The Take

MS NOW will launch its first direct membership product September 9, giving Versant a direct streaming, billing and customer-data relationship after losing Peacock as a distribution path. The real test is whether MS NOW can turn its large cable, podcast…

David Ellison’s $6 billion synergy target for a Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery combination could put 4,500 direct Los Angeles film and TV jobs at risk, with the broader impact reaching roughly 10,360 job-years and $2.78 billion in economic value over three…

AI spending across media companies is heading into a tougher phase as 2027 budgets force teams to prove that automation lowers unit costs, increases output, improves monetization, or reduces rework. AI ROI will increasingly depend on workflow redesign, clean metadata,…

The NBA’s media-rights reset redirected advertiser spending toward streaming, with Guideline estimating a record $2.1 billion in 2025-26 NBA ad spending and streaming capturing 41% of the total. Amazon, NBCUniversal and Disney can now monetize those rights across advertising, subscriptions,…

Fanatics is set to become an official NFL sportsbook after DraftKings, FanDuel and Caesars let their deals expire, giving the league a new partner willing to absorb the rising cost of Genius Sports data required for NFL sponsorship access. The…

IAB’s updated AI Transparency and Disclosure Framework gives advertisers a standardized way to flag AI-generated content that could mislead consumers about authenticity, identity or representation. Brands, agencies, ad tech platforms and publishers will now need systems to track AI use…

Snips has signed deals with Banijay Rights and BIG Media to use AI to turn existing films and TV series into short-form vertical microseries, creating a new distribution window without requiring new production. Rights holders keep their IP and share…

Peacock is raising prices across every subscription tier after reaching 48 million paid subscribers and posting its first quarterly profit, while testing a tenure-based membership program with merchandise discounts, partner perks and future NBCUniversal experiences. Comcast is pairing higher ARPU…

Amazon Channels is gaining leverage over Specialty SVOD as high churn forces services to continuously reacquire subscribers, with Antenna showing 42 million gross adds against a 42 million-subscription base over the past year. Amazon captured 67% of Specialty SVOD gross…

ByteDance and the Motion Picture Association have agreed to strengthen copyright and likeness safeguards across Seedance, TikTok, CapCut, Dreamina and other products as Hollywood pushes AI enforcement into the platforms themselves. The framework gives ByteDance room to keep advancing generative…