Agency & Consulting
Bela Bajaria exits Netflix as Peter Rice takes over content
Variety’s Rebecca Rubin reports that Bela Bajaria is leaving Netflix after 10 years as chief content officer, to be replaced by former Disney and Fox executive Peter Rice, as around 1,000 employees, 6% of the company, were laid off this week.
Netflix cuts 1,000 jobs, its biggest layoffs since 2022
The Wall Street Journal’s Walden Siew reports Netflix eliminated roughly 1,000 jobs, its largest cuts since 2022, hitting product, tech, legal and HR teams as co-CEOs Greg Peters and Ted Sarandos cited slower growth and declining engagement.
United’s retail media retreat raises doubts about commerce media’s ceiling
Next in Media’s Mike Shields reports that United Airlines is folding its Kinective Group retail media network into its loyalty program, a pullback that follows a leadership change at the airline.
Streaming hits 60% of TV viewing in Q2, Inscape finds
The Measure’s Eleanor Semeraro reports that Inscape’s Q2 2026 data shows streaming reached 60% of TV viewing time, with viewers averaging 12.8 hours weekly, up 0.8 hours year-over-year, while streaming-only smart TVs now outnumber cable-only sets nearly six to one.
Apple TV’s billions in losses, and Netflix’s UGC question, under debate
Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter reports that a podcast episode with Jason Krebs probes whether Apple TV wants profitability or just subscriber halo effects, plus a separate paywalled item asking whether Netflix should open itself to user generated content.
Roku-backed UK study finds home screen ads boost TV’s reach and appeal
The Media Leader’s John Moulding reports that Roku’s VOD Evolution 2027 UK study, discussed with Dentsu and WPP Media, finds 73% of consumers want ads that help them find content, with home screen sponsorships and interactive units opening TV to brands who couldn’t previously afford it.
BBC Studios chief: linear still funds the streaming build-out
Deadline’s Stewart Clarke reports that BBC Studios channels and streaming chief Marcus Arthur says linear remains a major profit driver even as streaming becomes the priority.
Disney strikes wide creative partnership with YouTube’s Dude Perfect
C21Media’s Cody Jones reports that Disney and Dude Perfect signed an “integrated creative partnership” spanning entertainment, sports, consumer products and parks.
Streaming ad loads jump 18% as subscription prices climb too
MediaPost’s Wayne Friedman reports that top premium streamers added 18% more ad minutes per hour on average from January to August 2026, with Paramount+, Hulu and Disney+ leading.
Skydance faces $80B debt strain as Warner films flop, HBO-Paramount+ merger looms
nScreenMedia’s Colin Dixon reports that Skydance is servicing $80 billion in debt while three Warner Bros. films, Digger, Supergirl, and The Bride, are estimated to lose a combined $350 million or more, pushing the studio toward merging HBO and Paramount+.
Hilton pitches uncapped 40% film tax credit to woo Hollywood back to California
The Ankler reports that California GOP gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton, in talks with David Ellison, Ted Sarandos and Jon Voight, is pushing an uncapped film tax credit that could reach forty percent of production costs, covering star salaries, animation and postproduction.
Fox’s ‘Baywatch’ reboot bets on global, translation-free entertainment
The Ankler reports that at MIPCOM Cannes, Fox TV Network president Michael Thorn and Fremantle’s Jens Richter unveiled details of the January 2027 “Baywatch” revival, featuring stars Stephen Amell and Brooks Nader.
eMarketer: retail media needs proof beyond owned-channel data
eMarketer’s Sarah Marzano reports that retail media’s next challenge is demonstrating how retailer data actually improves advertising performance off of retailers’ own owned and operated channels.
New alliance of agencies, producers pushes to revive fin-syn rules
The Ankler’s Sean McNulty reports that CAA, WME and UTA, along with producers including Jason Blum, Ron Howard and Brian Grazer, formed the American Entertainment Alliance.
Fox pushes agentic ad platform toward the upfront
Adweek’s Bill Bradley reports that Fox is expanding its agentic ad platform, adding more agency partners and extending capabilities from linear toward digital transactions.
Skydance’s market cap falls under half what WBD and Paramount were worth combined
Variety’s Todd Spangler reports that Skydance Corp.‘s market capitalization has dropped below forty billion dollars, down from the seventy-seven point seven billion dollars and eleven billion dollars that Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount were valued at just before their merger closed.
Top talent agencies back law forcing streamers to spend 50% on indies
Variety’s Todd Spangler reports that CAA, WME and UTA founded the American Entertainment Alliance with producers like Blumhouse and Legendary, pushing legislation requiring streamers to spend half their content budgets on independent productions and reverting licensing rights to producers.
MediaPost: CTV may never match search and social on performance
MediaPost’s Wayne Friedman argues CTV’s inconsistent cross-publisher signals keep it from driving direct business outcomes like search and social, with national linear TV revenue projected to fall 2% to $27.9 billion while digital TV grows 3% to $21 billion.
WARC: consumer goods firms raise ad-to-sales ratio as tech giants cut theirs
Marketing Dive’s Peter Adams reports that WARC Media found top consumer goods marketers raised ad-to-sales ratios from 11.6% in 2023 to 12.5% in 2025, while tech firms like Alphabet and Meta cut theirs from 13% to 7.4% between 2019 and 2025.
Amazon leans on incremental reach to sell sports ad formats beyond spots
eMarketer’s Christopher Wood reports that Amazon Ads executive Billy Davis told Advertising Week New York that Amazon’s TNF and NBA audiences skew 7-8 years younger than broadcast, with 20-21% not watching rival games.