Brands Want To Know How Well Their Affiliate Content Is Performing In The AI Age
Adobe is turning to Partnerize’s VantagePoint generative‑AI attribution platform to solve the attribution blind spot created by AI‑driven search. The solution, now enhanced with the Influence Compensation Lighthouse Program, assigns influence scores (HaloIndex) beyond last‑click and automates publisher payouts. Brands like luggage maker Away are already using the data to shift spend toward high‑impact content. The initiative aims to set an industry standard for measuring and compensating affiliate contributions in the AI search era.
MS NOW Uses Community to Build Up Its Brand
MS NOW is shifting from a traditional linear news outlet to a community‑first brand, leveraging its recent independence after NBCUniversal’s spin‑off. The network plans to launch a summer‑time app focused on direct audience interaction rather than streaming. Executives highlighted the rise...
Cinematic Feel Makes ‘Survivor’ Built to Last
The NAB Show honored CBS’s "Survivor" with the Spirit of Broadcasting Award, marking its 50‑season legacy and spotlighting the show’s shift toward a more cinematic production style. Host Jeff Probst, who became showrunner in 2010, explained how upgraded cameras and...
Why Broadcast Is Well-Positioned to Safeguard Freedom of Speech
A panel convened by FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez examined the growing tension between regulators and broadcasters after Chairman Brendan Carr warned of license revocations for stations deemed not to serve the public interest. Experts described the practice of “jawboning,” where...
AWS Demos AI Tools to Deliver Vertical Video
Amazon Web Services is showcasing a suite of AI‑driven tools at the NAB Show aimed at delivering vertical video streams for mobile‑first audiences. The centerpiece, AWS Elemental Inference, can generate a vertical feed from live encoding with only a six‑to‑10‑second...
Studio71 Sold to Fixated, Giving Company Network of 1,000-Plus Digital Creators
Los Angeles‑based Fixated has purchased creator‑media company Studio71, merging their talent representation, production and distribution capabilities. The combined entity now serves over 1,000 digital creators across platforms such as YouTube, TikTok and Twitch, and inherits Studio71’s podcast network and long‑standing...
Audio Systems Get Boost From Cloud and AI
At NAB 2026, leading audio‑technology vendors showcased cloud‑centric and AI‑enhanced mixing solutions that decouple the console from physical racks. Telos Alliance introduced its flexAI automixer, while Wheatstone, SSL and Lawo demonstrated virtual consoles and containerized workflow platforms that run on...
ATSC Celebrates 3.0’s Global Expansion
Brazil announced in August 2025 it will adopt the ATSC 3.0 physical layer as the core of its new DTV+ (TV 3.0) broadcast protocol. The rollout targets the country's 212 million residents, 80% of whom watch over‑the‑air TV, with pilot tests slated for...
Video Podcasting Leaps in Popularity
Podcast listening in the U.S. reached a record 58% of adults (about 167 million) in February 2026, according to Edison Research’s Infinite Dial. The surge is accompanied by rapid growth in video podcasting, with 80% of adults 18+ saying they both...
Silo Lands Season 3 Premiere Date At Apple TV — Get A Sneak Peek At Life Above Ground
Apple TV+ announced that Season 3 of the post‑apocalyptic series Silo will premiere on Friday, July 3, with weekly episodes running through a September 4 finale. A new teaser reveals flashbacks to life above ground and hints at the origin story drawn from the...
WWO: Guidelines for Using AI to Build Your Media Plans
Westwood One’s Audio Active Group released guidelines for local advertisers on leveraging artificial intelligence in media planning. Cumulus Media president of operations Bob Walker emphasizes that AI can be useful but must be used with precise prompts, reputable sources, and...
Yesterday’s Top News/Talk Media Stories (4/20)
Talk radio’s daily roundup on April 20 highlighted a surge in geopolitical coverage, with the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflict and Iran’s closure of the Hormuz Strait dominating headlines. Domestic politics also featured prominently as Labor Secretary Lori Chavez‑DeRemer resigned and Virginia’s redistricting...
YouTube Just Gave Users the Option to Fully Disable Shorts: What Do the Experts Say?
YouTube has introduced a new setting that lets users completely disable Shorts by setting daily screen time to zero, effectively removing the Shorts tab and feed. This builds on a 2025 update that previously limited Shorts viewing to between 15...
Sun Pharma’s ‘Heart Ke Liye 8’ Campaign Crosses 24.1 Million Views
Sun Pharmaceutical Industries’ "Heart ke Liye 8 – Making India Heart Strong" campaign has amassed 24.1 million views since its February launch, leveraging YouTube, Meta, connected TV and health‑tech platforms to promote eight daily habits for cardiovascular wellness. The initiative dovetails...
Meta’s AI Push Has Made Its Way Into Ad Creative. Not All Marketers Are Happy About It
Meta has been automatically applying AI‑generated tweaks to advertisers' creative assets, often without the brands’ knowledge. Snag Tights discovered altered ads that misrepresented its products, prompting the company to request a shutdown of Meta’s AI testing on its account. Other...
Four Publishers, One Growth Playbook: What The Guardian, Denník N, Uusi Juttu and Kyiv Independent Told Perugia About Reader Revenue
Four diverse publishers—The Guardian, Denník N, Uusi Juttu and the Kyiv Independent—shared a unified reader‑revenue playbook at the Perugia International Journalism Festival. Each relies on membership‑first models, with the Guardian generating roughly $125 million in digital reader revenue and 1.3 million supporters, while the...
What New Roku TVs and Roku Players Are Coming in 2026? Here Is What We Know
Roku is expected to refresh its streaming hardware in 2026, with the most likely candidates being a new Streaming Stick 4K that could add Dolby Vision support and an updated Roku Ultra box. Both products typically see a fall‑season refresh,...
Introducing Index Cloud: Bring Your Own Intelligence Inside the Exchange
Index Exchange unveiled Index Cloud, a neutral compute layer inside its global data centers that lets partners run custom models, data and applications directly within the real‑time auction. Using containerized workloads, partners can process impression‑level signals in under five milliseconds,...
15 Years Before Ross And Rachel, ABC Debuted Aaron Spelling's Very Different Friends Series
In 1979 ABC launched a short‑lived comedy‑drama called Friends, produced by Aaron Spelling and Douglas S. Cramer. The series followed three 11‑year‑old kids in Southern California as they navigated dating, family and school, and earned endorsements from the National Education...
Kill Boring Dead’s Marcus Willis: The Safest Campaign Is Also the Most Expensive One
Kill Boring Dead (KBD), a Melbourne‑based social‑first agency, filters out roughly 99% of inbound pitches to focus on bold, emotionally resonant work. Founder Marcus Willis argues that safe, consensus‑approved campaigns are not only ineffective but costlier than doing nothing, prompting...
impact.com Expands Creator Management Capabilities with YouTube’s Creator Partnerships API
impact.com announced an expanded collaboration with YouTube as an early adopter of the Creator Partnerships API, letting brands discover creators, manage sponsorships, and pull performance insights. The integration offers end‑to‑end campaign management and access to verified audience and engagement data....
Podcast Data Firm Bumper Unveils Audience Verification Metric to Boost Advertiser Confidence
Bumper, a podcast data and growth firm, launched the Bumper Score, a new audience verification metric that rates podcasts on a 0‑200 scale with 100 as the industry average. The score aggregates first‑party hosting data, verified listener information from major...
Fashion Retailer Quince Tops Podcast Ad Spending, Sports and Comedy Dominate Genre Placements in March
Fashion retailer Quince led March 2026 podcast advertising with an estimated $6.57 million spend, primarily on comedy programs. BetterHelp, Amazon, Meta, and T‑Mobile rounded out the top five, each allocating roughly $5‑6 million, with a strong preference for sports podcasts. Magellan AI’s...
Meta Launches First Instagram Campaign in Thailand to Drive Reels Adoption
Meta has launched its first dedicated Instagram brand campaign in Thailand, a 10‑week digital effort built by BBH Singapore. The initiative features two hero films, six 20‑second Reels and 15 creator‑led pieces starring local influencers to spur Reels creation among...
Weekly Creator Economy Job Radar – April 21st, 2026 – Amazon, TikTok, Warner Music Lead Hiring Across Content, Influencer and...
The creator‑economy hiring wave is being driven by heavyweight platforms, with Amazon, TikTok and Warner Music posting senior roles that span content distribution, creator partnerships and influencer strategy. Amazon’s Content Growth Lead can earn up to $288,200, while TikTok’s Creator...
Comcast to Start Selling Peacock Subscriptions Through Roku Channel
Comcast’s NBCUniversal has signed a deal with Roku to sell Peacock Premium Plus subscriptions directly through The Roku Channel. Starting in the coming months, Roku smart‑TV and streaming‑device users can purchase the ad‑free plan for $17 a month, which includes...
The Tech Lab’s New Programmatic Governance Council Is So Over All The Ad Tech Drama
The IAB Tech Lab announced a new Programmatic Governance Council (PGC) comprising major buyers, sellers, and platforms to address inefficiencies in the $200 billion programmatic ad market. Co‑chaired by OMD’s Ben Hovaness and three sell‑side executives, the council aims to curb...
Turkey’s OGM Pictures Signs Co-Production Deal with Spain’s Grupo Ganga
Turkey’s OGM Pictures has signed a strategic co‑production agreement with Spain’s Grupo Ganga, one of Europe’s leading scripted‑content producers. The partnership will develop a slate of premium series for linear broadcasters and global streaming platforms, blending format adaptations with original...
Burger King Returns to ‘Star Wars’ Galaxy as Turnaround Push Endures
Burger King has teamed with Disney’s "The Mandalorian and Grogu" to launch a limited‑time menu and multichannel campaign tied to the May 22 theatrical release. The promotion features items such as a BBQ Bounty Whopper in a helmet‑shaped carton, Grogu’s Blue...
Half Man Review: Is Richard Gadds New Series as Good as Baby Reindeer?
Richard Gadd’s new limited series *Half Man* arrives on HBO and BBC iPlayer, following the critical success of his 2024 hit *Baby Reindeer*. The six‑episode drama alternates between teenage and adult timelines, tracing the fraught brother‑like bond between Niall and...
Google Veteran Joins Bulgarian AdScout to Tackle “Trust Tax”
Google veteran Lachezar Atanasov has joined Bulgarian adtech scale‑up AdScout as Head of AI Product. He aims to eliminate the industry’s “Trust Tax” by building autonomous orchestration infrastructure that amplifies authentic human advocacy. Leveraging his experience launching Google DeepMind’s GenAI...
Calinos and Pixcom Sign Partnership with TF1
Calinos Entertainment and Canadian producer Pixcom have struck a strategic deal with France’s TF1 Group to bring the hit scripted series *Indefensible* and *Alert Squad* to French audiences via the TF1+ platform. *Indefensible* commands roughly 1.5 million daily viewers in Canada,...
Apple TV's 'The Savant' Is Back on the Release Calendar
Apple TV+ has confirmed that the political thriller "The Savant," starring Jessica Chastain, will debut in July 2026. The series was originally slated for a September launch but was pulled after the murder of right‑wing podcaster Charlie Kirk, an event...
Tata Play Binge Adds Pocket Films to Micro Drama Platform Shots
Tata Play Binge has bolstered its micro‑drama hub Shots by adding Pocket Films, expanding the catalog to over 210 titles and 220 hours of short‑format content in Hindi and regional languages. The ad‑supported library is part of a broader aggregation...
The Advertising, Media, and PR Award Winners From the 30th Annual Webby Awards
The 30th annual Webby Awards announced winners in advertising, media and PR, highlighting the best digital campaigns across more than 100 categories. Jury‑selected honors went to brands such as Centivo, NikeSkims, LinkedIn, and Wieden+Kennedy, while a new AI category recognized...
B2B Influencer Marketing in 2026: The Rise of LinkedIn Influencers in B2B Tech
B2B influencer marketing has migrated from occasional expert webinars to a creator‑led model anchored on LinkedIn, where founders, CMOs and product leaders publish consistently. These "LinkedInfluencers" build trust through repeated, expertise‑rich posts that shape buyer opinions long before a sales...
Wednesday in Paris! Netflix's Global Hit Reveals First Look at Season 3 with Big Change
Netflix unveiled a first‑look teaser for Wednesday season 3, placing the titular Addams sister against the Eiffel Tower in Paris. The Instagram post, captioned “From Paris, with dread,” confirms the series will shift part of its storyline to the French capital...
DISH Customers Can Now Get Starlink Internet for Just $50 a Month With Unlimited Data
DISH Network is now selling Starlink satellite internet for $50 a month with unlimited data, adding professional installation for its TV subscribers. The plan promises speeds up to 400 Mbps across most of the continental United States, targeting rural and underserved...
Going Global? Contextual AI Needs To Be Your Strategy
US and UK brands expanding globally often rely on accidental attention, but contextual AI is essential. Eskimi’s research shows AI‑driven contextual targeting lifts attention per mille by 74% and reaches a 95% brand‑safety score, far above standard display and keyword...
The Power of Creator and Brand Collaboration Put to the Test
At SMW 2026, Inmar Media’s Heather Riccobono demonstrated that creator‑led branded content can double sales lift, challenging the brand‑vs‑creator dichotomy. In a live 25‑minute UGC experiment, creator Hannah Lorsch shot and edited a dog‑tug‑toy photo with input from the audience...
‘Fastvertising’ Puts Real-Time Cultural Moments in Every Marketer’s Hands
Fastvertising leverages AI to let brands produce ads in minutes, matching the pace of viral cultural moments. The concept was highlighted by Fraser Woollard of MNTN, who cited a Nutella‑in‑zero‑gravity spot during the Artemis II mission as a real‑time win. AI...
Bringing Brands and Creators Together in the Participation Economy
The creator economy is evolving from passive followers to a participation economy where brands co‑create with creators and communities. At Social Media Week, Publicis Creative’s Charlotte Tansill and Sam’s Club’s MacKenzie McCarver highlighted the need for brands to listen, align...
DB Digital Appoints Piyush Thakur as Chief Revenue Officer
Dainik Bhaskar Group’s digital arm, DB Digital, has appointed Piyush Thakur as Chief Revenue Officer. Thakur, who spent nearly a decade at Inshorts and previously led its advertising business, will oversee ad revenue across DB Digital’s web and app properties. He reports to...
ITV's "Blockbuster" Detective Series Confirms Exciting New-Season Update After Shock Cliffhanger
ITV has officially commissioned a seventh season of its hit detective series Grace, converting the new run into four standalone films based on Peter James novels. John Simm will reprise his role as Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, joining returning cast...
Mother Dairy Rides IPL Viewership with Targeted JioHotstar CTV Push
Mother Dairy has launched a high‑impact Connected TV (CTV) partnership with JioHotstar for IPL 2026, orchestrated by WPP Media. The campaign embeds the brand in live match feeds, pre‑show segments, and milestone moments such as half‑centuries and centuries. By leveraging...
JioHotstar Brings Purchase Intent-Led Ads to Streaming Platform
JioHotstar has rolled out a purchase‑intent advertising capability that ties streaming content to immediate product discovery. The solution uses aggregated, privacy‑safe data to form audience cohorts based on behavioural signals, moving beyond traditional demographic targeting. Instamart is the inaugural partner,...
GoodGym Debut TV Ad Urges Brits to Get Fit and Do Good
GoodGym, the UK‑based fitness‑for‑good charity, launched its first national TV spot on Sky titled “Workout For The Future.” The ad, funded by the Sky Zero Footprint Fund, translates a £700,000 (≈$890,000) media prize into a purpose‑driven narrative filmed on an...
Poynter Relaunches Most Popular Editing Certificate for Communicators and Journalists
The Poynter Institute has relaunched its Introductory Certificate in Editing, updating the curriculum to reflect modern editing practices across social‑media and digital platforms. Priced at $150, the certificate comprises six self‑paced online courses and a final assessment that can be...
SCMP’s ‘Original’ Finance Reporting Honoured at State Street Institutional Press Awards
South China Morning Post secured six honours at the State Street Institutional Press Awards Asia‑Pacific 2025, the region’s premier recognition for institutional finance journalism. Veteran reporter Enoch Yiu was named Outstanding Contribution to Institutional Journalism, highlighting his three‑decade track record...
What To Watch Tuesday: LL COOL J Returns To NCIS, Bear Grylls Runs Wild Again, And More
TVLine’s Tuesday guide highlights a blend of network, cable and streaming premieres for April 21, 2026. LL COOL J returns as Sam Hanna in an NCIS episode set during a mainframe outage, while Bear Grylls teams with Matthew McConaughey for the Season 9 premiere of Running Wild...