Why Your Desire for Free TV Could Cost You

As more users turn to unauthorized streaming sites to bypass subscription paywalls, cybercriminals are exploiting this demand through deceptive tactics. From malware-laden downloads disguised as media players to fake CAPTCHA verifications that silently execute malicious scripts, these attacks turn unsuspecting viewers into easy targets. This article, written by lead cybersecurity analyst Josh Taylor at Fortra, breaks down how these schemes work, their impact on users and the streaming industry, and steps media companies can take to protect their platforms and viewers from evolving threats.

How the Buy-Side is Approaching Data and Identity Challenges

Navigating today's fragmented, privacy-conscious media landscape is a bit like stepping into a dense jungle. The buy-side—marketers, agencies, and demand-side platforms (DSPs)—must find their way through signal loss, measurement challenges, and evolving consumer expectations. But this isn't just a challenge; it's a strategic opportunity. Allison Omealia of Experian Marketing Services dives into how buy-side players can use data and identity solutions to be their guide through the jungle and emerge as winners.

Content Piracy in 2025: Emerging Threats and Strategic Responses

Modern content pirates are smart. They have a deep understanding of the technology used by their victims and of the anti-piracy and cybersecurity solutions built to stop content theft. As we approach 2025, content piracy continues to evolve at an unprecedented pace, with pirates leveraging increasingly sophisticated technologies and distribution methods. Robin Boldon of Friend MTS writes that the most effective way to combat it is to anticipate, adapt, and scale techniques to keep pace with the shifting pirate landscape and predict and match pirates' talent for reinvention.

How Advertisers Can Try to Avoid Getting Stuck in VPPA Limbo with Their CTV and Video Data

Mitch Eisenberg of Alliant discusses how a 35-year-old piece of legislation—the Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA)—is sparking lawsuits and sowing confusion within the CTV and video ad space, and he outlines some safe and practical strategies that marketers can take to navigate the VPPA and reach the audiences that matter most to them.

Instant Replay: Streaming Media Connect November 2023

Streaming Media presented its 12th Connect virtual conference November 13 - 16, with media industry cartographer Evan Shapiro as host and MC. Shapiro kicked off the event with a dynamic keynote, digging deep into the Q3 earnings call data to hold the spin doctors accountable and giving an unvarnished view of the industry. Other highlights included The Future of Streaming with Shobana Radhakrishnan, Senior Director of Engineering at Google TV, and several panels covering topics such as Cloud Workflows for Streaming and CTV, Optimizing Live Streams at Scale, How Codec Patent Pools Will Impact Streaming in 2024, Making Live Streaming and VOD More Accessible, Live Streaming Technology Trends, and more.

Codec Licensing and Web Video Streaming

John C. Simmons, Principal Engineer at John Simmons Consulting, LLC, discusses patent licensing for streaming, which is especially relevant now in light of the recent German court decision in the Broadcom v. Netflix case and Avanci's announced launch of a video streaming patent pool.

YouTube Tests Its Advertising Sway--Side-Stepping Standards, Winning Budgets

YouTube may be too big to ignore. The question for advertisers might be - is it so big that it doesn't have to play by the rules? Hunter Terry of Lotame discusses many of the unusual and unexpected advertising advantages that YouTube currently possesses and what that means for the overall CTV advertising industry.

The AI Ethical Imperative Exposed by Black Mirror’s "Joan is Awful"

Leon Huang, Senior Director of Sports, Media, and Entertainment at SAP, discusses the ethical and legal implications of AI for the entertainment industry addressed in the sinister Netflix Black Mirror episode "Joan is Awful," and what steps can be taken to establish ethical standards and transparency around the use of AI in media.

How Warner Bros. Discovery Is Maxing Out on Streaming

Geetha Ranganathan of Bloomberg Intelligence provides insightful analysis of the Warner Bros. Discovery launch of its new MAX service, why WBD has not experienced earnings losses in 2023 Q1, and what that says about the current state of the streaming industry and its other major players like Netflix, Disney+, AppleTV+, and Paramount+.

The Video Captioning Conundrum

James Broberg of StreamShark discusses why video captioning is essential for accessibility to video content and increasing viewer comprehension.

CTV Represents the Best Opportunity to Get Privacy Right

Jason Bier, General Counsel and Chief Privacy Officer, Adstra, looks at how CTV's massive growth is happening at the same time Congress will likely turn its attention to federal privacy legislation and posits that this makes CTV the perfect test case for the ad industry to develop and build a channel that appeals to marketers and also has strict, clear privacy guidelines

Compliance Challenges On The Horizon: How The Rise of Ad-Based Streaming Will Lead To New Tax Obligations

How might the rise of ad-based streaming lead to new tax obligations? Toby Bargar of Avalara discusses the possibilities.

VVC's Adoption Hampered by Patent Uncertainty and Low Value

A study from Unified Patents suggests that VVC isn't likely to ever gain widespread adoption due to both royalty issues and technology changes

OTT Platforms Need to Focus on Cybersecurity

After huge data breaches at Facebook and LinkedIn, it's time for every OTT service to pay serious attention to protecting user data.

MPEG is Closed; Want to Help Streaming Media Write the Story?

The Moving Picture Experts Group, which had been responsible for developing standards and executing royalties for video and audio codecs, shut down last week. We'll be writing up an article on the implications for the industry, and we need your help.

New: Streaming Media Connect

Streaming Media's "Who To See at NAB" marketing program evolves into "Streaming Media Connect"

How to Stop Pirates Gatecrashing Your OTT Party

Video is more sophisticated than ever, but by using strong end-to-end encryption, hardening client devices, and using intelligence-based operational security services, you can keep pirates from stealing your content.

YouTube Execs: Take Responsibility for the Mess You've Created

Vaccination misinformation, white nationalists, improper kid vids: YouTube pretends it's a library, while its videos are doing real harm. It's time for YouTube execs to take out the trash.