nScreenMedia: Recent Episodes
Colin Dixon
Some surprising trends in US TV viewing emerged in 2025. Here’s what happened to traditional pay TV, vMVPDs, SVOD, FAST, and over-the-air, and the outlook for them in 2026.
Walmart gave an update on Vizio one year after its purchase. It thinks things are going great, but it has failed to do basic integrations, and its future vision seems stale.
At the TV of Tomorrow Show this week, LG, Telly, The Trade Desk, Stingray, and Origin weighed in on connected TV’s challenges and opportunities. Listen to their live comments.
All top 6 SVOD services have raised prices this year, continuing a trend that began in 2023. However, here are four reasons to be happy about the price increases.
New data show we love streaming TV services so much that we cut other expenses to keep them. However, serious experience problems are worsening, threatening to derail some services.
Stories involving YouTube TV, Frndly TV, Fubo, and Hulu+Live show that vMVPDs are no longer the whipping boys of TV programmers. In some cases, the tables could even have turned!
Two surveys conflict on the US penetration of FAST services. Netflix distributes video podcasts, cutting out YouTube in the process. Roku finds a novel way to promote its originals.
TiVo was the little box that rewired how we thought about television. As it exits stage left, it’s worth accounting for what we gained from it and what we lose with its passing.
High margins and daily engagement make news a tempting option for Netflix, but it comes with significant risks. However, Netflix can reap the benefits of news without suffering the downsides.
vMVPD growth has stalled. Some providers are taking action by launching FASTs and slicing and dicing bundles, while others are taking no action at all. What does this mean for the market?
Survey data reveal the importance of sports superfans to services like ESPN. It also helps explain why fewer than 1 million people subscribed in the first 10 days of its availability.
Cineverse and Banyan’s MicroCo plans to bring quality to the trashy, vibrant microdrama market. But with the high viewing fees likely to fall, can it expand the market enough to make it pay?
Users demand close synchronization between connected devices, and the TV OS is drawing the smart TV into the fold. However, LG’s Mark Lee explains how his TV OS is doing so much more.
YouTube’s success on TV has led Netflix and Tubi to try to cherry-pick the best creators. But Bigger Bolder Baking’s CEO reveals that a show deal with them may not be a slam dunk with him.
Is there room for another TV OS in the US market? Xperi-TiVo thinks so, and the company’s VP of Content Strategy and Business explains why and how the car fits into the picture.
A show or movie’s foreign success means getting the trailer’s cultural fit right while keeping the vibe of the original. Not easy with the F-bomb showing up everywhere. Wordbank has the answer.
The hyper-competitive TV OS world has created problems for service providers, TV OEMs, and users. But is there a better way? Synamedia’s Jim Turner says there is, and it's rooted in the cloud.
The opportunity for specialty content has never been better, but providers must negotiate multiple TV OS relationships to realize it. Rashaun Hall of FuseMedia explains why.
TV OS platform relationships are critical yet challenging to manage for content providers. Revry’s Daniel Schnider explains how he navigates these complex relationships.
Are you confused by the FUD surrounding AI in media? In this interview with Tavant’s Filiz Bahmanpour, she outlines five areas AI can help your video business today.
How is the TV OS enabling CTV monetization? LG’s head of Content and Services explains how gaming, shoppability, super bundling, and the car are all part of the mix. This interview was recorded at the TV of Tomorrow Show, June 25, 2025.
The decline in traditional TV has local advertisers scrambling to reach potential customers. Albert Thompson, of Walton Isaacson, says changes are needed to capitalize on the opportunity.
In 2024, half of Americans engaged in TV commerce, Samsung dominated the smart TV market, 24 million homes ditched their streaming sticks, and Prime Video reigned supreme. Are these claims too good to be true?
Half of Americans report using TV subtitles to understand the dialogue better. Xperi-DTS’s VP of R&D explains and demonstrates a new solution to fix the problem, no soundbar needed!
New UK media legislation is focused on helping local broadcasters battle global SVOD. However, a small part of the law could be beneficial in the US. Guaranteeing prominence is key.
Three years ago, subscriber growth in the US SVOD market appeared to have peaked. Today, it is growing again. Here are four reasons for the resurgence in growth.
What is the real reason behind Netflix’s interface changes? Fox’s CEO says investors don’t value Tubi’s impact. Will he sell it? Shibuya uses crowdfunding to help fund creator projects.
To get young people watching your long-form video, you’ll need vertical format shorts on social media. In this interview, Quickplay’s Paul Pastor explains how to automate Shorts creation.
Netflix wants to join the short list of eight companies with a $1T market cap. To get there, it needs to at least double revenue by 2030. Will its business model get it there?
How much time do Netflix subscribers spend watching top titles? How many people stream first when turning on the TV? How influential is mobile on TV viewing?
Are you partnering with the right TV OS provider? You’ll find out this week as I reveal the penetration and programmatic ad revenue leaders and discuss why it matters.
This week, we look at the LLM video licensing market, how AI simplifies complex tools, cloud solutions to help pay TV to survive, and how the NAB show’s star is fading.
This week, Netflix Co-CEO Ted Sarandos was appealing to YouTube creators and twisting the knife in the movie theater business. Will creators and theater owners pay attention?
People have reached their limit on paying SVOD price increases despite spending less overall on entertainment than in 2014. Why don’t people feel the savings? Listen on to find out why.
May 2025 marks the second anniversary of HBO Max's renaming to Max. In that time, WB Discovery has failed to establish a clear differentiation for Max and is paying the price.
How many people subscribe to generative AI services and use Amazon to consolidate their SVOD services? Bango’s Giles Tongue has new data that reveals the answers and more. Bango's free report, which is discussed in this podcast, is available here.
While much television viewing has switched to streaming, much of the revenue has not. But that is changing, and viewers are already reaping the benefits in their pocketbooks.
The 2H 2024 Netflix Watch Report shows the hours streamed were about the same as in 1H 2023. However, per-subscriber engagement is down 20%. Fewer titles and originals could be to blame.
Revy's fight with The Trade Desk has spilled into the trade press. In this interview, Revry’s co-founders explain why all specialty, niche, and fan-forward providers could be affected.
YouTube is the most popular television channel in the US. It is draining billions of dollars from premium TV providers and grows bigger with each passing day. So, why is Hollywood ignoring it?
Comcast says it is getting out of the cable TV channel business but will keep Bravo and its regional sports networks. What’s happening, and what does it mean for Peacock and its subscribers?
The TVOS market continues to change, with Whale TV and The Trade Desk entering in the last few months. Will they all survive, or is there a different endgame ahead for the TVOS?
AI is set to help viewers with their biggest challenge: finding something to watch. However, despite moves by Google, LG, and Samsung, business problems will stop AI from achieving its full potential.
With so many connected TV experience problems, why weren’t there more advancements at CES 2025? Only Google, LG, and Samsung had anything to say, and all looked to AI to help.
This week, Tubi released impressive audience and viewing hours growth in 2024. But the numbers hide the fact that engagement is falling. A strategy shift is needed to fix the problem.
Sports were the big story in streaming TV in 2024. Premium sports drove big gains for YouTube TV and SVOD services. Smaller leagues are using FASTs to grow their audience.
Connected TV advertising has failed to take advantage of technology to deliver a better viewing experience. But that could be about to change, according to the CEO of Qortex.
A long-time cable TV executive warned peers not to say cable anymore. Cable TV programmers are listening and switching brands to streaming. It looks like cable is at a tipping point.
In what could be the last comparison of Vizio and Roku’s platform businesses, Roku extends its active user lead while Vizio narrows the engagement and ARPU gap.
Amazon’s decision to ditch the Freevee brand and fold the content into Prime Video makes sense for the etailer. But it has more brand purging to do to fix its strategy and clear up confusion.
Netflix and Roku are cutting off crucial data—subscriber counts and revenue per user—hiding key insights into their business health and market power. Here’s why it matters.
As streaming box providers continue to update their devices, fewer people plan to buy them. Have streaming boxes lost their innovation edge over smart TVs?
As people abandon the big bundle of paid TV channels, vMVPDs must adapt or die. Philo, Fubo, and Sling TV are adapting by giving their audiences what they want in the way they want it.
FAST growth has slowed dramatically in the last six months. In this interview with Wurl’s VP of Sales and Partnerships, we discuss why and how to jump-start the industry’s growth.
New data shows that Baby Boomers are on board with digital media and TV technology and, despite their advertising reluctance, are worth pursuing, even over the preferred Gen-Z audience.
How do you avoid your globally distributed content falling into the cultural dead zone of regional markets? SphereX CEO Teresa Philips explains how measuring cultural distance is the key.
The crowded TV OS market has another consumer-facing brand. Whale TV’s marketing head explained the name change and how the OS differed from the competition.
During the Olympics and Euros, Yospace stitched 10 billion one-to-one targeted ads into live sports streams. Yospace’s head of marketing explains how the company got it done.
Vizio’s WatchFree+ is the engine powering the company’s transformation into a service business. The company’s Group VP explains why the FAST service is expanding outside Vizio Smart TVs.
Disney’s TV strategy is confusing in many ways. This week, we look at three issues: zombie subscribers, password-sharing curbs, and flexibility with traditional pay TV operators.
Comparing Vizio vs. Roku in Q2 2024 shows Roku extended its lead in terms of active accounts. However, Vizio is catching up fast in the important areas of ARPU and engagement.
SVOD grew its share of US home entertainment spending in Q2 2024 by a massive 7%. It took all its share gains from MVPD and vMVPDs, but they still dominate spending.
Fubo’s sports-oriented vMVPD has consistently delivered solid growth since its launch. So, why does it think Venu Sports, the Disney-Fox-WD Discovery sports JV, is such a huge threat? With Brett Sappington of Sappington Media.
Fishtank used Livepeer’s blockchain-powered network to let the audience pay to participate in its live reality show. The model helped create a multi-million-dollar franchise.
Younger viewers have dumped TV for short-form video, which is a problem for Hollywood. It doesn’t understand the short-form medium and is losing badly to those that do.
How did Curiosity Stream achieve profitability? The company’s President and CEO explained that an advanced distribution strategy is essential and that GenAI is part of its future.
The incoming New Paramount CEO thinks the ultimate bundle is what viewers and service providers want. But is the market really crying out for a “one stop-shop with a nice EPG”?
Akta has just integrated its video platform with Google’s Gemini. In this interview, Akta’s Chairman explains how editors use the solution to cut summary clip creation by 90%.
SVOD providers try to avoid customers who come for one show and then cancel. But Magid’s EVP of Global Media says a large group of high churners are worth chasing.
Comscore says that Roku OS delivers three times more connected TV viewing hours than Amazon and that The Roku Channel dominates FAST linear viewing. But other data raises doubts
vMVPDs face the same fate as cable TV and growth is already slowing. FASTs could be partially responsible for the slowdown but could also offer the industry a way forward.
The foundation of the FAST industry is technology that creates linear channels from on-demand and live video. This week, I interview the CEO of Frequency, one of the leading providers of this technology.
The FAST market has been experiencing hyper-growth for four years, so it's time for a FAST reality check. I look at growth and profitability to find out, as well as which channels are the most popular.
Tubi continues strong growth and has emerged as the leader among FAST services in the US. Prime Video managed to get most users to watch ads, but its value suffered during the process.
Did the introduction of Prime Video ads in January make an impact on Amazon’s first quarter? And with big price increases in Peacock and others coming, do SVODs still represent a good deal?
Stingray is a leader in the FAST music streaming market. The company’s CRO explains karaoke’s unexpected success in Teslas and how CTV data settles programmer arguments.
Rather than losing money in Las Vegas, I found it at the conference and on the show floor of NAB. Here are three areas TV content and service companies can leverage now to generate new revenue.
FAST content leader Revry has been in the market for 8 years. In this interview, Its CEO shares how to optimize marketing spend to minimize subscriber acquisition costs and maximize ad revenue.
Telly, the company that gives free TVs to its customers, has been shipping the devices for nine months. How is it doing? In this interview from last month, Telly’s CSO reveals all.
AI can recognize objects, faces, and moods in video. In this interview with the CEO of Moments Lab, he explains how his AI-powered solution can capture the essence of whole scenes!
Advertising Perceptions says CTV ad spending will be $21 billion in 2024; eMarketer says $30 billion. Who’s right? Both could be wrong if Prime Video and political ads have a big impact.
Plex helps its 25 million users manage their media lives. In this interview, the CPO explains how AI and social discovery help them get to press play faster and watch longer.
Cineverse announced the launch of an AI-powered search advisor called Ava. The timely tool will help the industry tame out-of-control churn, boost engagement and grow revenue.
The 2023 results are in, and we know as much about the performance of the top 7 SVODs as the companies will tell us. But which is tops in ad-supported subs?
Ad Week says Amazon will kill Freevee, but Amazon says it won’t. Either way, Amazon’s connected TV ad services are confusing to users and need to be simplified.
As audiences move to connected TV viewing, finding local TV news becomes a challenge. Syncbak’s CEO explains how the new service Zeam helps local TV thrive on CTV.
SVOD dominates home entertainment spending, while rentals and sales are in the doldrums. So, why has Plex decided to open a movie store? TVOD is ripe for resurgence.
Imagine if, just by moving your video library to the cloud, you could search it for faces, logos, songs, and more. Wasabi CEO David Friend and SVP of AI Aaron Edell say that’s why the company bought Curio AI. Listen to the interview to understand the business and technical mojo behind Wasabi's intelligent video storage solution.
vMVPD subscribers grew by 10% over the last year, while traditional pay TV fell by 13%. But the differences between them are narrowing, and by 2025, they will move as one.
For a minority investment in Diamond Sports, Amazon takes charge of the most valuable part of the business. And the RSNs become another cog in the Amazon flywheel.
Casting entered the limelight at CES 2024 with several big announcements. It looks like a standards war has broken out between Google, Apple, and Amazon. Listen on to find out more and why.
The music industry’s transition from physical media to digital can teach us much about where the TV industry is headed. And it’s clear there is still a long way to go.
Engaging with an individual in a group viewing setting is always a challenge. Atmosphere’s CEO describes how his new solution, Chive Trivia, does it by synchronizing the TV screen with people’s phones.
New viewing data from Netflix shows that it does not conform to the 90:10 rule. Other data shows that ad revenue is already making an impact, despite what executives say.
Barb, the UK’s Nielsen, has tapped MetaBroadcast and Gracenote to optimize TV audience measurement by cleaning up the metadata. Interviews with company execs explain why you should, too!
An analyst group says cord-cutters will outnumber pay TV users in the US by the end of 2023. But a close look at the data shows things are not quite so cut and dried.
Traditional pay TV losses accelerated in Q3 2023, pushed upwards by multiple doom loops. But does the recent Charter/Disney carriage deal hold out hope that the decline can be arrested?
Disney filled out its plan to get its direct-to-consumer services to Netflix scale in its fiscal Q4 earnings call. It will continue to cut content, combine Hulu and Disney+, and launch ESPN Digital.
It’s getting harder to avoid advertising in the streaming TV experience. Services are adding ad tiers and new ad formats. And ads for products are coming to the Fire TV experience.
Gray Television and Nexstar Media Group think their local TV stations are about to get a huge windfall from cable TV operators. Here’s why things might not turn out how they expect.
Surround sound boosts video engagement, which in turn cuts churn. But wires could be getting in the way for 3-in-5 US homes. In this interview, the GM of Play-Fi explains how his tech can help.
Netflix, Disney+, Hulu, and MAX have seen significant satisfaction declines since 2021. Changes in subscription prices, ads, and content selection are to blame.
ATSC 3.0 and HEVC patent disputes could have big impacts on Netflix and NextGen TV. NextGen TV could see adoption slow, and Netflix could see streaming costs grow.
Generative AI is changing the content dubbing cost equation. Papercup’s VP of sales says it unlocks new business opportunities, and you can hear the results yourself to see if you believe him.
Everybody is scrambling to launch a FAST channel. But how do you actually do it? VideoElephant has just launched two channels, and in this interview, a company executive explains how it’s done.
Independent content providers are struggling to get the attention they are due. The Independent Streaming Alliance aims to change the situation. This interview with a founding member explains how.
The industry is using Nielsen’s The Gauge as the source of truth on the state of US TV usage. But the vMVPD correction and linear TV problem have shattered my confidence in it.
The future of FASTs and broadcasters are intertwined. Broadcasters are helping FASTs catch up to their over-the-air channels, and FAST revenues offset traditional TV losses.
TV platform fragmentation has made authentication a nightmare for service providers and viewers. In this interview, Jeff Bak of Synacor explains the problem and how to solve it.
TV manufacturers are increasing the ads in their smart TV experiences. The screen is becoming a billboard where the ads are difficult to spot and sometimes impossible to avoid.
Viaplay is withdrawing from the US, Canada, and UK markets five months after launch. That is a shame because Nordic Noir is popular, and a window of opportunity is opening.
Netflix added 6 million new subscribers in Q2 2023, a big improvement from the one million loss in Q2 2022. But was the gain due to the introduction of paid sharing?
A third of US adults use Universal Streaming Guides. The CEO of new market entrant Younify explains the market dynamics and the killer feature that will ensure the success of his service
In this interview with TV veteran and AtmosphereTV CEO Blake Sabatinelli, he explains how FAST market principles can unlock an opportunity to reach out-of-home TV viewers with targeted ads.
Eluvio helped Warner Bros. allow Superman superfans to own an exclusive, extensible multi-media experience of the movie. Eluvio’s CEO explains how the web3 solution works and its inherent efficiencies.
In this interview with Paramount executive Jeff Shultz, he explains Paramount+ and Pluto TV’s joint strategy, three innovative distribution deals, and why FASTs are not cable TV 2.0.
This week, experts from ThinkAnalytics, Wurl, TiVo, and Plex go deep into content discovery, looking at artificial intelligence, FAST channels, and the future of discovery.
Churn is rampant among SVOD and FAST users, despite billions being spent on content and discovery features meant to keep them. Could loyalty programs help hold on to users longer?
While US growth among the top SVODs has slowed to a crawl, people are still adopting new services and FAST channels. Enthusiast programming is driving the growth.
WB Discovery released the final details of Max before its release next week. The company wants Discovery+ subscribers to upgrade and brands to embrace the service. Will they all come?
The Disney Duo App - Hulu and Disney+ combined - stacks up much more strongly against the competition than the two apps separately. But will it be a good deal for subscribers?
Why are the IAB and eMarketer forecasting 21% growth in connected TV ad spending in 2023? Here are three big reasons they are so bullish on the CTV market.
Google says it wants YouTube to be the one-stop-shop for video content. Here are all the things it is doing to accomplish that goal and how each is doing in the market.
Maximizing distribution and quality of experience can be tough for service providers. Brightcove’s Ian Blaine thinks so, too, and has new tools to help with both.
The combined HBO/Discovery service Max is being pitched as the answer to the era of confusion. What will it do that HBO Max did not, and will it deliver a bigger payoff?
With Netflix and Disney+ struggling to add new US subscribers, some analysts say the SVOD industry has peaked. But it depends on how you judge industry growth.
New data says that Netflix remains the most popular SVOD but might not stay that way. Password-sharing curbs could cause 80M to cancel.
Are TV OS providers running out of options to differentiate the experience? And do all TV OS providers look the same to smart TV manufacturers? Not according to Xperi-TiVo
Vizio and Roku are competing head-to-head in the US. With a big headstart, Roku leads Vizio in raw numbers, but Vizio is catching up fast. Listen on as I put the two head-to-head.
Nexstar’s President says pay TV hasn’t gone off a cliff, the fuboTV dispute isn’t significant, and 75% of over 45s still have traditional pay TV. Are his statements true?
New data shows that we use almost 12 TV services, with free and paid services both making gains. We use so many services that it’s beginning to look like cable TV in its heyday.
Once again, industry insiders are predicting the death of the dongle or streaming media device. Is there any reason to believe them this time?
Super Bowl LVII was a streaming success. I reveal the number of streamers, the quality they experienced, and which service defeated latency for the first time.
WB Discovery has reversed course and won’t combine HBO Max and Discovery+, though some integration is still needed. But it can’t undo the Westworld mistake.
Ten years ago, TV’s ad model was under threat from DVR-powered ad-skipping. Streaming TV has defeated the ad-skipping problem, but could a resurgence be on the horizon?
The smart TV market has existed for 15 years, but TV platform providers are still improving their interfaces. Here are four new Vizio improvements, why they matter, and why changes will keep coming.
YouTube is set to add another of TV’s core features: FAST linear channels. And the move should make everyone in the streaming TV ecosystem sit up and pay close attention.
Competition is heating up between Vizio and Roku. Vizio executives have told us how the company will keep growing, but will it be enough to win in 2023 and beyond?
The World Cup shows that streaming services can deliver a live experience equal to broadcast TV. But SSIMWAVE’s video score reveals that the UltraHD wow factor isn’t there.
In the US, Paramount+ has the best value and is taking it more European countries. Disney+’s ad tier is here, but Roku users can’t watch. And 4K might not be necessary for the best World Cup experience.
SVOD will continue to grow through 2028, with providers jostling for a place at the top. But AVOD/FAST will grow much faster as consumers tighten their belts and providers lean into the opportunity.
The Men’s World Cup looks set to break US streaming records because of cord-cutting, NFL and MLB streaming, and the presence of the US team. But UHD could strain the infrastructure.
In the third quarter, Vizio and Roku sharpened their attack on the TV platform business and continued to get results. I put the two head-to-head to see which is biggest and growing fastest.
Frequency helps Hearst, Scripps, and Revry reach all the major FAST linear platforms. This interview with the company’s CEO and BizDev head explores how it does it and discusses the future of the industry.
New data on YouTube TV and Sling TV suggest that vMVPD market health is good. Both are growing daily users even though subscriber growth performance isn't clear.
High churn, the growth of discovery companions, and reliance on friends and family recommendations show that discovery tools in apps and TV platforms aren’t doing enough.
Peacock now has 15 million paying subscribers and 30 million monthly active accounts. That seems to make it a mid-pack SVOD and top FAST service. But how you count can have a huge impact on how you rank!
You can access the webinar recording mentioned in the podcast here.
Single video business models treat all subscribers the same. We need a more sophisticated approach that allows deep customer segmentation and rich experience personalization.
The ability of an operator to outsource pay TV services has been talked about for decades. Now it is finally a reality. This interview with 24i’s CEO explains the solution.
You can sign up for the free Supercharge D2C growth with hybrid monetization here.
Many live streaming services don’t know what they don’t know when it comes to quality, which could be ruining their business. SSIMWAVE’s CEO explains how to benchmark quality and fix problems now! You can review the video quality examples of the Belgium Grand Prix referenced in the interview by clicking here.
New data shows that mobile devices are still a vital part of the video ecosystem. They are with us when we watch TV and used daily to watch by 3-in-5 US adults.
Traditional pay TV lost another 1.7 million subscribers in the US in the second quarter and is down over 20 million since 2019. But sports were supposed to be an anchor for cable TV. What happened?
Vizio and Roku are both focused on their platform businesses. This week I compare their Q2 2022 performance and look at why it is so important to keep track of how the TV platforms are doing.
Viewers in the US live in a hybrid TV world, but you wouldn’t know it looking at smart TVs. The schism is hurting viewers and broadcasters, and it’s time manufacturers did something about it.
Even with slow Q2 growth, YouTube remains a monster. But does it dominate the connected TV market? Some estimates say yes, others not so much.
Netflix plans to introduce account sharing plans to get all the 100 million homes it claims are sharing an account to pay at least $2.99 a month. If it gets them all, it will net as much as $10 billion a year extra. It won’t. A more realistic goal is $3 billion.
With as many as 4-in-5 young people using captioning on TV, video accessibility has never been more important or harder to achieve. 3Play Media CEOs explain the challenges of scale, live, and cost.
A full podcast transcript is available here courtesy of 3Play Media.
This week I summarize the US TV market in 20 mins. We cover users, penetration, and growth for traditional pay TV, SVOD, vMVPDs, and antenna users. I also explain the problem with counting AVOD users.
Disney+ and Netflix will soon introduce lower-cost ad-supported tiers. How will it impact subscriber mix and average revenue per unit (ARPU), and where will the advertisers come from?
Netflix needs ads to keep revenue growth going. But that is just the start. To realize the full value of its content, it needs to adopt a hybrid business model and step outside of its owned-and-operated app.
You can download the free white paper mentioned in the podcast here.
Cloud guide provider MyBundle.TV is helping connect people with the content they want. Now the company is leveraging its user experience to help broadband providers benefit from the stickiness of video.
FAST linear growth could be at risk because viewers can’t use their connected TV platform’s universal search to find the channels. In this interview, Gracenote explains the problem and how to fix it.
This interview with SportsTribal’s Chief Commercial Officer explains the dynamics of launching a FAST linear service in today’s complex sports licensing and CTV distribution industry.
FAST linear is becoming a crowded space making it tough to find and license content. Find out how VideoElephant is changing that and where the company’s CRO sees the market going.
Most US adults are free ad-supported streamers, but they are mainly watching at off-peak times. What are AVOD and FAST providers doing about it, and why should SVOD services get on board?
WarnerMedia fought to get HBO out of Amazon Channels. Discovery+ is happy to be a part of it. Will a combined HBO-Discovery app be available through Amazon Channels or not? Millions of dollars rest on the answer.
Planetcast Media Services is a successful end-to-end video content management company in the Indian market. In this interview with Mark Beard, Planetcast’s Senior Vice President of International, he discusses the global launch and the importance of cloud playout.
Analysts are ringing alarm bells about 44% SVOD churn. But does it show that the industry is unhealthy? Listen on to find out why other SVOD measures matter more than churn.
The Google triple CTV threat of Google TV, YouTube, and YouTube TV are looking to capture an even bigger slice of the $200+ billion US TV industry.
A new report dishes small streaming TV providers good and bad news in equal measure. They have plenty of new users and growth, but 66% churn threatens to derail the party.
The CEO of Roku thinks his TV OS will dominate the connected TV market in the same way Android dominates smartphones. Here are five reasons that isn’t likely to happen.
Two common subscriber accounting practices make it tough to compare one SVOD service to another. It also makes figuring out which service is healthy or not even harder.
Roku is rumored to be making a television set. If true, it would take the company back to a model it pivoted away from years ago and, in the process, anger partners that are key to its growth.
112.3 million people watched Super Bowl LVI, but according to NBCU, only 10% of the audience streamed the game. It turns out the streaming audience was much bigger than that. Here’s why.
One of the most exciting areas that AI can bring value to is video content processing. I discuss some of the most interesting applications with the head of Video AI at Comcast Technology Solutions.
One of the most exciting areas that AI can bring value to is video content processing. I discuss some of the most interesting applications with the head of Video AI at Comcast Technology Solutions.
One of the driving forces behind Bitcentral’s acquisition of Powr.tv is the emerging need for complex multi-distribution strategies. I discuss the opportunity with executives from both companies.
We still don’t have universal TV search, but the platform searches provided by Roku, Fire TV, and others are much better than six years ago. What is more, integrating with them can give a service a massive lift in discoverability.
You can see a free webinar discussing this topic in more depth by clicking here.
With the average person using nine different TV services, people don't go to the same one every time. Here's where they go for news, sports, shows, and movies.
SVOD providers are notoriously reluctant to divulge subscription numbers for the US market. However, we can calculate the rest using some hard data points for Hulu and Netflix and reliable survey data. Note: I updated the podcast to account for Paramount+ global subscribers.
Pluto TV continues to set the pace in the FAST market. It is expanding internationally, adding exclusive channels, and even helping SVODs switch business models to focus on FAST channels.
Local and global players are vying for their place in the burgeoning OTT Indian market. One provider, aha, has harnessed a flexible cloud-based platform and all-local content to jumpstart its success with Telugu speakers.
Netflix dominance in SVOD is starting to slip. But it is getting a helping hand from two unlikely places: Amazon and a new method of counting viewing.
By 2024, there will be more homes in the US that don’t have traditional pay TV than have it. The shift means big change for three areas of the television market: the NFL, Amazon Channels, and Local TV broadcasters.
For many, piracy has turned the virtuous circle of live sports video into a vicious cycle. Synamedia breaks down the tools you need to break the cycle of sports piracy. You can hear more from Synamedia and many other video security experts at the Video Security Summit on October 19 and 20th. If you are listening to this podcast, you can sign up for the summit for free.
If you want to understand why your OTT TV service needs DRM and watermarking implemented in the cloud to protect your content, this podcast is for you. The CEO of BuyDRM breaks down the why, how, and what of the tech you'll need. Listeners to this podcast can sign up for the Video Security Summit for free, where you will hear from BuyDRM and many other security experts.
The fragmented TV platform landscape has made all-important unified search functions difficult to integrate with for Internet TV services. Worse than that, smaller providers don’t even have an opportunity to integrate with them.
Interview with Steve Harnsberger, Founder and CEO of Universal Search and Discovery.
Here are four streaming media insights from Roku's new report and why they matter. It covers TV source preference, first-run movie impact, ad-supported usage, and subscription cycling proliferation.
Amagi is helping many content owners to create, distribute, and monetize channels in FAST services. In this interview, the company’s Co-Founder explains how FAST works and where it is headed.
Streaming provides an opportunity to make the sports experience better online than over traditional TV. Firstlight Media and Deltatre tell us how they are helping Sportsnet Now deliver the innovations.
The options to watch streamed linear TV channels keep expanding for viewers. But more choice just means more confusion as consumers lack the tools to figure out which service is best for them.
Videon has been innovating video technologies for 23 years. So, why would such an established company take its first round of financing now? It’s all about the opportunity for edge encoding and live streaming.
Smart TVs are now the most popular way to stream to the television in the US. Internet TV providers can even be successful supporting them and not Roku and Fire TV.
Motion blurring and judder are spoiling the home movie experience, and UHD, HDR, and TV Filmmaker mode can make things worse. Richard Miller, EVP of Technology at Pixelworks, explains what’s going on and how to fix it.
The Inside the Stream podcast from nScreenMedia and VideoNuze has moved to https://insidethestream.podbean.com/. You can also find it through your trusty podcast manager. Just search on insidethestream.
Most people head to the service guide to find what to watch next. Of those, 70% say that the graphics are very influential in whether they decide to watch a show or not. All too often, what they see is a stock image that doesn’t reflect the particular episode on that day. Media Distillery wants to change that with real-time guide graphics updates.
Amazon is rumored to be deep in negotiations to buy MGM. But is MGM a good fit for Amazon, and who else could potentially join the bidding?
Kevin Westcott of Deloitte joins us this week to discuss SVOD churn post-lockdown, AVOD’s impact on SVOD usage, and what to expect from Internet TV in 2022.
At the NewFronts this week, Samsung, Roku, NBCU, Crackle, Vevo, Tik-Tok, and many others pitched advertisers on their audience reach. It illustrates the gold rush is on streaming TV advertising.
Smart TV manufacturers are in love with FAST services. They are piling on the virtual linear channels and adding new ad-tech features. Here is why they are so keen to participate in the market.
TrueView for Action ads helped boost YouTube’s revenue by 50% in Q1. Are the 120 million YouTube connected TV viewers ready for the format? Scripps thinks antenna TV use is booming, but the data suggest otherwise.
Roku and Google are fighting over the terms under which YouTube TV will continue to appear on Roku-powered devices. Roku has accused Google of wielding monopoly power and attempting to usurp voice search results. In the Google versus Roku battle, what is at stake for each, and who is likely to prevail?
Before the pandemic, just 4% of Vevo’s music video business was on the connected TV. Today, it is half. Vevo’s head of West Coast sales explains how the company got it done and what it means to its ad business. Listen on to find out more.
Tracking and shutting down pirates is a priority for premium content providers. But British piracy monitoring service MUSO realized the huge audience could also help license holders refine their strategy and even boost their revenues.
Smart TV manufacturers are getting serious about making recurring revenue from their devices. And who can blame them when most digital ad professionals view connected TV as more effective than traditional TV.
With SVOD services like Disney+ and Netflix focused on children, are advertisers losing the ability to reach kids when they watch their favorite shows? It turns out kids regularly watch their shows with ads giving brands lots of opportunities to influence family spending.
YouTube grew users in the US during the pandemic while most other social sites stood still. We break down the numbers. And we give you a perspective on Disney+’s revenue contribution to the company’s bottom line.
Eluv.io Live is a new platform for artists and studios to reach their audience directly with great quality and a more immersive experience. Michelle Munson, CEO, and Founder of Eluv.io, explains how artists get it all at an attractive price.
Connected TV devoured more than 60% of device ad views in the second half of 2020 and is now widely used by all age groups in the US. Listen on to hear how it will help drive AVOD ad revenue to $53 billion in 2025.
The TV industry has undergone radical change over the last several years. However, the way movies and shows are licensed remains essentially the same. Whip Media wants to change that with its "demand score."
The NFL claims its new TV license deals through 2033 bring the game unprecedented stability. But there is nothing stable about the TV market, and even the game may be forced to adapt in the next 10 years.
There are 246 territories among 195 countries, and each has rules and regulations about what is acceptable in a movie or show. If you do not want your content to fall afoul of censors, you need to culturalize it!
In this interview with the Founder and CEO of Spherex Teresa Phillips, she explains why culturalization matters and the Spherex approach to getting it done.
As we head into a slow year of streaming growth, Netflix could be looking at ads and licensing to boost revenue. Instead, it wants to squeeze more revenue out of existing users.
The issue of password sharing reared its head this week. There were sensational claims of hundreds of millions in lost revenue due to it. But the issue is a lot more complicated than it seems and realizing such enormous revenue gains could come at a terrible cost.
In Q4 2020, Amazon’s Fire TV was king of all connected TV device sales. How does archrival Roku fare? And we review three ways a CTV platform influences what we watch and why we may not even notice.
Vizio wants to follow Roku's model and become an advertising-driven business. What must it do to get there? Discovery+ dominated new subscriber gains in January. Can it keep up the growth?
ViacomCBS is throwing everything into Paramount+, but will it be enough to make it a must-have service for most viewers? Should you enable Netflix’s new Downloads for You feature?
The Roku Channel played a huge role in driving the company's 2020 revenue to $1.7 billion. But could be in danger of upsetting other AVOD services, like Peacock. And the grid guide makes a comeback in streaming.
Disney turned in a great quarter of streaming service growth, though Hulu Live was suffering from a price increase hangover. The streaming Super Bowl did well, showing strong growth even as TV viewers declined.
Since 2018, ad revenue at YouTube has grown 77%. What's more, the pandemic is responsible for only a part of it. Crunchyroll grew subs 25% in six months, spurred on by lockdown viewers. But it has recruited Idris Elba to keep growth going.
Comcast cable TV 2020 losses increased to 1.3M, twice the 2019 figure. Peacock, on the other hand, gained 7M in the last seven weeks. Both trends look set to continue.
Almost a third of TV viewers can only be reached by streaming, yet 90% of TV ad revenue still goes to traditional linear TV. Netflix had a banner 2020, but signs are it has a value problem in Latin America.
In 2020, Disney+ was tops for original streamed movies. This year, Netflix and HBO Max are coming for Disney’s movie crown. AT&T throws in the towel on vMVPDs, but it could have been so different.
Roku users are streaming almost three hours per day. Can Quibi content help drive usage even higher? Discovery+ is here. Will it help boost Roku streaming time too?
vMVPD price increases, the continued decline of pay TV, Netflix growing in the face of new competition. All were important stories in 2020, but none of them made our top ten list. Listen on to find out what did.
Old media is all-in on subscription streaming. But with growth slowing, premium providers like Showtime are looking to free virtual Linear TV to boost their digital growth. Will others follow in 2021?
Have the tablet and smartphone killed family co-viewing? New research says no. Discovery is rolling out all its stars to help the launch of discovery+. Is it enough to win over cord-cutters?
Linear pay TV pulled off a big surprise in the third quarter. Traditional operators lowered losses and vMVPDs put on a big gain. What’s going on and can the industry repeat it in the fourth quarter?
Disney continues to circle the wagons around its direct-to-consumer services. Subscriber growth at Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu is strong, but is revenue heading in the right direction?
Sinclair took a $4B write-down on the value of its regional sports networks. The vMPVDs are dropping RSNs as fast they can. Is it game-over for the channels? We also look at Roku’s Q3 results.
Why are smart TVs catching sticks and boxes in usage? How did Peacock hit 22 million sign-ups in 6 months? And what are the chances that TMobile’s new vMVPD service will be a success?
Why did Quibi fail? We dissect the demise of yet another mobile video service. With this one, the seeds of failure were sown at the very start.
2021 will see the record for the number of concurrent live streamers smashed according to one new forecast. We discuss that and four more startling online video data points this week.
Are AVOD and SVOD in competition? Not according to ViacomCBS. Streamers are watching more of both types of service. What is more, they are spending more than their non-streaming peers.
Most people watch NBCU entertainment shows on-demand, not on live TV. But different show audiences have very different viewing habits. And are you ready to change your connected TV device? Vendors have updates that might sway you their way.
Connected TV has shifted to the center of many media company strategies. But key issues like ad duplication, measurement, and channel conflicts are holding the industry back.
Comcast and AT&T know they don’t need traditional pay TV anymore, but they do still need a video offering of some description. Is what they are doing with Internet TV enough?
Disney management has said hardly anything about how their first PVOD movie Mulan performed over the Labor Day weekend. However, looking at unofficial data suggests the Disney PVOD debut didn’t match the company’s high expectations.
The antenna TV market seems to have plateaued after years of growth. Are people just not interested in live TV anymore? Local broadcasters don’t think so. Two hundred of them have gone national with OTT platform VUit.
Google is rumored to be working on a new TV dongle codenamed Sabrina. It has a remote control, unlike its predecessor Chromecast. Can it succeed in the face of the duopoly of Roku and Fire TV?
Linear free ad-support TV has been a massive success with consumers. I discuss with TV[R]EV’s Alan Wolk why the services have been such hit, and how they can keep the growth going.
While we can’t say if there are more smart TV homes than those with sticks and boxes, we can say smart TVs are used way less. What’s going on and why don’t smart TV users watch more?
Disney’s pivot to direct-to-consumer services has been an outstanding success. What’s more, it continues to refine its approach, as Disney+ breaks the SVOD mold, and a new international service takes over from TV.
Pay TV’s decline is hitting two of Comcast’s biggest revenue drivers: Xfinity TV and NBCU. Will Flex and Peacock make up the difference?
You can sign up for the free August 10th webinar mentioned in the podcast here: https://digitalmediawire.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_zu0PuE4aRUCxRrfPVVCt3w
More than half of U.S. adults say they watch ad-supported online video. Does this mean that a forecast massive decline in TV advertising revenue is about to shift to ad-supported online TV?
NBCU Peacock went national this week. There’s a ton of content to watch, including some CBS-owned shows and movies. But you can’t watch on Roku and Fire TV.
Linear television is not dying, as Netflix’ CEO Reed Hastings predicted in 2015. It is evolving and moving online, with previously unthinkable alliances helping to move along.
YouTube TV took the extraordinary step of hiking prices 30% this week. Why would it make a move that is almost guaranteed to lose it a bunch of subscribers? Listen on to find out.
There was lots of ad innovation at this week’s NewFronts from YouTube, Roku, Hulu, and others. Will it be enough to capture a significant chunk of TV ad revenue?
Why are ad buyers moving money into connected TV? New data shows the massive growth in online ad-supported viewing is a big reason why.
There have been lots of seemingly conflicting data in the last week saying C-19 SVOD usage is down and perhaps has fallen to pre-pandemic levels. We look at the data to figure out what’s going on.
New data shows that the digital video ad market has bounced back in May, but only via connected TV (CTV) screens. That is because CTV’s are leading with a new video category that viewers just cannot resist.
HBO Max is finally here, and it has a ton of great content and an excellent user interface, but you can’t get it on your Roku or Fire TV. It turns out HBO Now could be the big sticking point in negotiations.
TV broadcast network audiences have held steady since February even as they lost live sports. Could local news be why? OTT viewership is falling from its heights. Are services in need of a content injection?
Extreme Reach data shows connected TV viewing was erratic between January and April. VideoNuze's Will Richmond explains why it matters and what might be going on. Quibi blamed C-19 for its poor launch performance. nScreenMedia's Colin Dixon explains why he doesn't believe the company and what they need to do to right the ship.
Pay TV took a beating in the first quarter. Will it rebound when the lockdown ends? ViacomCBS continues its move toward independence from pay TV. We discuss how its free and premium services are helping each other out.
The average person used five TV services in Q1 2020, 1 more than in Q1 2019. What is driving the increase? Well, it certainly is not pay TV, which accelerated its decline in Q1. So, who are the gainers and losers?
There is a lot of confusing data about whether the number of people on free trials during stay-at-home orders is a good or bad thing for SVOD providers. I explain how I arrived at the conclusion that they are a good thing. You can read the piece that is the result of my thinking here: https://nscreenmedia.com/c-19-free-trials-will-boost-binge-and-bolt-and-paying-customers/
Trolls World Tour was a big success in its initial PVOD release. But what about the long-term? Theater owners are hopping mad, and it's not clear if consumers will still want to own the movie or buy Troll Dolls.
Netflix had a great first quarter 2020, spurred on by COVID-19 shelter-in-place viewing. What is the secret to its success, and can it keep the magic coming in the second quarter and beyond?
As we shelter in place, content providers are stepping up with free content to keep us informed and entertained. We look at the market-leading Stay in and SLING, Roku's Home Together, and why Apple TV+ is lagging behind.
Premium smartphone video service Quibi launched this week. Does it hit the mark and will it survive? Disney+ reached 50 million subscribers this week. Will it make its 90 million 2024 target three years early?
New data released this week details more the changes in behavior wrought by the virus emergency. Daytime streaming is up. Connected TV viewing is way up. And SLING TV is stepping up.
New data shows which services are engaging users the most as we all stay home more. And we discuss how Netflix, Disney+, Sling TV, and others are adjusting to shelter-in-place orders.
Shelter-in-place orders are having a dramatic effect on our viewing behavior. We discuss the positive and negative effects on SVOD and AVOD services and why AVOD seems more likely to do well.
We look at how the PGA managed to negotiate a 75% increase in TV license fees with a declining audience. Disney is leveraging the PGA Tour to keep the growth coming at ESPN+ and restore luster to the brand.
This week, an analyst said that linear TV is dying a slow death. We discuss the merits of the statement and look at how the oldest of video entertainment formats is reinventing itself online.
We discuss why sports leagues have an opportunity to deepen engagement and earn more revenue online. Connected TV ad growth stalled in Q4 2019. We dig into the unexpected result and why CTV ads are sure to recover.
This week, we discuss ViacomCBS' “house of brands” strategy for CBS All Access. How will the company price it, and what will be the market impact? The move is timely looking at the decline in TV ratings.
Roku didn't make any money on player sales in Q4 2019, but it is continuing to prosper anyway. Nielsen numbers say streaming is still a small part of video consumption, but that could be hiding the truth about how successful streaming really is.
This week we talk about the performance of the streaming Super Bowl. Disney+ has almost achieved a goal today that the company set the end of 2020. We also discuss why YouTube TV's official subscriber count is somewhat underwhelming after 4 years in the market.
This week we look at AT&T's disastrous video results for 2019, how it compares to the rest of the industry, and if things will get worse in 2020.