The World Cup’s success flowed through to Fox One and Peacock, both of which enjoyed subscriber gains. And YouTube ad revenue surged past $11 billion in Q2, with AI gains kicking in.
World Cup led TV ratings during the tournament (1:00)
The World Cup final attracted 50 million viewers and 21 million households. All of the games were carried by Fox One, which benefited from 2.8 million sign-ups during the competition. It also helped Peacock pick up 2 million new subscribers during the period. SSAI technology company Yospace also had a great World Cup. The company announced it inserted 11.6 billion one-to-one addressable ads into the live games.
Peacock has its first profitable quarter in Q2 (7:00)
Comcast says that Peacock had its first profitable quarter in Q2 2026, with total revenue edging expenses by just 0.1%. At the same time, Comcast continues to lose broadband and cable TV subscribers at a prodigious rate.
YouTube shows strong gains again in Q2 2026 (9:50)
YouTube increased ad revenue by 12% in Q2 over the same quarter last year. The World Cup was a key driver of growth, attracting 1.7 billion global viewers. YouTube’s Gemini-powered Ask YouTube feature was also off to a fast start, with 140 million users in June of 2026. New data from Media Dynamics shows that TV consumption of creator content now accounts for a quarter of viewing time.
Paramount-WBD deal go or no go? (21:00)
Twelve states are suing to stop the Paramount Global–Warner Bros. Discovery deal, and a judge has halted it for 14 days to review it. Meanwhile, European regulators have approved the deal, with a small caveat. If the deal does go ahead, how will the joint company compete with over $80 billion in debt to service?
