Top News:
K.J. Yossman / Variety:
The UK plans to update the Media Act 2024 to bring streaming platforms with 500K+ users under “enhanced” Ofcom regulation, giving it power to investigate them — Streaming platforms in the U.K. are set to come under “enhanced regulation” from media regulator Ofcom …
Discussion:
Advanced Television, Human Events, EasternEye, The Wrap, The Guardian, Engadget, What's On Disney Plus, TVBEurope, Reuters, Mirror, @alexarmstrong, The Next Web, Prolific North, Agence France-Presse, The Standard, GB News, @prestonjbyrne, Screen, Broadband TV News, C21Media and The Hollywood Reporter, more at Techmeme »
Katie Campione / Deadline:
NBCU says the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics averaged 23.5M viewers on its platforms for US afternoon and primetime periods, up 96% from the 2022 Beijing Olympics — It appears NBCUniversal gets the gold for its presentation of the Milan Cortina Olympics, which were the most-watched Winter Games in more than a decade.
Zac Ntim / Deadline:
BAFTA tells members a “comprehensive review” is underway after a Tourette's campaigner involuntarily said a racial slur during the ceremony — BAFTA told its members this afternoon that it has started what it described as a comprehensive review of Sunday's Film Awards …
RELATED:
Jake Kanter / Deadline:
Source: Warner Bros. raised concerns about the involuntary racial slur during the BAFTA Film Awards and requested the incident be removed from the BBC broadcast
Discussion:
Forbes, The Guardian, The Wrap, Entertainment Weekly, BBC, @pwilson720.bsky.social, Daily Mail, Variety, Screen, Cele|bitchy, @infinitesnow.bsky.social, E! Online, Dexerto, Mediaite, Al Jazeera and Mirror
Alex Ritman / Variety:
BAFTA says it takes “full responsibility” for putting its “guests in a very difficult situation”, after a Tourette's campaigner made several offensive comments
BAFTA says it takes “full responsibility” for putting its “guests in a very difficult situation”, after a Tourette's campaigner made several offensive comments
Discussion:
The Wrap, The Daily Sceptic, The Guardian, Baller Alert, TheJournal.ie, Daily Star, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline, Cele|bitchy, Metro.co.uk, HuffPost, Chicago Tribune, Gold Derby, Mediaweek, Sandra Rose, Page Six, The Sun, Screen, Reality Tea, Reuters, Hollywood Life, Daily Mail, Mirror, WTOP News, Mediaite, Associated Press and FemaleFirst
Aidan Ryan / The Boston Globe:
The Boston Globe didn't print a paper for February 24 delivery due to the blizzard, the first time executives canceled a print edition in its 153-year history — For more than 153 years, the press workers of The Boston Globe have overcome the elements, technical snafus, and global pandemics to print a daily newspaper.
The Hollywood Reporter:
WBD confirms that it received a revised bid from Paramount to acquire the company, but says it still recommends that shareholders vote for Netflix's deal — The global streaming giant revised its takeover offer after a recent amended bid by Paramount. … The details of Paramount's revised bid were not immediately known.
Discussion:
The Streamable, Financial Times, Breitbart, Forbes, Dow Jones Newswires, Paramount Skydance Corporation, Proactive, CBS News, CNBC, Axios, New York Times, Business Insider, Deadline, Blockonomi, @sherman4949, Warner Bros. Discovery, Inc., The Wrap, Wall Street Journal, @brianstelter, International Business Times, Bloomberg, @brianstelter, Reuters, Sharecast, Business Today, Advanced Television, Reuters, Media Play News, Benzinga, Telegraph, Cord Cutters News, Screen, Stocktwits, Bloomberg, Los Angeles Business Journal, BBC, Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, r/MediaMergers and r/MediaMergers
Brian Steinberg / Variety:
TelevisaUnivision reports Q4 revenue down 2% YoY to $1.32B, US revenue down 7% YoY to $777M, and a net loss of $234.7M, down from an $809.7M loss in Q4 2024 — Spanish-language media giant TelevisaUnivsion said it narrowed its losses in the fourth quarter as it generated profits …
Discussion:
TVNewsCheck, TelevisaUnivision, Inside Radio, TelevisaUnivision, The Hollywood Reporter and Telecompaper
Ivan Mehta / TechCrunch:
Mogul, founded by ex-SoundCloud execs to help artists track royalties, raised $5M and says it has helped track $1.5B in lost royalties since 2025 — Music rights and royalties are a complex world. There are multiple types of royalties, and artists need to make sure that their data …
Discussion:
Music Business Worldwide
Sarah Perez / TechCrunch:
YouTube updates its $7.99 per month Premium Lite subscription to let users download videos for offline access and play videos in the background — YouTube is expanding its more affordable, $7.99 per month Premium Lite subscription service with new features, including the ability to download videos …
Discussion:
How-To Geek, Android Authority, Thurrott, Cord Cutters News, CNET, The Verge, 9to5Google, Engadget and YouTube Official Blog
Lee Yoon-seo / The Korea Herald:
South Korea's three major terrestrial broadcasters, KBS, MBC, and SBS, sue OpenAI, alleging it used their news content to train AI models without authorization — Korean broadcasters claim that while OpenAI has entered into paid licensing agreements with global media companies, it refuses negotiations with them
Discussion:
알파경 …, Tech in Asia and Korea Joongang Daily
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Google says AI music generation platform ProducerAI is joining Labs and will be powered by a Lyria 3 preview version; ProducerAI was developed alongside artists — ProducerAI will use Google's Lyria 3 AI model to help users generate sounds, workshop lyrics, remix songs, and more.
Discussion:
TechCrunch, Music Business Worldwide, iPhone in Canada, Gizmodo, Tom's Guide, Chrome Unboxed and The Keyword, more at Techmeme »
K.J. Yossman / Variety:
Disney and ITV extend their strategic content-sharing partnership, with two Hulu Original series set to air on ITV1 in prime-time slots as well as on ITVX — Disney and U.K. media conglomerate ITV have extended their strategic content-sharing partnership with two new titles.
Alice Brooker / Press Gazette:
B2B media brand DatacenterDynamics says revenue rose 175% to £11M+ per year since 2020 amid the AI boom, and it hit 22.5M views in 2025, up from 2024's 17.3M — B2B media brand Data Center Dynamics has seen its turnover increase by 175% to more than £11m a year since 2020 helped by the AI boom.
Max Tani / Semafor:
Politico plans to launch in Australia later this year, starting with a Canberra Playbook, led by Ryan Heath, who launched the Brussels Playbook — The Scoop — Politico is headed for the southern hemisphere. — The Virginia-based media organization known for its political horserace coverage …
Discussion:
The Wrap
Lily Mae Lazarus / Fortune:
Profound, which tracks how AI models recommend brands across millions of prompts, raised a $96M Series C at a $1B valuation, bringing its total funding to $155M — Profound, an 18-month-old startup betting that the future of marketing will be shaped not by Google links but by AI answers, is now a unicorn.
