Agency & Consulting
Ad production spreads beyond California and New York, but not evenly
The Measure’s Eleanor Semeraro reports that XR’s Where Ads Are Made study found states carving out specialized production niches between 2019 and H1 2026.
eMarketer: Price beats every other streaming perk with viewers
eMarketer’s Peter Clark reports that streaming subscribers rank price as the top factor in deciding which services to keep, ahead of content library size, ad-free viewing, and exclusive originals.
Deutsche Bank upgrades Netflix to buy despite September stock slide
CNBC’s Fred Imbert reports that Deutsche Bank analyst Bryan Kraft upgraded Netflix to buy from hold even as the stock has fallen more than 14% in September, its worst month since June.
Parade Media launches studio arm to bridge creators and TV
C21Media reports that Sydney’s Parade Media has launched Parade Studios, a production division built to develop creator-led entertainment for television, streaming and social platforms including YouTube, Instagram and TikTok.
CTV now over half of premium video ad views in Europe, FreeWheel finds
Advanced Television reports that FreeWheel’s latest Video Monetisation Report found CTV hit 53 percent of premium video ad views in Europe in H1 2026, with total programmatic ad views up 44 percent year over year and live ad views rising to 32 percent.
Spy Ninjas exec details $25M plan to grow YouTube franchise offline
Next in Media’s Shelly Soriano, president of Spy Ninjas, explains how the YouTube-native franchise grew to 47 million subscribers by borrowing WWE’s mix of big characters and unscripted improv.
Amazon’s Prime Video chief says AI can cut costs, unleash creativity
Deadline’s Max Goldbart reports that Prime Video international chief Kelly Day told RTS London that AI “brings down costs” and lets more diverse stories get made.
JustWatch launches its own streaming service, JustWatch TV
Campaign US reports that JustWatch is launching JustWatch TV, a standalone AVOD, rental and subscription service debuting in October across 12 markets.
Apple TV says post-Emmys week was its biggest ever, but still no hard numbers
Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva reports Apple TV had its highest weekly viewership ever for the week of September 14, up 67% year-over-year, driven by Mayday, Ted Lasso and post-Emmy surges for Widow’s Bay and Pluribus.
Warner Bros. staff brace for mass layoffs as Paramount deal clears
Puck’s Kim Masters reports that with California Attorney General Rob Bonta having settled, Paramount Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery is now hitting Hollywood, with insiders describing a grim mood inside Warners over expected job cuts.
McDonald’s tests third-party ads on menu boards
Campaign US reports that McDonald’s is trialing third-party ads on digital menu boards at select US restaurants, shown post-order on self-service and drive-thru screens, per Bloomberg, opening a potential new retail media revenue stream.
Paramount launches $44 billion debt sale to fund Warner Bros. Discovery deal
TheWrap’s Jeremy Fuster reports that Paramount Skydance filed a $44 billion debt offering with the SEC, split between $32 billion in investment-grade debt and $12.4 billion in high-yield bonds, to help fund its $110 billion purchase of Warner Bros. Discovery.
HBO Max tops August linear TV promo reach ranking, per iSpot
StreamTV Insider’s Bevin Fletcher reports that HBO Max ranked No. 1 in iSpot’s Streamers TV Promo Power Ranking for August, capturing 16.55% of streaming promo linear reach.
Twitch CEO ties viewership growth to clip strategy, not just livestream draw
Tubefilter’s James Hale reports that Twitch CEO Dan Clancy credits short-form clipping for driving renewed “excitement and awareness about livestreaming,” as new Streams Charts data shows August was Twitch’s best month of 2026 with 1.56 billion hours watched, up 7% year-over-year.
Just Like a Prayer: VMAs 2026 draw 8.4 million viewers, best since 2015
TheWrap’s Loree Seitz reports the 2026 VMAs pulled 8.43 million viewers across CBS and MTV, up 51% from 2025’s 5.6 million, marking the best same-day audience since 2015’s 12.73 million.
Prime Video renews ‘Reacher’ for Season 6, days after Season 4 wraps
Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva reports that Prime Video renewed ‘Reacher’ for Season 6 just 12 days after the Season 4 finale, its second renewal this year, keeping the show on a yearly production cadence.
DoorDash names WPP Media its first global media partner
Marketing Dive’s Peter Adams reports that DoorDash named WPP Media its first global media agency partner after a competitive review, expanding an eight-year relationship into more than 40 additional markets starting next year.
Maybe You’re Gonna be the One that Saves Me: Disney sets Oct. 9 streaming date for Oasis reunion documentary
Deadline’s Max Goldbart reports that Disney+ and Hulu will premiere “Oasis: Don’t Look Back in Anger” on October 9, following a theatrical run that made it the UK’s highest-grossing documentary of 2026.
80% Digital: Traditional media’s ad-spend share slips below 20% for first time
MediaPost’s Joe Mandese reports that Guideline’s U.S. Ad Market Tracker found August ad spending grew a tepid 0.7% year over year, with digital’s share topping 80% while traditional media’s share fell below 20%, an index first.