Know What's Happening in Television
Know What's Happening in Television
China regulator cracks down on TV dramas obsessed with beauty
China’s National Radio and Television Administration warned that domestic TV dramas are overly fixated on physical beauty and traffic‑driven popularity, urging producers to prioritize stronger acting and storytelling. The directive was delivered at a conference attended by major streamers including iQIYI, Tencent Video, Mango TV and Youku.
The X Games unveiled its first MoonPay X Games League (XGL) Draft on March 14 at Cosm Los Angeles, marking the transition to a year‑round, global, team‑based competition. Forty of the world’s top action‑sport athletes were drafted into four city‑named clubs—Los Angeles, New York, São Paulo and Tokyo—through a five‑round, 180‑player pool. The event was produced by long‑time partner Echo Entertainment and streamed live via the ESPN App, Roku Sports, YouTube, Kick.com and Amazon’s FAST channel. Cosm’s shared‑reality dome served as both a dynamic live venue and a broadcast set, featuring a split LED wall and nine HDC‑4300 cameras.
Dropout, the comedy‑focused streaming service that grew out of CollegeHumor, is entering scripted animation with its debut series "Toonout." The short‑form show launches on March 24 and will run 25 episodes, releasing new installments every other Tuesday through February 23, 2027. Production taps...
Screenrights, the copyright collective for Australian and New Zealand screen creators, has opened applications for its 2026 Cultural Fund round, allocating up to $300,000 in total funding. Grants of up to $50,000 will support projects that use screen storytelling to enhance...
Zephyr Animation, part of Madgic Group, has greenlit the preschool series Mogu & Perol, a 39‑episode 7‑minute 3DCG show co‑produced with Japan’s dwarf studios and Taiwan’s Aries Creative. Production will commence this month at France’s 2 Minutes studio, with delivery scheduled...
YouTube TV has added the Golf Channel to its 4K lineup, available through the optional 4K Plus add‑on. The upgrade costs an additional $9.99 per month on top of the $82.99 base plan and unlocks unlimited streams and offline downloads. The...
Vicky McClure’s three‑part thriller *The Replacement* will disappear from Netflix on 19 March, ending a year‑long streaming window. The BBC drama, which debuted in 2017, has earned a perfect 100 % Rotten Tomatoes rating from eleven critics, drawing praise for its Hitchcock‑style tension and...
Hearst Media Production Group announced that Bryan Curb will assume the role of president on July 1, succeeding retiring founder Frank Biancuzzo. Curb, currently executive vice president and general manager of educational and informational programming, brings over a decade of...
Katz Media Group’s recent two‑week membership drive generated more than $45,000 for the Broadcasters Foundation of America, bringing its cumulative contributions since the program’s start to nearly $550,000. The funds support the Stu Olds Memorial Fund, which provides emergency medical and...
Warm Springs Productions announced the launch of Steadfast Collective, a new faith‑based film and television banner. The banner will produce a range of formats—including docudramas, reality series, micro‑dramas and feature films—for global audiences. Executives Bridger Pierce and David L. Cunningham...
ABC World News Tonight retained its position as the nation’s most‑watched evening newscast during the week of March 2, 2026, drawing 8.901 million total viewers and a 7% rise in the coveted Adults 25‑54 demographic. NBC Nightly News posted solid gains, up 2% in...
Letter writers argue that the BBC’s traditional TV licence fee is increasingly untenable, citing a 12.5% non‑compliance rate and a 30% drop in funding during 2024‑25. They propose replacing the licence with a hypothecated council‑tax levy, similar to Switzerland’s universal...
Disney Advertising announced that its entire ad inventory for the 98th Oscars has been sold out, driven by strong marketplace demand after last year’s broadcast. The company raised 30‑second spot prices to $1.7‑$2.3 million, a double‑digit increase over 2024, and secured...
Google and Range Media Partners have unveiled the 100 ZEROS initiative, a slate of microdramas created by veteran TV producers such as Mike Fleiss, Simon Fuller and McG. The vertical‑video series will debut on the Google TV app for Android...
Fox has ordered a new animated series centered on Stewie Griffin, the infant mastermind from Family Guy. The spinoff, created by Seth MacFarlane and longtime Family Guy writers, received a two‑season commitment from the network. Production is slated to begin...
What should be the business objectives behind any future M&A deal by Netflix $NFLX? @Adweek s Mark Stenberg (@MarkStenberg3) asked me for specific deal predictions. A few of my answers are in the On Background newsletter below, alongside some other smart...
"Half Man," a six‑episode drama created by Richard Gadd, will debut on HBO Max in April 2026. The series, co‑produced with the BBC, streams across the U.S., Latin America, Europe, and airs on BBC iPlayer, BBC One, and BBC Scotland...
Five years into its record $111 billion TV and streaming agreement, the NFL has reopened negotiations to secure a larger share of broadcast revenue. The league’s move follows the NBA’s recent $75 billion rights deal, which set a new market benchmark. Analysts...
Sky Sports has entered a new PGA TOUR rights cycle, establishing a permanent production hub inside PGA TOUR Studios. The arrangement gives Sky two commentators and an on‑course reporter direct access to the world feed, while also providing permanent transmission...
Season 4 of Sullivan’s Crossing will premiere on The CW on April 20, 2026, after filming wrapped in late 2025. The series has already become a streaming powerhouse, with season 1 surpassing five million views and season 3 reaching #3 on Netflix’s Global English TV Top 10...
During the Feb 23‑Mar 1, 2026 mid‑season premiere week, CBS secured the top three spots among broadcast series and placed seven of the ten most‑watched titles in the broadcast‑only ranking, according to Nielsen’s live‑plus‑7‑day multiplatform data. The network’s flagship drama “Marshals” led with...
PBS CEO Paula Kerger urged the Arkansas TV commission to pause its planned disaffiliation from the national PBS network, arguing the decision should involve public input. Arkansas TV, citing unsustainable dues after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting lost federal funding, voted...
Comcast’s Xfinity is teaming with NBC Sports and Golf Channel to broadcast THE PLAYERS Championship in RealTime4K, a low‑latency 4K format that arrived up to 49 seconds faster than conventional streams. The launch also introduces two interactive features: Fan View,...
Netflix's reality series "At Home with the Furys" has been green‑lit for a second season, with the premiere date yet to be announced. Industry source Deadline suggests a third season is likely, though Netflix has not officially confirmed the renewal....
The European Audiovisual Observatory will host three English‑language presentations at the Series Mania Forum, spotlighting the most recent trends shaping Europe’s streaming and television markets. The sessions will dissect subscription growth, the decline of traditional TV advertising, and the rising...
Canal Plus reported revenue nearing €7 billion for 2025, marking a strong financial performance for the French media conglomerate. Chairman Maxime Saada highlighted the achievement and announced the next phase of the group’s 2026 strategic plan. The plan centers on expanding...
BIScience has launched the TV Intelligence Suite, extending its AdClarity platform to include U.S. linear TV data. The upgrade lets customers monitor more than $174 billion in digital ad spend and $51 billion in linear TV spend from a single interface. Coverage...
The Ministry of Culture released a second list of nominees for the eighth board of Taiwan’s publicly funded broadcaster, Public Television Service (PTS). The slate includes former baseball star Peng Cheng‑min and gymnast Lee Chih‑kai alongside leaders from online education,...
Paramount+ and CBS have agreed to jointly broadcast UFC 327, featuring Jiří Procházka vs. Valter Ulberg, on April 11 from Miami’s Kaseya Center. Paramount+ will stream the entire fight card in the United States and Latin America, while CBS will simulcast the...
Period crime drama "Ripper Street" will be removed from Netflix on March 26, ending its streaming availability after a year on the platform. The BBC‑originated series follows Detective Inspector Edmund Reid and his team as they investigate Whitechapel crimes from...
BET is expanding BET Her’s daytime schedule through a partnership with AFRO TV, adding two live daily talk shows—The Sisaundra Show and Point of View—premiering on March 16, 2026. Both programs are produced in Orlando and focus on Black women’s culture, perspectives, and community issues. The collaboration gives...
Rakuten TV Enterprise has launched LIVE, a new European event series focused on connected TV and streaming executives. The inaugural edition will take place in Madrid on March 17, gathering over 150 senior leaders from advertising, media agencies, platforms, studios...
RTL Group reported a 3.8% drop in total revenues to €6.02 billion, but announced that its streaming portfolio is poised to become profitable this year after nearing break‑even at the end of 2025. Subscriber numbers rose to 8.06 million in 2025 and...
Canal+ Africa warned that DStv’s steep entry price is stalling subscriber growth in Anglophone Africa. Installation costs average €38 per household, nearly three times the €13 seen in Canal+‑run Francophone markets, contributing to a drop from 14.9 million to 14.4 million subscribers...
Nielsen unveiled a new upfront planning guide that offers a granular look at ad‑supported TV viewership across linear, FAST and AVOD platforms, with a focus on the 18‑49 demographic and sports audiences. The study shows adults 18‑49 allocate 63.8% of...
Tim Burrowes’ Unmade Index, which monitors 14 Australian listed media firms, has recorded a more than 60% drop in total market value since its launch in early 2022, underscoring a deepening media apocalypse. The latest Mumbrellacast episode also dissects the...
Canal+ will retire Showmax, migrating South African subscribers to its own OTT app after Showmax accumulated roughly R8.7 billion in losses, including R4.9 billion in 2025. The transition will fold Showmax titles into the Canal+ platform and DStv Stream, aiming to retain customers...
Amazon MX Player, India’s free streaming service with 250 million monthly viewers, announced its most ambitious 2026 lineup. The slate features over 150 new and returning titles across drama, action, reality and its micro‑drama MX Fatafat vertical. High‑profile projects such as...
The Victorian Football League has secured broadcast agreements with Foxtel, ABC, Seven and SEN, promising the competition’s biggest audiences in decades. Foxtel will stream 16 matches on Kayo Sports across the first 13 rounds, while ABC returns to VFL TV...
In this special edition of the Behind the Numbers podcast, eMarketer analyst Emmy Liederman moderates a panel with Nicole Marcus of Dick's Sporting Goods and Alison O'Keefe of Best Buy about the evolving creator video landscape and its migration from...
A Looper Insights survey of sports‑media executives finds global streamers poised to dominate sports rights by 2026, with Amazon Prime Video emerging as the clear front‑runner. Forty‑one percent of respondents said streaming platforms will hold the greatest structural power, edging...
Scoop: Gayle King's new deal, which CBS News triumphantly announced last week, is only a one-year renewal, I've learned. It does not lock King into the network past 2027.
“Paramount is spending 110 billion dollars to take out a rival” — antitrust attorney Ethan Litwin at Capital Forum conference.
Saturday, March 7, 2026 TV ratings show CBS’s true‑crime series *48 Hours* aired a new episode amid a slate of high‑profile sports and specials. The Paralympic Games, NBA tip‑off, World Baseball Classic, and UFC 326 prelims dominated viewership, while reruns like *Saturday Night...
California AG Rob Bonta blasts proposed Nexstar-Tegna deal, saying if deal goes through a "a single massive company will have outsized influence" and consumers will suffer higher prices and less access to news and sports.
CA AG Rob Bonta says we can't let a couple of mega corporations currying favor with the president control the pipelines of content.
The IndyCar and NASCAR doubleheader at Phoenix Raceway delivered record viewership, with the IndyCar Good Ranchers 250 drawing 1.247 million viewers—a 95 percent increase—and the NASCAR Cup Straight Talk Wireless 500 pulling 2.841 million, up 19 percent. The event marked Team Penske’s 60th anniversary and featured...
CA AG Rob Bonta says his office will be vigorous in its review of Paramount - Warner deal. Concern of higher consumer costs, job loss, etc.
California AG Rob Bonta speaking at Future of Hollywood conference held by Capital Forum. Not expecting any bombs re: Paramount-Warner but will provide some coverage here.
In the 40‑day run‑up to the 2025 Oscars, YouTube activity leaned heavily toward Shorts, which captured roughly 78% of all views. The Glambot format continued its dominance, surpassing 1 billion cross‑platform views, with creator Haley Kalil accounting for several of the top...
This. Folks might want to go back and see how localities leveraged access to ROWs for cable to get franchise fees and PEG (and how fed preemption in '84 created cable monopolies with crap service.)
