Agency & Consulting
TVREV: Paramount’s Ellison family is quietly building a cross-platform oligopoly
TVREV’s Jason Damata argues that while the industry fixates on Paramount’s debt and leadership, the Ellisons’ combined stakes in TikTok and a growing IP portfolio position them to redesign cross-platform entertainment.
Meta’s AI chief credits his meme feed with juicing Muse’s growth
Business Insider’s Truman Dickerson reports that Alexandr Wang, Meta’s chief AI officer, said his chaotic X posts about Muse, the company’s AI assistant, were a deliberate bid to make Meta “cool again.”
Kafka: Skydance has no clear plan to fix Warner Bros.
The Verge’s Nilay Patel interviews Business Insider’s Peter Kafka on Decoder about Skydance’s takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, which officially closed the day they spoke, with Kafka arguing David Ellison lacks a defined business strategy but has decades of his father’s money to keep trying.
Walmart Connect brings closed-loop measurement to linear TV, audio, CTV
MediaPost’s Laurie Sullivan reports that Walmart Connect unveiled expanded partnerships with Warner Bros. Discovery, Spotify and Yahoo DSP, letting advertisers use its audiences and closed-loop measurement across live linear TV, streaming audio and CTV for the first time.
Fall Prime Day is now the real start of holiday shopping
Modern Retail’s Gabriela Barkho reports that Amazon’s Prime Big Deals Days, originally a summer event, has pushed holiday shopping into October, with Tinuiti’s Joe O’Connor noting shoppers now research and compare prices well before Black Friday.
Vurt bets vertical microdramas belong on TV, not just phones
The Verge’s Charles Pulliam-Moore reports that Vurt, an ad-supported microdrama platform with human-made (not AI) casts, has launched Apple TV and Android TV apps, growing from 10,000 to 675,000 users since its March launch.
Disney taps Dhar Mann, Nastya to reach kids where they already watch
Variety’s Leo Barraclough reports that Disney Kids & Family president Ayo Davis told a MipJunior panel the studio is partnering with creators like Dhar Mann and Nastya to reach young viewers now splitting attention between “Bluey” and “Squid Game.”
Novig expands controversial Sydney Sweeney betting campaign
Ad Age’s Brian Bonilla reports that sports prediction company Novig is rolling out a second iteration of its provocative Sydney Sweeney campaign, which drew criticism from female athletes and national attention.
Glance: social media and football are reshaping kids’ content
C21Media reports that Glance’s Romy Nicolas told MipJunior delegates that social media culture, major sporting events and classic elements like music and animals are the three forces shaping children’s content.
Kids’ TV commissioning shrinks as YouTube builds new ownership model
C21Media’s Ed Waller reports that Ampere Analysis research presented at MipJunior in Cannes shows traditional broadcaster commissioning of kids’ content continuing to contract.
Streamers’ kids content orders plunge as rivals multiply
Variety’s John Hopewell reports that Ampere Analysis’ Cyrine Amor told MipJunior that SVOD kids TV orders fell from 196 to 88 over four years, even as 2026’s 88 marks a 22% uptick from 2025’s low of 72.
Movistar Plus pushes into YA comedy and co-production at Mipcom
Variety’s John Hopewell reports that Movistar Plus is bringing new titles to Mipcom including “Many People Need to Die,” the series debut from YouTube comedian Victoria Martín, “Killing a Bear,” a co-production with Arte France, and “The Castle,” the TV debut of writer Isabel Peña.
Pinterest lets brands boost any eligible creator Pin, not just partners
MediaPost’s Colin Kirkland reports that Pinterest now lets brands sponsor any eligible creator Pin directly, rather than requiring a prior official collaboration, while creators can opt out without losing running campaigns.
Netflix touts Korean content’s tourism pull at Busan’s Creative Asia
Variety’s Lin Ying-Hsuan reports that Netflix’s Sung Q Lee cited internal research finding 67% of surveyed members internationally expressed interest in visiting South Korea, crediting Korean stories rather than scenery alone, at the opening masterclass of Busan’s Creative Asia program on Oct. 10.
Netflix says AI has touched 300 titles as director claims 40% budget cuts
Variety’s Naman Ramachandran reports that Netflix’s APAC production chief Lee Sung-gyun told a Busan Film Festival panel that AI has been used across roughly 300 Netflix titles, spanning previs, production design, editorial and VFX.
Adweek spotlights TikTok’s agency awards for media-buying strategy
Adweek’s Dawn Papandrea reports that TikTok’s Alexia Nüssli hosted a sponsored panel with Power Digital’s Zayit Bemmel and Adquadrant’s Warren Jolly, winners of TikTok’s inaugural Media Buying Excellence Awards, on incrementality testing and AI content strategies.
PAVE Studios signs creator Becca Bloom for new OpenMind podcast
Podnews reports that PAVE Studios has partnered with creator Becca Bloom on Bloom’s Room, a new OpenMind original premiering in January 2027 on YouTube and podcast platforms.
Advertising Week 2026: creators dominate, AI chatter cools, agentic buying debated
Ad Age reports that Advertising Week New York returned to the Penn District with creators at the center of the conversation and noticeably less AI talk than prior years.
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.