Agency & Consulting
TVREV’s Alan Wolk: a 26-week No. 1 hit nobody heard proves media is feudal
TVREV’s Alan Wolk notes Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” spent 26 weeks atop the Billboard Hot 100, yet many in media never heard of it, illustrating how algorithmic bubbles have replaced the shared monoculture radio and TV once built.
TODAY With Jenna & Sheinelle grows Instagram views 22% in a year
The Measure’s John Cassillo reports that TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle has drawn 666 million Instagram video views this year, already 22% more than all of last year, per Chartbeat data.
Netflix’s ‘Unabomber’ tops weekly streaming chart, passes ‘Ted Lasso’
TheWrap’s Florence Pugh reports that Netflix’s “Unabomber” rose two spots to claim the top of the Wrap Report’s weekly streaming chart, sourced from Samba’s panel of more than 3 million households balanced to the U.S. Census.
Ibotta, Pernod Ricard adapt holiday retail media to earlier shopping curve
Adweek’s Dawn Papandrea reports on an Adweek House panel where Ibotta’s Chris Dungan and Pernod Ricard’s Krystle Rocci said shoppers are elongating the holiday buying period instead of condensing it before the holidays.
Sony taps YouTube exec to turn creators into Screen Gems filmmakers
The Hollywood Reporter’s Borys Kit reports that Sony Pictures hired YouTube’s head of film and TV partnerships, Fede Goldenberg, to run Screen Gems, pivoting the genre label toward theatrical projects from digital-native creators like Curry Barker and Kane Parsons.
Ad Age: MSQ’s US push and inside Mark Read’s Prompt event debut
Ad Age’s Ewan Larkin and Brian Bonilla report that this week’s Agency Brief covers a run of agency mergers and acquisitions, plus a look at how Mark Read’s Prompt event played out in its New York debut.
YouTube engagement rates fall 26-38% across every video category
eMarketer’s Peter Clark reports that organic engagement rates on brand YouTube channels dropped between 26% and 38% year over year across all seven video categories tracked, citing a June report from Pixability.
Skydance’s Channel 5 profit falls two-thirds amid streaming spend, ad slump
Deadline’s Jake Kanter reports that UK broadcaster 5, part of David Ellison’s Skydance group, posted a 64% drop in pre-tax profit to £11.93 million in 2025, down from £33.6 million.
Agencies push performance pay, but FTE billing still rules
Adweek’s Christopher Cicchiello reports that Horizon Media Holdings president Bob Lord publicly called FTE billing the “old system,” arguing AI pressure should push agencies toward outcome-based remuneration instead.
Xbox launches TV/film unit XP, with ads as a core monetization play
AdExchanger reports that Xbox unveiled a new TV and film division called XP, led by Mojang’s Kayleen Walters, with CEO Asha Sharma telling staff that “formalizing” sponsorships and brand partnerships is a key investment area.
Hollywood’s creator deals can leave talent signing away their own IP
Digiday’s Alyssa Mercante reports that as studios and streamers chase creator-led hits, lawyer Nima Tahmassebi warns broad work-for-hire clauses can have creators “signing away things they never meant to, like their own name, their persona.”
Meta bans ByteDance ads across its apps after TikTok safety feud
Tubefilter’s Sam Gutelle reports that Meta banned ByteDance from advertising on its apps in seven countries, retaliating after TikTok blocked Meta ads urging it to adopt safety features from Meta’s multibillion-dollar settlement with U.S. attorneys general.
CNN’s digital pivot faces its first real test under Skydance
Puck’s Julia Alexander reports that CNN chiefs Mark Thompson and Alex MacCallum face pressure to prove their digital overhaul works, as Skydance carries $80 billion in debt and needs $6 billion in synergies after merging Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery.
WARC: Global ad spend to hit $1.34 trillion in 2026, led by AI and social
Inside Radio reports that WARC forecasts global ad spending will rise 11.9% to $1.34 trillion in 2026, driven by AI investment, major events and digital growth, with social media the fastest-growing channel at $394.6 billion and Alphabet, Amazon and Meta capturing 59.7% of spend outside China.
Nielsen’s new “STAR” synthetic ratings method raises bespoke-measurement concerns
MediaPost’s Joe Mandese reports that Nielsen quietly announced new cross-platform “content measurement solutions” for early 2027, built on a “synthetic” fusion method called STAR that splits its 40,000-household panel up to 30 times to match streaming platforms’ server-log data.
Skydance-WBD scale meets TV’s budget migration problem, M&W notes
Madison and Wall reports that the closed Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery deal creates scale that helps compete for video budgets and justifies ad-tech investment, but TV ad spend globally remains stagnant as Amazon and Walmart Connect push into video to chase the same marketers.
Streamers’ kids content orders plunge 55% since 2022, Ampere finds
Variety’s John Hopewell reports that Ampere Analysis’ Cyrine Amor told MipJunior that SVOD kids TV orders fell from 196 to 88 annually since 2022, as YouTube, AVOD and gaming fragment young audiences.
Skydance’s first week: HBO spending spree meets $80 billion debt alarm
The Ankler’s Alison Brower reports that Casey Bloys is opening HBO’s checkbook with a new deal even as David Ellison’s $80 billion debt spooks Wall Street, while new film chiefs Dana Goldberg and Josh Greenstein inherit an impossible movie math problem.
A touring drum tech is building a YouTube-first kids’ media franchise
Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter reports that Benji Woerly, a former touring drum technician for acts like Eminem and the Jonas Brothers, built The Soovins, an animated kids’ YouTube channel with over 138,000 subscribers.
Pharma TV spend holds flat as streaming’s share hits 42% in Q3
eMarketer’s Beth Snyder Bulik reports that prescription drug TV ad spending stabilized at $1.99 billion in the third quarter, down from $2.52 billion in the first quarter, while streaming’s share rose to 42%, up from 32% in Q1, per iSpot.tv data.
Skydance TV splits leadership: Cheeks gets content, Perrette gets business ops
Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva reports that Skydance TV will be co-chaired by Paramount’s George Cheeks, now Chief Content Officer, and WBD’s JB Perrette, who becomes Chief Business Officer spanning ad sales, distribution and content sales.
A touring musician’s YouTube kids’ franchise chases licensing deals
Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter reports that Benji Woerly, a former touring musician for acts like the Jonas Brothers and Eminem, built an animated YouTube channel called The Soovins with over 138,000 subscribers.
NFL ad revenue set to hit $6.3 billion this season, per Guideline
Adweek’s Bill Bradley reports that ad data company Guideline projects NFL ad revenue will reach $6.3 billion this season, an 8% increase year over year, following a 7% jump last year to $5.9 billion.