Media News and Headlines
Media News and Headlines
Richard Osman announced his departure from BBC Two's quiz series House of Games after nine years, citing a focus on his Thursday Murder Club franchise. The BBC confirmed actor Michael Sheen will replace him, marking Sheen's first full-time hosting role. Sheen will lead a 100‑episode season slated for later this year, continuing the show’s weeknight 6 pm slot and iPlayer streaming. The transition signals a new era for the popular quiz format.
Wichita-based talk radio host Andy Hooser announced that his program “The Voice of Reason with Andy Hooser” will be nationally syndicated through Talk Media Network. The one‑hour conservative show will air live weekdays from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. ET, originating from...
FOX News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin received the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) First Amendment Award. The ceremony took place at the historic Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C., with Griffin accompanied by her husband, NPR journalist Greg...
Talkers identified the five most discussed stories on U.S. news/talk radio over the March 14‑15 weekend. The lineup was dominated by the escalating U.S.–Israel‑Iran conflict and a potential Strait of Hormuz blockade that sent oil prices and markets tumbling. Other...
Philanthropist Marcy Hennecke, co‑chair of the Hennecke Family Foundation, has been appointed to the Poynter Foundation Board. Hennecke, known for her work on climate‑change reporting, women’s political leadership, and government accountability, will help expand the foundation’s impact on journalism. At...
Research by YouGov shows short‑form video on TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts is now a primary discovery tool for full‑length TV shows and films. In a survey of 2,035 British adults, more than 75% of those who saw a...
Colonial Williamsburg, celebrating its 2026 centennial, has launched a pilot project that uses a large‑language model to create AI‑driven digital content for visitors and staff. The model is being trained on a broad corpus of 18th‑century philosophical treatises, letters, pamphlets...
LV8, a social‑first agency founded in 2024, has launched a dedicated paid‑media practice led by Ian Hiscock. The firm treats content creation and media buying as a single workflow, amplifying high‑performing organic posts with paid spend. By using organic insights...
Netflix will remove the BAFTA‑winning two‑part drama "See No Evil: The Story of the Moors Murders" from its catalogue on March 26, 2026, after a one‑year licensing window that began on March 27 2025. The 2006 series, starring Maxine Peake, Joanne Froggatt and Sean Harris,...
Nielsen’s Q4 2025 data shows sports accounted for nearly 30% of all ad‑supported TV viewing, far outpacing non‑sport broadcast, cable and streaming. The NFL, college football and MLB postseason drove the surge, while streaming platforms captured 66.7% of ad‑supported viewing among...
Video StoreAge, founded by former Sundance programmer Ash Cook, is pioneering a niche distribution channel by selling independent films on USB drives. The service combines a physical copy with digital convenience, offering a quarterly subscription that includes five feature films...
The Poynter Institute announced its 2026 Leadership Academy for Women cohort, selecting 35 journalists from diverse media organizations worldwide. The week‑long program in St. Petersburg focuses on strategic leadership, talent development, and navigating press‑freedom challenges, and for the first time offers...
Banijay Kids & Family has broadened its existing deal with WildBrain to exchange children's programming across their YouTube channel networks. WildBrain will host Banijay titles such as *Totally Spies!* and *LoliRock*, while Banijay’s ZeeKay platform will add WildBrain series like...
Now Voyager, a nonprofit spin‑off of Foreign Affairs, debuted a $29 art‑object edition that will publish six times annually, featuring long‑form investigations such as a 22,000‑word piece on a cartel kidnapping. Meanwhile, microdramas—one‑minute narrative videos popular on platforms like TikTok’s...
Brazil’s Livraria Leitura topped R$1 billion in 2025 revenue, expanding to 133 stores with 15% sales growth, signaling a revival of physical bookselling after the collapse of major chains. Penguin Random House Peru launched its first Quechua‑language children’s title, highlighting a...
Whistleblowers claim TikTok and Meta sacrificed user safety to boost engagement, allowing borderline harmful content on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok feeds. Internal research showed outrage‑driven posts generate higher metrics, prompting algorithm tweaks despite known risks. Meta’s Instagram Reels launched without...
“Born to Bowl,” a five‑part HBO docuseries premiering March 16, offers an intimate look at the Professional Bowlers Association and its current stars. Narrated by Liev Schreiber, the series follows five pros—EJ Tackett, Kyle Troup, Anthony Simonsen, Jason Belmonte and rookie Cameron Crowe—highlighting...
President Donald Trump publicly backed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s warning that broadcasters could lose their licenses for perceived negative coverage of the Iran war, intensifying political pressure on U.S. media regulation. At the same time, the short‑form entertainment format known...
The New York Times identified over 110 AI‑generated war images and videos in the first two weeks of the U.S.–Israel–Iran conflict, reaching millions of viewers. Iran is deploying these deepfakes as a coordinated propaganda weapon, while real satellite imagery has...
Netflix’s four‑part docuseries *Dynasty: The Murdochs* chronicles Rupert Murdoch’s rise from an Australian newspaper magnate to the architect of a global, right‑leaning media empire. The series highlights the outlet’s historic cheerleading for wars—from the 1982 Falklands conflict to the 2024...
Dentsu’s Amplifi brand is hiring an Associate Director, Partnerships in New York to lead its Video, Audio, and Publishing vertical. The role reports to the Director of Partnerships and will own a portfolio of specialized media partners, drive strategy execution, negotiate...
The London Book Fair attracted 33,000 publishing professionals and produced headline deals, including a thriller series co‑written by Idris Elba and seven‑figure fantasy and rom‑com acquisitions. Non‑fiction rights flowed around hot topics such as GLP‑1 drugs, sober curiosity and assisted dying,...
DMC Production and Broadcast Solutions Group have introduced an OB truck that runs all core production functions on‑site using Grass Valley AMPP servers, while remote teams in Helsinki and Hilversum control the workflow. The system streams a low‑latency multiviewer over...
Charlie Nance and his wife Debbie, veteran Beasley Media hosts, have completed the first year of "Kyle Petty’s Back Then Again Country Countdown," a syndicated show that pairs NASCAR legend Kyle Petty with a nostalgia‑driven 1980s country music countdown. The concept, born...
Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) missed its March 1 deadline on $310 million senior secured notes and entered a 30‑day creditor standstill. Majority holders of the 9.750 % notes have agreed to forbear while negotiations explore new financing, term extensions or restructuring. SBS reported...
Radio sellers can add roughly 10% more revenue before month‑end by focusing on speed and leveraging existing advertiser relationships. The article outlines five practical levers: re‑engage current accounts, sell urgency‑focused packages, chase recent "almost buyers," expand single campaigns, and use...
The article argues that overly polished commercials can blend into background noise, while rough, authentic audio grabs listener attention. It recommends using real people’s voices, even recorded over the phone or in noisy environments, to convey immediacy and truthfulness. Adding...
Riverfront Broadcasting’s Black Hills Cares for St. Jude Radiothon raised a record $100,252, surpassing the six‑figure mark for the first time. The two‑day event, broadcast on XROCK (KDDX) and Eagle Country (KZZI) in Rapid City and Spearfish, pushed the cumulative total...
The conversation at Streaming Media Connect 2026 highlighted a shift from last‑mile to middle‑mile challenges in live streaming. CacheFly’s CTO Matt Levine explained that variability between ingest and edge caching now drives reliability concerns for live events. Providers are adopting aggressive...
Dave Sargent, UK Head of AV at Mindshare, argues that the most critical metrics for video and CTV lie in the quality of the inventory itself, not just view counts. He warns that CTV inventory is often diluted by non‑CTV...
Podcast Movement announced that its Evolutions conference will return to South by Southwest in 2027, following a successful debut within the SXSW ecosystem in 2026. The three‑day event featured high‑profile talent such as Maya Hawke, Andy Grammer, and MrBallen, alongside...
FTC Commissioner Mark Meador told a Marketecture Live audience that industry self‑regulation can still play a role, but only if a neutral third party with enforcement authority, such as the National Advertising Division, oversees it. He warned that poorly designed...
The article argues that the ads.txt specification must evolve to accurately reflect the complex, multi‑partner supply chain of Connected TV. Current ads.txt was built for linear, single‑owner markets and cannot distinguish between ownership, inventory management, technology enablement, or delegated selling...
Lay’s, a PepsiCo snack brand, launched a WhatsApp Channels group chat for FIFA World Cup fans, featuring celebrities such as Lionel Messi and David Beckham. The initiative is part of the fourth‑year “No Lay’s, No Game” campaign, extending the brand’s sports‑marketing push from the Super...
Former President Donald Trump announced he is "thrilled" that FCC Chair Brendan Carr is reviewing broadcast license renewal applications for several news organizations, following Trump’s accusations that the media spread falsehoods about Iran. The comment was made in a Sunday...
Jeremy Renner appeared as Penn, a blood‑sucking serial killer vampire, in the Season 1 episode “Somnambulist” of Joss Whedon’s Angel. The character, dubbed “The Pope,” carved crucifixes into victims’ cheeks, contrasting sharply with Renner’s later heroic roles. Renner’s brief stint on Angel...
The Yellowstone spin‑off "Marshals" introduces Michael Cudlitz as Randall Clegg, a long‑standing Montana family rival to the Duttons. Showrunner Spencer Hudnut says Clegg will become a "large thorn" in Kayce Dutton’s side this season, promising direct confrontations. The casting marks...
RCJ has been selected as the media agency for Australian investment firm LongView, taking charge of brand and performance marketing for its HomeFlex equity‑release platform. The agency’s full‑funnel pitch highlighted its ability to blend creative strategy with data‑driven execution. Early...
Spark Foundry has introduced a new positioning called “intelligent disobedience,” urging clients to embrace responsible provocation rather than rely solely on data‑driven, Ehrenberg‑Bass style media planning. CEO Matt Turl argues that many agencies follow similar, predictable patterns that limit true...
The Atlantic reports that President Donald Trump has taken more than three dozen cold calls from journalists since the recent U.S. strikes on Iran. At least a dozen major news outlets, including CNN, The New York Times and Fox News,...
YouTube signed a multi‑year agreement to stream the Oscars globally from 2029 to 2033, marking a major shift toward digital distribution. At the 98th ceremony, host Conan O’Brien was interrupted by a YouTube ad, highlighting audience concerns about commercial breaks...
NASCAR and the NHL are navigating a fragmented sports‑media landscape by striking multi‑partner rights deals that span broadcast, cable and streaming. NASCAR’s 2025‑2031 agreements involve Fox, NBC, Amazon, TNT Sports and Nexstar, giving the league five promotional avenues. The NHL’s...
Townsqaure Media reported Q4 2025 consolidated revenue of $1.1 billion, up 0.8% and surpassing guidance, with digital audio revenue climbing 14.1% to $387 million. Podcast revenue surged 24.5% to $174 million, driven by a local sales force that now contributes 47% of the...
Nielsen has entered a multiyear agreement with A+E Global Media, effective immediately. The partnership expands Nielsen’s measurement and analytics services to A+E’s linear and digital properties, including A&E, Lifetime, and History Channel. A+E will adopt new Nielsen products such as...
MiQ has introduced Sigma, an AI‑powered platform in India designed to unify fragmented cross‑screen data for advertisers. The tool aggregates browsing, TV and commerce signals, offering intelligence, activation and measurement layers to streamline campaign planning. Launched by global CEO Gurman...
Andy Cohen appeared at SXSW to unveil NBCUniversal’s new AI‑driven Andy Cohen avatar, part of the upcoming “Your Bravoverse” experience slated for a summer launch on Peacock. The avatar will use AI to scan every second of Bravo’s library, allowing...
California Governor Gavin Newsom denounced FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s warning that broadcasters could lose licenses over their Iran‑war coverage, calling the move a “dictators’ playbook.” The clash unfolded during a lengthy SXSW interview where Newsom also warned that a fair...
Ray Bradbury walked out of an NBC meeting in the mid‑1980s after executives asked him to tone down his literary style and produce something "like Franz Kafka." The network wanted to adapt his classics such as Fahrenheit 451, The Martian Chronicles, and The Illustrated Man, but...
Jane Fonda’s revived Committee for the First Amendment issued a stark statement condemning FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s warning that TV broadcasters could lose their licenses if they do not “course‑correct” coverage of the Iran war. The committee framed the threat as a...
Working Dog has opened audience registrations for the 2026 seasons of its two flagship comedy panel shows, Have You Been Paying Attention? (HYBPA?) and The Cheap Seats. Recordings will take place at Network 10’s Como studios in Melbourne, with HYBPA filming...
