Know What's Happening in Television
Know What's Happening in Television
Netflix to Pull Oscar‑Nominated ‘Hell or High Water’ in 2026
Netflix will remove Taylor Sheridan’s Oscar‑nominated neo‑Western *Hell or High Water* from its catalog on May 1, 2026. The 2016 film earned roughly $37 million worldwide against a $12 million budget and holds a 97% Rotten Tomatoes rating.
At AIDC2026, a panel of SBS executives and producers debated the DNA of returnable documentary formats. They agreed that a bankable emotional hook is essential, while the narrative must stay unpredictable. A solid structural framework provides viewers with a familiar handrail, yet creators need freedom to subvert expectations. The discussion highlighted the risk of formats becoming boring and predictable if rigidity outweighs creative latitude.
Creator talent agencies are abandoning the legacy deal‑brokering model in favor of multi‑platform operations that place creators at the core. Companies like Shorthand Studios and Night Media have demonstrated rapid audience growth and secured sizable funding, such as Night Media’s...
The U.S. Trade Representative released its 2025 Notorious Markets List, identifying 37 online and 32 physical venues that facilitate trademark counterfeiting and copyright piracy. The report spotlights the surge in illegal streaming of live sports, especially as the United States...
The ABC crime drama RJ Decker premiered its first season starring Scott Speedman, adapting Carl Hiaasen’s Double Whammy novel. Nielsen’s live‑plus‑same‑day ratings, which include DVR playback, have been posted but show modest numbers compared with network peers. Viewer‑generated votes are...
The horror film "The Mortuary Assistant" will stream exclusively on Shudder starting March 27, 2026. Adapted from the best‑selling video game, it follows newly certified mortician Rebecca Owens (Willa Holland) as she confronts demonic rituals and personal trauma during a...
Versant CEO Mark Lazarus said the company will pursue new sports‑rights opportunities as NFL contracts are renegotiated, positioning USA Sports to fill gaps left by larger networks. NBC’s Bob Costas revealed that the Sunday Night Baseball pre‑game will be trimmed...
America’s Funniest Home Videos (AFV) aired its 36th season on ABC, delivering a 0.37 rating in the key 18‑49 demographic and attracting 3.85 million total viewers. Hosted by Alfonso Ribeiro, the user‑generated comedy‑clip series continues to reward weekly winners with $20,000...
Friday, February 27, 2026, TV ratings show a busy lineup with new episodes of 20/20, Sheriff Country, Fire Country, Boston Blue, Happy’s Place, Stumble and Dateline NBC, alongside an NBA matchup between the San Antonio Spurs and Philadelphia 76ers. Reruns of The Greatest American, Masters of...
Dateline NBC’s 34th‑season ratings were released on March 4 2026, posting a 0.20 rating in the 18‑49 demographic and 2.21 million total viewers. The long‑running primetime newsmagazine remains a Friday‑night staple on the Peacock Network. NBC has not yet announced a renewal or...
The documentary "Timestamp," chronicling a generation of Ukrainians growing up during the war, will be released on DVD on March 10 through MVD Entertainment Group and Kimstim. Directed by Kateryna Gornostai, the film was shot over several years, capturing life before...
The television industry is moving from an advertising‑centric view of value to an upstream focus on intellectual property (IP) as a capital asset. While ad yield still matters, executives are now assessing financing structures, rights ownership, and extension potential before...
Banijay’s Marco Bassetti and Jeff Zucker on the Surprise All3Media Merger That Puts ‘The Traitors,’ ‘MasterChef’ and ‘Peaky Blinders’ Under the Same Roof https://t.co/zM40xh5TTV via @variety
SCTE announced AMC Networks as the first-ever programmer to co‑host TechExpo26, joining Charter as headliners for the September‑October event in Atlanta. The partnership highlights the industry’s move toward convergence, where operators and media providers align network innovation with viewer experiences....
At the ACA Connects Summit, NCTC CEO Lou Borrelli confirmed that video remains central to the cooperative’s offering, announcing new authentication capabilities for ESPN Unlimited alongside existing Fox One access. He said NCTC will follow Charter’s direct‑to‑consumer video‑bundle strategy to...
The SISO CEO Summit convenes March 9‑12 at Kiawah Island, South Carolina, under the theme “Innovation in Action,” shifting focus from AI hype to concrete implementation. Attendees—C‑level leaders from trade shows, media groups, and suppliers—will explore evolving KPIs, AI‑driven M&A...
News Corp has inked a three‑year AI content licensing agreement with Meta, granting the social‑media giant access to the publisher’s U.S. and U.K. news assets for model training and user consumption. The deal could net Meta up to $50 million per...
Roc Nation claims Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show amassed 4.157 billion worldwide views within 24 hours, a figure that surpasses all prior records across broadcast and digital platforms. Independent metrics from Nielsen and Adobe report 128.2 million live viewers, placing the performance fourth...
Amazon MGM Studios’ sci‑fi drama *Mercy* claimed the top spot on the Digital Entertainment Group’s weekly digital sales and rentals chart for the week ending Feb. 22, according to GfK Entertainment data. The film outperformed Disney’s animated sequel *Zootopia 2* and Sony’s...
The Hollywood Professional Association concluded its 2026 Tech Retreat in Los Angeles, drawing over 800 industry leaders for more than 40 curated sessions. At the gathering HPA launched an expanded Innovation & Technology awards program, honoring winners across five categories—from...
Amazon Prime announced the casting of Tatum Grace Hopkins and Maisy Stella as Max Caulfield and Chloe Price for its live‑action adaptation of the 2015 game Life Is Strange. Hopkins, a Broadway veteran, makes her TV debut, while Stella brings...
Comcast co‑CEO Michael Cavanagh said Peacock will stay U.S.-only, aiming profitability. The service added 3 million paid subscribers in the last quarter of 2025, ending the year with 44 million paid subs, while revenue rose to $1.6 billion and operating loss widened to...
Will anyone dare call it Bay of Pigskin? JFK’s endorsement of the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, an @NFL-friendly antitrust law, is coming back to haunt the New Frontier in the age of @Netflix, @Peacock, @YouTubeTV, and @Amazon @PrimeVideo. @BasedMikeLee,...
Antitrust experts don't see Paramount/WBD deal getting blocked by DOJ or abroad, but any lengthy probes abroad could buy state AGs time to assemble a lawsuit — Will they have a legit enough antitrust case to win in court? Uphill battle. @axios https://t.co/czZPajmweE
ESPN’s 2026 Champ Week will stream more than 240 women’s college basketball conference tournament games from March 3‑15, primarily on the ESPN+ app and supplemented by ESPN2, ACCN, SECN, ESPNU and other linear channels. The rollout features marquee talent such as...
Things I Did Not Know About Versant, Chapter 1: 'Our use of the CNBC brand is subject to a trademark license agreement with Comcast that provides an initial term of five years, which may be extended'
@Axios Media Trends is back after a brief break 👶🍼 Today's edition: — 🍿Scoop: Sarandos never met w Trump or any WH officials last week — ⚖️Paramount regulatory next steps — 📢Midterm messaging mapped — 📺Jeff Zucker intv. on his next big bet Subscribe: https://t.co/d8VFQJHDMm
Netflix is extending the Squid Game franchise with a new celebrity‑driven reality series titled "Squid Game: The VIP Challenge." The spin‑off pits eight high‑profile VIPs against each other in games that echo the original show's deadly contests. Hosts Dylan O'Brien...
The NFL will generate more money from its rights, without replacing existing partners. $FOXA $PSKY $DIS $CMCSA $AMZN The LightShed Podcast, Ep. 303. With @BrandoLightShed and @WaltLightShed https://t.co/87a3KpxJEZ
Versant Media Group reported 2025 revenues of $6.69 billion, generating $930 million in net income. Linear distribution contributed $4.09 billion, ad sales $1.58 billion, platforms $826 million, and licensing $193 million. Adjusted EBITDA reached $2.42 billion, and the board approved up to $1 billion in share repurchases alongside...
Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment announced that the 1996 thriller Sleepers will be released in 4K digital and disc on April 21, coinciding with its 30th anniversary. The remastered edition adds new bonus material, including a conversation with director Barry...
Disney CFO Hugh Johnston said Disney+ will boost viewer engagement by expanding content offerings. The service now has 131.6 million global subscribers, with 59.3 million in North America, but growth will come from increasing weekly watch hours. Disney plans targeted investments in...
YouTube TV is adding Adult Swim as a standalone channel to its Entertainment package while moving Cartoon Network exclusively into the Family tier. The shift mirrors DIRECTV’s recent bundling changes, separating mature‑rated programming from child‑friendly content. By placing Adult Swim in the...
Prime Video announced that Season 4 of the adult‑animated series The Legend of Vox Machina will debut on June 3. The new season will roll out three episodes per week across more than 240 countries and territories. The show, a joint venture...
Banijay and All3Media Strike Merger Deal to Form Multi-Billion Dollar Production Group https://t.co/S2DGE01t3X via @variety
SBS has unveiled its on‑air team for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, appointing former Socceroos star Harry Kewell, retired Matildas goalkeeper Lydia Williams, and veteran commentator David Basheer as the headline analysts. Presenters Niav Owens and Claudio Fabiano will host studio coverage from...
On the #GameOfThrones movie news: be wary of any development reports not accompanied by a studio quote. That said, given the incoming ownership's hunger for franchise IP, I wouldn't be surprised if it eventually happens.
Sky Glass launched its Gen 2 and Air TV sets with price tiers ranging from £309 for the entry‑level Air model to £1,199 for the 65‑inch Gen 2. Customers can purchase the hardware outright or spread the cost over 24‑ or 48‑month interest‑free...
The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: The Murder in Angel Lane, a 2013 period detective drama starring Olivia Colman and Paddy Considine, has been added to Prime Video’s UK streaming library. The film, a follow‑up to the 2011 adaptation of Kate Summerscale’s Constance...
Moments Lab will unveil its next‑generation multimodal, agentic AI capabilities at the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas. The company’s Discovery Agent lets video teams retrieve clips, quotes and precise moments using plain‑language prompts, reporting over 50% user adoption and...
French filmmaker Luc Besson’s fantasy‑horror romance “Dracula” will hit digital platforms on March 10, offered for rental and purchase through Vertical. The film, which Besson directed, wrote and produced, has accumulated $41.8 million at the global box office. It follows a...
Roku announced that Apple TV is now available through The Roku Channel’s Premium Subscriptions platform, letting users sign up with their existing Roku account. The service costs $12.99 per month or $99 per year and includes a seven‑day free trial....
Canal+ Österreich has named Vienna‑born Peter Kail as its new chief executive. Kail, who rose from managing director at Eviso Austria to director of telecom partnerships at Canal+ International, will steer growth in the Austrian pay‑TV market. The appointment follows a leadership...
Paramount Skydance Debt Downgraded to Junk Status by Fitch Ratings Following Warner Bros. Discovery Deal https://t.co/bBiUN3grT5 via @variety
Paramount Global's pending acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery could spell the end of TNT Sports, the long‑standing sports brand of Turner. The deal, while likely to clear U.S. antitrust review, may still face challenges and follows a pattern where regulators...
Versant, the newest company in the media sector, is getting ready to tackle some of the most lucrative properties in the business..... https://t.co/Hf3JAskeC5 via @variety
Versant Sees Chance to Snatch Big Sports Rights as NFL Opt-Out Looms https://t.co/Hf3JAskeC5 via @variety
Compass Media Networks announced exclusive radio coverage of the 2026 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament, running from March 10 through the championship on March 15. The tournament’s recent expansion to six days provides a packed schedule of high‑stakes games. General...
Lawo AG announced Jamie Dunn as its new chief executive officer, succeeding founder Philipp Lawo who will move to the company’s supervisory board. Dunn, with Lawo since 2011 and deputy CEO since 2024, joins a management board that includes CFO...
ABC’s revived "Scrubs" episode attracted 11.36 million cross‑platform viewers within five days, making it the network’s top comedy debut on streaming in over a year. The broadcast also earned a 0.74 rating among adults 18‑49, the highest linear comedy telecast on...
FIFA and host broadcaster HBS outlined a new production model for the 2026 World Cup, creating 16 localized production teams to limit crew travel across the United States, Canada and Mexico. Each of the 104 matches will be covered by...
