TVision: Coca-Cola’s AI holiday ad scored above-average attention
Adweek’s Ashley R. Cummings reports that TVision CEO Yan Liu, speaking at a Viant-Adweek Exchange event in New York, said Coca-Cola’s AI-generated “Holidays Are Coming” ad earned a Creative Attention Score of 101, edging out the brand’s typical average of 100 despite public backlash.
Hello Sunshine’s PE collapse signals Hollywood star-deal reckoning
The Ankler’s Ashley Cullins reports that Reese Witherspoon is buying back Hello Sunshine alongside Mediawan for less than 10 percent of the $900 million valuation Blackstone-backed Candle Media paid in 2021.
Bad Wolf CEO: streaming budgets won’t keep climbing
The Hollywood Reporter’s Etan Vlessing reports that Bad Wolf co-founder Jane Tranter, speaking at Rome’s MIA Market, said premium drama budgets have reset permanently as American streamers pull back spending.
Publishers’ post-Google playbook: subscriptions, AI deals, reorgs
Digiday’s Kimeko McCoy reports that Axios, The Verge, Politico, The Wall Street Journal and Time are each rewriting operations for a post-search era, from subscriber-linked AI chatbot access to restructured audience teams to ads served against AI agent traffic.
A screenwriter’s side hustle became a multi-business writing empire
Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter reports that Simon Owens interviewed Amy Suto, a former Hollywood screenwriter who left the industry to build a paid Substack newsletter with more than 1,000 subscribers, a freelance job platform called Cozy Jobs, ghostwriting work, and self-published novels.
Comscore and TuneIn preview 2026 State of Audio report
Comscore is reporting that its 2026 State of Audio report, built with TuneIn, examines listening habits, format shifts and expectations for ad-supported audio, with a live webinar unpacking findings set for October 22.
Forbes joins Google’s paid AI pilot as referral traffic drops 45%
Digiday’s Jessica Davies reports that Forbes has joined Google’s paid News AI pilot, giving Google expanded content rights in exchange for payment plus citation data on how its content performs across AI-driven discovery experiences.
Epson used Amazon’s full-funnel stack to escape the search-ads trap
Next in Media’s Mike Shields reports that Amazon’s Charlotte Maines and Amerge’s Laura Abadias discuss how Epson linked Fire TV, Prime Video, and Amazon Marketing Cloud to launch its LightStudio projector.
StackAdapt exec: AI chatbots are becoming the new shopping aisle
Retail TouchPoints’ Christiana Marouchos argues conversational AI assistants like ChatGPT now shape product discovery, citing eMarketer data that 37.1% of US shoppers plan to use AI tools for holiday gift research and 63.3 million will get chatbot shopping help this year.
MediaPost: Netflix needs franchise IP, maybe via studio M&A
MediaPost’s Wayne Friedman argues that Netflix’s real fix for weakening engagement isn’t microdramas or podcasts but buzzy branded franchises like Marvel or Star Wars, achievable through acquiring a studio such as Lionsgate or Sony Pictures.
Facebook Marketplace taps ‘Nobody Wants This’ for a cross-promo ad
Ad Age’s Tim Nudd reports that Facebook Marketplace built an ad around Netflix’s “Nobody Wants This,” with Kristen Bell racing through a train station searching for a man named Noah.
Edward Berger: Netflix shook up Hollywood, now studios may return the favor
Deadline’s Jesse Whittock reports that director Edward Berger, speaking at Rome’s MIA Market, said the movie business “needed Netflix to wake up” from complacency with a real disruptor.
FAST viewership growth outpaces advertiser demand
eMarketer’s Marisa Jones reports that FAST platforms keep drawing more viewers, but advertiser spending on the format isn’t climbing at the same pace, leaving a widening gap between audience growth and ad dollars committed.
CNN posts only across-the-board ratings gains in cable news’ Oct. 5 week
Adweek’s Mark Mwachiro reports that CNN was the only cable news network to grow total viewers and the Adults 25-54 demo in both primetime and total day for the week of October 5.
Needham analyst: Netflix sell-off overdone, ad business has room to run
CNBC reports that Needham analyst Laura Martin told “Closing Bell Overtime” the recent Netflix stock decline is overdone ahead of earnings. Martin pointed to a projected $3 billion in high-margin ad revenue as the upside case buyers are overlooking.
Puck podcast asks: could reviving Fin-Syn rules save Hollywood?
Puck’s podcast reports that UTA business affairs head Rich Shuter and producer Cathy Schulman argue for reinstating the Financial Interest and Syndication Rules, blaming vertical integration and consolidation for squeezing producers.
Target takes a cautious approach to in-store retail media
eMarketer’s Rachel Wolff reports that Target is moving slowly on in-store retail media compared with rivals, even as the broader retail media category pushes further into physical stores.
A24’s Elizabeth Holmes doc opens like ‘Borat,’ skews young
The Ankler reports that A24’s “You Can See Everything,” Nathan Fielder’s documentary on Elizabeth Holmes, opened to $15 million from just 855 screens, a per-screen average over $17,500.
UTA promotes seven agents to expand creator division leadership
The Hollywood Reporter’s Alex Weprin reports that UTA has promoted seven agents within its Creators division, with revenue there tripling over the past five years, as the agency expands into new lines of business, New York and U.K. operations, and sports creators via Klutch Sports.
Streaming subscribers seek injunction to keep Paramount+, HBO Max separate
Deadline’s Dominic Patten reports that five streaming subscribers filed a preliminary injunction motion on October 16 seeking to force Skydance to operate Paramount+ and HBO Max as separate businesses while their antitrust case proceeds.