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
Paramount CEO David Ellison revealed his favorite HBO series—Game of Thrones—during a March 2 investor call, shortly after the $111 billion Warner Bros. Discovery auction that merged the two giants. The combined Paramount‑WBD entity is being framed as a new media "kingdom" battling tech‑driven streaming rivals. Ellison also mentioned The Sopranos, hinting at a broader cultural palate as the companies navigate integration and leadership reshuffles.
IvyBears, a leading European vitamin gummy brand, has debuted the first AI‑driven animated TV series for children, titled IvyBears. The show’s inaugural episode airs in April with new installments released monthly through the brand’s own channels. Production was handled by...
The Disney+ reboot of Scrubs confirms that Neil Flynn will reprise his iconic Janitor role after earlier reports suggested otherwise. The revival also adds new talent, including The O.C. star Rachel Bilson, All My Children alumnus Andy Ridings, and Twisted...
Vision Maker Media (VMM) has launched "First People, First Stories," a public‑TV series that stitches together short films created by emerging Native American filmmakers. The series draws from VMM’s Creative Shorts Fellowship and its Native Youth Media Project, packaging two...
Thursday, February 26, 2026, saw a packed lineup of 18 new episodes spanning ABC, NBC, CBS and other major networks, including Grey’s Anatomy, Law & Order SVU, and the reality series Going Dutch. Ratings were reported using Fast Affiliate Numbers, offering near‑real‑time...
ESPN’s women’s sports programming chief, Susie Piotrkowski, called rookie star Caitlin Clark a “gateway drug” for attracting new fans to women’s sports. Even after Clark’s season‑ending injury, the WNBA saw a 3% viewership increase and recorded its most‑watched regular season...
Paramount Chairman David Ellison outlined a plan to merge HBO Max and Paramount+ after a $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, creating a streaming platform with over 200 million subscribers. The combined entity will inherit blockbuster franchises such as Harry Potter, Lord...
SBS will broadcast a new special, "The Social Schism," on 4 March, hosted by Janice Petersen. The program convenes politicians, economists, activists and community leaders to debate polarisation, immigration, hate speech and social cohesion. It aims to foster national understanding through...
Advanced Systems Group (ASG) promoted Gretchen Taipale to vice president of Managed Services, succeeding Jody Boatwright who moved to chief strategy officer. In her new role, Taipale will steer the strategic direction and delivery of media operations for a global...
The article highlights how documentary filmmaking techniques are reshaping modern journalism. It outlines four transferable skills—visual storytelling, three‑act narrative structure, rigorous pre‑production research, and treating interviews as character studies. By adopting the "show, don’t tell" mindset, journalists can turn dry...
Frndly TV, the budget‑friendly live‑TV service, does not offer a centralized dashboard to view or log out devices, relying instead on simultaneous‑stream limits that range from one to four screens per plan. Users who suspect unauthorized access are advised to...
The article advises users to announce new follows on social media using a short, shareable post. By tagging the person and explaining why they’re worth following, you increase the chance they’ll notice and possibly follow back. The practice also encourages...
Channel 9 has officially confirmed that its AFL analysis show Footy Furnace will return for the 2026 season. The decision comes after weeks of speculation fueled by the departure of longtime host Tom Morris to Channel 7 and rumors the...
DFS has partnered with ITV to embed its brand into the 19th season of Britain’s Got Talent, featuring 10‑second TV commercials and bespoke sofas on set. The campaign includes an Amanda Holden‑branded sofa collection, social media sponsorship, and a competition...
Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch warned that U.S. regulators will likely attach a third‑party content‑licensing condition to the $110 billion Paramount‑Warner Bros. Discovery merger. He also noted that CNN, under David Ellison, will continue to challenge Fox News as a strong competitor....
DAZN is positioning itself to bid for a domestic NFL package as the league prepares for its next round of broadcast negotiations. The streamer already distributes NFL Game Pass internationally and saw a 24% subscription increase in 2025, signaling appetite...
Fox News Media announced that entrepreneur Marcus Lemonis will join the network as a contributor, delivering business and economic analysis across its television and digital platforms. Lemonis serves as executive chairman and CEO of Beyond, where he led the e‑commerce...
Creator Quinta Brunson, SNL alum Bowen Yang, and comedian Matt Rogers will be honored at the 2026 GLAAD Media Awards. Brunson receives the GLAAD Vanguard Award, while Yang and Rogers share the Stephen F. Kolzak Award for elevating LGBTQ visibility....
At Streaming Media Connect, Chris Pfaff led a panel on the rapid rise of vertical microdramas on free streaming platforms. Panelists highlighted how mobile‑first viewing, bingeable formats and AI‑driven production are turning short‑form vertical series into a potential mass‑media staple....
Fox executives initially expected Chris Carter to pitch a family or teen soap, not a high‑concept sci‑fi thriller. The network was hesitant because it lacked a comparable drama and feared the genre’s risk. Carter’s detailed 15‑page pitch and his insistence...
Paramount plans to merge its Paramount+ service with HBO Max once its $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery closes, creating a single streaming platform with over 200 million direct‑to‑consumer subscribers. The combined service will sit between Netflix’s 325 million global base and...
The New York Times insists on giving every story subject a chance to comment, even when sources are unresponsive or pre‑empt the narrative on social media. Deputy business editor Pui‑Wing Tam and tech reporters Sheera Frenkel and Mike Isaac stress that outreach...
Instagram is piloting a "Shop the Look" feature that automatically adds AI‑generated product recommendations to creators' posts without their knowledge. The rollout is invisible in creator analytics, stripping them of control over which items are promoted. With 58% of consumers...
Prince Harry is suing the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, alleging that several articles about his private life were obtained through illegal hacking, phone tapping and “blagging.” Daily Mail royal editor Rebecca English testified that the contested stories were...
Children’s news outlets across Europe and the U.S. are redesigning coverage of the latest Middle East bombings to suit young audiences. They pair hard facts and historical context with transparent source‑selection guidance, while framing the story in hopeful, distance‑focused language....
The cult‑favorite series Dispatches from Elsewhere has landed on the UK’s ad‑supported streaming service ITVX, joining its existing homes on Prime Video and Netflix. The ten‑episode, mind‑bending thriller, starring Jason Segel, Sally Field, André 3000 and Richard E Grant, draws on the real‑world augmented‑reality game...
Ultraviolet, a 1998 British six‑episode horror drama starring Idris Elba, follows a secret vampire‑hunting unit backed by the government and the Vatican. The series blends police procedural storytelling with a science‑based take on vampirism, earning frequent comparisons to The X‑Files. A...
Goalhanger swiftly launched emergency episodes of its flagship shows after Iran’s Supreme Leader was killed, amassing more than three million views, streams and downloads within 48 hours. The four episodes—The Rest Is Politics, The Rest Is Politics: US, The Rest...
YouTube is rolling out a natural‑language video search that lets users type full‑sentence requests about topics, moods or ideas instead of exact titles. The beta interface offers prompt examples such as “inspire me to pursue new hobbies” and an open...
VoxComm, the global agency coalition, is urging firms to abandon legacy fee structures and adopt solution‑led pricing models. The guidance argues that AI‑driven insights enable agencies to tie compensation directly to measurable brand growth outcomes. It outlines a framework for...
Sabio Holdings announced Creator Television’s month‑long “Made By Her” lineup for Women’s History Month in March 2026. The programming showcases five female digital creators—Daphnique Springs, Jenny Lorenzo, Julie Nolke, Wengie, and Khadija Mbowe—each hosting original shows from 1‑9 p.m. PT. The...
Germany’s recorded music market posted €2.42 billion in 2025, marking a modest 2.3% year‑over‑year increase – the slowest expansion in several years. Streaming revenue rose 3.8% to €2.08 billion, representing 84.4% of digital income, while physical sales slipped 5.9% as CD revenue...
Holland Cooke’s memo argues that advertising copy should prioritize the customer’s problem over the company’s credentials. He illustrates the shift with side‑by‑side rewrites for plumbing, dental, auto glass, and veterinary services, turning generic service lists into direct, benefit‑focused calls. The...
Over the weekend, TALKERS identified five stories that dominated news/talk radio conversation. The top item was the U.S. and Israel strike on Iran and reports of Khamenei’s death, followed by a sharp oil price spike and market reaction. Defense sector...
The UK government has launched a consultation, running until May 26, 2026, to explore stricter controls on children’s access to social media, AI chatbots and online games. Proposals include minimum age thresholds, nighttime curfews, and bans on addictive design elements...
💯 Priceless quote from Ted Sarandos ending his post-mortem interview with @Lucas_Shaw Lucas: "If you feel like this is a rare asset, that also means that an asset like this may not come up again anytime soon, right?" Ted: "Possibly. Or...
Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch says he expects Paramount-Warner to continue to sell content to third parties and anticipates that will be a condition of the deal.
Audiomack’s built‑in remix tool, Audiomod, has generated over 260 million fan‑made plays from 30 million users since its February 2024 launch, marking a 23 % year‑over‑year increase. The feature lets listeners edit tracks—speed, pitch, presets—and share creations without external software, turning passive streaming into...
Once built, this surveillance infrastructure will be abused, just as every prior expansion of government surveillance and censorship power has been. We must do everything in our power to stop these laws where we can and preserve a free and...
I have a piece out in @guardian today on how the internet is becoming a fully surveilled digital panopticon and why we need to fight back https://t.co/Nyu66hrTmC
Lia Haberman’s February ICYMI newsletter recaps ten pivotal platform updates that are reshaping the social media landscape. It also provides the full, unedited transcript of a session on pitching speaking opportunities, a trend‑watch feature highlighting brands that dominate Threads comments,...
“All lawmakers will claim that they are [enacting age verification] to protect youth from some harm, but they fail to mention the convenient power it hands to government to control and chill speech they oppose, and even punish their critics,”...
That’s a relief: Ellison said, “Our viewpoint is HBO should stay HBO. They built a phenomenal brand. They’re a leader in the space, and we just want them to continue doing more of it.“
Australian entrepreneurs Cam McMaster and Chris McLoghlin launched InboxAgents.ai and Guardii.ai in 2025 to give creators a unified AI‑powered inbox and abuse‑filtering layer. The tools aggregate direct messages and emails, surface high‑value brand inquiries, and quarantine harassment, helping creators recover...
New: Paramount Will Combine HBO Max and Paramount+, Won’t Sell or Spin Off Cable Assets https://t.co/o9Loe8qBMA
Nice new article on Google Discover and the latest Discover profile changes by my teammate @JohnnyHerge https://t.co/iQap8dufeJ
Kai Battaglene, founder of Jetpak Media, argues that creator campaigns underperform because brands prioritize convenience over contextual relevance. Drawing on a decade in Australian media and senior roles at Spotify and ARN, he launched Jetpak in October 2025 to craft...
Paramount boss David Ellison confirms their @ufc agreement enables them to put fights on @HBO, sorta brings HBO back to its fighting roots @BrandoLightShed $PSKY $WBD https://t.co/Dph8xQXjcP
Mary Kish, Twitch’s Head of Community, argues that the platform’s competitive edge lies in deep, real‑time community interaction rather than algorithmic distribution. In 2025 Twitch welcomed 9 million new streamers, prompting the community team to embed engagement tools—badges, raids, and moderation...
LOST iN has launched *Subway Food Tour*, a creator‑led travel series that follows food influencer Jeremy Jacobowitz as he explores off‑beat eateries along a single subway line. The show is co‑produced with Andrew Zimmern’s Intuitive Content, giving the venture production...
