Instant Replay: Streaming Media Connect December

Streaming Media Connect December was all about live and featured exclusive keynote fireside chats with Rebecca Sirmons of NASA+ and Neal Roberts of WarnerBros. Discovery and a slate of live streaming panels packed with speakers from Peacock TV, Paramount+, Google, Globo, EZDRM, nanocosmos, CommScope, Starz, Professional Fighters League, LG, and more. Check out a playlist with Streaming Media Connect December sessions on Streaming Media's YouTube channel to catch the sessions you missed and revel in the ones you want to relive through the magic of VOD.

Even if Netflix Gets the Library, Can It Take the Stadium?

What the Netflix-Warner Bros. deal means for sports. And why it is not simple.

The Champions League Goes Global. But Can Streaming Carry the Weight?

News of Paramount's successful bid for the Champions League and the weeks of rumours that preceded it have set the industry buzzing. It feels like a natural next step. Fans are global. The game is global. The biggest platforms in the world want premium, live, must-watch content.

Does IRIS.TV’s Tagging Partnership With Tubi Signal a Moneyball Moment for Longtail CTV Content?

IRIS.TV recently partnered with Tubi so IRIS.TV could provide advertisers with the appropriate level of AVOD addressability, contextual targeting, and measurement. To learn more about IRIS.TV's tagging strategy and collaboration with Tubi, I spoke with Rohan Castelino, CMO of IRIS.TV.

Field & Stream and Outdoor America Partner to Launch “Field & Stream TV”

New Channel Combines Iconic Outdoor Legacy with Expanded Content and Industry-Leading Reach

AI Alone Can't Deliver Smart Sports Streams

When it comes to algorithm-based sports coverage, from capture to cuts to commentary by synthetic voice, much of the tech required to remove humans from the equation already exists. AI can recognize goals, track the ball, and switch between angles faster than any human. But you can't replicate the buzz, the instinct, the unspoken coordination of a team reacting in real time. That's what makes live sports feel alive.

AI Meets Adtech

During an "AI Meets Adtech" panel at Streaming Media 2025 in Santa Monica in October, I did my best to stir things up with a group of industry thought leaders that included Google's Inderpreet Sandhu, Tavant's Filiz Bahmanpour, FOX's Amit Shetty, IAB Tech Lab's Shailley Singh, and former Disney tech ops expert Sarge Sargent.

TikTok, Friction, and the Future of Video Shopping

At Streaming Media 2025 in Santa Monica, my panel with Dallas Lawrence (Telly), Sarge Sargent, Bryan Moore (TalkShopLive), and David Grant (Favored.Live) explored the hottest video shopping trend around, and it's not what TV techies have been building.

Losing the Feed, but Owning the Story

For decades, broadcasters were the heartbeat of live sports. They owned the feed, shaped the story, and set the standard. But today, that control is slipping, not because audiences have abandoned them, but because the definition of "live" has changed.

When #2 Beats #1 in Sports: Key Insights from Professional Fighters League, Swerve Sports, Roku, and Major League Table Tennis

There are hundreds of distinct sports that have been televised somewhere globally. What makes one sport work so well on TV, and not another? That's just one fascinating topic I discussed with four panelists at Streaming Media 2025 at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel in Santa Monica. Two of those panelists were involved with combat sports, which has proven to be a hot format in linear and live channel environments, including FAST. So hot, in fact, that combat also happens to be at the center of a watershed licensing agreement recently signed between the newly formed Paramount+/Skydance and UFC, the #1 combat sports brand in the world.

Paramount Skydance Favorite for WBD but Don’t Rule Out a Saudi Bid

The fate of Warner Bros Discovery is complicated by a politically motivated regulator but whatever happens, streaming is about to get shaken up again.

ICYMI: Streaming Media 2025's VOD Archive is Live

Streaming Media 2025, which rolled into sunny Santa Monica last week, featured speakers from Netflix, Roku, Paramount, BET, Google, Warner Bros. Discovery, Televisa Univision, and many more. Check out a playlist featuring the complete Streaming Media 25 program on Streaming Media's YouTube channel to catch the sessions you missed and revel in the ones you want to relive through the magic of VOD.

Advertising Week NY: BrightLine CEO and Founder Jacqueline Corbelli Discusses Her Framework for Transforming Ambitious Ideas into Practical Outcomes

At this year's Advertising Week New York, Corbelli sat down for a Q&A with Michael Gewirtzman, the Global VP of Programming at Advertising Week. In the interview, she explained her framework for transforming ambitious ideas into practical outcomes and how anybody can spark change in business and society, from transforming TV advertising to addressing global issues. She also discussed some essential actions that should be taken in today's rapidly evolving and unpredictable world. 

Q&A: Vevo Relies on Data Science for Optimized Ad Experiences

Independent streaming platform and leading music video network Vevo has been collaborating with data science company Domino to leverage AI, with the goal of enhancing both its ad performance and the viewer experience. I spoke to Natasha Potashnik, head of data, research, and measurement at Vevo, and Thomas Robinson, COO of Domino, to dig deeper into the use case and to discuss the role of AI in Vevo's business strategy. 

Publica and Samsung Ads Announce Next Phase of Dynamic Partnership: A Q&A With Publica’s Cameron Miille and Joe Melaragno of Samsung Ads

Publica by IAS has announced the next phase of its multi-year global partnership with Samsung Ads. Publica enables Samsung Ads to enhance its ad-supported service offering with a seamless, TV-like viewer experience while more effectively monetizing video programming across CTV inventory.  In this Q&A, Cameron Miille, Chief Revenue Officer of Publica, ad Joe Melaragno, Head of Channel Sales, Samsung Ads, discuss the details of this new phase and its unique elements. 

Loyalty Pays: A Q&A on the Power of Bank-based Indirect Streaming Bundles with Bango's Giles Tongue

A revealing new report from Bango, "Loyalty pays: the bundle economy advantage," offered surprising insights into the increasing role banking incentives are playing in the growth of indirect streaming bundles, and how streaming bundle offerings in turn are fostering greater loyalty among bank customers. With Gen Z customers likely to churn from one bank to another 5x faster than their Boomer counterparts, streaming bundles are far more effective than the toaster offers that hooked their parents and grandparents in keeping their accounts in one place longer. 

Monetizing Sports on FAST: A Q&A With Free Live Sports' Cathy Rasenberger and Amagi's Srinivasan KA

In this Q&A with Free Live Sports Co-Founder Cathy Rasenberger and Amagi President Srinivasan KA, we discuss a new partnership that makes Amagi the exclusive monetization partner for Free Live Sports' entire FAST inventory, and what the deal reveals about the state of sports on FAST and how FAST monetization continues to evolve.

Video entertainment resilient to economic distress

Price inflation and wage squeeze are not putting a dampener on "TV" as consumers ratchet up their spend and their time spent on home video entertainment, according to the latest 2025 Video Trends Report from TiVo. The average number of services used by consumers is up too with the average number of FAST channels watched by viewers almost doubling year on year but SVOD churn has increased.

Fans in the Feed: Mining the Untapped Gold of Fan-Created Sports Content

Today every sports fan has a camera in their pocket. Every goal, reaction and celebration can be clipped, shared, and spread within seconds. In many ways, these moments feel more authentic than the broadcast itself. But here is the problem: most of that content never makes it into the official feed. It lives on social, disconnected from the live coverage, even though it is what fans are already watching, sharing and talking about.

Worldpanel's Dominic Sunnebo Discusses New Data on Live Sports Streaming and New Subscriber Growth

Is live sports streaming driving new subscription growth on major platforms like Netflix, Prime, and Disney+? In this exclusive interview with Streaming Media's Jan Ozer, Worldpanel by Numerator's Dominic Sunnebo discusses new data from Q2 2025 exploring the impact of premium live sports and localized content on new customer acquisition on subscription and hybrid ad-tiered platforms across the paid CTV ecosystem.