This week, streaming platforms explored new frontiers, and major deals signalled shifting power dynamics across the entertainment industry. On today’s MadTech Daily, we cover Tubi pioneering a ChatGPT-native app launch, Microsoft and Publicis deepening their partnership on agentic marketing, and Paramount debuting a publishing arm amid a president exit.

CNN International Commercial kicked things off by revealing plans to build an in-house agentic infrastructure, as it prepares to transition to a new media trading model by Q1 2027. The initiative, with the help of the IAB Tech Lab  signals a future where automated, AI-driven transactions play a larger role in media buying.

OpenAI, meanwhile, is making a leap into content ownership with its acquisition of TBPN (Technology Business Programming Network). The popular tech and business talk show will now sit under OpenAI’s communications arm, with the team reporting to Chris Lehane. 

Staying with content distribution, BBC Studios is taking streaming to the skies with the launch of BBC Player for airline passengers. Built in partnership with Panasonic Avionics, the platform is being billed as the first fully rights-cleared in-flight streaming service, tackling longstanding licensing hurdles in aviation entertainment.

For some in the music industry, consolidation could be on the horizon. Pershing Square, led by Bill Ackman, has tabled a €55bn takeover bid for Universal Music Group. The proposal includes shifting the company’s listing to New York, with Ackman arguing the label’s market value does not fully reflect its strong leadership and world-class artist roster.

Netflix also made moves on multiple fronts. The streamer launched Netflix Playground, a dedicated kids gaming app designed to offer a safe, ad-free environment for younger audiences, featuring titles based on popular franchises like Peppa Pig and Sesame Street.

However, the company also faced legal headwinds in Europe. An Italian court ruled that Netflix’s price increases between 2017 and 2024 were unlawful, citing violations of consumer protection laws. Netflix has said it will appeal.