Paramount in Canada and Blue Ant’s Media Pulse Expand Partnership
Paramount Canada has expanded its relationship with Blue Ant’s Media Pulse, appointing the firm as the exclusive direct sales and programmatic partner for both Paramount+ and Pluto TV inventory. The agreement gives Canadian advertisers streamlined access to premium CTV ad slots across the subscription‑video‑on‑demand service and the free‑streaming platform. Media Pulse will provide advanced targeting options, including show‑level sponsorships and interactive units, to reach highly engaged viewers. The partnership underscores Paramount’s strategy to grow its streaming footprint in Canada with a locally‑aligned sales organization.
NAB 2026: Encompass Focuses on Live Sport and Cloud Workflows to Drive Growth
Encompass Digital Media is positioning live sport and cloud‑native master‑control workflows as its primary growth engines as traditional linear broadcast services become commoditised. At NAB 2026 the company announced an expanded Riga master‑control room that now processes over 1,500 hours of live‑sport...
Nippon TV Names Nick Ower Director of Development and Sales, Unscripted, for North and Latin America
Nippon TV’s Los Angeles office appointed Nick Ower as Director of Development and Sales, Unscripted, for North and Latin America. Ower will champion the company’s unscripted format catalogue, representing both Nippon TV and Gyokuro Studio to broadcasters, streaming platforms, and...
Pinterest Is Ready For Its CTV Debut
Pinterest closed its acquisition of tvScientific in February and has begun feeding its CTV platform with Pinterest’s audience data, enabling advertisers to target Pinterest users on connected‑TV devices. This integration marks the first time the visual‑search platform’s high‑intent audience can...
Pink Parrot Media to Distribute Rafa Nadal Animated Feature, Winner
Pink Parrot Media (PPM) has taken on worldwide sales—excluding Spain and India—for the upcoming 3D animated comedy‑adventure *Winner*, produced by Paratha Entertainment with the Rafa Nadal Foundation. The film follows 12‑year‑old Uma’s quest to become a top tennis player, reflecting...
IAS LAUNCHES IAS TOTAL TV SOLUTIONS GIVING MARKETERS ‘LINEAR-LIKE’ TRANSPARENCY FOR CONNECTED TV
Integral Ad Science (IAS) unveiled IAS Total TV, a suite that brings linear‑TV‑style transparency to the fragmented Connected TV (CTV) ecosystem. The platform delivers real‑time, show‑level insights across major streaming services such as Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount and Prime Video, while...
Oprah Inks Amazon Deal for Her Podcast, Book Club and Original TV Show
Oprah Winfrey has signed an exclusive multiyear agreement with Amazon’s Wondery network to bring her podcast, Oprah’s Book Club, Favorite Things franchise, and the 25‑season back catalog of The Oprah Winfrey Show to Amazon platforms. The deal expands The Oprah...
EE TV Targets “Doombrowsing” With AI Search Tools
EE TV, owned by BT, introduced two AI‑driven discovery tools—Smart Search and Mood Matcher—to combat the “doombrowsing” habit that costs UK viewers an average of 28 hours a year searching for content. Smart Search lets users enter natural‑language queries covering mood,...
Netflix’s Running Point Scores Several Integrated Brand Partnerships in Season 2
Netflix’s comedy series Running Point has secured multiple integrated brand partnerships for its Season 2 launch. The basketball‑focused show weaves sponsors such as State Farm, DoorDash, Lexus, Ally Bank, Sephora and Google Search into its storyline and visual design. Netflix VP...
Stagwell Builds TV Ad Platform with FreeWheel
Stagwell has teamed with Comcast-owned FreeWheel to create a unified TV advertising infrastructure that spans connected TV, linear broadcast and live sports. The deal integrates FreeWheel’s Curation Hub and Buyer Cloud into Stagwell’s media acquisition layer, powering the new Stagwell...
Samsung Launches UK Pub TV Upgrade Campaign
Samsung Electronics has launched the UK “Raise the Bar” campaign, enlisting former England footballer Joe Cole to help pubs upgrade their television technology ahead of the summer football season. The initiative lets customers nominate local venues, with ten pubs slated to...
NFL Goes Hollywood: Inside Its Plan to Conquer Streaming and Movies
The NFL is teaming with Skydance Sports to create a dedicated content studio that will produce its first scripted streaming series, "The Land," and a slate of feature films, including a John Madden biopic and a Christmas‑day story about the New...
AI and the Vertical Drama Industry
Thom Woodley of Hudson Vertical told Chris Pfaff at Streaming Media Connect 2026 that AI is already being leveraged for testing and piloting microdramas, but its impact on storytelling remains uncertain. He emphasized that the vertical drama business is driven...
Report: YouTube Leads Cross-Generational Attention in US
Precisify’s new 13‑44 audience panel reveals YouTube dominates attention across both Gen Z and Millennial cohorts in the United States, reaching 83% of Gen Z and 78% of Millennials. While TikTok and Disney+ are stronger among Gen Z, and Netflix and Facebook hold...
French AI Startup Inevitable Seeks €10m Funding
French AI startup Inevitable, founded in 2025, is raising roughly $10.8 million to scale its proprietary film‑making platform. The technology promises a 100‑minute blockbuster in four months for about $250,000, far cheaper than conventional production costs. Inevitable will debut demo reels...
Week of April 13 Cable News Ratings: Cable News Networks See Drops
In the week of April 13, 2026, all three major cable news networks saw declines in primetime and total‑day audiences compared with the prior week. Fox News, despite an 11% drop in primetime total viewers and a 21% dip in the...
What the Broadcast Industry Was Talking About at the 2026 NAB Show
The 2026 NAB Show highlighted the rise of software-defined broadcasting, with vendors showcasing the Media eXchange Layer (MXL) and teasing Time Addressable Media Store (TAMS) developments. Attendees noted a growing focus on vertical video formats as Disney and Netflix expand...
Poloni Named ProSiebenSat.1 Group CCO
Luca Poloni has been appointed Group Chief Operating Officer of ProSiebenSat.1 Media, effective May 1, 2026, for a three‑year term. In his new role Poloni will oversee Growth & Digital Business, Technology, Data & AI, Content Operations, Distribution and Human Resources. He joined the...
SkyShowtime & Polsat Team Up For Polish Remake Of ‘High Potential’ Starring Agnieszka Dygant
SkyShowtime and Poland’s broadcaster Polsat are teaming up to produce a Polish remake of the French crime‑comedy hit HPI, titled *Genialna M.* starring Agnieszka Dygant as a high‑IQ police‑station cleaner. The partnership marks the first joint original series between the two companies...
John Malone on WBD-PSKY Merger
Paramount Skydance (PSKY) secured an all‑cash $110 billion offer to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), outbidding Netflix’s $82.7 billion proposal. The deal, supported by former WBD board chair John Malone, adds roughly $30 billion of debt and a portfolio of underperforming cable brands...
CFX Download Talks Rebrand
Cablefax officially rebranded as CFX this month, launching a new identity for its telecom news platform. In the latest CFX Download episode, the editorial team explained why the change was timely and how the new name aligns with an evolving...
‘Michael’ Director Antoine Fuqua On A Convo He Had With Michael Jackson, Reshoots, The Sequel & Choices Made About Pop...
Antoine Fuqua’s Michael biopic opened to a $97 million domestic debut and $217.4 million worldwide, the strongest opening of his career. The film’s original ending featuring accuser Jordan Chandler was scrapped after the estate paid $50 million for reshoots, pushing the total budget...
Screen Producers Reveals Finalists for 2026 Screen Diversity Award
Screen Producers Australia and the Screen Diversity and Inclusion Network have announced the six finalists for the 2026 Screen Diversity & Inclusion Award. The shortlist features projects such as That Blackfella Show, The Assembly Season 2, and Lesbian Space Princess, highlighting...
This Week in Regulation for Broadcasters: April 20, 2026 to April 24, 2026
The FCC’s Media Bureau issued a public notice seeking comment on modernizing the TV Parental Guidelines, including potential disclosures for transgender and non‑binary content. The DEA announced the rescheduling of state‑regulated medical marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III, leaving advertising rules...
Pluto TV Now Has 15 Live Free True Crime Channels
Pluto TV has added a slate of 15 live, ad‑supported true‑crime channels, expanding its free‑to‑watch lineup to include staples such as The First 48, Dateline 24/7 and Unsolved Mysteries. The service, founded in 2013 and acquired by Viacom (now Paramount...
ABC, CBS, FOX, & NBC Saw Their Viewership Jump At the Same Time Cable TV Dropped to Just 20% of...
Nielsen data shows cable TV viewership fell 3.2% in 2026, leaving the platform with just 20% of total TV consumption. Streaming services grew 4.5% to capture 48% of the audience, while broadcast networks ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC added 0.5%...
Distributor Control Shaping Pricing and Access in TV Sector Study
The Esya Centre’s survey of 2,037 Indian households shows Distribution Platform Operators (DPOs) now act as gatekeepers, controlling channel carriage, pricing and interface design. A regulator‑mandated Network Capacity Fee of ₹130 (≈ $1.6) for a base channel set has become a...
Bundling Preferred by 96 Percent, Rules May Hurt Niche Channels
A study by the Esya Centre found that 96 percent of Indian TV viewers prefer bundled channel packs when prices stay constant, citing value, convenience and easier discovery. The report argues bundles act as a financial cushion, allowing popular channels to...
Abhay Duggal Joins JioStar as Director of Hindi GEC Ad Sales
Abhay Duggal has joined JioStar as director of Hindi GEC ad sales, bringing 17 years of revenue‑building experience. He previously led north‑region sales at Dangal TV, where he generated more than half of the channel’s total revenue, and spent six...
Trump’s FCC Eyes New Ways to Squeeze the TV Networks
The FCC, led by Chairman Brendan Carr, is exploring rule changes that would make it easier for local TV stations to preempt network programming without breaching affiliate contracts. The move follows the commission’s approval of the $6.2 billion Nexstar‑Tegna merger, which...
DIRECTV Launches Streaming TV App for Meta Quest VR Headset
DIRECTV unveiled a new streaming TV app for Meta Quest VR headsets, including Quest 2, Quest 3, Quest 3S and Quest Pro. The app delivers live channels, sports, on‑demand titles and the free MyFree DIRECTV ad‑supported service inside a virtual theater‑style environment. It integrates DIRECTV’s...
Scarlett Johansson’s Oscar-Winning Hit Is Coming To Peacock
Taika Waititi’s Oscar‑winning black comedy *Jojo Rabbit* will debut on Peacock on May 1, 2026. The 2019 film, starring Scarlett Johansson and Roman Griffin Davis, earned roughly $90 million worldwide against a $14 million budget and garnered critical acclaim. It received six Academy Award...
Why ‘White Lotus’ Picked France After an Encounter With a Cannes Waiter; Season 4 Set to Explore Fame and Art
HBO’s anthology series *The White Lotus* will film its fourth season in France after a serendipitous encounter with a stereotypical French waiter in Cannes sparked the idea. Creator Mike White plans to examine the loneliness of artists and the corrosive...
Cord Cutting 2.0 Is Hitting Comcast & Spectrum Hard in 2026 As Customers Cancel Internet & TV
Comcast and Charter’s Spectrum reported a combined loss of 382,000 TV subscribers and 185,000 broadband customers in Q1 2026, signaling the acceleration of a second‑wave cord‑cutting trend. The decline reflects not only traditional video churn but also a growing exodus from...
DISH’s Deal With SpaceX Could Save The Company & Bring In $32 Billion
EchoStar’s recent spectrum sale to SpaceX injects up to $32 billion into DISH, delivering immediate liquidity and long‑term equity stakes. The $17 billion deal includes $8.5 billion cash, an equal amount of SpaceX stock, and $2 billion of interest coverage through 2027, with a...
JioStar Reports 22% Revenue Growth, Posts ₹9,784 Crore in Q4
Reliance Industries' media arm JioStar posted Q4 revenue of ₹9,784 crore (about $1.18 bn), a 22% year‑over‑year increase, while EBITDA reached ₹827 crore ($100 m). Digital platforms drove engagement, with JioHotstar reporting 500 million monthly active users and a record 72.5 million concurrent viewers for the...
TNT Sports Gains Right to Sell CFP Ads for Games It Sublicenses
Warner Bros. Discovery’s TNT Sports has received permission to sell the advertising inventory for the College Football Playoff games it subleases from ESPN under its 2024‑28 agreement. The network will now handle ad sales for first‑round, quarterfinal and potentially semifinal...
Analysts: Non-Sports Programming Is Becoming `Irrelevant’ to Broadcast TV Viewership
Analysts at LightShed Partners argue that non‑sports programming has become virtually irrelevant to broadcast TV, citing a 75% drop in primetime viewership over the past 20 years while NFL audiences have risen more than 30%. They note that NFL games...
Attention, Please: TVision Deal Enhances Connected TV Measurement
xpln.ai has entered a strategic partnership with TVision to integrate the latter's person‑level attention data into its Connected TV (CTV) modeling platform. The collaboration transforms granular, second‑by‑second viewer engagement signals into scalable, predictive models that can be applied across linear...
Week of April 13 Evening News Ratings: NBC and CBS Grow in Demo
ABC World News Tonight kept its position as the most‑watched evening newscast in total viewers and the Adults 25‑54 demo for the week of April 13, but it slipped 3% in total audience and 5% in the key demo. NBC Nightly News...
YouTube TV Is On Track to Become Larger Than Comcast & Spectrum in 2026 & Become America’s Largest Provider of...
YouTube TV is on track to become the United States' largest live‑TV provider by the end of 2026, overtaking Spectrum and Comcast. First‑quarter 2026 data shows the service at 11‑12 million subscribers, while Spectrum slipped to 12.5 million. Analysts project YouTube TV...
‘Playback’ Producer Second Rodeo Talks Music and Micro-Dramas: ‘A Natural Fit’
Music Ally highlights the rise of short‑form micro‑dramas, a format already worth $7 bn a year in China. Second Rodeo has debuted the first music‑themed micro‑drama, *Playback*, starring influencer Hannah Stocking and distributed on Holywater’s My Drama app. The series features...
Bravo Launches Investigation Into Leaked ‘Summer House’ Reunion Audio
Bravo announced a full investigation after an audio recording from the "Summer House" reunion was leaked online, marking the first such breach in the series' history. The clip captured cast members Amanda Batula, West Wilson and Ciara Miller discussing their...
Week of April 13 Morning News Ratings: CBS Has Only Morning Show to Grow
For the week of April 13, 2026, CBS Mornings was the only U.S. network morning program to post week‑to‑week gains, rising 3% in total viewers and 19% in the key Adults 25‑54 demo. NBC’s Today remained the audience leader with 3.0 million total viewers...
HP Quietly Launched a Streaming App to Grow Its Advertising Ambitions
HP has quietly launched HP TV+, a free ad‑supported streaming app for U.S. laptop users, extending its HP Media Network ad inventory. The service aggregates content from publishers such as USA Today, PBS, and the Tennis Channel and is available...
Yellowstone: Dutton Ranch Showrunner Not Returning For Potential Season 2 After BTS Drama
Paramount+ confirmed that Chad Feehan will not return as showrunner for the Yellowstone spin‑off *Dutton Ranch* after completing Season 1. The departure follows reported behind‑the‑scenes friction with series leads Cole Hauser and Kelly Reilly, as well as dissatisfaction from creator Taylor Sheridan and producer David Glasser...
Cord Cutting Today: YouTube TV Expands Multiview as Comcast Loses Subscribers and Paramount Merger Advances
YouTube TV rolled out a new Multiview feature that lets subscribers watch up to four channels simultaneously and add any lineup they choose. In the same week, Comcast reported losing 322,000 TV customers and 65,000 internet customers in the first...
Rise Studios and Inter Medya Announce Start First Co-Production, Caged Love
Rise Studios and Turkey’s Inter Medya have begun filming their first co‑produced series, *Caged Love* (Tutsak Sevda). The romantic drama, directed by Canan Çelik and starring Eslem Akar and Mert Altınışık, is being shot on location in Turkey. Both companies describe...
Week in Review: FranceTV Partners with YouTube, US Legislators Propose a New Data Act, and RTL Gets Green Light for...
France Télévisions expanded its partnership with YouTube, planning to stream all national and local news and sell its own ad inventory on the platform while using YouTube’s Likeness ID to block AI‑generated deepfakes. In Washington, House Republicans introduced the SECURE...
Fubo Expands Multiview Feature to LG Smart TVs
FuboTV is extending its Multiview feature to select LG smart‑TVs, allowing subscribers to watch up to four live channels simultaneously with full user control. The rollout targets 2024‑2025 and newer 4K/8K LG models and is slated for launch later this...