Agency & Consulting
California AG drops opposition to Paramount-Warner deal
TVREV’s Alan Wolk reports that California AG Rob Bonta backed off his antitrust challenge to the Paramount-Warner merger after unions, theater chains and state political figures sided with the deal over fears of losing 30,000 jobs to another state.
CIMM recap: AI agents now negotiating TV ad buys, identity gaps threaten the model
The Measure’s Jason Damata reports that CIMM speakers described AI agents already handling ad buying, planning and negotiating, while bad identity data and exploding creative variants threaten to undermine measurement across TV, streaming and social.
JIC re-certifies iSpot, ComScore and VideoAmp through 2028
The Measure reports that the U.S. Joint Industry Committee re-certified iSpot, ComScore and VideoAmp as national TV currencies through 2028, even as the JIC already turns its attention to a next phase built around outcomes measurement.
Buyers blast Nielsen’s rushed rollout of new TV measurement changes
The Measure’s Jon Lafayette reports that at CIMM’s Summit, buyers from WPP Media, Publicis and Omnicom Media Group said Nielsen’s shift to the Advertising Research Foundation’s DASH universe estimates was implemented too fast this season.
The CW is becoming Nexstar’s affiliate insurance policy
TVREV’s Tim Hanlon reports that Nexstar has pushed its CW ownership stake past 81 percent and swapped CBS affiliations for CW ones in four markets, while citing the network’s contribution to distribution revenue growth in SEC filings.
Dreamspark to turn creator Michou’s YouTube hit Terminal into a global format
C21Media reports that Paris prodco Dreamspark is partnering with MichouCorp, the company behind French creator Michou, to adapt his YouTube show Terminal into a format for international broadcasters.
Disney+ ad tier expands to Austria and Poland
Advanced Television’s Nik Roseveare reports that Disney+ will launch its Standard with Ads plan in Austria and Poland in November, alongside existing Standard and Premium tiers.
TVision study: viewers watch 4+ hours but attend to only 9 minutes of ads
Advanced Television reports that TVision by Viant’s 2026 State of Streaming panel found daily video viewing tops four hours, yet ad attention averages just nine minutes and keeps shrinking, with World Cup blowout matches drawing huge audiences but weak attention.
Sam and Colby bring Hell Week horror series to Netflix
Tubefilter’s Sam Gutelle reports that YouTube paranormal duo Sam and Colby are bringing their annual Hell Week Halloween documentaries to Netflix starting in October 2026.
Shopify links Meta’s Muse assistant to agentic checkout
ExchangeWire’s Sheila Obeng-King reports that Shopify and Meta will let Muse, Meta’s AI shopping agent, complete purchases across Shopify-powered stores.
Paramount weighs Musk as equity investor amid $80B debt load
The Hollywood Reporter reports Paramount executives are exploring an Elon Musk investment as part of a syndicate backing the Warner Bros deal, per a Semafor report citing unnamed sources describing preliminary talks with no confirmed investment size.
101 Studios commits up to $25M to launch Yes Chef Studios
The Hollywood Reporter’s Alex Weprin reports that 101 Studios is partnering with Yes Chef Group, the company behind creator Jack Goldburg’s “Jack’s Dining Room,” to form Yes Chef Studios.
NFL Week 2 ratings: NBC, CBS, ESPN post multiyear highs; Fox tops week
Awful Announcing’s Drew Lerner reports that CBS drew its most-watched singleheader window since 1989 at 19.3 million viewers, NBC’s Chiefs-Colts game hit 24.3 million, and ESPN’s Monday game was its best Week 2 since 2006.
CNN’s digital pivot stalls as merger clock runs out on Mark Thompson
Simon Owens reports that nearly three years into Mark Thompson’s tenure as CNN CEO, the network still “fundamentally operates like a TV network” despite a paywall launch, and now faces a Paramount-WBD takeover with no assurance David Ellison will keep him.
PubMatic launches episode-level targeting for CTV ads
eMarketer’s Asa Hiken reports that PubMatic has rolled out an offering enabling episode-level ad targeting for connected TV, letting buyers align ad placement with specific show content rather than broader contextual or audience segments.
Nielsen folds Triton podcast data into its media planning platform
Inside Radio reports that Nielsen has partnered with Triton Digital to integrate Triton’s Podcast Metrics Demos+ data into the Nielsen Media Impact planning platform.
Comscore integrates with datafuelX
Daily Research News’ Nick Thomas reports that Comscore has integrated with datafuelX, though the article does not detail the specific terms or scope of the integration. The piece appears truncated, leaving the commercial or product implications unclear.
Claude, Gemini erode ChatGPT’s share of AI prompt volume
Advanced Television reports that Comscore’s Q2 2026 AI Intelligence Report shows ChatGPT’s share of AI prompt volume fell from 70 percent to 50 percent between January and June 2026.
Rushfield reviews Ari Emanuel’s new memoir ‘Roll the Calls’
The Ankler’s Richard Rushfield reviews Ari Emanuel’s new memoir, Roll the Calls, arguing the Endeavor chief remains Hollywood’s most quotable, least boring executive even as his relentless scale-first worldview draws the critic’s skepticism.
RedBird closes deal to become lead investor in Puck, valuing it at $250M
The Hollywood Reporter’s Alex Weprin reports RedBird Capital Partners has completed its deal as lead investor in Puck, valuing the digital media company at $250 million, with TPG and Standard Investments exiting and RIT Capital staying on as a minority investor.
Samsung TV Plus adds creator-led FAST channels across six markets
C21Media reports that Samsung TV Plus is expanding its creator-led lineup in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines, launching three UK channels with 208 Studios built on Fearne Cotton, Golf Life and JOE Media, while extending existing channels to Brazil and Mexico.