Nominate Now for the 2026 Streaming Media Readers' Choice Awards

What's your favorite streaming tool, tech, or service? What is the most important new innovation in the business in 2026? It's time to make your nominations for Streaming Media's 2026 Readers' Choice Awards, our annual industry awards program chosen by end users.

Sneak Preview: Programming and Monetizing Sports on FAST

How do you fill a 24/7 channel with compelling sports programming without breaking the bank? On Thursday, May 14, Chris Pfaff will moderate the Streaming Media Connect panel "Alpha Channel: Programming and Monetizing Sports on FAST" alongside experts from Fubo, FloSports, FreeLiveSports, and TeleGraff Media. This panel explores creative scheduling and content mixes, licensing strategies, fresh angles on balancing mass appeal and niche differentiation, and tips for identifying and serving passionate communities of fans. Learn what turns on FAST sports channel viewers and keeps them tuning in.

Women-Centered, Artist-Owned: A Q&A With Chera TV

Streaming Media has been tracking the trend of vertical microdramas (aka vertical dramas), as multiple companies gain traction in the space. The subject of this Q&A, Chera TV, is hoping its unique approach of being what it calls "the first artist-owned vertical streaming platform" can entice viewers to give it a try as it introduces its dramas this spring.

Setplex Secures Top Honors with NAB Show Project of the Year Award for UVOtv

Setplex announced that it has taken home the NAB Show Project of the Year Award in the Distribution category for its innovative deployment with UVOtv.

NAB 2026: AI-Powered Video Creation with Avid and Google

Avid and Google teamed up for a tech preview at NAB 2026 to demonstrate new generative video functionality for Avid Media Composer. This workflow tool brings us to the front of the lens, where we've moved one step closer to building realistic content with Gen AI.

Sneak Preview: Creating Lean-In Engagement With Personalized, Next-Gen Sports Streaming Experiences

On Wednesday, May 13, Chris Pfaff, CEO, Chris Pfaff Tech Media, will moderate the Streaming Media Connect panel "Fans Forward: Creating Lean-In Engagement With Personalized, Next-Gen Sports Streaming Experiences." This panel explores how next-gen platforms deliver individualized sports experiences: customizable commentary tracks, fan-selected camera angles, in-game ecommerce, personalized graphic overlays and statistics, and even AI-generated highlight reels tailored to individual interests.

NAB 2026: AMC Global Media's AWS-Driven AI Journey

My visit to NAB 2026 skewed heavily toward talking about workflow changes with AI. I tried to keep my travels on the convention floor to very specific examples of AI's impact on streaming workflows, and this article will explore the most interesting ones I found. First up is how AMC Global Media (newly rebranded from AMC Networks) is working with AWS to leverage AI to create better content access.

New Study Reveals Power of Contextual in CTV: Content Adjacency Drives 4X Brand Lift for High-Consideration Categories

New research from Video Elephant shows that contextual relevance is the 'missing link' in achieving meaningful brand lift. The new report, titled The Power of Context: Driving Lift Through Video, finds that contextual alignment between an ad and its surrounding content is a primary driver of brand perception, with the power to 4X brand lift compared to industry averages.

Multiviews on Live Sports Streaming at NAB 2026

Perhaps the booths that cropped up on my NAB 2026 itinerary and the sessions I squeezed in between simply skewed this way, but it seems like everyone's favorite sport in streaming this year is, well, sports. Certainly, when it comes to live, the pinnacle of achievement appears to be seamless delivery of premium sports events at global scale, with an eye to "meeting fans exactly where they are"—crossing national, lingual, and cultural borders via localization, and transcending generations through autogenerated highlights and verticalized mobile delivery. And when it comes to traditional landscape sports video streamed to conventional CTV glass, multiview more than ever seems to be the name of the game in 2026.

Samsung TV Plus Powers the Next Era of FAST, Showcasing Live Events, Creator-Led Content, Exclusive Offerings, and Interactive Features Accelerating the Fan Experience

At IAB NewFronts 2026, Samsung TV Plus is expanding its exclusive offering with live events and creator-led programming, plus interactive experiences throughout.

Setplex Transforms Video Streaming with AI and Super Aggregation Innovations at the 2026 NAB Show

Setplex's Fully Integrated Zapflex Platform Empowers Operators and Media Owners to Manage, Distribute, and Monetize Video

Netflix Ramps Up Ad Suite

Netflix hopes the special sauce of their newly expanded expanded Ads Suite with assists from Amazon and Yahoo DSP will make CTV look different. This balance of data and technology, making things faster, more efficient, and more personalized within the ad environment should bring a unique experience to the marketplace.

Vertical Leap: Growing the Free Vertical Drama Business at Streaming Media Connect

On Thursday, February 26, at Streaming Media Connect, the panel "Vertical Leap: Growing the Free Vertical Drama Business at Streaming Media Connect" assembled expert practitioners from Celestine Pictures, Hudson Vertical, Stratagem Vertical, and GoodShort to explore the ways that vertical drama is exploding on free streaming platforms, driven by mobile-first viewing, bingeable formats, and a new generation of viewers and global creators.

Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery Reshape Streaming’s Power Balance

The proposed merger of Paramount Skydance Global with Warner Bros. Discovery is being framed through the usual lenses—debt loads, political sensitivities, and regulatory scrutiny in the U.S. and Europe. But the real story is simpler and more strategic: this is a scale play built around intellectual property.

ICYMI: Streaming Media Connect February 2026

Streaming Media Connect February 2026 was all about the business and tech of ad-supported streaming and featured exclusive keynote fireside chats with Michelle Auguste of the NBA, Michelle Munson of Eluvio, and Kimmy Li of GAMELOOP and a slate of expert panels panels packed with speakers from YouTube, Disney, DAZN, Fubo, Fremantle, FloSports, Fuse, LG, Philo, Bitmovin, CacheFly, Tavant, and more. Check out a playlist with Streaming Media Connect 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.

Silverpush and Epitaph Release Attention Study with Lumen Research to Prove Performance of YouTube and Context

Silverpush, the contextual intelligence company, today released a first-ever attention study on the impact of contextual intelligence for YouTube advertising with agency partner Epitaph. By working with Lumen, the global attention measurement company, Silverpush and Epitaph analyzed more than 60 million impressions across 30+ campaigns to see the effect of contextual video advertising on YouTube

Fuse Media and Complex introduce Complex TV

Fuse Media, a leading minority-owned media company, today announced a partnership with Complex, the definitive platform for global youth culture and music lifestyle, to launch Complex TV, a new FAST channel that brings one of the most influential brands in global youth culture to audiences across major streaming platforms.

Sneak Preview: Vertical Leap: Growing the Free Vertical Drama Business at Streaming Media Connect

Vertical drama is exploding on free streaming platforms, driven by mobile-first viewing, bingeable formats, and a new generation of viewers and global creators. Tune in on February 26 at Streaming Media Connect as experts from Celestine Pictures, Hudson Vertical, Stratagem Vertical, and GoodShort break down the business models, distribution strategies, and monetization tactics driving the vertical drama boom—and explain how to scale it effectively.

Sneak Preview: Finder’s Feat: Optimizing Search & Discovery With Metadata & Machine Learning at Streaming Media Connect

In this era of constant content proliferation and channel saturation, discovery is critical to content monetization. Join an expert panel at Streaming Media Connect on February 26 to explore how structured metadata and machine learning-powered discovery tools bring great content to light, improving relevance, boosting engagement, and driving measurable revenue impact.

Sky "Super Bundle" Moves Pay TV from Linear to Streaming

UK pay TV service Sky's announcement of a "world-first" grouping of streamers under one belt could fire the starting gun on further super bundles - though this particular union does not embrace either Apple TV or Amazon.