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Welcome to The Brief by Kuro House, your daily shot of marketing intelligence. Today, we’re diving into the latest moves shaking up content production, streaming wars, retail media, and the evolving intersection of news and audio. Let’s get you up to speed with the five stories you need to know.
First up, let’s talk about a major shift in how global content gets made. According to Adweek, the digital agency Dept has transformed its 500-person global content studio into what’s now called DEPT Studios, an AI-enabled content operating system developed in partnership with Adobe. Here’s what’s new: DEPT Studios is powered by Adobe’s enterprise software suite, including GenStudio, Workfront, and Frame.io, and it integrates Adobe Firefly’s AI tools to automate key parts of the production and content review process. Dept didn’t stop there—they’ve layered in their own proprietary systems like the Lightspeed engine and automated quality checks. The goal? To support large-scale, multi-language content creation with greater speed and consistency across the globe. This overhaul is a response to today’s fragmented consumer attention, where brands need to reach people in more channels and contexts than ever before. By blending Adobe’s AI backbone with their in-house innovations, Dept is betting on a future where content can be produced at scale without sacrificing quality or agility.
Switching gears to the streaming world, Nielsen’s Top 10 Overall Streaming chart for the week of January 19, as reported by Adweek, saw Netflix’s Stranger Things reclaim the number one spot with a staggering 1.66 billion viewing minutes. Paramount+’s Landman followed closely with 1.615 billion minutes. Five titles crossed the billion-minute mark, with Netflix dominating the chart—six out of ten titles were from the streamer, including some shared with other platforms. The Netflix movie The Rip, starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, climbed to third with 1.378 billion minutes, especially popular among adults aged 35-64, who made up 57% of its audience. His & Hers, another Netflix miniseries, dropped to fourth but still pulled in 1.371 billion minutes, also resonating with the same age group. HBO Max’s The Pitt rounded out the billion club with 1.191 billion minutes, with viewership split almost evenly between its first two seasons. Other notable entries included Southland, The Closer, Disney+’s Bluey, Peacock’s The Traitors, and the ever-popular Grey’s Anatomy. The big takeaway: Netflix’s grip on audience attention remains ironclad, but competition is fierce, and audience preferences are nuanced by age and content type.
In the retail media space, Adweek broke the news that Steve Biddle, former director of retail media at Meta, has joined Zitcha as chief commercial officer. Biddle brings a wealth of experience, having led advertising for Walmart U.S. and spent nearly a decade at agencies like Leo Burnett and The Richards Group. At Zitcha, he’s overseeing global marketing and helping the platform navigate both AI disruption and the rapidly changing retail media landscape. Biddle’s perspective is unique: from his time at Meta, he saw how retail media networks struggled to balance advertiser needs with retailer revenue goals. Zitcha, which acts as an orchestration layer for retail media networks, aims to help retailers set up and scale their ad businesses while keeping broader business objectives in sight. The retail adtech landscape is notoriously complex, with overlapping service providers and integration challenges. Biddle wants Zitcha to become a central player, helping retailers manage their tech stack, revenue, and performance. Founded in 2022, Zitcha has already raised $10 million to expand into the U.S. and serves clients like Baby Bunting, Coles Liquor, and The Hut Group. CEO Troy Townsend says Biddle’s experience across agency, retailer, and platform roles gives Zitcha a strategic edge in supporting both brands and retailers at scale.
On the TV and podcasting front, Adweek’s TVNewser reports that MS NOW has inked a programming deal with Crooked Media, bringing Crooked’s audio portfolio to the network’s Saturday night lineup starting February 28 at 9 p.m. ET. The new show, “Crooked on MS NOW,” will feature top podcasts like Pod Save America, Pod Save the World, Strict Scrutiny, Lovett or Leave It, and more, including new shows from voices like Alex Wagner and Stacey Abrams. In parallel, Fox News’ Sean Hannity is launching a twice-weekly podcast, “Hang Out with Sean Hannity,” premiering March 3, promising long-form, unfiltered conversations with cultural and business leaders. Elsewhere, Norah O’Donnell is set to guest-host CBS Mornings as she promotes her new book, “We The Women,” and CBS is consolidating its New York City office space, relocating shows like 60 Minutes. Fox Nation, Fox News Media’s streaming service, is now available on Amazon Prime Video for $8.99 a month, or bundled with Fox One for $24.99. And, in a nod to history, C-SPAN2 dedicated an all-day marathon to the late Rev. Jesse Jackson, airing his most important speeches and interviews to honor his legacy.
Finally, with President Trump’s fourth State of the Union address set for February 24, Adweek details how virtually every major news network is preparing comprehensive coverage. ABC News will have David Muir anchoring from Washington, with a team of correspondents and analysts on hand. BBC News, C-SPAN, CNBC, CNN, Fox News, MS NOW, NBC News, Newsmax, NewsNation, PBS, Scripps News, Spectrum News, Telemundo, and Univision are all rolling out special programming—each with their own anchors, panels of experts, fact-checkers, and regional perspectives. The Democratic response will come from Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger. Networks are promising everything from instant polls and live fact-checks to deep dives into polling data, economic analysis, and reactions from diverse communities. Whether you’re tuning in for the speech, the analysis, or the cross-platform coverage, this year’s SOTU is shaping up to be one of the most widely covered—and scrutinized—political events of the season.
That’s all for today’s Brief. From AI-driven content studios and streaming showdowns to the evolving landscape of retail media and the convergence of audio and television, the marketing world is moving fast—and we’re here to help you keep pace. Thanks for listening, and remember: staying sharp means staying curious. Catch you tomorrow.
