the Future in Abu Dhabi, a hybrid event merging physical sport, esports and digital games. Using Synamedia’s Quortex SaaS platform, Asport delivered over 200 live streams across YouTube,...
ExchangeWire’s The Wires 2026 marks a decade of ad‑tech awards and unveils a globally diverse judging panel spanning EMEA, APAC, MENA and the US. Judges from brands, agencies and publishers emphasize consumer‑centric insight, AI‑driven measurement, and clear ROI as hallmarks...
AppHarbr, GeoEdge’s in‑app ad quality platform, released the first In‑App Network Ad Quality & Safety Performance Index, benchmarking 45 ad networks across 25 billion ads. The study found half of the networks fell short of basic safety standards, with iOS apps...
Digital Content Next curated a weekly roundup of the most consequential media stories for the week of March 5, 2026. The collection highlights Larry Ellison’s looming media empire, a surge in niche‑casting as traditional broadcast wanes, and the Supreme Court’s refusal to...
Zetland, the Danish reader‑funded digital publisher, has extended its membership‑only model beyond Denmark, launching Uusi Juttu in Finland and Demo in Norway. The Finnish outlet broke even within a year with a 25‑person team, while the Norwegian launch hit its...
Patch, operating under the PatchAM brand, has launched AI‑generated newsletters that now serve 14,000 hyperlocal communities and have amassed nearly one million subscribers. The service pulls content from aggregation sources, event calendars and platforms like Nextdoor, delivering daily or twice‑weekly...
Guide Dogs, the UK’s leading charity that trains guide dogs for the visually impaired, has appointed Fold7 as its lead creative agency. The decision came after a three‑way pitch that also featured Atomic London and VCCP. Fold7 will refresh the...
TK Maxx’s latest television spot, produced by Wieden & Kennedy London, features a whimsical cat wearing a Gucci shoe on its head, delivering a tongue‑in‑cheek take on fashion excess. The ad blends high‑end luxury cues with the retailer’s value‑focused positioning,...
In early 2026 the Reserve Bank of India launched its first official podcast, "RBI Talks Paisa to Policy," building on a 2025 web‑series released to celebrate the institution’s 90‑year anniversary. Both initiatives expand RBI’s communications toolkit, which has evolved from...
Ford is re‑entering Formula 1 after more than two decades, partnering with Oracle Red Bull Racing and extending its global "Ready Set Ford" campaign. The automaker is abandoning traditional TV spots in favor of Apple TV’s sequential ad format, creating a micro‑docuseries that links F1...
TikTok revealed its Discover List 2026, highlighting 50 creators to watch across categories like Educators, Foodies, Icons, Innovators, and Originators. The list acts as both a cultural barometer and a pre-vetted talent pipeline for brands looking to partner with emerging...
While a massive number, it’s not actually. If my math is right, it’s about 75k AMA which approximates TV viewership. Global yet significantly smaller than SC. Love to know what percent is US and by sport. Regardless, YT is destination...
Orange 142, a Direct Digital Holdings division, unveiled Ignition+, an AI‑powered programmatic platform designed for Fortune 1,000 brands and large agencies. The solution consolidates activation, supply access, optimization and measurement into a single stack, promising greater transparency and a flat‑fee pricing...
This is exactly the type of deal I discuss in today's newsletter ... will a Paramount/WBD merged company do these smaller sports rights deals anymore? The calculus will definitely change for TNT ... https://t.co/DvKzUkqcDr
When asks about plans for CNN, Paramount CEO David Ellison tells CNBC that we want to be in the truth business, we want to be in the trust business and that’s not going to change.
Study The Control Revolution. Industrial Revolution --> Crisis of Control --> Information Revolution We have the opposite Crisis now: info has outstripped that which it was born to control. Like going off the gold standard, but for information. https://t.co/CLPrtXBQxu
After Hollywood turned on David Zaslav for being too much of a bean counter/financier, I’m sure The Town will appreciate David Ellison’s answer to being asked how many layoffs are coming w/ merging w/ WBD: “We absolutely need to rationalize the...
CBS' morning show has for years taken pride in its resistance to the softer side of AM news, like cooking segments and lifestyle reporting. But now the program is poised to reverse its stance.... https://t.co/b2KevEZz2g via @variety
More shake-ups at 'CBS This Morning,' where EP Shawna Thomas will leave as the program gets set to pursue some of the lifestyle and soft-news content it previously avoided.... https://t.co/b2KevEZz2g via @variety
This week’s CNBC Sport newsletter is out: *Why TNT Sports’ strategy no longer makes sense if WBD & Paramount come together *Jeff Shell’s future up in the air *There will be no David Ellison/David Zaslav “men in blazers” photo on the...
CNN Senior International Correspondent Frederik Pleitgensays and his team are in Iran—the first US network to cross into the country since the start of the war.
press tension fuels democracy. appreciate a free and plural press doing the work they’re doing. and Collins holding the line here in a completely reasonable manner despite the rhetoric thrown at her.
New: The CBS News town hall with @JDVance, which had been slated to air on March 14, has been postponed indefinitely.
