Media News and Headlines
Media News and Headlines
Colruyt Group has teamed up with advertising platform Adhese to accelerate its retail media services, aiming to deliver omnichannel campaigns that leverage first‑party data. The partnership will provide the retailer with technology infrastructure, onboarding support, and scalable campaign management tools. Adhese, which counts Ahold Delhaize as a minority shareholder since 2022, will remain an independent platform while offering transparency and privacy‑focused reporting. Colruyt intends to position its Retail Media Services as a true media sales agency for brands and shoppers alike.
True Native Media announced that it has added the Storybutton Network to its exclusive podcast representation roster. Storybutton, a leading kids‑and‑family podcast network created by storyteller Jim Jacob, brings shows like Kids Short Stories and Spyology Squad to the agency....
Podscribe unveiled two major upgrades: airchecks that now capture run‑of‑network (RON) podcast campaigns and a turnkey server‑to‑server integration with Tealium’s customer data platform. The RON airchecks use pixel activity and expanded transcription to verify ad placement, deliver brand‑safety signals and...
Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal are urging Congress to pass the Kids Online Safety Act after two recent court verdicts held major social‑media platforms accountable for harming children. The bipartisan push follows growing public backlash against the companies and...
Artlist has launched a new AI Music category, leveraging Google’s Lyria 3 and Lyria 3 Pro audio models to let creators generate studio‑quality songs from simple text or up to ten image prompts. The service is embedded in Artlist’s AI Suite, Max, Max...
Ghost, the open‑source CMS competing with Substack, has partnered with podcast host Transistor.fm to enable private, members‑only podcasts directly from the Ghost dashboard. The integration lets publishers bundle exclusive audio content with their subscription offerings, expanding Ghost’s toolkit beyond newsletters....
Wyndham and lifestyle brand Goop have partnered with Adora, an AI‑driven performance‑marketing platform, to automate creative generation and real‑time ad optimization. The system produced over 90 ad variants for Wyndham, tailoring imagery and messaging to 15 audience segments and boosting...
Public broadcaster KERA broke ground on a new 56,000‑square‑foot headquarters in uptown Dallas, replacing its 75,000‑square‑foot facility and featuring a community‑focused floor with a 300‑seat studio and podcast lab. The project is funded by a $97 million capital campaign, including a...
The BBC’s Annual Plan outlines a digital‑first agenda for the next year, emphasizing iPlayer upgrades, short‑form video experiments, and expanded YouTube distribution. It arrives alongside the appointment of Matt Brittin as director‑general and the looming renewal of the corporation’s Royal...
In the latest VideoWeek podcast, ITV’s Director of Advanced Advertising, Rhys McLachlan, detailed the broadcaster’s evolving programmatic strategy. He highlighted ongoing challenges such as fraud and waste in the ecosystem and warned about the "enshittification" of social media platforms. The conversation...
Vodafone TV Spain has partnered with Rakuten TV to embed its Videoclub rental service into the operator’s set‑top box platform. The integration adds roughly 6,000 titles, from new releases to catalog films, available for rent and billed through the monthly...
The UK Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has flagged three menopause‑focused supplement brands—Lunera, Minerva Wellness and Nova—for making unauthorized health claims in paid social media ads. The advertisements suggested the products could treat menopause symptoms such as weight gain, hot flushes,...
Ryan Murphy’s FX series *Love Story* has reignited public fascination with John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette, prompting viewers to seek a more factual account of the couple’s brief but high‑profile romance. RoseMarie Terenzio, a former executive assistant to Kennedy and chief...
K-LOVE is swapping legacy tube transmitters for GatesAir solid‑state Flexiva GX5K and Flexiva FAX10 units at stations in Billings, Montana and Tremonton, Utah. The new transmitters occupy roughly one‑third the rack space, cut power consumption and simplify maintenance. Audio monitoring...
Savor FM has launched Federated Savor, a global syndication network that aggregates foodservice podcasts and digital media creators onto a single platform. The network instantly taps a combined audience of more than 500,000 subscribers across YouTube and podcast services, offering...
Amazon Prime’s animated series *Invincible* featured Slayer’s iconic 1986 track “Raining Blood” during a climactic Hell‑level fight, with Bruce Campbell portraying Satan. The episode, titled “Hurm,” introduces an original storyline not found in the comic source material, expanding the show’s...
ZDF Studios is launching two new preschool add‑on channels on Amazon Prime Video. Biene Maja & Friends will be available in Germany and Austria, while Dibidoo & Friends will debut in the United Kingdom. The services bundle more than 200...
Kedoo has inked co‑production deals with France’s Studio Quinze and the UK’s Media Brighton to enrich its Love Drama micro‑drama app. The Studio Quinze partnership will deliver ten premium short‑form series across romance, thriller and hybrid genres, with the first...
wedotv has expanded its free ad-supported streaming (FAST) footprint in the Middle East by launching three region‑specific channels on Samsung TV Plus, including wedotv Big Stories, wedotv Sports MENA, and the soon‑to‑launch wedotv Cars. The channels deliver factual documentaries, live...
On March 18, a parody Instagram reel mocking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which had amassed 16 million views, was blocked in India after a legal demand from the government. Simultaneously, dozens of satire accounts on X and other platforms were taken...
Swiss telco yallo has upgraded its yallo TV streaming platform with AI‑generated video previews using Media Distillery’s Preview Distillery technology. The new auto‑generated 15‑20 second clips increase highlight availability by roughly 20%, adding about 200 multilingual previews each month without...
Amazon Prime Video India’s 2026 slate introduces music stars King and Zaeden as acting newcomers. King will headline the rap‑infused drama *Lukkhe*, while Zaeden leads the youthful romance *Dono Mile Iss Tarah*. Both series are tailored for Gen‑Z streaming audiences...
Story House, a production company founded by James Brown III and Sean Patrick Higgins, moved its planned studio from Wyoming to Missoula, Montana, to capitalize on the state’s MEDIA Act film‑tax credits. The venture aims to build a multi‑soundstage campus...
![[Industry News] DIVA Agency Launches New Community and Creator Division Dedicated to Fan Engagement, Creator Partnerships and Community Building](/cdn-cgi/image/width=1200,quality=75,format=auto,fit=cover/https://mcvuk.com/wp-content/uploads/div.png)
Diva Agency is launching a dedicated Creator and Community division in March 2026, led by Charlotte Willis, who grew the firm’s influencer business by 300% in 2025. The new team will serve the agency’s global games and entertainment clients, acting as...
The Heidi & Frank Show, a long‑running morning program on Los Angeles’s KLOS‑FM 95.5, has secured a national syndication deal through Superadio and Toad Hop Network. Superadio will distribute the show to affiliates across the United States and manage national...
Radio Research Consortium (RRC), the nonprofit that supplies Nielsen Audio audience estimates to non‑commercial radio, announced the hiring of Brian Stauffer as Dual Client Services Manager effective April 1. Stauffer arrives with sixteen years at Nielsen, split between audience insights, policy...
HAVAS Red Middle East has launched CRed, a new creator‑marketing practice that integrates the agency’s PR, influencer and experiential capabilities. CRed aims to shift brand‑creator collaborations from short‑term transactions to long‑term, credibility‑driven partnerships rooted in regional culture. The service will...
Radio Ink surveyed the Top 20 leaders in radio to uncover the traits they deem essential for the next generation of executives. The consensus emphasizes a deep love for radio, strong character, and a blend of creativity, curiosity, and collaboration....
The FreeWheel Video Marketplace Report for H2 2025 shows Connected TV (CTV) now drives 86% of premium video ad views in the US and 50% in Europe, with ad view volume up 11% year‑over‑year across both regions. European CTV ad views...
NuVoodoo’s latest research presented at the 2026 Country Radio Seminar reveals a clear split between traditional Country radio listeners (P1s) and heavy music streamers. While 65% of radio P1s are enthusiastic about new releases, only 47% of heavy streamers share...
Digital i’s Streaming in Flux: 2025 in Review shows streaming hours rebounding after a 2024 slump, driven by a resurgence in Netflix usage and a 47.6% jump in Disney+ daily minutes. Prime Video logged 6.9 billion viewing hours, while the total number...
Radio personality Brittany Butryn anchors the noon‑to‑3 pm slot on WKXD “106.9 Kicks Country” in Cookeville, Tennessee, while also hosting weekend mornings on Christian station WCTL‑FM 106.3 in Erie, Pennsylvania via remote voice‑tracking. Her career spans markets in Oklahoma City, Pensacola and...
Elon Musk’s X platform suffered a global outage, with Downdetector logging over 30,000 complaints worldwide. The disruption peaked at 2:15 am EST, hitting the feed/timeline for half of reporters and the mobile app for 41%. Users in the United States, India, the...
Friends returns to UK streaming via HBO Max after disappearing from Netflix at the end of 2025. The launch, partnered with NOW, offers an ad‑supported tier for existing customers and four subscription options for new users. HBO Max’s catalogue now includes The Pitt,...
Crunchyroll has launched the second installment of its “Ready to Anime?” brand film in India, starring actress Rashmika Mandanna and cricketer Shubman Gill. The spot dramatizes Gill’s disappointment at an anime’s ending and Mandanna’s reassurance that more content awaits, underscoring the platform’s...
ABC will debut the six‑part comedy series Bad Company on April 26, 2026, at 8:15 pm. The show stars Anne Edmonds as the flamboyant artistic director of the Argyle Theatre and Kitty Flanagan as a corporate fixer tasked with saving the venue....
HBO Max’s medical drama “The Pitt” claimed the No. 1 spot on Whip Media’s U.S. streaming originals chart for the week ending March 22. The series, starring Noah Wyle, follows a 15‑hour ER shift with each episode covering one hour, and its...
South Park, now in its 28th season on Paramount+, continues to dominate cultural conversation by blending crude humor with sharp social commentary. Its unique six‑day production cycle lets creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone respond to news events faster than most...
Publishing executives at the Digiday Publishing Summit warned that falling search‑referral traffic is eroding their primary revenue source, prompting an accelerated push toward subscription and membership models. They described the transition as a multi‑year cultural overhaul, requiring new content strategies...
DAZN announced DAZN Inflight, a service to stream live sports on airplanes and cruise ships, led by partnership chief Aviv Giladi. The offering is slated for a 2027 launch, extending the platform beyond its current footprint in more than 200...
Broadcasters face heightened scrutiny this April as the FCC re‑emphasizes its hoax rule, which bars knowingly false emergency reports that could cause public harm. The rule, codified in Section 73.1217, was created after on‑air stunts diverted first responders and can trigger...
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment will launch a 15‑disc DVD box set of The Amazing World of Gumball on May 5, 2026. The collection compiles every episode from the show’s six Cartoon Network seasons along with the special "Darwin’s Yearbook"...
Married At First Sight (MAFS) continued to dominate Australian television on March 25, 2026, achieving a total national reach of 2.94 million viewers and an audience of 1.88 million. The episode generated controversy when contestant Danny made a sexist remark about moving...
Netflix's new action‑thriller "Apex" starring Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton and Eric Bana will debut on the platform on April 24. Directed by Baltasar Kormákur and filmed in New South Wales' Blue Mountains, the movie promises high‑stakes survival drama set against...
Australia’s longest‑running Indigenous current‑affairs series, Living Black, returns on April 20 with 14 new episodes, marking its 23rd year and 33rd season. The program will tackle topics such as police use of commercial DNA databases, music‑therapy rehabilitation for Western Australian...
Walmart’s advertising division, Walmart Connect, has evolved into a major revenue engine, posting $4.4 billion in 2024—a 27% jump from the prior year. The platform capitalizes on Walmart’s massive first‑party shopper data, delivering ads across its e‑commerce site, in‑store screens, and...
A federal jury found Meta and Google liable for causing teen mental‑health harm, ordering the companies to pay combined damages in the millions. The verdict stems from a class‑action lawsuit alleging that algorithmic feeds amplified harmful content to minors. Both...
Seth Herzog, the warm‑up act for The Tonight Show, made a joke implying a BTS member was from North Korea, prompting immediate backlash from the group’s fanbase. Fans flooded social media demanding an apology before the live taping. Herzog later...
First‑party data has become a strategic asset as third‑party cookies disappear, reshaping advertising infrastructure. Sachin Malik, Block’s VP of revenue strategy, cites his experience at Uber, Walmart Connect, and Block’s Cash App and Afterpay to illustrate how transaction‑level signals turn...
Veteran broadcaster Bruce Whitfield is launching a new News24 business series that will interview South Africa’s economic leaders and explore growth sectors. The program aims to provide in‑depth analysis and elevate public discourse on the country’s post‑pandemic recovery. Meanwhile, KLA’s...
