
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.

Tony Dungy is likely to exit NBC’s ‘Football Night in America’ after 17 years as the network prepares a major revamp of its NFL pre‑game show. The Athletic reports that NBC may drop Dungy’s regular analyst slot amid criticism of the current split‑studio format, which many viewers find fragmented. Contracts for most of the ten‑person cast have expired, opening the door for a slimmer, possibly fully on‑the‑road production. An emeritus role, similar to Bob Costas’s, remains a speculative option.

PMK Entertainment announced two senior hires: Leah Sparkes as Vice President of Television, Film and Premium Content, and Ulisses Rivera as Senior Account Director in its Strategic Communications Group. Sparkes arrives with more than two decades of high‑profile publicity experience...

Jake Johnson has been cast as Mickey, a down‑on‑his‑luck private investigator, in an untitled NBC comedy pilot created by Brooklyn Nine‑Nine writers Dan Goor and Luke Del Tredici. The half‑hour series continues the Los Angeles private‑eye tradition and received a pilot...
Netflix chief Ted Sarandos is urged to abandon his $27.75‑per‑share cash offer for Warner Bros. Discovery’s streaming and studio assets and let Paramount Skydance’s $31‑per‑share bid win. The author argues that Netflix would face intense regulatory scrutiny, higher financing costs, and...

Hollywood is reviving the 1960 western *The Magnificent Seven* as an eight‑episode drama for MGM+, the Amazon‑owned streaming service. Veteran actor Matt Dillon has been cast as lead Chris Adams, bringing depth to the iconic role. The series, written and...
Paramount's David Ellison was at POTUS State of the Union address. Netflix's Ted Sarandos headed to the White House as politics takes center stage as Paramount submits new offer for Warner Bros. Discovery. @latimes https://t.co/KSrhSdUCjY
Ticketek Entertainment Group (TEG) has appointed Greg Segal as Managing Director of Sponsorship & Premium Experiences. Segal arrives with over 30 years in brand partnerships, most recently leading a 50‑person team at Live Nation Entertainment ANZ. He will build TEG’s...
Paramount+ subscribers rose 1 million to 78.9 mil in the 3 months ended Dec 31, '25. the parent, Paramount Skydance is set to have its earnings call shortly

Jake Johnson is set to star in NBC’s untitled private‑investigator comedy pilot, a single‑camera project from Brooklyn Nine‑Nine veterans Dan Goor and Luke Del Tredici. Peacock announced a new adaptation of the 2009 rom‑com Bride Wars with Emma Roberts in the...
The difficult thing is managing the reality that all these companies need to become much smaller to reflect new reality + sell-offs need to happen before expansion. But self-fulfilling profit wheel that allowed for mega co's isn't coming back to...

Paramount Pictures has raised its bid for Warner Bros. Discovery to $31 a share, reigniting a potential takeover of the studio’s film, TV and streaming assets, including HBO Max. The board has not dismissed the offer, leaving the door open...

Paramount+ reported 79 million direct‑to‑consumer subscribers at the end of Q4 2025, a decline of 100,000 from the September count. Quarterly revenue jumped 17% to $1.84 billion, while DTC revenue edged up to $2.21 billion. The DTC operating loss narrowed dramatically by 45%...

Sinclair Inc. posted fourth‑quarter 2025 revenue of $836 million, a 17% decline year‑over‑year, driven by weaker political advertising after the 2024 election cycle. Core advertising revenue, however, jumped 14% to $354 million, underscoring demand for live sports and resilient local ad inventory....

Vancouver‑based Mainframe Studios has teamed up with franchise‑management firm Cookbook Media to create an integrated commercial and business‑development engine for its original IP and work‑for‑hire slate. The partnership will drive new production partnerships, global distribution, licensing, merchandising and digital extensions,...

Formula One has shifted its U.S. broadcast rights from ESPN to Apple, securing a $140 million per‑year deal that eclipses ESPN’s $80‑90 million payments. CEO Stefano Domenicali argues the Apple partnership will ultimately reach a larger audience, especially among cord‑never viewers, by...

TAG Video Systems announced a suite of new capabilities for its IP‑native Realtime Media Platform at NAB 2026, aimed at consolidating broadcast monitoring tools into a single interface. The rollout includes the Lens visual‑service health analyzer, expanded QC Station colour and...

HBO Max’s medical drama “The Pitt” retained the #1 spot on Whip Media’s weekly streaming originals chart for U.S. viewers during the week ending Feb. 22. The series, starring Noah Wyle, is in its second season, which runs from Jan. 8 through...
Nexstar Media Group announced layoffs of longtime KTLA anchors Glen Walker and Lu Parker, along with veteran meteorologist Mark Kriski, as part of a company‑wide cost‑reduction drive. The cuts extend to other major‑market stations such as Chicago’s WGN and New York’s WPIX, reflecting...

Samsung has partnered with Gracenote, Nielsen’s content‑data unit, to embed its extensive entertainment metadata into Samsung Smart TV’s AI stack. The collaboration will power large‑language‑model (LLM) driven search, enabling conversational queries that surface TV shows, movies and sports more intuitively....

Fernando Szew, president of FOX Entertainment Studios, highlighted the studio’s core strength: marrying creative ambition with disciplined business practices while leveraging FOX’s distribution network. He outlined a talent‑first strategy that includes first‑look deals with established stars and emerging digital creators,...
Audiences love sports, but the cost of sports rights are getting out of control. How can streaming platforms ever hope to generate an ROI? By building the perfect post-game library funnel. My latest for @observer https://t.co/UNOXVWp3wA

The Channel Store has become the first technology provider to launch four free‑ad‑supported streaming TV (FAST) channels on Prime Video in Spain. The channels—Anime Visión, Anime Visión Classics, Cines Verdi TV and Cine Feel Good Verdi TV—were technically integrated in...

Avid has appointed Kenna Hilburn as chief product officer and is rolling out Avid Content Core, a cloud‑native platform that links existing broadcast and digital tools for hybrid media teams. The company is embedding AI selectively to automate transcription, search...
Wall Street making a bet against Netflix purchase of Warner >>>>Netflix Stock Has Best Day In Over A Year After Paramount's New Warner Bros. Bid $NLFXhttps://www.investors.com/news/netflix-paramount-skydance-warner-bros-bid-offer/

HBO has renewed the drama series Industry for a fifth and final season, concluding the show after five years. The fourth season wraps up on March 1, 2024, featuring Harper and Yasmin entangled in high‑stakes fintech intrigue in London. Showrunners Mickey...

Deborah Kaufmann, a former senior vice president of literary affairs at Legendary, has been appointed chief of global content at Sipur Studios. The newly created role tasks her with steering worldwide content development and creative leadership. During her decade at...

Netflix confirmed that the complete series of *Mike & Molly* will debut in the United States on March 26, 2026, pushing back the original February 20 launch. All six seasons, totaling 127 episodes, are arriving after a brief hiatus following their removal from...

Hal & Harper, the Mark Ruffalo‑led drama that premiered on Australia’s Stan platform, is arriving in the UK on ITVX on 23 March. The series follows two siblings confronting childhood trauma while navigating adult life, and features Lili Reinhart, Cooper Raiff,...

Australian streaming service Stan has acquired the exclusive rights to the six‑part psychological thriller *Gone* for the Australian market. The series, created by George Kay – known for *Hijack* and *Lupin* – follows elite headmaster Michael Polly, played by David...

The Orlando Magic has completed a full‑scale conversion of its Kia Center control room from legacy baseband to SMPTE ST 2110 IP‑based infrastructure, finishing just before the 2025‑26 season opener. Systems integrator Alpha, along with Anthony James Partners and Unity Systems...

BCNEXXT has integrated live HLG‑based HDR playout into its cloud‑native Vipe platform, supporting UHD 2160p BT.2100 HLG ingest and output. The solution lets broadcasters run HDR and SDR streams side‑by‑side, especially for live sports, while minimizing cross‑conversion steps. Vipe’s architecture...

Paramount has renewed its pursuit of Warner Bros. Discovery with a $31‑per‑share bid, reigniting a high‑stakes acquisition battle. Netflix, led by co‑CEO Ted Sarandos, is simultaneously courting investors and studios, arguing its own offer—already accepted in December—outperforms Paramount’s. The two...

A recent Reviews.org survey reveals that nearly half of U.S. sports fans struggle to locate the right channel or streaming service for a specific game, and 53% have missed games because of subscription gaps. The study, based on 882 active...

HBO and BBC have confirmed that the financial‑thriller series Industry will return for a fifth and final season, wrapping up the story that began in 2020. Season 4 concludes this Sunday, delivering the series’ penultimate arc before the planned ending. The...

Lionsgate’s thriller *The Housemaid* retained the No. 1 spot on the U.K. weekly home‑entertainment sales chart for a second consecutive week, underscoring its strong consumer appeal. Disney’s *Zootopia 2* held steady at No. 2 following its recent digital retail launch, while Signature’s *Dracula*...

Amazon MGM Studios unveiled the trailer for its new action thriller “Pretty Lethal,” set to debut on Prime Video on March 23, 2026. The film features an ensemble cast led by Uma Thurman and includes five professional ballerinas—Maddie Ziegler, Lana...

For the week of Feb 9 2026, Fox News, MS NOW, and CNN all recorded higher total viewership, with Fox News maintaining its lead in primetime and total‑day audiences. Fox News posted a 5% rise in primetime total viewers (2.768 million) and a 7%...

Broadpeak announced the launch of its Multiview solution for live sports at the 2026 NAB Show in Las Vegas. The technology lets broadcasters, streaming platforms and telecom operators deliver multiple simultaneous feeds on a single screen, offering viewers the ability to...
Barb CEO Justin Sampson appeared on the Unfiltered Media podcast on 25 February 2026 to examine mounting pressures on traditional media measurement currencies. He explained how fragmented consumption across streaming, social and gaming platforms is eroding legacy TV‑rating models. Sampson...
ABC News’ true‑crime special “20/20: The Au Pair, The Affair and Murder” delivered 3.383 million total viewers on Feb 20, 2026. The broadcast posted a 2 % rise in adults 25‑54 and a 6 % increase in adults 18‑49, marking its best performance in...
Formula One has signed a reported $150 million per‑year deal with Apple, ending its ESPN partnership that delivered a record 1.32 million U.S. viewers in its final season. Apple TV+ will stream every practice, qualifying, sprint and Grand Prix at no extra cost, while...

ITV Studios announced that its hit UK celebrity game show Parents’ Evening will be adapted for the Spanish market by Atresmedia, with production handled by ITV Studios Iberia. The format, created by Ranga Bee Productions and hosted by Romesh Ranganathan...
ABC News topped all broadcast networks in live‑plus‑same‑day viewership for the 2026 State of the Union, drawing 4.912 million total viewers. The coverage outperformed NBC by 1.43 million viewers and CBS by 1.65 million, while also beating Fox and the combined cable audience...
Extreme Reach (XR) operates as a full‑stack ad‑operations hub, handling everything from payroll and asset management to multi‑platform delivery. The company recently announced a digital integration with Nielsen One, allowing advertisers to attach audience measurement data directly to each ad....
Nielsen announced the addition of more than 200 advanced audience segments to its Nielsen ONE cross‑platform dashboard, drawing on Scarborough’s extensive U.S. consumer surveys. The new segments span demographics, purchase behavior and lifestyle categories, and are intended to improve TV...

NBC Nightly News anchored from Milan posted week‑to‑week gains in both total viewers and the coveted Adults 25‑54 demo, buoyed by its Milano‑Cortina 2026 Olympic coverage. The broadcast recorded 7.797 million total viewers and 1.24 million demo viewers, up 8% and 13% respectively,...
New pod: @AndrewMarchand returns to gab about MLB media rights, ESPN's Sunday night strategy and NBC's Olympic performance. https://t.co/unMXYcxV6h

Amazon Prime’s acclaimed dystopian series The Man in the High Castle will debut on Netflix on March 11, nearly seven years after its original finale. Created by Frank Spotnitz and starring Rufus Sewell, the show reimagines a world where the Nazis...
D.C. Memo: @CTATech Official Says It’s Time to Reclaim and Auction TV Station Spectrum. ‘It’s long past time to reset the system,’ says CTA SVP of Government & Regulatory Affairs Michael Petricone https://t.co/8whWM4pmAU

Banijay Entertainment and Talpa Studios have unveiled "The Bicycle Race," an eight‑episode adventure‑reality format created by EndemolShine Nederland and Talpa Studios for Dutch broadcaster SBS6. The series follows six celebrity duos as they bike across India, facing tactical challenges and...