Media News and Headlines
Media News and Headlines
The FCC released a draft Report and Order that modernizes broadcast licensing rules, replaces outdated CDBS references with LMS, and expands who may sign applications. The Media Bureau settled two consent decrees, penalizing an Arizona TV station for OPIF lapses and an Oregon non‑commercial FM for improper underwriting, each with modest Treasury contributions. The Commission also approved a license‑interest transfer in Wyoming despite the original holder’s felony conviction, emphasizing public‑interest service continuity. Meanwhile, Cumulus Media entered Chapter 11 to eliminate roughly $600 million of debt, and the FCC opened a May 1 comment window on multiple community‑of‑license changes.
Radio broadcasters are transitioning from simple SNMP polling to agentic, IP‑native observability, where monitoring platforms act as autonomous copilots. Centralized Network Operations Centers, often cloud‑native and supported by MaaS platforms, now oversee hundreds of transmitters with integrated asset and ticketing...
Today marks the 39th anniversary of the final broadcast of *The A‑Team*, which aired its last episode on March 8, 1987. The series launched after Super Bowl XVII in 1983, quickly climbing into the top‑10 ratings with household shares above 20 %. After four...
Cable networks such as ESPN, CNN and AMC continue to rely on subscriber carriage fees rather than moving to free over‑the‑air (OTA) television. In 2024 they collected over $40 billion in carriage fees, while advertising revenue declined about 10 % year‑over‑year. Technical...
Sling TV, a DISH/EchoStar subsidiary, introduced low‑cost daily Passes in 2025, attracting budget‑conscious cord‑cutters. Despite strong subscriber numbers—over 1.5 million—the parent’s strained balance sheet and costly 5G rollout have made Sling a non‑core asset. Analysts predict DISH may put Sling TV...
YouTube TV has launched a personalized subscription system that lets users build their own channel packages from 12 genre‑based bundles. The web‑only tool analyzes viewing history and suggests mixes of sports, entertainment, news and family channels, allowing customers to drop...
Radio stations across the United States are using Women’s History Month to spotlight female musicians. In Chicago, Cumulus Media’s Q101 airs a daily noon segment called “The Women Who Make Q101,” hosted by Lauren O’Neil, culminating in a multi‑hour all‑female...
Patrick Dempsey’s new crime drama *Memory of a Killer* has surged to #7 on Prime Video’s UK TV streaming chart, indicating strong viewer uptake since its January‑February rollout. The two‑part series follows Dempsey as Angelo Doyle, a photocopier salesman‑by‑day and...
Milana Vayntrub, known for AT&T ads, portrays prosecutor Pamela Bozanich in two episodes of Netflix’s true‑crime series *Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story*. Her scenes include revealing alleged prison sexual favors and confronting Erik Menendez in courtroom dramatizations. The...
CNN preempted the Saturday broadcast of the U.S. version of *Have I Got News For You* and the preceding *Real Time With Bill Maher* to extend its live coverage of the escalating Iran war. The comedy slot will instead debut...
In the late 1990s Seinfeld’s writers explored a Claymation‑style episode for its ninth season, even meeting with stop‑motion pioneer Will Vinton. The concept was shelved after a writer discovered that Home Improvement had already aired a similar stop‑motion sequence in...
Star Trek: Enterprise introduced Scott Bakula as Captain Jonathan Archer, the first commander of the warp‑5 NX‑01 in a pre‑Federation era. The series ran four seasons, ending with Archer stepping away from the captain’s chair to become a senior Starfleet...
Michael Crichton originally scripted Carol Hathaway’s death in the 1994 ER pilot, filming a drug‑overdose scene that would have ended Julianna Margulies’ role. Showrunner John Wells and director Rob Holcomb’s visual framing of the scene, however, highlighted the character’s importance to Doug...
British broadcaster BBC will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the seminal 1990s drama *This Life* by re‑airing the entire series, beginning with season one on 18 March at 10 pm on BBC Four and simultaneously on iPlayer. The show, which follows a...
The latest episode of Channel 9’s travel series Postcards showcases a mix of urban and regional attractions across Victoria and South Australia. Livinia Nixon explores the World‑Heritage Naracoorte Caves and a family‑run Padthaway Estate vineyard, while Lauren Phillips uncovers Melbourne laneway...
Nick McKenzie’s 60 Minutes investigation uncovers alleged wage theft at MA Services, a leading Australian security and cleaning contractor founded by Micky Ahuja. The report claims thousands of vulnerable migrant workers were paid below the legal minimum wage and denied entitlements...
Lance Sweets was originally intended to stay on *Bones* as a mentor to inner‑city youth, but John Francis Daley left to co‑direct the film *Vacation*. Production delays forced showrunner Stephen Nathan to rewrite the arc, resulting in Sweets’ on‑screen death...
The Australian Communications and Media Authority’s 2025 report shows free‑to‑air (FTA) TV viewership rebounding to 52 % of adults, driven by younger audiences, while subscription streaming remains stable at 68 % usage. ABC iview continues to dominate FTA catch‑up but its share fell...
UFC 326 heads to T‑Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on March 7, 2026, featuring a lightweight rematch between former featherweight champion Max Holloway and former lightweight champion Charles Oliveira for the symbolic BMF title. The event’s full card, including a middleweight...
Roku introduced a dedicated search function within its Live Guide, letting users locate free‑live channels by name, genre or keyword via on‑screen typing or voice. The update also blends over‑the‑air antenna signals with streaming, streamlining the viewing experience for budget‑focused...
President Donald Trump’s media arm has introduced Truth+, a live‑TV streaming service that combines a free tier with a $9.99 premium Patriot Package. The free tier provides 21 live channels, over 1,000 on‑demand titles, DVR capabilities and multi‑device support, while...
The Writers Guild of America released its Pattern of Demands ahead of negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, a step approved by 97.4% of its members. The document outlines broad objectives on health and pension contributions,...
Australian entertainment icon Jamie Dunn, best known for puppeteering the beloved Agro character, died at 76, prompting an outpouring of tributes across the media industry. His final on‑camera interview, recorded in January 2026 for the streaming show McKnight Tonight, offered...
The *Scrubs* revival premiered to 11.36 million cross‑platform viewers, becoming ABC’s highest‑rated comedy debut in 17 years and the network’s top streaming launch in over a year. The show leads the network’s linear adults 18‑49 ratings after three episodes and holds 90%...
The FCC has approved the transfer of Legend Communications’ 24 radio stations in northern Wyoming from Susan K. Patrick to her ex‑husband Larry Patrick. The move follows Susan Patrick’s felony conviction for under‑reporting roughly $9 million in income and a subsequent...
ITV has started filming a six‑episode reboot of the classic crime series Dalziel and Pascoe, featuring Kerry Godliman as Detective Inspector Andrea Dalziel and Nina Singh as Detective Sergeant Paige Pascoe. The production was announced on Instagram with a behind‑the‑scenes photo of...
Free audience tickets have been released for the Knockouts and Quarter Finals of The Voice Australia’s 2026 season. Filming will occur at Carriageworks in Sydney on March 11 and March 19, with two studio sessions each day. The returning coaching...
Industry commentator challenges the term “podfade,” arguing it mislabels creators who end shows. New data from The Creators 2025 shows podcast creation has reached mainstream adoption, with roughly one in six listeners having produced a podcast. However, only 12% of those...
Beasley Media Group’s 97.5 The Fanatic is bringing Sean Brace back to the weekday lineup, pairing him with Jon Marks for the revived "Middays with Marks" starting March 9. Brace and Marks previously co‑hosted The Jon & Sean Show from 2013‑2015,...
In February 2026 Korean‑Australian actress Yerin Ha topped the growth chart, adding 692.6 K followers to reach just over 1 million. Creative director Christian Watson, physiotherapist Heidi Barlow, radio host Liam Stapleton and UFC champion Alexander Volkanovski also posted sizable gains, each surpassing...
Connoisseur Media announced internal promotions to strengthen its Long Island radio cluster. Sales Director Darren DiPrima has been elevated to Station Manager, a role that unifies programming, sales, promotions, and operations. Simultaneously, Patrick Shea will serve as Director of Technical...
ESPN has officially taken over NFL Network, absorbing all existing on‑air talent contracts as of April 1. Employees will remain under their current deals until expiration, after which they must negotiate new agreements with Disney’s ESPN division. The transition has sparked...
Estefany Rodríguez, a Colombian journalist for Nashville Noticias, was seized by ICE in Nashville without a warrant and transferred to a detention center in Louisiana. She entered the U.S. on a tourist visa in 2021, filed for asylum, and holds...
The Media Ratings Council (MRC) has raised concerns about Nielsen’s National Big Data + Panel TV measurement after detecting a more than 10% decline in 25‑54‑year‑old audience impressions in the first half of 2025. MRC identified four priority areas –...
esRadio, part of Spain’s Libertad Digital group, has equipped its Madrid headquarters with two DHD RX2 audio production consoles. Each unit provides 18 physical faders, a layering function for expanded channel control, and integrated 10.1‑inch touchscreens. The installation also includes...
Sons of Anarchy’s entire seven‑season run is currently available on the free UK streaming service U, but the catalogue will be removed shortly. The FX crime drama, which aired 92 episodes between 2008 and 2014, holds an 87% Rotten Tomatoes...
Octopus Newsroom has been installed at Griffin Media’s KWTV Oklahoma City and KOTV Tulsa, modernizing the stations' news production workflows. The two CBS affiliates generate more than 100 hours of news weekly and required a flexible system for rapid severe‑weather...
Pod Digital Media (PDM) has entered a multi‑year partnership with One Venture Group to launch a growth audience marketplace spanning more than 30 U.S. markets and 72 live events. The platform matches brands with high‑value cultural audiences—such as jazz fans,...
Podscribe unveiled two major product upgrades: an AI‑powered chatbot that lets advertisers query the platform’s podcast data in natural language, and YouTube SmartModeling, a new attribution framework for simulcast ads. SmartModeling replaces the old practice of mirroring podcast conversion rates...
Frequency and Flightpath announced a strategic partnership that integrates Flightpath’s predictive analytics with Frequency’s Premium Publisher Network marketplace. The combined solution gives podcast publishers real‑time inventory insights, enabling coordinated cross‑network sales and reducing unsold ad slots. By embedding forecasting directly...
Nielsen has introduced mSurvey, a digital diary system that modernizes how the company gathers listening habits from U.S. radio audiences. The platform replaces the legacy paper diaries and expands measurement to include podcasts, satellite radio, and digital music streams. By...
In February, The Washington Post eliminated its entire arts and culture desk, including full‑time theatre critic Naveen Kumar, leaving Washington, D.C. without a dedicated regional theatre reviewer. Freelance pieces now fill the void, but coverage remains sparse. Thirty‑three local theatres...
Martin Clunes makes a cameo in the U.S. adaptation “Best Medicine,” playing Dr. Robert Best, the father of the series’ lead. The show, a remake of the British hit “Doc Martin,” premiered on Fox earlier this year with Josh Charles starring...
Axel Springer has agreed to acquire the UK‑based Telegraph Media Group for £575 million, a deal reported by the Financial Times. The purchase follows a failed £500 million bid by Daily Mail owner DMGT that faced regulatory scrutiny. By adding the Telegraph’s...
Netflix announced that Lana Condor will reprise Lara Jean in XO, Kitty Season 3, premiering on April 2. The eight‑episode third season follows Kitty’s final year at KISS, promising new memories, family ties in Korea, and unexpected plot twists. Several To All...
A Warren County, New Jersey AM radio station is set to become wholly owned by Lawrence J. Tighe Jr. after an asset sale agreement was filed with the FCC. The transaction ends the long‑standing partnership with Norman Worth. Concurrently, the...
The Next TMT Talks panel examined how connected‑TV operating systems have become the primary gateway for streaming content, advertising, and data collection. Panelists from The Trade Desk’s Ventura TVOS, Whale TV, and ViewLift discussed their strategies to challenge incumbent platforms and capture...
Sevio released its 2025 State of Financial Publishers report, analyzing programmatic monetization across 4.14 billion impressions from sites ranging from 1,900 to 95.1 million monthly visitors in eight countries. The data shows revenue growth stemmed from higher monetization per impression rather than...
Midco Sports, a 95‑year‑old Upper Midwest technology firm, has turned its regional sports network into a national‑minded streaming platform, Midco Sports Plus, now reaching viewers in nine U.S. states. A new partnership with the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) brings...
The Journalism.co.uk two‑day online course, priced at £295 plus VAT, teaches podcast hosts, content creators, and corporate communicators modern interview techniques. Led by award‑winning journalist Paul Connolly, the program covers preparation, question crafting, emotional storytelling, and handling high‑pressure or trauma‑sensitive...
