3 – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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Established streaming industry leaders like Netflix and Amazon are facing more competition than ever. Now legacy entertainment giants are in the game with their own subscription services, like Peacock, HBO Max, Paramount Plus, and the Disney Plus / Hulu / ESPN Plus bundle, while Apple TV Plus attacks around the edges. Meanwhile, the rise of ad-supported free platforms like Roku Channel and Pluto TV has attracted enough attention that Plex, YouTube, and Amazon’s Freevee are trying to get a chunk of the action too.

What it was like to watch grieving parents stare down Mark Zuckerberg in court

Parent advocates were determined to make their presence known to Meta’s CEO.

Lauren Feiner
Bespoke AI models are the next big thing in filmmaking

Ben Affleck’s AI startup, recently purchased by Netflix for around $600 million, has a different approach to gen AI.

Charles Pulliam-Moore
David Pierce
David Pierce
This is immediately my new favorite way to watch YouTube.

It’s called Channel Surfer, and it presents YouTube as an old-school grid of TV channels, which you can flip though to see what’s on. All the simplicity of watching cable in a hotel room; all the videos you actually want to watch. It’s fun on its own, but it feels like magic as soon as you import your own subscriptions to create personalized channels.

David Pierce
David Pierce
“You’re sitting at home and just taking pictures of yourself, pulling various faces.”

One of my favorite things to do on social media is to just imagine the people setting up the camera right before the video starts — because as soon as you remember they set up a camera, the whole viewing experience changes. This fun Ringer story about the rise of YouTube Face (trust me, you know the face) pulls back a lot of that artifice and dives into some of the strange workings of the internet’s biggest video platform.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Overcooked, now with a Demogorgon.

The stressful-yet-delightful party game is now available as one of Netflix’s streaming TV games that you control with your phone. This version lets you play as 10 “Netflix celebrity chefs,” including the famous Stranger Things monster.

Netflix is also working on an Overcooked reality show.

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Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
The Handmaid’s Tale, but make it YA.

Hulu has dropped a trailer for its upcoming Handmaid’s Tale spinoff, The Testaments, and when the series premieres on April 8th, it looks like it will be a harrowing reminder of much violence the girls of Gilead were forced to endure.

Charles Pulliam-Moore
Charles Pulliam-Moore
HBO’s Green Lantern series looks too grounded for its own good.

The entire point of HBO’s upcoming Lanterns series is to introduce new incarnations John Stewart and Hal Jordan — two superpowered space cops — to DC Studios’ cinematic universe. But Lanterns first teaser trailer makes it seem like the show might feel much more like True Detective when it premieres in August.

Thomas Ricker
Thomas Ricker
The Paramount x Warner Bros. deal ain’t done yet.

While Trump’s federal regulators are seemingly in the bag for Larry Ellison’s big dumb gift to his large adult son, The New York Times notes that state attorneys general can sue to block mergers in the US, and EU regulators will have a say since properties like HBO Max and CNN are offered globally.

Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos says he’s not pivoting to another studio after losing out on Warner Bros.

In an interview with Bloomberg, he explained why he backed out of the deal and said Netflix pursued Warner because it was a unique opportunity. “We definitely wanted this asset. We didn’t need it,” he said, praising its “incredible IP” and long history. But he was clear the plan was to just move on:

Is there a world in which you guys go after another studio in the next 6 to 12 months?

Unlikely. We are builders, not buyers. All that is still true.

So how are you going to use that $2.8 billion?

Just keep investing in the business.

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Warner Bros. says Paramount’s latest offer is superior to its current deal with Netflix.

A four-day clock for Netflix to respond just started, but here are the details of the offer that include a starting price of $31 per share and other assurances, like:

“…a $7 billion regulatory termination fee payable by PSKY in the event the transaction does not close due to regulatory matters, payment by PSKY of the $2.8 billion termination fee that WBD would be required to pay to Netflix to terminate the existing Netflix merger agreement, an obligation of Larry J. Ellison and an associated trust to contribute additional equity funding”

Terrence O'Brien
Terrence O'Brien
Qobuz is automatically detecting and labeling AI music now, too.

Deezer started labeling AI content last year. Now Qobuz is doing the same. It’s also enacting an AI charter promising “The heart of Qobuz is and will remain human,” saying curation and editorial won’t be AI-driven. It stopped short of banning AI content, which some customers have been asking for.

Andrew Webster
Andrew Webster
Take me down to the Star City.

With season 5 of For All Mankind streaming next month, Apple’s showing off a first look at its upcoming spinoff. Star City is shown from the Soviet Union’s perspective as it becomes the first country on the moon, offering an alternate view of this alternate history. It starts streaming on May 29th.

A still photo from the Apple TV series Star City.
A still photo from the Apple TV series Star City.
A still photo from the Apple TV series Star City.
A still photo from the Apple TV series Star City.
A still photo from the Apple TV series Star City.
A still photo from the Apple TV series Star City.
A still photo from the Apple TV series Star City.
A still photo from the Apple TV series Star City.
1/8Image: Apple
Jess Weatherbed
Jess Weatherbed
YouTube’s algorithm loves feeding AI slop to kids.

After watching popular children’s channels like CoComelon, Bluey, or Ms. Rachel, The New York Times found that more than 40 percent of Shorts recommended by the platform “appeared to contain AI-generated visuals.” YouTube doesn’t require animated AI videos for children to be labeled, placing all moderation burdens on parents instead.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
Paramount Plus closed out 2025 with 79 million subscribers.

The entertainment giant remains tight-lipped on its negotiations with Warner Bros. Discovery, but said its streaming business earned $2.2 billion in revenue over the past few months, marking a 10 percent year-over-year increase.

CFO Dennis Cinelli said during an earnings call that the company will “realize” the impact of the recent Paramount Plus price hike this quarter.

Lauren Feiner
Lauren Feiner
Paramount CEO David Ellison is Sen. Lindsey Graham’s guest at the State of the Union.

The South Carolina Republican said he’s bringing along Ellison, son of Trump ally and billionaire Larry Ellison, as his guest to the address. Paramount is in the midst of its persistent attempt to buy Warner Bros. Discovery over Netflix — a deal Trump said he’d be involved in before backtracking.

Sen. Lindsey Graham X Post

[X (formerly Twitter)]

Richard Lawler
Richard Lawler
Warner Bros. says Paramount Skydance’s new bid might become better than Netflix’s.

Warner Bros. Discovery is telling shareholders it’s “continuing to engage” with Paramount after receiving its latest offer yesterday.

The new bid offers $31 per share, “a daily ticking fee equal to $0.25 per quarter beginning after September 30, 2026,” plus $7 billion from Paramount if regulators block the deal, and $2.8 billion to pay Netflix’s termination fee, among other details. If the board likes this bid better, it says Netflix will have four days to respond.

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Meredith Haggerty
We’re doing Pride and Prejudice again.

Jane Austen’s signature work is being adapted for Netflix. Think Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016), but no zombies, so think the 2005 film starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen, but a series, so think the 1995 miniseries starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth.

It’s scheduled for release sometime later this year; Emma Corrin and Jack Lowden star.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
For All Mankind’s fifth season debuts in March.

The 10-episode season kicks off on March 27th on Apple TV. Based on a trailer, it looks like things will get tense between Earth and Mars.

Emma Roth
Emma Roth
How Roku bounced back from a post-pandemic slump.

Roku CFO Dan Jedda tells The Wall Street Journal that the company’s new ad deals, coupled with cost-cutting in areas like its smart home products, helped boost its annual profit in 2025 to $88.4 million. The company reported losses three years in a row following the pandemic.

Jay Peters
Jay Peters
Netflix will livestream a rematch between Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.

Netflix’s latest livestreamed boxing match will take place on September 19th at the Las Vegas Sphere.

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