Skydance officially launches, merging Paramount with Warner Bros. Discovery
TheWrap’s Sharon Waxman reports Skydance launches this week as a public company (SKYD), merging Paramount with Warner Bros. Discovery under CEO David Ellison, who must cut $6 billion in costs while carrying $80 billion in debt.
Dungey set to oversee Paramount’s cable networks post-merger
Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva reports that Channing Dungey is poised to add Paramount’s cable portfolio, including MTV, Nickelodeon and BET, to her existing WBD cable duties.
Tubi adds 800 Just For Laughs titles in Canada
Deadline’s Jesse Whittock reports that Tubi struck a deal adding 800 Just For Laughs comedy specials and episodes to its Canadian feed.
Havas-Horizon venture struggles for traction one year in
Ad Age’s Ewan Larkin reports that Horizon Global, the joint venture between Havas and Horizon Media, has notched only small wins since its September 2025 debut.
TheSoul Group, ShortsTV launch two YouTube channels for short films
Advanced Television reports that TheSoul Group and ShortsTV are launching ShortsTV Pulse and ShortsTV Drama on YouTube, drawing from ShortsTV’s catalogue of nearly 1,900 short films. Pulse launches first with action, comedy and animated titles, while Drama follows before year’s end.
Local TV ad sales pivot from spots to audience targeting
TV Tech’s Max Slater-Robins reports that local broadcasters are shifting advanced advertising strategy away from buying fixed commercial spots toward targeting defined audience segments.
Jon Cook hands VML’s global CEO reins to his best friend, Eric Campbell
Adweek’s Christopher Cicchiello reports that Jon Cook is stepping down after 25 years at VML, handing the global CEO role to longtime friend and partner Eric Campbell.
VCCP co-founder Adrian Coleman to retire at end of 2026
Campaign’s Eszter Gurbicz reports that Adrian Coleman, who co-founded VCCP in 2002 and ran it as group chief executive for two decades, will step back gradually before retiring at the end of 2026.
Advertising Week NY opens with creators as the main draw, not just talent
Digiday’s Kimeko McCoy reports that Advertising Week New York expects 2,500 creator passes this year, up from 1,000 last year, with organizers chasing $100 million in creator deals over the next 12 months.
UTA adds six UK creators including ‘SNL UK’ comedian Al Nash to roster
The Hollywood Reporter’s Georg Szalai reports that UTA has signed six U.K. creators, including “SNL UK” comedian Al Nash and lifestyle creator DaniBabes, to its Creators division.
Creators push followers toward IRL events as feed growth stalls
Digiday’s Seb Joseph reports that creators like Maya Raichoora are moving followers off Instagram into monthly in-person events, betting live gatherings outlast any single video and give brands turnout, sales and sign-ups they can count.
Multiscreen TV-streaming campaigns beat social on attention, reach: Comcast
MediaPost’s Wayne Friedman reports that Comcast Advertising and MediaScience research on H1 2026 campaigns found big-screen ads deliver 36% more viewing time and 2.2 times the brand recall of social.
Guideline: 2026 World Cup generated $2 billion in U.S. ad revenue
Inside Radio reports that measurement firm Guideline’s first game-by-game analysis of World Cup advertising estimates the 2026 tournament generated roughly $2 billion in U.S. ad revenue, about five times what it measured four years earlier.
goTom’s AI ad sales platform now runs Zattoo’s entire CTV operation
ExchangeWire reports that Zattoo now runs its full ad sales operation on goTom’s AI-native platform, which unifies CRM, order management and billing from first quote to invoice, speeding up bookings like dynamic ad insertion.
Sony’s digital studio signs Brian Cox for YouTube science content
Deadline’s Max Goldbart reports that Sony Pictures Television’s digital studio has struck a long-term partnership with BBC scientist Brian Cox to create original science, astronomy and culture formats for digital platforms.
Digiday’s 2026 report: AI and creators are rewiring agency media plans
Digiday’s Catherine Wolf reports that the outlet’s 2026 Media Agency Report finds clients demanding more flexibility on when and where budgets move.
Evan Shapiro’s Creator Ecosphere Map scores influencers by affinity, not reach
Media War & Peace’s Evan Shapiro previews his 2026 Creator Ecosphere Map, built with Shira Lazar and Whalar’s Jon Goss, which ranks creators by follower count alongside a new Affinity Quotient score measuring fan engagement and action.
TVREV’s Damata: media fragmentation is driving a re-bundling wave
TVREV’s Jason Damata is reporting that Walmart-VIZIO, Fox-Roku, Skydance’s Paramount-Warner merger and cross-platform tools like iSpot all mark attempts to re-bundle a fragmented media landscape.
Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery will rebrand as Skydance
TechCrunch’s Lauren Forristal reports that Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery will operate under the Skydance name once their roughly $110 billion merger closes October 6, combining Paramount+, HBO Max, CBS, CNN, MTV, and other networks.
PodAnalyst adds YouTube video analytics, hits 40 million listeners
Podnews reports that PodAnalyst now measures over 600 podcasts and 40 million unique listeners, and has added YouTube video analytics alongside its Apple Podcasts and Spotify data, plus a new “Readout” report-builder tool.
Disney licenses Ice Age, Percy Jackson, Will Trent to Netflix
Variety’s Todd Spangler reports that Disney Entertainment has struck a new licensing deal sending library and current titles to Netflix, including all five “Ice Age” films, “Percy Jackson and the Olympians,” “Will Trent,” “Felicity” and several Disney and Pixar films.