Streaming
State of Play
Revised Sep 3, 2026The moment. YouTube now takes 1 hour 46 minutes of the average American’s day against 1 hour 31 minutes for live television, per Attest’s attention economy report, and a separate study put YouTube ahead of live TV on the same measure. Streaming reached 48.2% of US ad-supported viewing in Q2. Sony opened Live TV on PS5 with more than 100 free ad-supported channels sold through Publica and PubMatic. Apple TV raised its US price to $15 a month, its second increase in a year. Netflix’s 27-minute Grand Theft Auto VI look drew 31.1 million views in four days and ranked first in 87 of the 93 countries it tracks.
The tension. The screen taking the most attention is the one buyers still price as digital. Tatari makes the gap literal — CNN draws 240 million monthly YouTube views against 550,000 in primetime — and Tubular’s data says the reason is form: viewers take their YouTube sports in Shorts, not in the long-form television shape the ad pitch describes.
Who’s moving. Sony, turning a console into a channel store. Apple, pricing up before the Ted Lasso finale. Netflix, licensing Warner Bros. catalog, cross-posting with YouTube travel stars and putting a game trailer at the top of its own chart. YouTube TV, ingesting ESPN’s app-exclusive library into the channel guide. Xbox, shopping more than a dozen game franchises for over $300 million. Gracenote, on the 85% who want games on the home screen.
What the desk is watching. Whether a free tier actually lands at Netflix or Disney+ now that Sony and Paramount have made FAST a default, and whether the Shorts habit keeps live-sports money away from the largest video service in the country.
Netflix in talks with Fox, NBC to carry Fox One and Peacock
The NYT reports Netflix executives have discussed carrying Peacock and Fox One on Netflix with NBCUniversal and Fox — no deal imminent. It’s a reversal for a streamer that once dismissed bundling as unnecessary.
Bonta forces Ellison’s hand on which cable nets to sell or sink
California AG Rob Bonta says any settlement requires “structural remedies”: Ellison cannot keep all 50 cable networks the WBD deal would hand him — some must be sold.
Small theaters survived a blockbuster summer, but the margins still don’t work
The Ankler revisits the small-town exhibitors it profiled during last fall’s worst domestic October since 1997. A stacked summer filled seats, but holdover mandates and 65% studio splits still eat the good weeks.
Netflix, Stella Artois turn ‘The Gentlemen’ into a branded pub takeover
Netflix and AB InBev are turning a London pub into a live “The Gentlemen” set for three days — the first execution of the multi-year Stella Artois deal signed last September.
Ben Thompson: Netflix may start selling rival streaming services
Stratechery’s Ben Thompson reports Netflix is weighing selling rival streaming services through its own platform, recasting itself as an aggregator. Smart move, he says — and a retreat from what Netflix set out to be.
YouTube, Netflix and Disney fight the creator war on three fronts
YouTube doubled Partner Program thresholds and is paying top creators to reject Netflix deals, while Netflix keeps signing non-exclusive creator packages and Disney opens its IP to TikTok. All three are chasing the retention scroll delivers over binge-watching.
Apple Music, Spotify add AI labels as synthetic tracks flop with listeners
Apple Music now requires labels on AI-generated tracks; Spotify will tag AI artists and exclude them from editorial and algorithmic picks. AI tracks are a third of Apple uploads but under 0.5% of listening.
Wall Street recasts Netflix as a legacy stock after weak guidance
Netflix stock is down 40% from its all-time high after weak Q3 guidance and thin recent hits. Investors now see it as a maturing “value stock,” not a high-growth tech company, per LightShed’s Rich Greenfield.
Netflix could add music videos to compete with YouTube on watch time
A newsletter floats Netflix licensing music videos, since video podcasts are only 6% of YouTube watch time versus 33% for music videos. It suggests an ad-supported tier plus a premium add-on, mirroring how YouTube and Spotify monetize music and audiobooks.
KERV.ai takes interactive CTV ads with LG global beyond the US
KERV.ai is expanding its US partnership with LG Ad Solutions into Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. The deal brings KERV.ai’s interactive, commerce-enabled ad tech to LG’s streaming inventory in those markets.
Ex-Scripps exec defends “reverse broadcasting” pivot for local news
Media Inno’s Tom Sly discusses Scripps’ Tallahassee experiment, dubbed “reverse broadcasting,” which treats streaming and mobile as the primary news feed and linear broadcasts as secondary. He argues the shift is necessary, not optional, despite newsroom backlash.
Wurl CEO: FAST’s discovery problem is design, not content glut
Wurl CEO Dave Bernath argues FAST’s economics favor platforms over channel operators, unlike cable, and that discovery — not content oversupply — remains the format’s core weakness. He also flags measurement as one of CTV’s biggest unresolved gaps.
Netflix confirms ‘Black Mirror’ Season 8, renews ‘Legends’ and Ramsay reality show
Netflix confirmed “Black Mirror” Season 8 is shooting, with Charlie Brooker writing and exec producing. The streamer also renewed “Legends” and “Being Gordon Ramsay” for new seasons, alongside a third season of “The Gentlemen.”
Netflix weighs letting Peacock, Fox One into its app
Netflix executives discussed hosting Peacock and Fox One within its app, per the New York Times, though no deal is imminent. It follows Netflix’s live TF1 integration in France, which Peters called “promising” on Netflix’s July earnings call.
Netflix ads chief exits as leadership shakeup hits ad unit
Netflix advertising president Amy Reinhard has parted ways with Jon Whitticom, a key exec who helped build the streamer’s ad business. Ads product exec Marc Heneghan takes over on an interim basis during the search for a replacement.
TikTok’s live boxing debut draws 3.4M views, dwarfed by Netflix’s Serrano numbers
OMG. TikTok LIVE streamed Amanda Serrano’s title defense as its first world title fight, pulling 3.4 million views. That’s far below the 50 million views Netflix claimed for her 2024 bout, though the two platforms measure audiences differently.
Streamers widen ad-tier discount as price hikes cool
Ampere Analysis finds Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon Prime Video have slowed average price hikes from 24% to 14% over three years, signaling limits on consumer willingness to pay.
EMarketer: global subscription OTT growth is stalling in mature markets
EMarketer’s H2 2026 forecast finds paid streaming has saturated mature economies, with future viewer growth now dependent on Asia-Pacific and other emerging markets. Netflix leads globally, while local players like JioHotstar hold their own turf.
Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime ease off price hikes as ad tiers grow
Ampere Analysis finds average streaming price rises fell from 24% of prior price in 2023/24 to 14% in 2025/26. Ad-free tiers still see the steepest increases, widening the gap versus ad-supported plans.
California AG wants Paramount to divest cable channels to settle merger suit
California AG Rob Bonta will ask Paramount CEO David Ellison to divest cable channels and keep the studio separate from Warner Bros. as conditions to settle the 12-state antitrust suit over the $110B WBD deal.
GTA VI’s gameplay trailer will premiere on Netflix before YouTube
Rockstar will debut a GTA VI gameplay trailer exclusively on Netflix, six hours ahead of YouTube. Despite repeated leaks, delays and labor accusations, hype for the game keeps growing, giving Rockstar unusual marketing leverage.
Netflix, Disney+, Amazon shrink price hike sizes as subscribers hit limits
Ampere Analysis finds average streaming price increases fell from 24% in 2023/24 to 14% in 2025/26. Ad-free tiers still rise faster than ad-supported ones, widening the price gap as advertising becomes a bigger revenue driver.
Spider-Man’s licensing-everywhere model tops $940M in streaming revenue
Parrot Analytics finds Spider-Man movies and series generated over $940 million in global streaming revenue from 2020-2025, more than Batman and Superman combined. Sony’s strategy of licensing the IP across many platforms, rather than exclusive placement, drove the gap.
BZZR lands first NFL team deal, streaming Rams preseason games free
BZZR will stream all three LA Rams preseason games free across several US states plus Australia and Mexico, marking the first time an NFL team has partnered with a free streamer.
Premier League opener will show if World Cup soccer buzz sticks on US TV
NBC’s EPL season opener featuring Erling Haaland is a live test of whether World Cup fandom converts to weekly ratings. Last year’s EPL average was 535,000 viewers per match; the England-Norway World Cup match drew 27.1 million.