|
|
| Wednesday, August 5, 2026 |
|
|
Good morning, readers! Here’s what we’ve got for you today:
- A Defense Of The WarnerMount Merger From The Guy Who’s Facilitating It
- Next Year’s The Voice” Contestants Will Be Even More Famous
- Nielsen Ranks The Top 20 Most Streamed Shows In 2026 (So Far)
|
|
|
|
In The News
|
|
Why hasn’t the Paramount-Warner Bros. merger closed yet? According to Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison, it’s because of politics.
- The deal has faced opposition from 12 state attorneys general, the WGA and over 5,000 signatories of an open “Block the Merger” letter, on the grounds that it would further consolidate the media landscape and significantly reduce competition within the entertainment industry.
- On Tuesday, Ellison published an op-ed in the New York Times arguing that this backlash “is not really about market share,” but about whether he “can be trusted as a steward of Warner’s CNN.”
- To Ellison’s point, many critics have also raised concerns about CNN’s ability to maintain its journalistic integrity under Paramount, which has been accused of interfering with both CBS News and “60 Minutes” in an effort to appeal to the Trump administration.
- The Takeaway: Given that the merger has already been approved by the Department of Justice, It’s possible that Ellison’s argument reflects a deeper concern about the merger’s success.
- Bonus: Federal judge Judge Araceli Martínez-Olguín officially set the trial date for Paramount’s antitrust trial – for March 2027. Which means that Paramount will be paying a lot of money in “ticking fees” until then, per its agreement with Warner.
Are online creators the next wave of premium TV? Hollywood studios and streaming services are pining for rights over influencer-led content.
- Well-known content creators and YouTubers are trying to better monetize their social followings by standing up their own media companies and side businesses. MrBeast’s diversified conglomerate Beast Industries and comedic duo Rhett & Link’s production company Mythical Entertainment are just two top examples.
- But media companies want a slice of that creator content revenue, too – especially ad revenue. Brands are expected to spend $21 billion this year on creator partnerships and brand deals in the US, according to eMarketer. That’s nearly double the projected spend in 2022.
- Hollywood studios are spending millions on creator IP, but some are hitting legal battles over murky claims of copyright and content ownership that stem from collaborative, community-driven concepts like the Backrooms. .
- Meanwhile, creators themselves are learning the slightly-less-dazzling operations and ad tech jargon necessary to fund a media business sustainably.
- The Takeaway: User-generated and creator-led content is crossing over into premium TV territory as platforms and studios chase the dollars that are funding influencers. But it may take some more time before creator content reaches full financial parity with the traditional entertainment industry as we know it.
How do you fix a leak? Following in the grand tradition of leaders like Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, new “60 Minutes” executive producer Nick Bilton sent around a weekend memo to employees that included a stern message about press leaks.
- In the note – which was, of course, leaked to Oliver Darcy at Status – Bilton claims that “there has been roughly a rumor a day” coming out of the newsroom since he started, and that “95 percent of them are fabrications and blatantly incorrect.”
- The Takeaway: The very existence of the note speaks to continued dysfunction behind the scenes at the news program. As Darcy notes, employees don’t share information with reporters when they have confidence in their own leadership.
|
|
|
| Partner content |
|
|
Know a Woman Who’s Leading Media Forward? Nominate Her.
The 2026 Cynopsis Top Women in Media Awards honor the most influential women in media, entertainment and advertising. From broadcast networks and streaming platforms to sports, esports and content technology — this program recognizes the full spectrum of female leadership. Nominations close August 7.
Submit Today
|
|
|
New & Returning Series
|
|
For sneak peeks, check out Cynopsis Trailer Park.
“The Girls: A Khloé Kardashian Project” is coming to Hulu and Disney+. All six episodes will premiere on August 21.
The final season of “Colin From Accounts” premieres on Paramount+ on Sept. 10, starring real-life couple Patrick Brammall (“The Devil Wears Prada 2”) and Harriet Dyer (“The Invisible Man”).
Keep circulating the URL! “Mystery Science Theater 3000: The RiffTrax Experiments” will debut on Oct. 9 on RiffTrax.com. This marks the seventh home for the comedy series, which was previously aired on KTMA-TV in Minnesota, The Comedy Channel, Comedy Central, Sci-Fi Channel, Netflix and finally, Gizmoplex.
“Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story” set a release date of Sept. 17 on Netflix. This is the fourth season in Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s controversial true crime anthology; previous installments featured real-life killers Jeffrey Dahmer, Lyle and Erik Menendez and Ed Gein.
TODAY’S PREMIERES
Apple TV: “Ted Lasso” Season 4 at 9 p.m.
Discovery: “How To Catch A Dirtbag” at 10 p.m.
Disney+: “Star Wars: Vision Presents – The Ninth Jedi”
FX: “The Shards” at 9 p.m.
Netflix: “Let’s Marry Harry,” “One Hundred Years Of Solitude”
Paramount+: “The Challenge” Season 42
Prime Video: “Sterling Point”
|
|
|
| Partner content |
|
|
Production
|
|
Celebrities can sing, too? NBC is starting production on “The Voice: Celebrity,” a special version of its long-running, Emmy-nominated reality competition series. 2027. Keke Palmer is set to host, and Joe Jonas, Queen Latifah and Riley Green will judge the participants when the series launches in 2027.
A new docuseries Unveiling History is in production, exploring Tuskegee University’s launch of its first NCAA men’s and women’s soccer programs. The series is executive produced by film writer Brian Egeston and produced in association with Horne Brothers Films and Emmy-winning journalist Ryan Horne.
“The Artful Dodger” has been renewed for a third and final season. The series, which stars Thomas Brodie-Sangster as the titular character originally from Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist,” is the most-viewed Australian original series on Disney+ – which is pretty impressive, considering that the streamer also holds the international rights to “Bluey.” (Although, to be fair, the children’s animated juggernaut is a joint production between the BBC and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, so maybe that doesn’t count.)
Paramount+ greenlit a new thriller series called “Ascent,” starring award-winning actress Viola Davis. The show’s creator, John Logan, will serve as executive producer alongside Michael Aguilar, in addition to Davis and Julius Tennon for JuVee Productions. The series is slated to enter production in 2027.
|
|
|
Tech News You Can Use
|
|
Walmart’s acquisition of Vibe.co officially closed, almost a month after the retailer announced its intention to buy the CTV advertising start-up in late June. The move will likely allow advertisers to more easily connect their streaming TV ad campaigns to shopper data provided by the retailer.
|
|
|
Coming Up
|
|
The 79th annual Writers Guild Awards will take place in both New York City and Los Angeles on February 13, the WGA announced on Tuesday. Neither ceremony will be televised, but the highlights (more specifically, the award speeches) are typically posted to the YouTube accounts for either the WGAEast or WGAWest chapters.
Missed out on Fanatics Fest in July this year? Well, good news: ESPN and Fanatics Studios are releasing an hour-long behind-the-scenes special about the event on August 4. Called “Fanatics Fest: All Access,” the special will be hosted by Jordyn Woods and Knicks superstar Karl-Anthony Towns, and feature in-depth reporting from on the ground at the Javits Center in New York City.
|
|
|
Sport Report
|
|
Fox Sports announced their broadcast lineup for the 2026 NFL season, which begins on Sunday, Sept. 13 with Fox’s first “Game Of The Week” between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Commanders. Most are returning from previous years, with the exception of Super Bowl XLIV-winning quarterback Drew Brees, who will join play-by-play announcer Adam Amin to cover the Chicago Bears’ Week 1 game against the Carolina Panthers.
Meanwhile, the New York Giants are expanding their partnership with NBC and Telemundo in local NYC television markets, bringing three new preseason games to tri-state viewers – Aug. 15 against the Minnesota Vikings, Aug. 22 against the Miami Dolphins, and Aug. 28 against the New York Jets.
|
|
|
Executive Moves
|
|
Canela Media appoints media executive Matt Montemayor as Executive Vice President. Montemayor will lead advertising strategy for Zully, which is Canela Media’s ad-supported microdrama app launching in the fall.
|
|
|
|
|
Which Scottish comedian is behind the witty voiceover narration in both the US and the UK versions of the hit “Love Island” franchise?
(Email answers to trivia@Cynopsis.com and include your name, company and city. Answers limited to four per time zone.)
|
|
|
|
Yesterday’s Trivia Answer
|
|
In which episode of “Game of Thrones” (2011-2019) does Joffrey Baratheon spoil a major plot point yet to come in the prequel series “House of the Dragon” (2022-)? Season 3, Episode 4: “And Now His Watch Has Ended.”
Congrats to: Tom Moore-Kalt Productions/LA; Susan Nessanbaum-Goldberg-M and S Entertainment/LA
|
|
|
|
|
|
