Platform strategy now spans four business models at once: OTT, SVOD, AVOD, and FAST. This category covers recommendation engines, content discovery, CTV app experience, player SDKs, and the subscriber engagement data that tells you whether a feature actually worked.
The article describes Comcast’s multiview rollout, which started as a server-side experience before the 2024 NFL season and expanded to thousands of dynamic live channels. It also says the experience now includes personalized "Create Your Own Multiview" viewing without new hardware or app updates, and frames this as a cloud-powered approach built with MediaKind and MK.IO.
Video platform Vimeo experienced a security incident which it attributes to a breach at a third-party vendor, Anodot. According to the report, the breach did not compromise video content, user login credentials, or payment card information. Vimeo also stated there was no disruption to its services as a result of the incident.
Video software provider Synamedia has announced the launch of Go Shorts, a new feature for its Synamedia Go OTT platform. Go Shorts adds short-form video capabilities to the company's end-to-end platform for streaming services.
Comcast's Versant Media Group has signed an agreement to add its Free TV Networks FAST channel portfolio to the vMVPD service Philo. The deal expands the distribution of Free TV Networks' channels onto the Philo platform.
WWE's developmental league, NXT, will begin airing its Premium Live Events (PLEs) on The CW broadcast network for the first time. The events, which will be free to watch, are leaving the Peacock streaming service and YouTube.
The Q Branch Police CID in Tamil Nadu, India, has dismantled a large-scale illegal IPTV operation that allegedly had thousands of subscribers. The racket, linked to a UAE-based handler and a broader cable piracy network, involved the distribution of illicit set-top boxes. The investigation, which was assisted by the Indian Broadcasting and Digital Foundation (IBDF), used forensic watermarking to identify the source of the pirated content and found payments were made via domestic QR codes.
ITV is launching its streaming service ITVX as an in-car entertainment option for BMW, Mini, and Mercedes-Benz vehicles. The launch is facilitated through a partnership with technology company Xperi.
According to an analysis of Nielsen data for 2026 compiled by TV Grim Reaper, cable television viewership declined by 3.2% over the year, with its share of total viewership falling to 20%. During the same period, broadcast networks ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC reportedly experienced a jump in their viewership.
According to a Looper Insights analysis using its proprietary "Dollar Media Placement Value" ($MPV) metric, The Roku Channel secured the #1 individual title spot with "Good Morning Football: Overtime" generating $1.06M in value. While HBO Max remained the top platform with $2.04M in total MPV, driven by "The Pitt" ($1.03M) and "Euphoria" ($1.00M), the report highlights the growing ability of FAST platforms to compete with SVOD services for prominence on the CTV homepage.
This trend analysis piece argues that live sports and advertising dollars are increasingly moving to Free Ad-supported Streaming Television (FAST) as viewership on these platforms grows. It uses The E.W. Scripps Company's recent launch of the Scripps Sports Network (SSN) with PWHL and NWSL games as a primary example. The article also weighs the opportunities of growing CTV ad spend against the current commercial challenges, such as revenue-share models and low rights fees, exemplified by MLB's reported ~$10 million deal with Roku for its 'Sunday Leadoff' package.
Apple Inc. has announced plans to introduce an integrated video podcast feature within its Apple Podcasts app. The launch is scheduled for spring 2026 and is framed by the source as a competitive move against platforms like Netflix, YouTube, and Spotify.
German CTV technology provider Foxxum has signed Videociety, operator of the VOD service maxdome, as the first customer for its new Foxxum Core OTT platform. Videociety will use the platform to launch and manage its apps globally across CTV, mobile, and web devices from a single backend. The platform is offered under a subscription model that includes updates, support, and distribution.
Major streaming services including Disney+, Netflix, Peacock, and Paramount are rolling out short-form vertical video feeds within their mobile apps. These features are currently positioned as content discovery engines to promote existing libraries and, according to the platforms, do not yet include advertising opportunities. The article questions the strategy, exploring the related "microdrama" trend and suggesting the streamers' push into vertical video may be too late to capture audience attention or replicate the financial success of dedicated short-form apps.
Paramount is shutting down the BET+ streaming service, which has around 3.5 million subscribers, in June. This follows Paramount's buyout of Tyler Perry Studios' 25% stake in the service. The majority of BET+ content will be moved to Paramount+, which currently has 80 million subscribers, where it will be featured in a branded BET Hub.
France Télévisions has formed a strategic partnership with YouTube to expand the digital distribution of its news content as part of a streaming-first strategy. The French public broadcaster will make thousands of hours of news and current affairs programming available on the platform, with its ad division, France TV Publicité, directly selling the advertising inventory. The two companies will also collaborate on tools to counter misinformation, including support for YouTube's Likeness ID system for detecting AI-generated content.
A TVREV analysis argues that the technical capabilities of ATSC 3.0 ("NextGen TV") could enable a successful version of the hybrid broadcast/subscription model attempted by the failed service USDTV in the mid-2000s. The piece suggests a model using the standard's IP delivery and encryption to offer a free, ad-supported tier of channels alongside premium, subscription-based packages. This approach would also leverage IP capabilities to support targeted advertising on the broadcast layer.
Walmart's US e-commerce sales have surpassed $100 billion, fueled by its Walmart+ membership program attracting more affluent households previously loyal to Amazon. The article details how Walmart is leveraging its 4,700-store footprint for fast grocery delivery and using benefits like a bundled Peacock subscription to compete with Amazon Prime. While Amazon's e-commerce dominance remains, Walmart's strategy has resulted in 11 consecutive quarters of double-digit e-commerce growth, with households earning over $100,000 accounting for 75% of recent market share gains.
UK broadcaster 5 announced its streaming service experienced the fastest growth among public service broadcaster (PSB) platforms in Q1 2026, with Barb data showing a 25% year-on-year increase in viewing hours. The growth, attributed to a slate of UK original dramas, outpaced declines at BBC iPlayer (-8%) and ITVX (-1%), and growth at 4 Streaming (+17%). The performance follows the broadcaster's strategic relaunch under the unified 5 brand in March 2025.
Telefónica Deutschland will launch a revamped O2 TV portfolio on May 6, 2026, combining live television with bundled streaming services. The new subscription tiers (Classic, Smart, and Premium) will package over 150 HD channels with integrated access to Netflix and Disney+, depending on the plan. This move is intended to reduce complexity and simplify billing for customers, with prices ranging from €4.99 to €24.99 per month.
According to new research from Parks Associates, the US connected TV platform market remains concentrated, with Roku OS accounting for 28% of usage and Samsung’s Tizen OS representing 23%. The data shows Amazon Fire TV, LG webOS, and Vizio SmartCast in mid-tier positions, reinforcing the role of a few key operating systems as the primary gateway for streaming. The report highlights that control of the platform layer is critical for competition, influencing content discovery, advertising delivery, and monetization strategies.
Racing TV has launched a new free-to-view channel, Racing TV Play, on the Samsung TV Plus platform in the UK and Ireland. The FAST channel, described as the first dedicated horse racing and equestrian channel on the service, will offer a curated archive of races, festival coverage, and magazine-style programming.
In an interview at the 2026 NAB Show, Amagi's Dan Marshall stated that future growth in the FAST market will rely on live programming to increase CPMs and engagement. He also identified trends including platform consolidation, pay-TV operators integrating FAST channels into their program guides (a practice he calls "front porching"), and the need for more sophisticated ad monetization. Marshall noted that Amagi has launched agentic AI-powered tools, like Newspulse, to help content owners manage costs and automate workflows at scale.
Political media company Crooked Media is launching a free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel called SANEtv. The 24/7 channel will feature video from its podcasts, including "Pod Save America," and will initially be available on Amazon Prime Video and Amazon Fire devices. According to the company, platform partners will manage advertising sales.
Stream Hatchet, a subsidiary of GameSquare, has released its Q1 2026 Live Streaming Trends Report, now incorporating data from TikTok Live. The report finds that global live streaming viewership reached 17 billion hours, with TikTok Live accounting for almost half of the total. Excluding TikTok Live, the market saw a 0.2% increase in hours watched compared to Q4 2025.
A leaked Paramount Skydance presentation detailed 2025 performance and 2026 goals for its streaming services. In 2025, Paramount+ grew global viewing hours by 22% to 10.4 billion, while Pluto TV's viewing hours grew 21% to 9.5 billion and reached 89.6 million MAUs. The 2026 goals for both platforms include double-digit revenue growth, driven by improved monetization and a focus on higher-value subscribers.
According to EY's annual "Decoding the Digital Home" report, which surveyed 2,000 UK consumers, 34% plan to cancel a streaming service in the next year. The study identifies attractive pricing, extensive libraries, and specific/exclusive content as key drivers for subscriptions. To reduce churn, the report suggests streamers should simplify the user experience, offer content aggregation, improve ad variation, and leverage AI for personalized discovery.
FOX One announced it is adding eight FOX News Media and Red Seat Ventures podcast series as video podcasts available inside the streaming service, with episodes beginning to roll out on April 20. The move follows FOX’s February 2025 acquisition of Red Seat Ventures (to operate under Tubi Media Group) and is positioned as part of a broader industry push toward video podcasts for engagement and retention, alongside FOX One’s recent multiview feature added via a partnership with Skreens.
NBCUniversal Local’s Telemundo Station Group launched the Telemundo Puerto Rico (WKAQ) free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel on Prime Video, offering a 24/7 Spanish-language feed of WKAQ-produced entertainment and news programming. The channel includes simulcast and encore presentations across more than 80 hours of weekly original shows plus investigative and news content, and follows its mainland U.S. debut on Feb. 5. Prime Video also carries Telemundo Station Group’s four regional 24/7 news FAST channels and the streaming channels from 11 NBC-owned stations.
Layercake announced it has formalized and deepened its integration with Bitmovin, making Bitmovin’s encoding, playback, and analytics a core capability within its Streamcake media orchestration platform. The combined setup positions Streamcake as a control plane to automate and manage end-to-end workflows (ingest, encoding, packaging, DRM, delivery, and playback) for use cases including OTT, live sports, simulcast, and enterprise video.
Roku reported surpassing 100 million streaming households worldwide in April, defined as distinct user accounts that streamed on the Roku platform over a 30-day period. The company said its devices are used by more than half of US broadband households, with continued growth in Canada, Mexico, Brazil and the UK, and availability of Roku OS TVs and devices in 15+ countries. Roku positioned the scale as beneficial for advertisers and partners, citing Nielsen Gauge rankings for The Roku Channel and noting the recent launch of the $3 ad-free subscription service Howdy in the US and Mexico.
Roku reported it surpassed 100 million streaming households worldwide in April 2026, defining the metric as distinct user accounts that streamed on the Roku platform in a 30-day period. The company said more than half of broadband-enabled U.S. homes use Roku streaming devices and highlighted its mix of free live linear channels, on-demand titles, and The Roku Channel originals. Roku stated its next priorities include new platform capabilities, advanced personalization, and international expansion.
Gray Media deployed a new cloud-native streaming platform across its 113 legacy TV markets, consolidating 1,300 digital touchpoints (websites, mobile apps, and smart TV apps) into a single architecture built with Quickplay and Google Cloud AI. The rollout centrally manages 269 live channels and 123 FAST channels, with distribution across platforms including Amazon Prime/Fire TV, Roku, Samsung TV Plus, and Vizio, and is positioned to support personalization, faster news delivery, and ad insertion.
Paramount-owned Pluto TV announced it will add the series "Hart of Dixie," "Arrow," "The 100," and "Everwood" to its free, ad-supported on-demand and linear channel offerings, with free-category exclusivity for those titles. The first three series plus "My Wife and Kids" arrive May 1, 2026, and "Everwood" arrives June 1, as Pluto targets 18–34 viewers with additional library programming.
YouTube CEO Neal Mohan outlines four 2025 priorities: reinforcing YouTube’s role in culture (including podcasts), expanding creator business tools and monetization, accelerating connected-TV viewing experiences, and deploying more AI features for creation and localization. The post cites that TV is now the primary device for YouTube viewing in the U.S. by watch time, with viewers watching over 1B hours of YouTube on TVs daily, and notes subscription scale including 8M+ YouTube TV subscribers and 100M+ YouTube Music & Premium subscribers (including trials). Planned initiatives include new CTV ad formats (e.g., QR codes and pause ads), interactive/second-screen TV features, “Watch With” live commentary experiments, wider availability of auto-dubbing in the YouTube Partner Program, and further generative AI integrations such as Veo 2 in Dream Screen.
NBCUniversal and Dolby Laboratories announced that Peacock will be the first streaming service to integrate Dolby’s full suite of premium picture and audio technologies, including expanded use of Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos across more live sports in 2026. Peacock also committed to supporting Dolby Vision 2 and the Dolby AC-4 audio codec, which are expected to launch later in 2026.
YouTube is introducing “Stations,” 24/7 pre-programmed linear streams that function similarly to FAST channels, beginning with channels curated around artists performing at Coachella. The feature targets lean-back, passive viewing behavior as YouTube’s consumption continues to grow on living-room TVs, positioning the service closer to traditional linear-TV navigation patterns common in smart TV EPG environments.
Roku announced the U.S. launch of Howdy, a new ad-free subscription video-on-demand service priced at $2.99 per month, initially available on the Roku platform. The service launches with thousands of titles totaling nearly 10,000 hours from partners including Lionsgate, Warner Bros. Discovery, and FilmRise, alongside select Roku Originals, with plans to expand to mobile and additional platforms later.
BroadView Software has partnered with Uplynk to integrate enterprise broadcast scheduling with cloud-native delivery solutions. This collaboration aims to centralize channel management and support live and linear streaming operations for a global media client across multiple continents. The solution focuses on delivering a scalable streaming workflow from scheduling to distribution.
The article describes shifting video consumption patterns in France as streaming (SVOD) and YouTube usage grows while free-to-air linear television remains the largest overall viewing source. It highlights that changes are most pronounced among under-35 audiences, indicating an ongoing hybrid viewing environment combining linear TV and digital platforms.
LG Electronics announced a “premiumization” push for its LG Channels FAST service, including new exclusive programming and channels aimed at advertisers and LG TV viewers. Additions include the All Chewed Up FAST channel (launching March 30, 2026 in North America), LG Channels World Pup (premiering in June with matches through July), expanded exclusive original programming for Matthew Berry’s Fantasy Life, and a Mohr Stories video podcast FAST channel in partnership with Cineverse.
JioHotstar has launched "Tadka," a new micro-drama segment integrated within its main app, featuring over 100 short-format shows. The launch is timed with the Indian Premier League (IPL) to enhance user retention and increase time spent on the platform through short-form content. This initiative also aims to facilitate deeper brand integration within storylines and deliver targeted advertising experiences.
Samsung TV Plus is expanding into exclusive original programming, including the six-part docuseries "Hooligans: The ARCH Racing Project" starring Keanu Reeves and Gard Hollinger, produced by V10 Entertainment. The platform also expanded its partnership with creator Mark Rober for a two-hour live global event and launched MotoAmericaTV, an exclusive FAST channel featuring 200+ hours of live motorbike racing, citing a footprint of 100 million monthly active users.
HbbTV released version 2026-1 of its Conformance Test Suite, expanding to 3,439 test cases (2,907 approved) and adding 64 newly approved tests plus quality improvements to more than 180 cases. The update adds new approved coverage for CTA WAVE Media Source Extensions (MSE) API tests and Widevine DRM support, and integrates test cases previously only available in the UK to broaden regional applicability.
The article details NASA+ preparations to live stream Artemis II and subsequent mission milestones, projecting cumulative viewership around 25 million and describing a distributed production workflow across multiple NASA centers using a virtual master control room. NASA says it uses AWS-backed infrastructure, Akamai as its CDN with plans to add additional CDNs, and will leverage YouTube to handle demand spikes while also pursuing broader distribution via partnerships with services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, plus content partners including PBS and Canopy.
CivicScience data indicates a nearly 35% increase in intent to follow Major League Baseball (MLB) in the 2026 season compared to 2025, reaching 47% of U.S. adults. This rise is partly attributed to new rule changes, including the ABS challenge system, and an increased interest in sports betting, particularly among women. Furthermore, the article notes a shift in how fans access games, citing a Netflix exclusive opening-night game and some MLB teams moving to direct-to-consumer streaming.
DAZN announced plans to launch a new division, DAZN Inflight, in 2027 to distribute DAZN live sports to passengers on aircraft and vessels, citing improving onboard connectivity, reliability, and bandwidth. The unit will be led by Aviv Giladi (president, DAZN Partnerships) and would compete with existing inflight live sports providers such as IMG’s Sport24, which distributes 24/7 sports channels to airlines and cruise lines.
Bitmovin released upgrades to its Player Web X web video player, adding vertical video support and new advertising playback capabilities aimed at publishers, news, and social media use cases. The update leverages a Load Control API to preload main content and streaming ads for faster transitions, and introduces a package/bundles architecture and Package API to enable deeper customization without modifying source code. Bitmovin also claims improved performance and footprint, including faster startup times and a smaller fully featured bundle versus comparable alternatives.
BBC Sport reported major digital growth for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games, with iPlayer streams nearly tripling versus the prior Winter Games (83m vs 31.4m) while linear reach also rose to 26.3m despite a 25% reduction in broadcast hours. In a podcast discussion, head of major events Ron Chakraborty described reallocating resources from linear to digital and prioritizing iPlayer usability as viewing continues to shift online. The BBC also highlighted large increases in social video views and cited a new YouTube partnership expected to play a bigger role around the upcoming World Cup.
NETINT argues that as video pipelines scale, operational coordination (a “video control plane”) becomes a larger bottleneck than raw encoding performance, especially in event-driven architectures and Just-In-Time (JIT) transcoding. The article positions partner platform Scalstrm as a unified control plane across ingest, transcoding, packaging, and delivery (including origin/CDN functions), citing operational features like intent-based scheduling, backpressure, and failure isolation plus claimed cost/power/footprint reductions when orchestrating CPU/GPU/VPU resources.
Reuters is working with TVU Networks on a phased migration from satellite-based delivery to a cloud-managed, IP-based live news distribution model, with the first region already live and global rollout underway. The system uses TVU MediaHub for signal processing/routing and TVU NOC for monitoring and incident response, aiming to improve consistency, security, and reliability via geographically distributed redundancy, automated failover, and elastic scaling.
