“It is clear that brands can no longer rely on a single platform. Audiences are fragmented, but they’re still highly engaged,” said Chris Loretto, EVP of Adtaxi. “This creates opportunities for brands to connect in more creative, targeted ways, and leverage streaming, social platforms, and secondary screens to extend reach and impact.”

Warner Bros. Discovery is teaming again with X for the Olympics in a deal the companies say will create “the ultimate fan destination for passionate audiences” at the Winter Games. Brands and advertisers will get exclusive access to WBD’s in-game and event clips, prioritized on X’s feeds and localized for audiences in 11 markets across Europe. “Fusing our premium, localised content with a leading global social platform such as X will amplify our storytelling approach, deliver real-time immersive fan experiences and generate unparalleled opportunities for brands at the heart of the Olympics conversation,” said Scott Young, EVP at WBD Sports Europe.

Billionaire media investor Barry Diller approached Warner Bros. Discovery last year about acquiring CNN, sources told The Wall Street Journal – and Diller remains interested despite WBD’s insistence that the network is not for sale. The outreach occurred before WBD announced in June that it would separate its cable operations from its streaming and studio businesses. WBD currently has a deal with Netflix covering its studios and HBO Max, while Paramount has submitted a tender offer for the entire company.

Announcing fourth quarter earnings, Comcast reported Peacock wrapped 2025 with 44 million subscribers, up 22% year-over-year. On the domestic broadband front, Comcast’s revenue dipped 1% due to a decrease in broadband customers, partially offset by higher average rates. The company counts 11.27 million pay TV customers after shedding 245,000 during 4Q25. Revenue for the company’s media unit, which includes NBCUniversal, rose 5.5% to $7.62 billion.

“2025 was a year of meaningful progress as we made decisive changes to position the company for long-term, sustainable growth. It was also our best year ever in wireless, with 1.5 million net line additions and more than 9 million total lines, clear evidence of the strength of our converged connectivity strategy,” said Comcast Co-CEOs Brian Roberts and Mike Cavanagh. “We also completed the spin of Versant Media, creating a more focused NBCUniversal centered on streaming, live sports, and premium content. Even as we invested behind these initiatives, we generated record levels of free cash flow and maintained a strong balance sheet, reflecting a disciplined approach to capital allocation as we remain focused on execution in 2026.”

A week before the season four premiere of “The Lincoln Lawyer,” Netflix renewed the drama for a fifth run. “We’re so excited to share the upcoming fourth season with the audience on February 5, and even more excited to share the news that we’re already hard at work on the next one,” said co-showrunners Ted Humphrey and Dailyn Rodriguez in a statement. “Season four is the most challenging and intensely personal journey we’ve taken Mickey Haller on yet, and we’re thrilled and grateful to be able to continue the ride in season five.”

Despite the rapid acceleration of creator advertising, the industry still lacks the measurement standards, currencies, and financial rigor necessary to fully integrate creators into enterprise media strategies, reports IAB in The As-Is Measurement Landscape in the Creator Economy. Key findings include:
· While creator marketing now rivals Social and Search, it’s still tracked with promo codes, screenshots, and siloed platform metrics.
· Platforms define “views,” “reach,” and “engagement” differently, leaving brands to optimize on guesswork rather than consistent KPIs.
· CMOs must defend creator spend with CFO-level rigor, but lack the cross-channel measurement frameworks to do so.

“The opportunity ahead is not simply to measure creators better, it is to integrate creators fully into the financial and planning systems that govern modern media investment,” concludes the report. “When that happens, creator advertising will no longer be discussed as a category apart, it will simply be called media.”

“Wild Boys: Strangers in Town” tells the true story of two young brothers who emerged from the forests of British Columbia in the summer of 2003, claiming they had been raised entirely off the grid. The two-part documentary drops Wednesday, February 18 on Paramount+.

AI studio Primordial Soup has produced an animated short-form series in partnership with Google DeepMind about the American Revolution. “On This Day…1776” recreates moments from 1776 on their 250th anniversaries.

Season two of “Jury Duty” debuts Friday, March 20 on Prime Video with three episodes, followed by two episodes on March 27, and three on April 2.

The first season of E! investigative docuseries “Dirty Rotten Scandals” explores the darker side of “The Dr. Phil Show,” “America’s Next Top Model,” and “The Price is Right,” beginning Wednesday, March 4 at 9p.

“Flavortown Food Fight” launches Wednesday, Marh 4 at 9p on Food Network. The culinary competition hosted by Guy Fieri (“Diners, Drive-ins and Dives”), will have chefs test their cooking acumen in food establishments ranging from street food carts to fine dining restaurants.

Season 23 of Bravo’s “Top Chef” boasts a lineup of brand partnerships that includes Bosch Home Appliances, Cracker Barrel, Duke’s Mayo, and Josh Cellars Wine, to name just a few. “Fans come hungry for the competition, and brands leave with real audience connection and business results,” said Kim Faver, SVP, Brand Partnerships, NBCUniversal Advertising & Partnerships.

Historical docudrama “The White House” pulls back the curtain on First Families who have occupied 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue starting Friday, February 6 on Fox Nation.

HBO Max announced the launch of “Squire for Hire,” a talent‑led social content series inspired by HBO drama series “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.” First comes a series of short‑form videos released across social channels – each video pairs a celebrity with an actor portraying a comedic Westeros-inspired squire from the series. Following the rollout of the social series, HBO Max has teamed up with home services platform Taskrabbit to launch a dedicated campaign hub at SquireForHire.com, offering fans the chance to enter the official sweepstakes to win help from a squire of their own.

Sundays Premieres
AMC: Rise of the 49ers at 9p
MGM+: Vanished
Netflix: Glitter & Gold: Ice Dancing
Reelz: LA Firestorm at 8p

A series adaptation of comic book Sex Criminals is headed to Prime Video. Kumail Nanjiani, who is co-creator of the with Emily V. Gordon and Tze Chun, will also act in the eight-part series. Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky, the creators of the comic book, are set to executive produce.

Unscripted producer and showrunner Ian Gelfand and former Warner Bros. executive Matt Nagorner have joined forces to launch IM Trying Productions (IMT Productions), a joint venture with production group 3BMG. The prodco will develop and produce unscripted content across multiple genres, with a focus on celebrity and personality-driven series.

Jupiter Entertainment has inked a first-look production partnership with Kickback Soccer Media to develop and produce soccer-focused series and sports-driven programming for US audiences ahead of the 2026 and 2027 FIFA World Cups. Under the deal, Jupiter will have first-look rights on original soccer concepts developed with Kickback, expanding its slate as soccer excitement accelerates.

Bhooshan’s Junior signed on for a new strategic partnership with multi-platform performer JoJo Siwa. The new deal will see Siwa and Bhooshan’s Junior develop original animated digital-first content.

Irish independent production company BiggerStage has announced agreements with Hackman Capital Partners’ Troy Studios and The MBS Group to create a global unscripted production hub in County Limerick, Ireland. Under an initial multi-year deal, Bigger Stage and Troy Studios will invest to attract international television formats to Limerick, with BiggerStage producing.

Albertsons Media Collective is opening its first NYC office and unveiling a brand refresh. “Retail media is a strategic priority for Albertsons Companies, and our investment in Albertsons Media Collective reflects our commitment to building a world class, national media business,” said, Jennifer Saenz, Chief Commercial Officer, Albertsons Companies. “Opening a New York City office and elevating the brand are important steps in deepening our collaboration with agencies and advertisers, expanding our capabilities and ensuring we continue delivering measurable growth for our advertising partners.”

The Media Rating Council issued the final version of its Digital Advertising Auction Transparency standards. Despite the growth of ad auctions in media, there were previously no standards for ad auctioneer conduct regarding disclosure and reporting of auction rules or transparency, noted Ron Pinelli, SVP of Digital Research and Standards for MRC. “It is the objective of these Standards to promote transparency around auction rules and scoring along with reporting and standardization where possible and appropriate, to ensure that auction rules and outcomes are understood for all parties,” he said.

Fox Sports, America’s English-language home for the FIFA World Cup 2026, unveiled its broadcast schedule for this year’s event. From Thursday, June 11 through Sunday, July 19, FOX Sports will offer 340 hours of first-run programming, a 100-hour increase over FIFA World Cup 2022. All 104 tournament matches will air live across FOX (70) and FS1 (34) with every match streaming live and on-demand within FOX One’s new World Cup viewing experience and the FOX Sports App. Additionally, 40 matches will air in primetime across FOX (21) and FS1(19).

Arkero, a new platform using AI to help run the day-to-day operations of complex organizations in sport, announced a $6 million pre-seed funding round, and early partnerships with professional sports organizations across MLS, NWSL, and the English Football League. Arkero’s first partners include the Seattle Sounders, Seattle Reign, San Diego FC and Bolton Wanderers FC.

Norqain is a new NHL partner activating this year. They’ll have brand presence on the NHL’s digitally enhanced dasherboards and a corner in-ice position at the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series on February 1. The four corner in-ice NHL Stadium Series brand positions are Ticketmaster, Norqain, Fastenal, and Jersey Mike’s, while the four Neutral Zone in-ice NHL Stadium Series brand positions include Expedia, CAT, Verizon, and Honda.

BEONDTV+ has partnered with the family of the late Agnes Nixon, creator of soap opera “All My Children” (1970-2011), to launch a FAST channel for the soap opera outside the US (just ask Susan Lucci). Additional distribution partners will roll out soon.

Tulipop Studios has secured new US and international distribution deals for its preschool series “Tulipop Tales.” New partners include Amazon Prime Direct, HappyKids, Kidoodle, Zone·TV, Dreamscape, Cycle Kids and Ketchup TV. While several of the deals cover worldwide distribution, all include US rights.

The premiere of Ion’s “Pro Cheer” reached over 1.6 million viewers, outdelivering all cheerleading telecasts in 2025.

CBS Television Stations report that across 14 O&O stations last snow-hit weekend, audiences turned to their local CBS Television Station in record numbers, simultaneously driving 93 million streaming minutes – up 75% increase over normal consumption.

Bravo’s “The Valley: Persian Style” drew 2.1 million viewers across platforms in its first seven days, reports NBCUniversal, with the episode ranking as Peacock’s second most-watched series premiere ever.

JP Evangelista has been promoted to Executive Vice President of Content, Programming & Marketing at Vevo. In the new role, Evangelista is responsible for Vevo’s global creative and marketing strategy, strengthening artist and label partnerships, and accelerating audience growth through innovative programming and multi-platform storytelling.

Three changes to report at Active Media Services: Liz Margolis has been named Global Chief Operating Officer, Kevin Farkas has been appointed Global Chief Commercial Officer, and Alex Sapoznikov has been named Global Chief Strategy Officer.

This Day in History
1835 – In the first attempt to assassinate a sitting US president, Richard Lawrence attempted to shoot Andrew Jackson, but both of his pistols misfired.

Answer to Our Last Trivia Question
Which television drama was the first to routinely portray Americans in combat in South Vietnam? “Tour of Duty” (1987-1990). Kudos to: Ray Mendelsohn/Cleveland; Greg West-WATC TV/Atlanta; Brian Traynor-TKO/NYC; Joel Dearing-Virtual News Center/Indianapolis; John W Burshtan-Water Planet Productions/Denver; Rosemary Cunningham-MeTV/Chicago; Tom Boyd-WGN/Chicago; Dan Whitford-WTTW/Chicago; John Kukla-KDW Fox 4/Dallas; Justin Pierce-JP Consulting Group/LA; Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA

Today’s Trivia Question
In which year did the highest-rated telecast of the Grammy Awards air? (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.)