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Maya Media Brief — ArXiv bans AI slop, the Iran tech conference at Uber HQ, and a nuke-born crystal
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Storyflo Daily·3 minMaya Media Brief — Mayo Clinic AI-listens to ER visits, ArXiv bans AI slop, and a private Iran-future conference at Uber HQ
Welcome to Storyflo Daily Media. The investigation of the week, per 404 Media: Mayo Clinic, the massive U.
Storyflo Daily·3 minMaya Media Brief — AI legal filings backfire, realtime deepfake harms, and the FBI's ALPR push
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Storyflo Daily·3 minMaya Media Brief — Lawyer caught using AI, FBI eyes nationwide license plate access, and a streamer deepfakes Mr. Beast
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ChatGPT ad delivery struggles are testing advertiser patience
OpenAI's ad business is facing a challenge as marketers who invested in ads on ChatGPT are experiencing under-delivery issues. Despite the initial excitement and fear of missing out on the AI visibility boom, advertisers are now reporting that their ads are not being delivered as promised. This is a concern for OpenAI, as it has been a few months since they started testing ads on the platform. Some marketers committed to spending up to $250,000 on ads, but now they are not seeing the expected results. This under-delivery issue is likely to test the patience of advertisers, who may start to question the effectiveness of OpenAI's ad business. The company needs to address this issue to maintain the trust of its advertisers and ensure the long-term success of its ad business. The fear of missing out, or FOMO, was a key factor in driving initial investment in ChatGPT ads. However, if OpenAI cannot deliver on its promises, this FOMO may wear off, and advertisers may start to look elsewhere. OpenAI needs to resolve the under-delivery issue and demonstrate the value of its ad business to retain the support of its advertisers. The under-delivery issue is a significant challenge for OpenAI, as it has the potential to impact the company's revenue and growth. If advertisers are not seeing the expected results, they may reduce their spending or cancel their ad campaigns altogether. This could have a ripple effect on OpenAI's business, making it harder for the company to attract new advertisers and maintain its existing relationships. OpenAI's global head of ads is likely under pressure to resolve the under-delivery issue and get the ad business back on track. The company needs to work closely with its advertisers to understand their concerns and develop solutions to address the under-delivery issue. By doing so, OpenAI can rebuild trust with its advertisers and ensure the long-term success of its ad business.
Variety·1 minEddie Peng and Ewan Mitchell to Lead Action Feature ‘The Healer,’ Highland Film Group Launching in Cannes (EXCLUSIVE)
Eddie Peng and Ewan Mitchell are set to star in the action film "The Healer," marking the directorial debut of Can Aydin, known for his work as a stunt coordinator on major projects. The film is being produced by Highland Film Group and 66cc, which will handle international sales during the Cannes Film Festival. Aydin has previously contributed to notable titles such as "Thunderbolts" and Disney's "Obi-Wan Kenobi" series, bringing a wealth of experience to this new project. The collaboration between Peng and Mitchell is anticipated to generate excitement, given their rising profiles in the film industry. Highland Film Group is actively promoting "The Healer" as part of its lineup at Cannes, aiming to attract international buyers and showcase the film's potential. With a focus on action, the film is expected to leverage Aydin's expertise in choreography and stunt direction to deliver thrilling sequences.
‘Backrooms’ Heads For $90 Million Opening as Horror Beats ‘Star Wars’ at Box Office
__DEGRADED__ If you are looking for a paradigm shift in Hollywood, this weekend’s box office may be it. A24/Chernin’s “Backrooms” and Focus Features’ “Obsession,” two buzzy non-franchise horror films directed by YouTube-trained Gen Z filmmakers Kane Parsons and Curry Barker, are reigning atop the box office while the former box office titan “Star Wars” is seeing a steep 69% second weekend drop for its latest film “The Mandalorian and Grogu.” “Backrooms” earned an excellent $38.4 million opening day from 3,442 locations, and is now projected by industry estimates for a stunning $90 million opening weekend that ranks as the third highest domestic opening ever for a horror film behind the $117 million opening of “It” in 2017 and the $91 million of “It: Chapter Two” in 2019. It is also more than triple the highest opening weekend ever for A24, blasting past the previous record of $25.5 million set by “Civil War” in 2024. Presales and interest in the film skyrocketed over the past week, especially after critics gave the film strong reviews with an 90% Rotten Tomatoes score. The only slight blemish against “Backrooms” is that audiences weren’t quite as enthusiastic as critics, giving the film a B- on CinemaScore and a 74% audience RT score. But even if that means “Backrooms” ends up being more frontloaded than “Obsession,” this opening weekend is enough to make this a massive win for A24 and its producers, which include Peter Chernin’s North Road Films, Shawn Levy’s 21 Laps and James Wan’s Atomic Monster, the latter of which is now merged with “Obsession” co-producer Blumhouse. And speaking of “Obsession,” the arrival of “Backrooms” has done absolutely nothing to halt its historic box office run as it has increased its weekend grosses yet again by 19% to $28 million this weekend, blasting past $100 million in domestic grosses. With this strong of a hold against a direct horror competitor — possibly with fans of the genre seeing both “Obsession” and “Backrooms” as a double feature — there is nothing stopping Curry Barker’s film from passing $200 million domestic and passing recent horror hits like “Weapons” and “Final Destination: Bloodlines.” And then there’s “Mandalorian and Grogu” in the No. 3 spot with an industry estimated $24 million second weekend, a staggering 70% drop from its $81.7 3-day Memorial Day weekend opening. It was expected that the feature follow-up to the hit Disney+ series could be a strong family play, and theatrical sources say that has been the case. But general audience turnout, particularly among the under-30 crowd, is sagging due to the competition from the two horror films conquering the marketplace. More to come… The post ‘Backrooms’ Heads For $90 Million Opening as Horror Beats ‘Star Wars’ at Box Office appeared first on TheWrap.
How YouTube’s First Late Night Show Is Both an Ode to and an Evolution of the Medium
__DEGRADED__ Last Thursday, CBS aired the final episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” This Thursday, the first-ever creator-led late night show premiered on YouTube. It’s an almost too-on-the-nose example of what the future of this medium may look like. “Our tagline is the evolution of late night is here,” Ben Gleib, the host of “Good Night with Ben Glieb,” told TheWrap. That’s not just a slogan for the 47-year-old comedian. During its first episode, “Good Night” featured several staples associated with the late night format: a house band (led by Keith Harris of the Black Eyed Peas), an opening monologue from Gleib, a desk interview with a celebrity (filmmaker and podcaster Kevin Smith), two pretaped man-on-the-street segments and a roundtable interview with two of Gleib’s guests (comedians Zainab Johnsonn and Brent Pella). But woven between those tried-and-true moments were flourishes that could only be expected from the YouTube age. Instead of an expansive and cold studio, Gleib films his show from a repurposed segment of his home. Though there were a handful of audience members watching Thursday’s show in person, a projector to the side of Gleib showed a wall of people who had digitally purchased a ticket and were watching the premiere live before it was posted on YouTube Friday. Smith’s interview wasn’t the typical seven to 10 minutes you may expect from “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” or “Late Night with Seth Meyers;” instead it ran for half an hour, a conversational runtime more similar to a podcast episode than a broadcast TV show. Later Smith was joined author Max Lugavere for an even longer discussion with Gleib. And when the episode ended, Gleib led his makeshift studio into another part of his house, a move straight from the livestreaming playbook that gave his audience a behind-the-curtain look into both his late night show and the following afterparty. “We’re trying to really honor the history of the format and also take it to brand new levels. It’s going to be uncensored, and we’re going to cuss a lot,” Gleib said. “Good Night” didn’t come from nowhere. The late night series is showrun and executive produced by Stewart Bailey, a late night veteran known for “The Daily Show,” “Last Call with Carson Daly” and the shortlived but culture-changing “The Jon Stewart Show.” Nikki Glaser and Scott Galloway are also supporters of the show and are set to appear in future episodes. “There’s a freedom with being independent that I feel working with [‘Good Night’] that I haven’t felt in a while,” Bailey told TheWrap. “There aren’t any allegiances or bridges we can burn because we are starting from scratch.” For Bailey, “Good Night” is a reminder of why he was drawn to late night in the first place. As a mainstay in the comedy scene, Bailey worked with Gleib for years and has long been impressed with both his comedic wit and his ability to improvise with the crowd on the spot. The two also share a deep love for one late night star in particular. “We both were inspired by early Letterman in the ’80s. That’s why I got into late night,” Bailey said. “I didn’t even get a lot of the jokes, but I loved the tone and irony of it.” So when Gleib contacted Bailey about making his lifelong dream of hosting a late night show a reality, he jumped at the chance. “It’s not that I’m going backwards. I’m really just returning to the freedom of rolling up your shirt sleeves and making a show,” Bailey said. “You can’t, historically, ever get a late night show unless you are offered one, but the landscape changed. YouTube became the most powerful entertainment platform on the planet and I realized I could just give myself my dream,” Gleib said. “I’ve been developing and crafting it in my mind for a full five years.” There’s another major reason why both Gleib and Bailey were drawn to YouTube. Because this team is creating their show from the ground up, they don’t have to answer to any network executives or corporate demands, insights that can put intense pressure on talent and stifle creativity. “For the first time in late night, we’re going to offer real value to the audience by booking — alongside celebrities — guests who could really change their lives: thought leaders, changemakers, experts,” Gleib said, noting that because this show will live on YouTube, it will be easier than ever for audiences to check out his guests’ work. “Also, it’s much richer for me to make comedy out the canvas of the whole world and not having to ask Chris Hemsworth for the 15th time about if [Thor’s] hammer is still heavy.” “When you’re making a show on YouTube, you’re writing basically because you believe in something, not because you think it’s going to test well or be a ratings juggernaut,” Bailey said. “We don’t have to entertain millions. I’d love to get to that point with Ben, and I do think that’s a possibility for us, but that pressure can be crippling.
Variety·6sPascal Plante’s ‘King’s Daughters,’ Starring Sandrine Bonnaire, Boarded by WTFilms (EXCLUSIVE)
WTFilms has secured worldwide rights to Pascal Plante’s new film "King’s Daughters," a historical survival drama with elements of folk horror. The film features a cast that includes renowned actress Sandrine Bonnaire alongside Laurie Babin, Lauréna Thellier, Zoé Adjani, and newcomer Marguerite Champoux. Set in 1663, "King’s Daughters" tells the story of a cursed transatlantic journey, exploring themes of survival and the supernatural. Plante is known for his previous works, including the cyber-thriller "Red Rooms," the punk rom-com "Fake Tattoos," and the sports drama "Nadia, Butterfly." The acquisition by WTFilms positions "King’s Daughters" for a global audience, highlighting the film's potential appeal due to its unique blend of historical narrative and folk horror elements. The film is anticipated to resonate with viewers interested in both dramatic storytelling and the eerie aspects of folklore.
Amid falling traffic, publishers are investing in engagement, registration and citations
Publishers are feeling the squeeze from AI‑powered search. Across a wide sample of sites, the amount of traffic that comes from search engines has fallen by more than a third, and the dip in revenue is already in the double digits. When Google rolls out an AI‑generated answer at the very top of the results, most users just take that snippet and don’t click any further, slashing click‑through rates by more than half for those queries. The biggest hits are the kinds of pages that used to bring in the most eyeballs—think weather updates, daily horoscopes and other service‑oriented content. Those pieces are now getting buried under the AI summary, so the traffic they used to generate is evaporating. By contrast, breaking‑news stories and hard‑news pieces are still getting clicks, because the AI overviews tend to leave room for deeper reporting. Because the traditional funnel is drying up, publishers are shifting focus toward keeping readers on their own sites. They’re putting more effort into engagement tools—like interactive widgets and comment sections—encouraging sign‑ups, and building citation networks that make their content feel indispensable. The idea is to turn casual visitors into repeat users who actually register, comment, or link back to the site. In short, the AI search wave is reshaping the traffic landscape. The obvious drop in clicks is pushing publishers to double down on direct relationships with their audience, betting that stronger engagement and community will offset the loss of organic search traffic.
Uber Advertising, the NFL, WPP Media and Mazda are among the finalists of the 2026 Digiday Media Buying and Planning Awards
Uber Advertising is in the running for Media Campaign of the Year, thanks to a holiday push they built for Diageo. They stitched together everything from digital Journey Ads to a storefront takeover on the Uber app, even adding a “design‑your‑own bottle” experience for Don Julio and a pop‑up at Bryant Park. The idea was to catch people when they were already thinking about a drink, then guide them straight to purchase. The mix of experiential moments and commerce‑focused placements moved the needle across tequila, whiskey and vodka sales, showing how a coordinated story can translate into real‑world results. On the planning side, the NFL and CBS/Paramount+ have a strong showing with their “Count on Sundays” campaign. It’s a full‑circle effort that lives on TV, streaming, social feeds, digital screens, stadium boards and even dynamic billboards in airports and subways. By tailoring the creative to each environment, they kept the message feeling timely and personal while still ringing true to the league’s brand. The result? CBS logged its biggest NFL opening‑weekend ratings in 27 years, with viewership jumping about 15 percent over the prior season. Other finalists in the awards include WPP Media and Mazda, each recognized for leveraging emotional narratives and audience‑first personalization to deliver full‑funnel experiences at scale. The field as a whole shows how modern media buying is less about isolated spots and more about weaving a cohesive, data‑driven story that meets people where they are. All of this underscores a shift: success now hinges on blending creative storytelling with precise, commerce‑ready placements, whether you’re selling spirits, sports, or cars. The nominees are basically saying that the future of media is a seamless, personalized journey from first glance to final checkout.
