Hot List: Lots Of Links For Holiday Weekend Reading
“On night one of The Colbert Report back in the day, I said, ‘Anyone can read the news to you, I promise to feel the news at you.’ And I realized pretty soon in this job that our job over here was different. We were here to feel the news with you. And I don't know about you, but I sure have felt it.” — Stephen Colbert
Back when CBS canned Colbert, I penned a piece about Losing the Colbert Rapport - that is, the daily habits and emotional connection of millions. In an entertainment landscape now scrounging for seconds of attention, CBS had themselves a geyser that gave instant and persistent cultural relevance from TV to social, and a place to market shows, films, actors, musicians and larger corporate initiatives.
Regardless of your politics or emotional proclivities around the situation, the decision to sever their late night institution instead of right size it’s best promotional engine still feels like a blunder from an enterprise value stand point.
But who knows, something tells me maybe with its ownership and influence in TikTok and massive consolidation plans, the Oracle boys are playing a game of multi-platform media chess while I’m calling foul in a game of yesterday’s chess.
Maybe without first pleasing the temporary king, you can’t get all the other pieces on the board.
Alas, this week’s Hot List has a ton of links. Originals that go into many quick and compelling rabbit holes that you can’t help but emerge from having learned something useful. At least, that’s why we are still chugging along over here!
Have a great (short) week!
CTV crosses a historic threshold at the Upfronts [EMARKETER]
TL;DR: Connected TV is expected to surpass linear TV in prime-time upfront ad spend for the first time this year, marking a key tipping point as streaming inventory expands and pricing trends flat to slightly down due to rising ad supply.
LiveRamp's Acquisition: Three Hot Takes That Matter To Retail Media [Retail Media Breakfast Club]
TL;DR: Publicis acquired LiveRamp for $2.2B, bringing one of the ad industry’s key identity infrastructure players under holdco ownership and intensifying consolidation across data collaboration platforms.
Why Amazon and YouTube pitched operating systems, not just TV inventory at this year’s upfront [Digiday]
TL;DR: Amazon and YouTube used this year’s upfronts to position themselves less as traditional media sellers and more as full-stack advertising operating systems.
Roku Doubling Down on Creators With Dedicated Destination and New FAST Channels [The Hollywood Reporter]
TL;DR: Roku launched a new “Creators” hub designed to bring influencer and creator-led programming directly into the TV ecosystem through dedicated FAST channels and centralized discovery.
Digital-First Streamers Up Ad Spend, Prime Video At $52M [MediaPost]
TL;DR: Amazon Prime Video is significantly increasing its national TV advertising spend in 2026, investing an estimated $52.5 million through mid-May — largely to promote NBA coverage and other live sports — underscoring how digital-first streamers are increasingly relying on traditional TV advertising to drive subscriber growth and compete with legacy media companies.
Senate Democrats Implore FCC Chair to Conduct ‘Rigorous’ Review of Paramount-Warner Bros. Merger Foreign Investment: Deal ‘Raises National Security Alarms’ [Variety]
TL;DR: U.S. senators are urging the FCC to closely review foreign investment tied to the proposed Paramount–Warner Bros.
How AI innovations in TV are meeting brand needs—and how they’re coming up short [Ad Age]
TL;DR: AI and “agentic” advertising dominated this year’s upfront conversations, with companies like NBCUniversal, Amazon, Fox, Netflix, Disney, and YouTube pitching tools that automate planning, optimization, and media buying decisions.
Instagram eyes long-form content on CTV [Marketing Dive]
TL;DR: Instagram is reportedly exploring longer-form content as it looks to expand onto connected TV and compete more directly with platforms like YouTube.
ICYMI
What Agentic TV Buying Really Means, According to Disney, YouTube, Netflix, and More [Adweek]
Panasonic acquires Hive [Advanced Television]
Sports streaming grows 77.5% across major SVOD platforms [EMARKETER]
We Went To Eight Upfronts This Week. Here’s What We Learned [AdExchanger]
Brands rush to partner with the WNBA as its popularity soars [EMARKETER]
Netflix Will Soon Start Livestreaming Its First Live Daily Show [Variety]
Rising NFL Media Costs: Where Do Consumers Fit In? [MediaPost]
NFL Pushes Back on Criticism Over TV and Streaming Deals [Front Office Sports]
Nashville gets Super Bowl LXIV, to be played in 2030 [NBC Sports]
Hanlon’s Local Links
Public-Interest Groups Urge D.C. Circuit To Halt Nexstar/Tegna Merger - George Winslow [TVTech]
DirecTV Asks FCC to Block Scripps’ INYO Acquisition - George Winslow [TVTech]
What Could Save The Industry? Fin-Syn - Richard Rushfield [The Ankler]
It's Last Call For The Tiffany Network - Kirk Varner [TVND]
How Weather Became One Of The Most Important Parts Of Local News - Jan Wesner Childs [Poynter]
More Than 340 Local News Outlets Are Limiting The Internet Archive’s Access To Their Journalism - Andrew Deck & Hanaa' Tameez [NiemanLab]
Scripps Sports Adds First NBA Local Rights With Deal For Pistons Games - Austin Karp [Sports Business Journal]
Phoenix Suns, Mercury Extend Local Broadcast Deal With Gray Media - Drew Lerner [Awful Announcing]
