Netflix eyes major layoffs amid stock slide
Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva reports that Netflix is preparing a significant round of layoffs, with sources describing a big reduction and Puck pegging it at 5% of the workforce, though Netflix declined to comment and exact timing remains unclear.
UK broadcasters weigh Channel 4-UKTV merger with BBC backing
VideoWeek’s Tim Cross-Kovoor reports that the BBC and Channel 4 held preliminary government talks on merging operations, potentially combining Channel 4’s ad and streaming arms with BBC Studios-owned UKTV.
Retail media execs: contextual, AI-driven intent beats retrospective data
Ad Age is reporting that at Advertising Week New York, executives from Lyft, Albertsons Media Collective and Pinterest described using first-party and contextual data to tailor retail media ads to a shopper’s real-time mindset rather than past purchases.
Belloni fields Hollywood’s top questions on the Skydance-Paramount-WBD merger
Puck’s Matthew Belloni reports that Skydance co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz have avoided specifics on combining Paramount and Warner Bros. operations, prompting him to answer the creative community’s most pressing questions about how the merged studio will actually function.
Top creators are cutting brand deals, demanding equity and titles
Digiday’s Seb Joseph reports that the biggest creators are shrinking their brand rosters, keeping fewer partners after following Advertising Week New York panels, recordings and source conversations.
ITV’s AI ad tool lures 16 new-to-TV SMEs in first year
The Media Leader’s Jack Benjamin reports that ITV’s GenAI Ads Manager, built with Streamr.AI, drew 16 new-to-TV small businesses to buy campaigns in its debut year, with pause ads using AI-generated imagery proving more popular than 30-second spots.
‘Toy Story 5' tops Nielsen’s streaming chart in debut week
The Hollywood Reporter’s Rick Porter reports that Pixar’s Toy Story 5 debuted at No. 1 on Nielsen’s streaming chart with 1.54 billion viewing minutes on Disney+, the second-largest single week for a Disney+ movie this year behind Zootopia 2’s 1.72 billion.
Fox’s ‘Best Medicine’ hits series-high ratings in season 2
TheWrap’s Jose Alejandro Bastidas reports that Fox’s “Best Medicine” drew 11 million total viewers for its Season 2 premiere, the network’s most-watched fall entertainment episode in nearly four years.
Albertsons exec exit spotlights retail media’s turnover problem
Modern Retail’s Anna Hensel reports that Brian Monahan’s departure as head of Albertsons Media Collective has put a spotlight on retail media leadership churn, with business partners notified Friday before the news leaked Monday.
WPP names McCann’s Tyler Turnbull global CEO of WPP Creative
Adweek’s Christopher Cicchiello reports that WPP has tapped McCann global CEO Tyler Turnbull to lead WPP Creative, citing sources close to the matter.
Meta imposes a link tax on Facebook pages, sparing news publishers for now
Simon Owens reports that Meta will charge Facebook pages at least $49.99 a month to post more than two external links, a policy that exempts news publishers for now.
Emmys leave broadcast forever, head to Amazon Prime Video
The Ankler’s Katey Rich and Christopher Rosen report that the Television Academy will stream the Emmys worldwide on Amazon Prime Video for free starting next September, ending the broadcast “wheel deal” that rotated the show among four networks since 1949.
Comscore: linear TV should ditch age and gender for buying currency
Comscore argues that linear TV should move past age-and-gender demos toward digital’s behavior-based approach, buying programs by qualitative traits like purchase intent and brand affinity rather than broad demographic buckets alone.
Mike Shields: Ellison should rethink TV ad sales, not just restaff it
Next in Media’s Mike Shields argues that David Ellison’s new Skydance-Paramount-Warner leadership team skipped ad sales, and that filling the role with a status-quo hire would waste the newly merged company’s scale.
Movers & Shakers: TBWA\Chiat\Day names new US CEO, Pandora picks 72andSunny
Campaignlive.com reports that TBWA\Chiat\Day named Lea Mastroberti as its new US CEO, while R/GA appointed Hope Nardini executive creative director and MSQ acquired media agency January Digital.
Emanuel memoir’s bestseller status splits on bulk-sale scrutiny
The Ankler’s Andy Lewis reports that Ari Emanuel’s memoir Roll the Calls hit No. 2 on the New York Times nonfiction list, but Publishers Weekly excluded it entirely after BookScan flagged excessive bulk sales among its 17,397 first-week copies.
Evan Shapiro publishes a visual map of the 2026 creator economy
Media War & Peace’s Evan Shapiro is reporting that he released the 2026 Creator Ecosphere Map, built with Shira Lazar, data partner Foam, and Whalar Group, charting the industry’s key players by region.
Dhar Mann pledges $100M in creator-brand deals, opens LA “Creator City”
Tubefilter’s James Hale reports that Dhar Mann, Advertising Week New York’s first “Chief Creator Officer,” claims CMOs have already pledged $100 million in creator sponsorships, though none are signed deals, while unveiling a four-acre Los Angeles production campus opening February 2027.
Zaslav exits Warner Bros. with $606 million and a quiet video goodbye
The Ankler’s Richard Rushfield reports that David Zaslav left Warner Bros. Discovery with a low-key, generic video message to staff after Skydance’s David Ellison took control.
Independent agencies are merging to build scale, Ad Age reports
Ad Age’s Ewan Larkin reports that independent agency M&A is accelerating, producing “super-independent” shops that combine indie agility with holding-company-style capabilities and scale, as marketers look beyond the big networks.
AI podcasting startup Rebel Audio closes $10M round at $50M valuation
The Hollywood Reporter’s Caitlin Huston reports that Rebel Audio is closing a $10 million Series A at roughly a $50 million post-money valuation.