Vote With Your Voice: Pluto TV Kicks Off Its 2026 Fandom Showdown
Pluto TV has rolled out a 2026 “Battle of the Fandoms” Sweet 16 tournament, pitting iconic sci‑fi, supernatural and cult series against each other in a bracket format. Rather than a simple poll, fans must rally support through comments, turning the competition into a social‑first engagement engine. The lineup includes classics such as Stargate SG‑1, The X‑Files, Doctor Who and Star Trek, showcasing Pluto TV’s genre‑heavy library. Early activity shows comment sections buzzing, exactly the audience interaction the platform aimed to generate.
Threads Finally Brings Messaging to the Web
Meta has launched web-based direct messaging for Threads, bringing one‑on‑one and group chats to desktop browsers. The new “Messages” tab includes an inbox, request folder, search, and quick‑start features, aligning Threads with rivals like X and Bluesky. According to Meta,...
Guru Studio Expands ‘True and the Rainbow Kingdom’ with Mindfulness-Focused Shorts
Guru Studio is launching a new series of mindfulness‑focused shorts called True & You on YouTube and YouTube Kids, timed for Mental Health Awareness Month in May. The bite‑sized videos feature guided breathing exercises and ASMR‑style relaxation, using the popular...
It’s Still ‘Business as Usual’ for Cannes Lions Attendance This Year—Mostly
Cannes Lions is expected to host over 13,000 attendees this year, essentially matching last year’s turnout despite geopolitical tension, soaring oil prices and ongoing agency consolidation. While some holding companies such as WPP are scaling back on ancillary perks, most...
In the Age of AI, Human Creative Output Is Becoming a Luxury
A growing body of research shows that audiences consistently rate AI‑generated poetry, fiction and essays lower once they are told the work is machine‑produced, a phenomenon researchers call the “AI disclosure penalty.” The effect persists across 16 experiments and outweighs...
Netflix Comedy Chief Gives Mealymouthed Explanation for Booking Louis C.K.
Netflix’s comedy division confirmed that Louis C.K. will appear at the upcoming "Netflix Is a Joke" festival, despite his 2017 sexual‑misconduct allegations. The decision was justified by the platform’s data‑driven focus on ticket‑selling power and the comedian’s recent successful special....
"Gary" Gives in to The Bear's Worst Tendencies
Hulu released "Gary," a surprise hour‑long prequel to FX’s acclaimed series The Bear, starring Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss‑Bachrach, who also wrote the episode. The story follows Richie and Mikey on a chaotic day in Gary, Indiana, ending with a...
Arc XP Connect London 2026
Arc XP Connect 2026 is an invitation‑only executive forum held on June 10 in London for senior media leaders. The one‑day event will explore monetization tactics, audience‑engagement strategies, and AI‑driven organizational transformation. Participants will hear case studies from The Washington...
Google’s Preferred Sources Are Officially Live: The Marketing Impact
Google has rolled out Preferred Sources worldwide, letting users star the publications they trust so those outlets appear more often in Top Stories and a new "From your sources" carousel. The feature adds a user‑driven layer to search personalization, moving...
Will OpenAI’s New Measurement Tools And Ads Manager Prove Its Worth As An Ad Channel?
OpenAI unveiled a self‑serve ads manager and a conversion API (CAPI) alongside a cost‑per‑click (CPC) bidding model, shifting from its earlier high‑minimum, CPM‑only approach. The new platform eliminates the $200,000 minimum spend—now fully removed after a recent $50,000 reduction—making ChatGPT...
Will OpenAI’s New Measurement Tools And Ads Manager Prove Its Worth As An Ad Channel?
OpenAI has unveiled a self‑serve ads manager and a conversion API (CAPI) alongside a cost‑per‑click (CPC) bidding option for ChatGPT ads. The new platform eliminates the previous $200,000 minimum spend, later reduced to $50,000, allowing smaller advertisers to buy directly...
The FBI Searched a Washington Post Reporter’s Home. She Is Now a Pulitzer Prize Winner.
In January, FBI agents executed a search warrant at Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson’s home, seizing her iPhone and other devices as part of a probe into a contractor alleged to have leaked classified information. Natanson had spent the previous...
Connecticut Passes Law Banning Sale Of Location Data, Regulating Ad Volume
Connecticut lawmakers passed Senate Bill 4, a privacy measure that bans the outright sale of precise geolocation data and imposes new limits on surveillance‑based pricing and ad volume in streaming. The bill also requires data brokers to register with the state...
Media’s “Find Us” Problem
Public media is confronting a retention crisis, not a lack of generosity. Audiences are drifting away because one‑off interactions replace the daily habit once provided by broadcast radio. Only about 12% of Americans now get news from radio, a steep...
Look Who’s Talking: ESPN Integrates New Automated Commentator-ID Technology Into Scorebar Graphic for UFL Coverage
ESPN has deployed an automated commentator‑ID system, called AutoMic, into the scorebar graphic for United Football League (UFL) broadcasts. The workflow monitors up to 64 live audio sources, translates microphone activity into real‑time metadata, and lights up the speaker’s name...
Reddit Is Blocking Its Mobile Site for Some Users, but There's a Fix
Reddit has begun blocking its mobile website for a subset of logged‑out users by displaying a large, non‑dismissable pop‑up that forces a download of the native app. The pop‑up appears after a thread loads and halts further scrolling, effectively stopping...
The Intercept Didn’t Just Publish a Story About ICE — It Drove It Around JFK
The Intercept responded to the Trump administration’s deployment of ICE agents at U.S. airports by publishing a tip sheet on protecting phones, which attracted over 150,000 pageviews and a million Instagram views. To amplify the message, the outlet rented a...
The Great Dane Returns: Peter Schmeichel Joins FOX Sports For 2026 FIFA World Cup
Peter Schmeichel, the former Manchester United and Denmark goalkeeper, is returning to FOX Sports as a lead analyst for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The network announced his addition alongside other soccer legends such as Clarence Seedorf, Javier Hernández, Zlatan...
Save the Date: SVG Remote Production Forum Heads to WBD’s Techwood Studios in Atlanta on Sept. 23-24
The Society of Video Game (SVG) Remote Production Forum will take place on September 23‑24, 2026 at Warner Bros. Discovery’s Techwood Studios in Atlanta. The two‑day event will showcase the newly reimagined Techwood Campus, now one of the nation’s largest remote‑production hubs for live‑sports....
NCLT Refers Eros–Aanand L Rai Dispute to Arbitration
The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has sent the dispute between filmmaker Aanand L Rai and Eros International Media to arbitration, rejecting Eros' claims of oppression and mismanagement. The tribunal ruled that the issues are fundamentally contractual...
Philo Adds AMC’s All Reality Streamer to Bundle Package
Philo is adding AMC Global Media’s new All Reality streaming service to its Bundle Plus tier, giving subscribers access to reality‑TV titles such as “The Braxtons,” “Marriage Bootcamp,” and “Bridezillas.” The addition comes at no extra charge, keeping the Bundle Plus price...
Andrew Zimmern’s ‘Bizarre’ Strategy — Which Started With an Exorcism — Helped Him Break Into TV and Build a Food...
Chef Andrew Zimmern broke into television by reshaping a rejected educational pitch into the sensational “Bizarre Foods” concept. After a daring exorcism segment in Ecuador, the footage caught the attention of Jay Leno’s Tonight Show, delivering the series a national...
Spectrum News 1 Rolls Out to Xfinity TV Customers in Houston
Charter Communications has extended its content‑sharing deal with Comcast, adding Spectrum News 1 Houston to Xfinity TV line‑ups in the city. The 24‑hour local news channel, now on Comcast channel 1127, delivers Houston‑focused reporting, weather and community stories alongside national feeds. Charter...
KS95 Keeps Eagan, Makes Minneapolis Role Official
Chris Eagan has been named permanent Vice President of Brand & Content for KS95 (KSTP) in Minneapolis‑St. Paul, while retaining his VP role for Chicago’s 101.9 The Mix and Throwback 100.3. Eagan, who joined Hubbard Radio in January 2025, previously spent 16 years at...
Missing VTuber Filian Sparks Concern After Wiping Content From the Internet
Independent VTuber Filian erased her presence on YouTube, Twitch, TikTok, X and Discord on May 1, 2026 after a year‑long hiatus. The purge removed a channel with 3.14 million YouTube subscribers, 1.3 million Twitch followers and a TikTok profile boasting 1.1 million followers. Fans are...
Radio Mercury Awards 2026 Finalists Unveiled By RAB
The Radio Mercury Awards, produced by the Radio Advertising Bureau, has announced its 2026 finalists, marking the competition’s 35th year. A panel of top creatives, led by chief judge Danny Gonzalez of Bandits & Friends, selected entries spanning broadcast radio,...
Consumers Want Everything Everywhere All At Once, Expect Brands To Pay For It
Dentsu’s latest Consumer Navigator shows U.S. adults are juggling live concerts, streaming shows, podcasts, sports, and social video simultaneously, demanding a truly omnichannel experience. The report finds 68% of consumers expect brands to be present across every touchpoint, and 55%...
Hulu Sets 'King of the Hill' Season 15 Premiere
Season 15 of Hulu’s King of the Hill premieres on July 20, with all ten episodes released simultaneously on Hulu and Disney+ for bundle subscribers. The revival follows a retired Hank and Peggy Hill in Arlen and 21‑year‑old Bobby, now a chef in...
MFM Forum To Address Deal ‘Do’s and Don’ts’
The FEI & MFM Financial Leaders Forum, freshly rebranded, is spotlighting a new panel on deal strategy for broadcast assets. Scheduled for May 19 in San Antonio, the session—titled “Let’s Make a Deal…or Not!”—will examine transaction values, FCC outlook, and potential...
The Boroughs Trailer Shows Us a Little More of Its “Special Town Just for Grownups”
Netflix is set to launch "The Boroughs," a horror‑drama series centered on a retirement community, on May 21, 2026. The show features an all‑star senior cast—including Alfred Molina, Geena Davis, Alfre Woodard, Denis O’Hare, Clarke Peters, and Bill Pullman—under the...
‘Radio News Network’ Parent Goes With ARC Software
Live Channel USA, the company behind the Radio News Network (RNN), has chosen ARC Software’s CRM, affiliate research and contract management platform to power its national rollout. ARC will serve as a centralized hub for station mapping, operational workflow, and...
Will New York Magazine Be Once Again Owned By a Murdoch?
James Murdoch, fresh from a $1.1 billion settlement that freed him from the family News Corp and Fox holdings, is reportedly negotiating with Vox Media to purchase New York magazine and its podcast division. The deal, cited by the Wall Street Journal,...
A New Look for ProPublica
ProPublica unveiled a redesign of its website and visual identity, updating its logo, typefaces, homepage layout, and article presentation. The new design groups investigations with supporting material—methodology, visual explainers, translations—and highlights visual journalism. It also extends the refreshed look to...
Just The FACs, Ma'am: ANA Unveils Its Own New Ad Tax
The Association of National Advertisers (ANA) unveiled a new "Fractional Advertising Contribution" (FAC) fee tied to its Aquila cross‑media measurement platform. The fee is set at 0.075% of media‑buy spend with a hard cap of $750,000, effectively limiting the charge...
Popular Cosy-Crime Series That's 'BBC Three's Highest-Rating Drama' Unveils Trailer Ahead of Return
The BBC has released a new trailer for season 2 of the cosy‑crime hit *A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder*, set to premiere on 27 May across BBC iPlayer, BBC One and BBC Three. Adapted from Holly Jackson’s bestseller, the series follows teen...
Magellan AI: Podcast Advertisers Are Buying Blind In 2026
Magellan AI’s new guide, produced with True Native Media, reveals that most podcast advertisers are still planning campaigns without reliable audience data or attribution. Analysis of over 60,000 podcasts shows that 86.5% of podcast households are unique to the platform,...
This Streaming Deal Gets You an Entire Year of AMC+ for Less than $30
AMC+ is offering a limited‑time annual subscription for $29.99, a more than 70% discount off its regular $109.99 price, effectively reducing the monthly cost to $2.50. The deal runs through May 25 and is open to new, returning, and upgraded Premium...
CIMM, TVB Release Local TV Currency Measurement Guidelines
The Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) and TVB have issued new “Guidelines for Local TV/Video Currency Measurement” along with a Buyer’s Guide to standardize evaluation of local TV and video measurement solutions. The framework centers on three principles—Inclusive, Transactable,...
Jacksfilms Exposes Fake YouTube Live Streamers “Scamming” Roblox Fans
Popular YouTuber Jacksfilms has exposed a network of at least 12 YouTube channels that broadcast pre‑recorded, looped footage as live streams promising free Roblox “Robux.” The streams solicit paid YouTube gifts—typically $5 “laughing disco” emojis—in exchange for supposed giveaways, but...
A Bill in France Would Force AI Firms to Prove They Didn’t Use Copyrighted Content to Train Their Tech. The...
A coalition of 81 French cultural and media organisations is urging the National Assembly to debate the Darcos bill, which creates a rebuttable presumption that AI providers have used copyrighted works unless they can prove otherwise. The French Senate passed...
Publishers Sue Meta Platforms over Alleged AI Training Copyright Infringement
Publishers Elsevier, Cengage, Hachette, Macmillan and McGraw Hill, along with author Scott Turow, have filed a class‑action lawsuit in Manhattan federal court accusing Meta Platforms of illegally using millions of books, journal articles and novels to train its Llama large‑language model. The...
Creator Economy Job Radar – May 5, 2026 – Nintendo, 2K Games, and Kraken Lead Hiring as Gaming, Crypto, and...
The Creator Economy hiring boom is spreading across gaming, crypto, beauty and live‑commerce firms, with Nintendo of America, 2K Games, Kraken, Apollo.io and SharkNinja posting senior influencer and brand partnership roles. Salaries range from $60,000 for entry‑level creator coordinators to...
New Children’s Book “Voices in the Box” Empowers Young People to Find Their Voice Through Podcasting
Podcast educator Derek Oxley released "Voices in the Box," a children’s book that introduces podcasting as a tool for self‑expression and skill development. The book blends storytelling, media literacy, and confidence‑building exercises, targeting educators, parents, and youth programs. Oxley draws...
WNBA Announces Historic Canadian Media Rights Agreement with Bell Media
The WNBA has signed a historic multiyear media rights deal with Bell Media, making TSN the primary broadcaster of league games in Canada starting with the 2026 season. The agreement designates TSN as the official media partner of the Toronto...
WNBA’s Indiana Fever Debuts Radio Network With WOWO Start
Fort Wayne’s 92.3 WOWO has signed a broadcast agreement to become the first regional affiliate of the Indiana Fever Radio Network, delivering all 44 regular‑season games and postseason coverage to Northeast Indiana. The Fever’s flagship remains Urban One’s 93.5/107.5 The Fan (WIBC‑HD2) in...
10 Best TV Shows Like For All Mankind
Apple TV’s ambitious series *For All Mankind* reimagines the 1969 moon landing, sparking a sprawling alternate‑history saga that blends politics, space exploration, and character drama. A new article curates ten television shows that echo its themes, ranging from hard‑science epics like...
Townsquare Ignite Lights Up Broadway With Latest Digital Pact
Townsquare Media’s Ignite division has signed a digital‑advertising partnership with Broadway Media, a Salt Lake City operator of seven radio stations and an outdoor network. The deal adds Broadway to Ignite’s Media Partnerships white‑label service, which already includes recent agreements...
Lay’s World Cup Marketing Strategy Focuses on ‘Scaled Intimacy’ with Fans
Lay’s has entered the FIFA World Cup arena as a global sponsor, launching the second phase of its “No Lay’s, No Game” platform. The campaign pairs star‑studded ads—featuring David Beckham, Lionel Messi, Steve Carell and others—with a real‑world watch‑party stunt in...
Lemonada Selects Flightpath to Power Forecasting, Sales Optimization, and Scalable Growth
Flightpath, a predictive analytics platform for on‑demand media, has partnered with Lemonada Media, one of the U.S.’s top independent podcast publishers. The deal gives Lemonada’s revenue team centralized traffic management, inventory forecasting and real‑time performance insights. By consolidating inventory across...
'KPop Demon Hunters' Passes 1 Billion Viewing Hours
Netflix’s original film “KPop Demon Hunters” has crossed the 1 billion viewing‑hour threshold, making it the platform’s most‑watched title over any six‑month span. The movie reached peak weekly viewership 11 weeks after launch, defying the typical early‑peak pattern of Netflix releases....