Welcome to The Brief, The Media Leader’s round-up of media news.
15 May 2026 | The Media Leader Staff
The experiential agency that brings the gathering to life and a media leader who attended for the first time make the case for why this Cornish event has earned its place on the industry calendar.
15 May 2026 | Zehra Chatoo
The BBC continues to lead the breakfast time slot, despite Radio 2 seeing marginal declines of 0.6% year-on-year and 0.8% from Q4 2025.
National radio brands across the board saw declines in weekly reach, but green shoots of growth could be found in Bauer’s KISS and Global’s LBC.
WPP’s David Wilding explores whether, if Bowie had come of age in the mid-2020s rather than the mid-1960s, we would have lost his genius to his feed and the algorithm.
In episode five of the mini-series, Omar Oakes and Hamish Nicklin debate for and against the prompt: “AI sycophancy will run wild, and it will be bad for business.”
Netflix expands ad inventory into video podcasts and vertical video. EMEA ads VP Damien Bernet sits down with The Media Leader to discuss the streaming giant’s plans.
A majority of the UK’s largest national radio brands registered year-on-year contractions, including Global’s Heart, Capital and Smooth, as well as Bauer’s Hits Radio portfolio (-8.3% to 12.1m) and Greatest Hits Network (9.7% to 6.8m).
Total digital listening now comprises more than three-quarters (76%) of overall radio listening, according to the latest Rajar figures.
The measurement company expects the upgraded methodology to underpin currency measurement for the 2026/2027 TV season.
Starting January 2028, Fifty5Blue will be the audience measurement services provider for the Irish television and video market.