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.
DAZN reported a 24% year‑on‑year increase in NFL Game Pass subscriptions, continuing double‑digit growth since its 2023 partnership with the league. The premium Ultimate Tier saw more than 300% growth as fans embraced HDR, Dolby 5.1, and multiview features. International interest surged during Super Bowl LX, with over 125 million streaming minutes across more than 200 markets, while DAZN expanded localization into Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, French and Dutch. Fan engagement also climbed, with the FanZone community used by one‑quarter of subscribers, up 20% year over year.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned that the Paramount‑Warner Bros. Discovery merger is not finalized, citing an open state investigation. Paramount’s $31‑per‑share offer has been deemed superior, prompting Netflix to step aside. Regulators must still clear the deal amid concerns...
Warner Bros. Discovery will abandon the planned Discovery Global spinoff if its pending merger with Paramount is finalized, keeping TNT Sports under the combined umbrella with CBS Sports. Paramount, after raising its offer to $31 per share, reaffirmed confidence in...
Paramount Skydance announced a presumptive offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, the parent of CNN, after Netflix withdrew its competing bid. The announcement was made live on CNN’s "The Lead" by Jake Tapper, highlighting immediate relevance to the network’s staff. Political figures, including former...
Begin, the UAE‑based OTT platform, has signed a one‑year exclusive deal for the Indian Super League’s digital rights in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain. The agreement grants live streaming access for the 2026 ISL season, which runs through...
Sen. Adam Schiff: “What was true for Netflix is still true now for Paramount. The merger of two of Hollywood's biggest studios must be subject to the highest levels of scrutiny, free from White House political influence, to determine...
As Paramount Skydance Grabs Warner Bros. and Netflix Bows Out, the Mood Inside All Three: Champagne Toasts vs. ‘Gut Punch’ https://t.co/7WOc11cdK3
The 2026 State of the Union broadcast saw a sharp drop in ratings, posting a 0.80 18‑49 rating on ABC, down from 2025 levels. Fox News narrowly led cable coverage with a 0.81 rating and 8.87 million viewers, edging out CNN....
WaxWord: For months Hollywood has been transfixed and horrified by the prospect of either Netflix or Paramount winning the day. On the one hand, the streaming service that has become the most dominant force in the entertainment industry was threatening...
Horizon Sports & Experiences and women’s sports media firm TOGETHXR have launched IX to Five, a joint venture aimed at commercializing women’s sports through premium storytelling, IP development, and brand partnerships. The venture debuts with content featuring the StudBudz, WNBA...
Tuesday’s TV ratings show new episodes of ABC’s “Will Trent” and “Best Medicine” leading original programming performance. Both shows posted percentage changes compared with their prior episodes, while reruns of “NCIS” and “St. Denis Medical” filled the schedule. News specials covering the State of...
TKO’s Zuffa Boxing is on the precipice of a media rights deal with Sky Sports for the U.K. market. The latest news in The Varsity: https://t.co/whUqSmkk1E
Netflix Says No to Warner Bros. After Price War, Beltway Concerns 👇https://t.co/Yhskq9nksa via @sportico @crupicrupicrupi
Comcast is bundling free, ad‑supported Disney+ and Hulu with select Xfinity high‑speed internet plans, also adding Peacock Premium, Xumo Stream Box, and a Wi‑Fi gateway. The offer applies to gigabit, 1.2 Gbps and 2 Gbps tiers and is available to new sign‑ups...
Bottom line: Netflix walked away from an expensive bidding war that wasn't prudent and in doing so, it conveniently leaves one competitor saddled with debt and two competitors burdened by a very long, distracting regulatory approval process — Investors agree. $NFLX...
Skydance‑Paramount’s proposal to merge with Warner Bros. Discovery is being framed as a traditional media consolidation, but analysts argue the real value lies in the combined content library as a high‑fidelity training data source for generative AI. The deal would...
At the Digital Entertainment Group’s EnTech Fest, Angel Studios and Fandango highlighted the importance of cultivating passionate, direct‑to‑consumer audiences. Angel’s 2.1 million members vote on every title, paying a monthly fee for theater tickets and streaming access. Fandango, now operating under...
Tomorrow’s IN THE ROOM will have answers to all your questions about what the Paramount-WBD tie up means for CNN, CBS, Bari Weiss, etc… Sign up here: https://t.co/aUkyssMv7F
About 32.6 million people tuned into President Trump’s 107‑minute State of the Union address, according to Nielsen. The audience size is essentially identical to President Biden’s final 2024 address, which drew 32.2 million viewers, but it fell short of the 36.6 million that...
Screen Australia has appointed acclaimed filmmaker Rachel Perkins as its inaugural Director of First Nations Strategy, effective 2 March 2026. Perkins, an Arrernte and Kalkadoon woman and co‑founder of Blackfella Films, brings over three decades of experience creating Indigenous‑focused television...
Apple TV+ announced a limited dramedy series titled "Nanny Squatter" starring Julia Louis‑Dreyfus and Cecily Strong, signaling the streamer’s push for premium comedy talent. Meanwhile, President Trump’s State of the Union address recorded an 11% decline in viewership compared with...
Samba TV’s H2 2025 advertising report shows a sharp pivot toward essential and infrastructure categories, with utilities ad impressions jumping 48%, insurance up 18% and pharma rising 12%. Discretionary sectors such as career services, apparel and food & beverage posted double‑digit...
Jimmy Donaldson, known as MrBeast, has leveraged giveaway‑centric videos to set new viewership records on YouTube. In the past 90 days his "Subscribe For An iPhone" clip topped U.S. charts with over a billion views, while a holiday $100K giveaway...
#WonderMan debuted to 10.3M U.S. hours, per @nielsen. As a ~half hour binge release, that's not awful but it's not great. Longer hit shows tend to premiere to 20M+ hours. I hope it has legs and can stay on the...
ATSC has named Indian broadcast veteran Anil Bhardwaj as its Technology & Strategy Director for India and Emerging Markets, reinforcing the group’s push for next‑generation standards. Bhardwaj will lead ATSC’s engagement with the Telecommunications Standards Development Society of India (TSDSI) and...
NBCUniversal has elevated Emily Orozco to correspondent for Access Hollywood’s New York City bureau. Orozco, an Emmy‑nominated journalist, joined the show in 2017 and has progressed from associate field producer to head of the NY bureau and coordinating producer. She...
Telestream unveiled a suite of production‑ready AI features across its Vantage, Vantage Cloud, EDC, Stanza and Qualify platforms. The rollout adds AI Caption with support for 128 languages, AI Qualify for automated lip‑sync and subtitle validation, AI Speech for real‑time...
Warner Bros. Discovery reported a 7% year‑over‑year drop in Q4 total revenues, falling to $9.5 billion. All three core segments—distribution, advertising and content—declined, with advertising down 9% and content down 10%. The company posted a net loss of $252 million after accounting...
Nexstar Media Group expects its $2.5 billion acquisition of Tegna to close by the end of the second quarter, aligning with the anticipated surge in political advertising ahead of the 2026 election cycle. The company reported Q4 net revenue of $1.29 billion,...
Jonathan Allan, who has been with Channel 4 for 15 years, will step down as interim CEO ahead of the arrival of new chief executive Priya Dogra in March. Allan’s tenure included roles as chief commercial officer, chief operating officer, and interim...
FCC Chair Unfiltered: Protecting Local News, Sports on Broadcast TV and May Sue a Network @BrendanCarrFCC did not hold back in a wide-ranging, must-watch conversation with @semaforben yesterday. The interview came shortly after Carr issued an FCC Public Notice seeking...
With international expansion finally in full swing, #HBOMax added another 3.5M net subscriptions on Q4 2025, ending the year with 131.6M Global subscribers. And $WBD expects an even stronger Q1 2026, thanks to #AKoTSK averaging 24M views per episode, on top...
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr announced a new enforcement push to preserve local news and sports programming on broadcast television. He warned that any network failing to meet public‑interest obligations could be sued under the Communications Act. Carr emphasized the FCC’s...
Here’s what I wrote back in December, the day after the Netflix deal with WBD was announced: https://t.co/aiNBd98ACC
BURNING QUESTION: What did Ted Sarandos learn in his White House meetings today that ended his bid for Warner Bros? @thewrap
Live sports remain a high‑impact ad environment, delivering strong attention and recall. A 2025 LG Ad Solutions study shows 48% of U.S. streaming sports viewers notice ads and 54% find them entertaining. Programmatic technology now offers SMBs access to premium...
So Netflix ending its WBD bid means WBD's movie business and cable channels should stay together. Paramount has sought the whole package even as WBD planned to spin off its cable assets. Lots of sports media angles now with...
Netflix’s stock is down ~30% since the WBD merger drama began. While losing WBD removes the last clear major growth lever, it likely reestablishes some investor confidence. Longer-term, we’ll see if they miss the lost IP. But recent major media...
DIRECTV submitted an FCC filing warning that the surge in duopolies, triopolies and even quadropolies among broadcasters such as Nexstar, Sinclair and Gray is eroding local‑news diversity. The analysis catalogued roughly one hundred duopolies, more than a dozen triopolies and...
As I wrote months ago, there was only one “win win win” here … 1) Netflix gets the break fee 2) WBD gets even more money from Para 3) Para gets the bone it wants
Netflix declines to match Paramount offer for WBD: We believe we would have been strong stewards of Warner Bros.’ iconic brands, and that our deal would have strengthened the entertainment industry and preserved and created more production jobs in the U.S.
The Premier League will debut Premier League Plus, a dedicated streaming app that offers live coverage of all 380 matches, initially limited to Singapore and delivered in partnership with Starhub. Launched before the 2026‑27 season, it marks the league’s first...
Axios Pro Rata on Feb. 11: "It feels like the next act already has been written. The 'Davids' get over themselves, Paramount raises its bid and then Netflix has a decision to make."
To explain this in English: Warner Bros. has decided that Paramount's offer is better than its Netflix deal, but Netflix has a window to match or best Paramount. Does Netflix stick with it? Or will it bail? https://t.co/W9rTU1YRbY
iam8bit has teamed up with WaterTower Music to issue two Adventure Time soundtracks: the series finale "Come Along with Me" on a 1‑LP/CD set and the "Fionna and Cake" collection on a 2‑LP/CD set. Both releases feature original songs by series...
WBD says Paramount bid > Netflix. Mr Sarandos, the ball is now in your court.
Warner Bros says the Paramount deal is now superior. The ball is in Netflix’s court.
The Television Bureau (TVB) released its latest cross‑platform measurement, finding that traditional broadcast television viewed on a TV set still commands the greatest audience reach and the longest average viewing time among all media channels. The advantage holds true across...
Antitrust subcommittee wants a second chance to beat up on Netflix - WBD deal and has hearing scheduled for March 4. Will they add Paramount to mix if at that point they are in driver's seat?
For the ten millionth time, the FCC is not weighing in on the approval process for Warner.
