CBS News is cutting back, too. The day after editor-in-chief Bari Weiss told staffers in an al-hands meeting that she can’t make any promises about layoffs amid a “tsunami of technological change,” came to word that non-union employees on CBS News are being offered buyouts. About 100 jobs were impacted in the October round of layoffs.

US ad spend is expected to jump +9.5% year-over-year in 2026, driven by major cyclical events including the midterm elections, Olympics, and World Cup, according to the IAB’s 2026 Outlook Study, “A Snapshot into U.S. Ad Spend, Opportunities, and Strategies for Growth.” Additional findings include:
· Adapting to changing consumer habits is now the top investment focus (44%), surpassing macroeconomic factors. At the same time, 38% of buyers cite understanding generative AI as a major challenge, up 14 points from 2025.
· Five of the top six marketer priorities are AI-related, reflecting a shift toward autonomous execution across planning, optimization, and measurement.
· Marketers are rebalancing toward retention and repeat purchases. Nearly 1 in 2 are creating content optimized for AI-generated answers, and 41% are exploring autonomous consumer engagement.

“AI is no longer a siloed initiative – it’s the connective tissue that links media, measurement, creative, and customer experience,” said Chris Bruderle, Vice President, Industry Insights & Content Strategy, IAB. “But what’s changing in 2026 is how AI is being deployed – not just as a tool but as an intelligent partner coordinating campaigns in real time.”

Due to a “reduced number of submissions,” the Television Academy said it is merging the Outstanding Talk Series and Outstanding Scripted Variety Series Emmy categories this year. That move unwinds a change made in 2015, when Outstanding Variety Series split into Outstanding Variety Sketch Series and Outstanding Talk Series.

NBCUniversal revealed its full roster of digital partners for the Milan Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games. CTV and v/MVPD partners include Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Cox, DIRECTV, DISH, Hulu, Prime Video, Samsung, Sling Spectrum, Verizon, VIZIO and YouTube TV, and the NBC Winter Olympics Experience on Roku will drive viewers to all things Olympics.

Nielsen announced the winners of the 2025 ARTEY Awards, recognizing the most-watched streaming titles of the year. This year’s awards also include the inaugural ARTEY for Streaming Icon of the Year, presented to Seth MacFarlane (“Family Guy,” “American Dad!”). The award celebrates a creator, actor, producer or writer whose body of work drives significant, sustained viewership across platforms. MacFarlane’s a fit – in 2025, his catalog of TV series and films generated over 60 billion viewing minutes across streaming platforms, a figure equivalent to about 116,000 years of time spent streaming. “I want to thank Nielsen for this Streaming Icon Award,” said MacFarlane. “It’s a high honor to receive the first prize in show business that isn’t determined by quality.”

Season two of Apple TV’s “Criminal Record” makes its debut Wednesday, April 22, with new episodes dropping weekly through June 10.

“Black and Jewish America: An Interwoven History with Henry Louis Gates, Jr.” premieres Tuesday, February 3 at 9p on PBS (check local listings). The four-parter explores the intersecting streams of Black and Jewish experience in the US.

Limited series “DTF St. Louis” debuts Sunday, March 1 at 9p on HBO. The seven-episode drama about a deadly love triangle will debut weekly leading up to the series finale on Sunday, April 12 at 8p, ahead of the season three premiere of “Euphoria.”

“Black Comedy in America” drops Sunday, February 1 on Laugh Out Loud’s FAST channels. Tiffany Haddish, Chris Spencer and Ryan Davis host the docuseries tracing the history of Black humor.

HGTV’s “Wild Vacation Rentals,” exploring extraordinary homes, kicks off Monday, March 2 at 10p. Sherry Cola (“Joy Ride”) and D’Arcy Carden (“The Good Place”) host.

ESPN will wrap the 2025–26 NFL season and jump into the 2026–27 campaign with a special 24-hour, multi-platform initiative, “The Handoff.” Debuting February 8, Super Bowl Sunday, the initiative will transition ESPN’s coverage from Super Bowl LX and begin the road to Super Bowl LXI – the network’s first Super Bowl – set for February 14, 2027. This year’s big game airs on NBC.

Just in time for the Super Bowl, Comcast’s Xfinity is launching RealTime4K, an ultra-low latency technology that gives customers a faster, more lifelike experience for viewing live sports in 4K. This format will deliver the Super Bowl to Xfinity TV customers seconds behind the on-field action, and up to 30 seconds faster than other 4K providers. “Nothing kills watching a live sporting event faster than getting a text or seeing a play on social media before it hits your screen,” said Jon Gieselman, Chief Growth Officer, Connectivity and Platforms, Comcast. “With Xfinity’s new RealTime4K tech, spoilers don’t stand a chance.”

Women’s sports media company TOGETHXR announced a strategic partnership and equity investment in Sportsish and its founder Lily Shimbashi. In addition to a new series in development, the partnership will feature on-the-ground coverage at major sporting events, including the launch of “Bestie Bowl,” a new Sportsish-led franchise debuting around the biggest game in sports this February.

Navy Federal Credit Union is the Official Military Appreciation Partner of the NHL and title sponsor of the upcoming 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series. The program is designed to honor US military veterans and to celebrate the service, integrity and camaraderie shared by the military and hockey communities. In conjunction with Stadium Series, Navy Federal will once again be hosting their Veterans Showcase tournament – selecting four military veteran hockey teams from across the country to compete. This year’s teams will be:
· Lightning Warriors – Tampa, FL
· Chicago Warriors – Chicago, IL
· Minnesota Warriors – St. Cloud, MN
· Navy Seal Foundation – Virginia Beach, VA

Rolex is now an Official Partner of LIV Golf. The Swiss watchmaker’s presence in will be anchored in premium hospitality, enabling it to provide enhanced guest experiences in international territories, as well as wider access to players.

French animation studio Xilam Animation has inked pre-sales for comedy series “Submarine Jim,” which is scheduled to complete delivery in June 2026. New free-to-air deals include the BBC (UK and Ireland), RTS (French-Switzerland), RTBF and VRT (Belgium), NPO (Netherlands), YLE (Finland), NRK (Norway), Noga (Israel), alongside Warner Bros. Discovery in EMEA, Latin America, Southeast Asia and South Korea.

FOX News Channel closed out January 2026 as the leader in cable news with an average 2.4 million viewers in weekday primetime – beating CBS (2.2 million viewers) – and averaged over two million viewers in Monday-Sunday primetime, according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel. FNC notes it also ranked number one in cable news among Asian, Hispanic, and upscale viewers throughout primetime for the month.

NewsNation’s primetime lineup was up 13% among A25-54 (nearly 20,000) in January 2026 compared to January 2025, with its top-rated program, “Cuomo” drawing 188,000 total viewers. The 8p program also posted its second highest-rated month ever in total viewers, increasing +5% year-over-year.

The Season three premiere of “Wild Cards” on The CW was the most-watched episode in series history with 710,000 total viewers, according to Nielsen Panel + Big Data. The episode grew +62% in total viewers compared to the season two finale in May.

Grocery TV has named Neil Murphy as SVP of Retail Partnerships, Steve Sapp as SVP of Media Partnerships, and Chris Lee as CTO.

Today’s Trivia Question
Which television drama was the first to routinely portray Americans in combat in South Vietnam? (Email trivia@cynopsis.com with your answer and be sure to include your name, company, city and time zone. Unofficial rules: a limit of four answers per time zone.)