Akamai has raised $2.6 billion through convertible bonds to finance its planned expansion into cloud and edge infrastructure. The significant fundraise is aimed at supporting the company's strategic growth initiatives.
Deals, funding, and leadership moves shape the streaming industry months before the strategy shift becomes public. This category tracks M&A, valuations, subscriber trends, content spend decisions, and the executive changes worth watching.
Akamai has raised $2.6 billion through convertible bonds to finance its planned expansion into cloud and edge infrastructure. The significant fundraise is aimed at supporting the company's strategic growth initiatives.
The Trade Desk CEO Jeff Green received $27.4 million in compensation in 2025, positioning him as the highest-paid CEO in the adtech sector for that year. This figure significantly exceeded the compensation of most of his peers in the industry.
Publicis's acquisition of LiveRamp for $2.2 billion is facing industry skepticism regarding LiveRamp's promised neutrality. The deal gives an agency holding company control over identity infrastructure critical to rival advertisers.
Mythic has acquired Videantis, a European developer of digital processor IP, to enhance its AI compute platform's energy efficiency. This acquisition aims to create a more power-efficient AI acceleration technology by integrating Videantis's video and vision processing capabilities.
SAG-AFTRA has reached a tentative agreement for a successor to the 2023 TV/Theatrical/Streaming contract after negotiations concluded over the weekend. The National Board is scheduled to review the agreement at a special meeting on May 11, after which details will be released and members will vote on its ratification.
Panasonic Projector & Display Corporation has acquired 100 percent of UK-based media technology company Hive Media Control. This acquisition aims to strengthen Panasonic's capabilities.
Netflix and AEG Presents have announced plans to develop a global concert tour for "K-Pop Demon Hunters," a reference to a Netflix production. The announcement was made on May 15.
Meta is initiating layoffs this week, with an anticipated reduction of 8,000 jobs, as the company emphasizes a strategic shift towards AI. These job cuts are expected to impact various departments within the organization.
BBC Studios has promoted Jon Farrar, previously an executive at BritBox, to the position of Chief Content Officer for its direct-to-consumer division. This internal move places Farrar in charge of content strategy for BBCS's D2C operations.
Canal+ CEO Maxime Saada stated that the company will cease working with individuals who signed an open letter published in Le Monde protesting Vincent Bolloré's increasing control over French media. The petition, signed by over 2,000 public figures, expressed concerns about Bolloré's influence on editorial independence at major media outlets.
Disney reported significant Q2 earnings, with 7% revenue growth, a 289% year-over-year increase in streaming operating income, and a 61% rise in entertainment segment income, indicating its direct-to-consumer business is becoming profitable. This financial performance signals a shift in the streaming industry from subscriber acquisition to profitability, pricing power, IP leverage, and ad monetization, with bundling and ad-supported tiers becoming more prominent.
Publicis Groupe has agreed to acquire LiveRamp for approximately $2.5 billion in an all-cash transaction. This acquisition aims to enhance Publicis' position in AI-driven advertising by integrating LiveRamp's data capabilities.
Netflix reported strong Q1 2026 subscriber and revenue growth, along with a new share buyback. Despite the positive earnings, the company's stock has experienced volatility following the announcement.
Akamai Technologies has announced its intent to acquire LayerX, a provider of browser-based AI usage control and secure enterprise browser technology, for approximately US$205 million. This acquisition aims to integrate LayerX's solutions into Akamai's Zero Trust security portfolio, enabling control over employee interactions with AI tools and applications within any browser. The transaction is expected to close in Q3 2026, with LayerX employees, including co-founders Or Eshed and David Vaisbrud, joining Akamai's Zero Trust organization.
Gray Media Inc. (GTN) announced the completion of a cash-free asset exchange with E.W. Scripps Company on May 15, 2026. This finalizes a previously announced agreement involving the swap of broadcasting stations between the two companies.
Vislink Technologies reported its first-quarter 2026 financial results, achieving EBITDA profitability of $0.2 million compared to a $2.2 million loss in the prior year period. Revenue increased 17% year-over-year to $5.4 million, primarily driven by a 159% surge in military/government sector revenue, which now contributes the majority of its sales. The company also highlighted its ongoing AI initiative targeting cost savings and accelerated time-to-market.
Cristiano Ronaldo has acquired a stake in LiveModeTV, a Portuguese free sports streaming platform launched in December 2025 by Brazilian firm LiveMode. The platform plans to broadcast 34 matches from the 2026 World Cup live and free, including all of Portugal's games, and aims to broaden the reach of sports competitions through YouTube and social media.
Smartly.io has signed a letter of intent to acquire INCRMNTAL, an AI-powered platform for incrementality measurement of marketing investments across various channels, including CTV. The acquisition aims to integrate INCRMNTAL's real-time insights into Smartly's platform, allowing marketers to optimize media, creative, and campaigns by connecting business outcomes with ad performance.
AST SpaceMobile provided its Q1 2026 financial results, reporting $14.7 million in revenue and projecting full-year 2026 revenue of $150-200 million. The company announced the next orbital launch of BlueBird 8, 9, and 10 in mid-June, targeting approximately 45 satellites in orbit during 2026, and achieved 98.9 Mbps peak data speeds via its in-orbit Block 1 BlueBird satellite. The FCC also authorized commercial SpaceMobile Service in the United States for direct-to-device broadband connectivity.
Disney reported Q2 fiscal 2026 earnings, with revenues increasing 7% to $25.2 billion and total segment operating income up 4% to $4.6 billion. The Entertainment SVOD segment achieved its first double-digit operating margin of 10.6% and saw revenue growth accelerate to 13%, driven by higher subscription and advertising fees, partially due to the Fubo transaction.
This article is a news roundup covering multiple topics in the global TV, film, and media industry. Key highlights include the Cannes market's shift towards renewed indie film confidence and new buyers, the launch of Storyverse at Cannes with an AI-powered five-day production model, HBO Max's restructuring of its Spanish originals strategy, Byron Allen's majority stake in BuzzFeed with plans for free-streaming expansion, and EU lawmakers debating audiovisual rules for the creator economy.
Apple has acquired Color.io, a web-based color grading tool developed by Jonathan Ochmann. This acquisition suggests potential enhancements to color science capabilities within Final Cut Pro and Apple's Creator Studio bundle.
ITV has confirmed it is in ongoing "active discussions" with Comcast regarding a potential £1.6 billion sale of its Media and Entertainment division, which includes its linear TV channels and streaming service ITVX. This update followed an earlier announcement in November 2025, with ITV noting the removal of a line indicating uncertainty about the transaction.
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) reported Q1 2026 financial results with total revenues of $8.9 billion, a 3% ex-FX decrease year-over-year, and a net loss of $2.9 billion, including a $2.8 billion fee to Netflix. Distribution revenues were relatively unchanged while advertising revenues decreased 8% ex-FX, partly due to the absence of NBA content and linear audience declines, offset by ad-lite streaming subscriber growth.
Viant Technology reported its Q1 2026 financial results, with overall revenue increasing 25% year-over-year to $88.5 million and Adjusted EBITDA growing 81% to $9.75 million. The company announced the acquisition of TVision Insights, which measures attention across linear TV and CTV, and highlighted that CTV advertiser spend now accounts for over 50% of total ad spend on its platform.
The Trade Desk reported its Q1 2026 financial results, with revenue growing 12% year-over-year to $689 million, and projected Q2 2026 revenue of at least $750 million. The company highlighted strategic advancements including Koa Agents for AI media planning, OpenTTD for integrated analytics, and new partnerships for CTV advertising with LinkedIn and programmatic buying with Paramount through UID2 support.
Genius Sports acquired Legend, a move anticipated to enhance media revenue through expanded digital media and audience monetization capabilities. This acquisition is expected to leverage Genius Sports' expertise in sports data and technology with Legend's digital media focus for improved monetization strategies.
China has approved Tencent's acquisition of Ximalaya, a major audio platform, but imposed strict regulatory restrictions. These limits include controls over pricing, exclusivity agreements, and the extent of platform control that Tencent can exert.
All Elite Wrestling (AEW) has filed a multi-million dollar lawsuit against streaming platform TrillerTV and its parent company, Triller Group Inc. The lawsuit alleges that TrillerTV owes AEW nearly $5 million.
NVIDIA Corporation reported record fiscal year 2026 revenue of $215.9 billion, marking a 65% year-over-year increase. This growth was primarily driven by a 68% increase in its Data Center segment.
Kuaishou, a Chinese technology company, is reportedly planning to spin off its AI video generation platform, Kling AI, with an anticipated valuation of $2 billion. This move comes as Kuaishou aims to capitalize on increasing demand for AI-powered video tools.
Netflix's Q1 2026 earnings report, despite exceeding financial expectations, led to a stock decline due to conservative forward guidance and recent leadership changes. Analysts are now perceiving Netflix as a mature business rather than a high-growth stock.
EchoStar reported a net loss of 366,000 pay-TV subscribers, including Sling TV, during the first quarter. This marks an acceleration of subscriber losses compared to the previous quarter.
Bounteous, an AI services firm, announced its acquisition of Cartesian, a consulting firm specializing in telecommunications, media, and technology, on May 12, 2026. This acquisition aims to strengthen Bounteous's AI capabilities, particularly in data foundations, and expand its presence across North America and Europe. The combined entity will have over 5,000 specialists serving enterprises globally.
Sony Music Publishing has officially agreed to acquire the full music rights portfolio of Recognition Music Group, a catalog from Blackstone consisting of over 45,000 songs. While financial terms were not disclosed, Bloomberg previously reported the deal could be valued between $3.5 billion and $4 billion. This acquisition is Sony's third and largest from the former Hipgnosis portfolio and involves a partnership with Sony Music Group's investment venture with GIC and Sony Bank Inc.
Bounteous, an AI services firm, has acquired Cartesian, a consulting firm specializing in telecommunications, media, and technology, to enhance its AI data foundation capabilities and expand its presence in North America and Europe. Cartesian's expertise in turning complex data into actionable decisions for enterprise AI will be integrated into Bounteous's offerings. The combined entity will have over 5,000 specialists.
Fox Corp. reported a decline in third-quarter profit, attributing the dip to the absence of a Super Bowl telecast compared to the prior year. The Super Bowl telecast in the previous period generated millions in additional revenue.
EchoStar Corporation announced its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2026, reporting a total revenue of $3.67 billion. The company disclosed these quarterly earnings on May 11, 2026, detailing its performance over the first quarter of the fiscal year.
Akamai announced a $1.8 billion, seven-year deal with an unnamed "leading frontier model provider" for cloud infrastructure services, while also reporting first-quarter revenues of over $1 billion. This deal contributed to a 20% jump in Akamai's stock following the earnings announcement. The company's cloud infrastructure services revenue grew 40% to $95 million, positioning itself as a provider for AI infrastructure.
The Walt Disney Company announced stronger-than-expected Q2 fiscal year 2026 results, with revenue up 7% to $25.2 billion and adjusted EPS at $1.57. The direct-to-consumer division, including Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN streaming operations, saw operating income increase 88% to $582 million, driven by subscriber growth exceeding expectations.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is renegotiating the league's media rights, seeking to increase the value of its current $110 billion contract following the NBA's $76 billion deal. The NFL is leveraging intense competition from traditional broadcasters and streamers (Amazon, Netflix, YouTube, CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN) for live sports content, which Goodell views as undervalued. Negotiations are expected to intensify, potentially leading to increased streaming packages and an expansion to an 18-game season for international growth.
Samsung Electronics has replaced the head of its TV business, appointing Lee Won Jin to lead the Visual Display Business Division. This unexpected leadership change, made outside of typical year-end announcements, signals Samsung's strategic pivot from hardware-centric TV manufacturing to focusing on software and services. The move aims to enhance competitiveness amid a downturn in the global TV industry and increasing competition from Chinese manufacturers.
Shares for cable operators Charter and Comcast experienced a major sell-off on what one analyst described as 'Bloody Friday.' According to the report, the magnitude of the stock price decline is now fueling speculation about potential merger and acquisition activity.
The CW said it has set streaming partnerships with ESPN and Roku as part of an upfront push. The deal expands The CW's programming footprint in exchange for access to entertainment and live sports.
Appear ASA reported first-quarter 2026 revenue of NOK 231.7 million, up 42.6% year over year, and reiterated full-year 2026 revenue guidance of approximately NOK 1.0 billion. The company said growth was led by the Americas and cited contracts with broadcasters, sports leagues, and Tier 1 football production customers.
Spanish company Freepik is rebranding as Magnific and undertaking a strategic pivot to focus on artificial intelligence, including video AI. According to the report, the company has reached $230 million in annual recurring revenue without VC funding. The transition is being led by cofounder and CEO Joaquín Cuenca Abela.
TelevisaUnivision reported increased revenue in its first financial quarter, driven by gains in its Mexico operations and its ViX streaming platform. However, operating income was trimmed due to higher operating expenses stemming from the company's broadcast of the Winter Olympics.
Charter Communications reported its first-quarter financial results, which included an increase in broadband subscriber losses. The company also reported growth in its mobile division and a slower rate of video customer losses compared to previous periods.
Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) stockholders have voted to approve a merger agreement with Paramount Skydance Corporation. According to the announcement, the transaction received overwhelming approval in a preliminary vote count. The deal is expected to close in Q3 2026, subject to regulatory clearances and other customary closing conditions.
During a Q1 2026 earnings call, Comcast executives signaled that the Peacock streaming service is expected to turn its first-ever profit in the second quarter. For Q1 2026, Peacock reported a loss of $432 million on $2.0 billion in revenue, reaching 46 million subscribers by the end of the quarter. The projected improvement is partly attributed to a lower concentration of NBA season costs in Q2 compared to Q1.