Streaming Industry Business, M&A & Strategy News

The article reports that 2026’s London TV Screenings drew strong international buyer attendance and became a prominent early-year marketplace for global content acquisition and distribution discussions. It highlights increasing industry consolidation (including talk of a Paramount bid for Warner Bros. Discovery and potential deals involving All3Media, Banijay, Sky and ITV), alongside shifting licensing/windowing practices and distributors expanding into direct-to-consumer models such as FAST channels and YouTube. The piece also notes growing attention to hybrid broadcaster-streamer partnerships like Netflix’s deal with TF1 and similar arrangements involving French broadcasters and Amazon, with uncertainty centered on second-window rights value.

An Omdia study reports that U.S. cellphone users are spending more viewing time on microdrama apps than on subscription streaming services. The finding highlights a shift in mobile video consumption toward short-form, app-native serialized content relative to traditional SVOD viewing on phones.

Paramount reported Q4 results showing streaming revenue up 10% year-on-year to $2.2bn, with Paramount+ revenue up 17% to $1.8bn and subscribers rising 4% to 78.9m, while overall the company posted a $339m operating loss amid continued TV segment declines. Executives provided limited commentary on Paramount’s ongoing pursuit of a full acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery (WBD), as WBD continues to recommend Netflix’s offer for its streaming and studios business and prepares for a shareholder vote on 20 March. Paramount’s TV segment revenue fell 5% to $4.7bn, including a 10% drop in advertising revenue, and shares fell 2.2% on the day.

The post states that YouTube maintained the largest share of TV viewing for the 11th consecutive month at 12.5%. It adds that The Walt Disney Company narrowed the gap to 0.6 percentage points, driven largely by an 82% ESPN viewership increase attributed to the College Football Playoff.

The article poses the question of whether Netflix could secure European television rights to the Olympic Games if it completes an acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. This speculation is framed in the context of Italy preparing to host the Winter Olympics.

The Directors Guild of America will begin contract negotiations on May 11 ahead of its June 30, 2026 contract expiration, with Christopher Nolan serving as chair of the negotiating committee. Key priorities include AI protections for directors' creative control, streaming residuals, and preservation of final cut rights, building on the DGA’s 2023 deal that helped set patterns for WGA and SAG-AFTRA talks on AI and streaming compensation.

Digital 9 Infrastructure has written down the value of its roughly 52 per cent stake in UK broadcast infrastructure operator Arqiva to zero, citing expectations that its equity will fall below the value of the vendor loan note used to fund the 2022 acquisition. Macquarie has also exited its 26.5 per cent holding as the UK advances plans to switch off terrestrial TV and radio, although broadcast TV is legally guaranteed until at least 2034 and reports suggest up to 10 million people could lose TV access if transmission ends in 2035.

Talks over a proposed £1.6bn takeover involving Sky and ITV have slowed in recent weeks, according to sources. Despite the slowdown, parties reportedly still hope a deal can be reached.

Charter Communications reported a rare quarterly gain of 44,000 video subscribers and narrower broadband losses, driven by lower churn, new pricing and packaging, use of the Xumo Stream Box, and bundling of programmer streaming apps at no added cost. The company continues to invest heavily in its HFC network to enable symmetrical multi-gig service, expand Spectrum Mobile via a new T-Mobile MVNO deal, and deploy CBRS offload, while signaling that capex will peak in 2025 and then decline. Charter’s mixed but improving metrics and strategy to use video as a tool to support broadband helped lift its stock nearly 12%.

Verve Group SE released preliminary Q4 2025 financial results, reporting a 9.9 percent like-for-like revenue increase to EUR 193.8 million and stable adjusted EBITDA at EUR 48.3 million. The company attributes its strong operational performance and gross margin expansion to the successful completion of platform unification and improvements in its AI-driven technology stack. Verve also provided financial guidance for 2026, anticipating revenues between EUR 680-730 million and adjusted EBITDA of EUR 145-175 million.

Netflix and Paramount executives met separately with European Commission officials to discuss antitrust approvals for their bids for Warner Bros. Discovery. Regulators expressed concerns about Netflix's potential scale post-merger in the EU but were generally receptive. Paramount received a "second request" from US regulators, while Netflix may raise its offer to an all-cash bid.

Meta has appointed C.J. Mahoney, formerly a senior legal executive at Microsoft and deputy U.S. trade representative, as its new chief legal officer, replacing Jennifer Newstead. Mahoney will oversee Meta's global legal strategy, focusing on issues such as data privacy, security, and online safety for teens.

BCG reports that in a survey of 3,500 consumers across the UK, France, Germany, and Switzerland, streaming and social video platforms reach 97% of viewers and account for 64% of weekly viewing time, with Gen-Z spending far less time on linear TV and heavily using algorithm-driven discovery. The article argues European broadcasters face subscription saturation, rising competition for advertising, and pressure from global streamers and YouTube/social video, and outlines six strategic imperatives including cross-border partnerships/M&A, broader distribution (including on social platforms), hybrid monetization, GenAI adoption, and regulatory modernization.

Citing Omdia’s 2025 trends report, the article forecasts that global streaming video revenue will surpass pay-TV revenue in 2025 ($213B vs. $188B). It highlights a shift toward ad-supported tiers, sports, and bundling among major US streaming services, projecting 818M combined paid subscriptions for Netflix, Disney+, Paramount+, Prime Video, and Max, with ~30% on ad tiers. The report also notes India is expected to differ, with pay-TV forecast to remain the dominant revenue sector through the late 2020s while streaming partnerships and ad-driven models expand.

Paramount Global is reportedly exploring the sale of up to a dozen of its independent major-market local TV stations, valued between $500 million and $1 billion. This potential divestiture highlights questions about the economic viability of local broadcasting and could lead to further media consolidation among companies already near FCC ownership caps.

Warner Bros. Discovery's TNT Sports has secured a 10-year deal to broadcast the French Open in the United States, starting in 2025. This agreement is valued at an average of $65 million per year, a significant increase from the previous rights holder, NBC. The French Open coverage will be available on TNT, TBS, truTV, and stream exclusively on Max, along with additional content on Bleacher Report, House of Highlights, and HighlightHER.

OMB and Abrans Group have announced a partnership to advance 5G Broadcast technology for direct-to-mobile content delivery. This collaboration will leverage OMB's infrastructure in Spain and the USA. The objective is to expand wireless broadcasting services across markets in America, Africa, and Asia.

OMB, Cable AML, and Comartel have formed the ABRANS Group, a strategic consortium focused on wireless and broadcast engineering. This alliance will collaborate on research, development, and marketing of technologies for studio-to-transmitter links and broadband wireless products.

Disney announced that "Moana 2," initially planned as a Disney+ streaming series, will now be released theatrically. This decision reflects CEO Bob Iger's strategy to move content previously slated for streaming to cinemas, aiming to leverage the full revenue lifecycle of theatrical releases and capitalize on familiar intellectual property. The shift also follows similar moves by other studios and is intended to boost Disney's stock price and restore its standing in the animated film market.

David Nevins, the chief of Paramount Global, is departing the company in December. In an exit interview, he discussed lessons learned during his tenure, including an initial underestimation of the value of "Yellowjackets."

Deluxe has acquired Post Haste Digital, a media services provider specializing in English-language dubbing. This acquisition continues Deluxe's ongoing strategy of M&A deals.

Deluxe Media, a tech services firm, acquired German dubbing studio CSC. This acquisition follows Deluxe's previous acquisition by Platinum Equity, indicating a strategy of global growth.

Deluxe appointed Samantha Kim, former Netflix Korea executive, to oversee its localization and mastering growth in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Kim will be responsible for operations across Korea, Japan, Thailand, Philippines, Taiwan, and Malaysia. Her role focuses on expanding Deluxe's services in these key Asian markets.

Telestream has acquired cloud-native media processing platform Encoding.com for undisclosed financial terms. The acquisition integrates Encoding.com's cloud VOD encoding technologies with Telestream's file-based on-premise and hybrid systems, with Encoding.com's founders taking on leadership roles within Telestream.

Jeff Bezos's final annual letter to shareholders as Amazon CEO reflects on the company's 2020 performance, highlighting financial metrics across various stakeholders including shareholders, employees, third-party sellers, and customers. It reported $21.3 billion in net income for 2020 and emphasized the value creation for its 200 million Prime members worldwide. The letter also outlined Amazon's commitments to becoming "Earth's Best Employer" and pursuing its Climate Pledge goals.

The article examines Quibi’s early post-launch performance and strategic challenges, including a rapid decline in App Store ranking, limited transparency on viewership, and concerns about conversion from 90-day free trials to paid subscribers. It details Quibi’s business model (mobile-only premium shortform video at $4.99 with ads / $7.99 without), heavy content spending and fundraising (~$1.75B), launch advertising commitments, and subsequent pivots such as adding TV casting and enabling screenshots. The piece also covers operational tensions, executive turnover, advertiser renegotiation pressure, and a lawsuit alleging Quibi’s Turnstyle technology was misappropriated.