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Sources: E.W. Scripps sent layoff notices to dozens of Court TV staff after it sold the channel to Jellysmack; Court TV's linear feed will shut down on March 11 (Matthew Keys/TheDesk.net)
https://thedesk.net/2026/02/court-tv-layoffs-shutting-down/

Court TV implements layoffs, plans to shut down TV network in March
Dozens of Court TV staff received layoff notices after Scripps sold the network to Jellysmack, with the linear channel set to shut down March 11.

Sources: Tencent is developing a top-secret AI agent for WeChat, and has tested using models from Zhipu, Alibaba, and DeepSeek, to compete with Qwen and Doubao (The Information)
https://www.theinformation.com/articles/tencent-joins-chinas-…

Tencent Joins China’s AI Agent Race With ‘Top-Secret’ WeChat Project
Tencent Holdings is secretly building a new AI agent for its hugely popular WeChat messaging app, in hopes of leapfrogging rivals like Alibaba Group and ByteDance in the race to dominate China’s domestic AI market, according to four people familiar with the project. The projectcould dramatically ...

An interview with Conan O'Brien about hosting the Oscars for the second time, late night TV's steady decline, his podcast and HBO Max travelogue, and more (Mikey O'Connell/The Hollywood Reporter)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-fe

Conan O’Brien Just Can’t Help Himself
The man Stephen Colbert calls "the patron saint of ex-talk show hosts" has a few things to say about the late night crisis, still sweating every joke and dancing with disaster by hosting the Oscars — again.

The Television Academy sets Emmys rules to allow inquiries about AI use in submissions, and renames Outstanding Television Movie category to Outstanding Movie (Rick Porter/The Hollywood Reporter)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/emmys-ai-g…

Emmys Set AI Guidance, Drop “Television” From Best Movie Category Name
The TV Academy also made rule changes for short-form programs and a few other categories.

Streaming pay-TV provider Philo adds a cheaper subscription tier, Essential plan, for $25 per month, $8 less than Bundle ; Philo has 1M subscribers (Dade Hayes/Deadline)
https://deadline.com/2026/03/streaming-pay-tv-service-philo-cheaper-sub…

Streaming Pay-TV Service Philo Adds Cheaper Subscription Tier At $25 Per Month
Philo, the longtime streaming pay-TV provider, has added a cheaper subscription tier priced at $25 a month.

YouTube launches genre-specific YouTube TV Plans as lower-cost alternatives to the $82.99 monthly subscription; the Sports Plan is priced at $64.99 per month (Abner Li/9to5Google)
https://9to5google.com/2026/02/09/youtube-tv-plans-launch/

YouTube TV Plans launch this week from $55/month with $65 Sports Plan 
“YouTube TV Plans” are rolling out this week as cheaper alternatives to paying $82.99 per month for over 100 channels.

Peacock acquires US streaming rights to SNL UK, set to premiere on March 21, with episodes streaming the day after they air in the UK (Rick Porter/The Hollywood Reporter)
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/snl-uk-stream-peacock-us-1236525226/

‘SNL UK’ Lands U.S. Streaming Deal on Peacock
The British version of the sketch show is set to premiere March 21.

E. W. Scripps agrees to sell its multicast network Court TV to Law&Crime owner Jellysmack, as it seeks to reduce debt tied to its Ion and Katz acquisitions (Matthew Keys/TheDesk.net)
https://thedesk.net/2026/02/scripps-sells-court-tv-to-lawcrime-owner-jel…

Scripps sells Court TV to Law&Crime owner Jellysmack
Scripps will refocus on other multicast networks, including Scripps News, Laff and Bounce TV, which the company continues to shop.

Dish TV says Gray Media cut off Dish customers' access to 226 channels in 113 markets over a fee dispute and that Gray is seeking "unreasonable rate increases" (Rob Golum/Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/20

Dish TV Service Says Gray Media Cut Off Stations in 113 Markets
Echostar Corp., owner of the Dish TV service, said Gray Media Inc. cut off its customers’ access to 226 channels in 113 markets as a result of a fee dispute between the companies.

A district court judge denies Texas AG Ken Paxton's request for a restraining order preventing Samsung from collecting data on TV watchers (Ryan Autullo/Bloomberg Law)
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/tech-and-telecom-law/sa…

Samsung Defeats Texas’ Bid to Halt TV Tech Following Court Error
Samsung Electronics America can continue to use technology that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) says allows it to unlawfully collect data on TV watchers, a judge ruled Friday.