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CTV/OTT > News

CTV and Over-the-top (OTT) have changed how people watch television, and in some regions is on track to overtake broadcast, cable, and satellite. Look below for the latest news in OTT technology and programming, as well as insights and analysis into where the OTT market is headed.

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Radial Entertainment Formed by Oaktree Through Merger of Shout! Studios and FilmRise

The newly formed global entertainment company will operate FilmRise and Shout! Studios brands, leveraging the power of its combined best-in-class film & tv distribution, production, and streaming capabilities

Nominate Now for the 2025 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 2025? It's time to make your nominations for Streaming Media's 2025 Readers' Choice Awards, our annual industry awards program chosen by end users.

CTV Isn’t Just Another Screen—Why Brands Need a New Strategy for Shoppable Ads

The latest findings from BrightLine show that consumers are engaging with shoppable CTV ads differently and more intentionally—favoring rich, interactive formats like carousels and branded destinations. In this Q&A with Joshua Blum, Director of Research & Analytics at BrightLine, he delves into further detail about their recent findings and how platforms can adapt their shoppable TV experiences to adjust to these new behaviors.

DoubleVerify Uncovers ShadowBot Scheme Involving 35 Million Spoofed Mobile Devices

DV's Fraud Lab detected amateur-level fraudster mistakes behind a $2.5M fraud operation targeting CTV and mobile inventory

JustWatch Reveals Streaming Trends for LGBTQ+ Content in the UK During Pride Month

As Pride Month celebrations sweep across the UK, JustWatch - the world's largest streaming guide - has unveiled an annual analysis spotlighting the best streaming platforms for LGBTQ+ films and TV shows in the UK. This year's analysis showcases which services offer the richest selection of queer content, reveals the most-watched LGBTQ+ titles of the year, and examines how queer film and TV production has evolved over time.

Netflix Makes Quietly Aggressive Aggregation Play

Netflix announced at Cannes Lions that it will distribute the channels and on-demand content of French commercial broadcaster TF1 to Netflix members in France, beginning next year. If successful, Netflix will have jumped a start on all its rivals who have so far resisted, or failed to entice, broadcasters anywhere to share their entire schedule and programme output with a third-party streaming platform.

DIRECTV and Lionsgate Team Up to Launch Lionsgate Collection

Unique and Proprietary Channel To Be Available Across All DIRECTV Satellite, Streaming and FAST Platforms

Twitch’s Dual-Layout Streaming: Technical Innovation or Industry Revolution?

As video producers, we all agree on one thing: we want to serve content in whatever format the viewer prefers. Until now, for live streaming in landscape or portrait, it's been a one-or-the-other proposition. That's changing. At TwitchCon Europe, amid the usual fanfare and cosplay, Twitch quietly announced a feature that could reshape the future of live streaming: dual-layout live streaming.

Warner Bros. Discovery Drops Linear Ballast to Float HBO Max

Having trailed the move a year ago, Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) chief David Zaslav has followed through on plans to split the company in half. The company is to separate into Streaming & Studios (HBO) and Global Networks (TNT Sports, CNN, B/R, Discovery) by mid-2026 effectively undoing the $43 billion merger between WarnerMedia and Discovery in 2022.

Merzigo and Fremantle Show Localization as a Fundamental Content Growth Strategy

Originating from Turkey, with bases in London and L.A., Merzigo has become a global business by helping content owners like Warner Bros. Discovery and Walt Disney maximize revenue from program distribution on YouTube and Facebook. It just inked a new deal with Fremantle which extends its reach further across North America, Europe and Asia.

Ad Supply Is Outstripping Demand, Says JWP Connatix

As streaming ad inventory continues to exceed demand, JWP Connatix co-founder Brian Rifkin sees an emerging buyer's market, with biddable CTV and context-driven monetization for live and VOD expected to define the next phase of programmatic advertising.

ICYMI: Streaming Media Connect May 2025

Streaming Media presented its 17th Connect virtual conference May 20-22, featuring speakers from Paramount, Meta, Google, NBA, Roku, Warner Bros. Discovery, AWS, Akamai, Fubo, DAZN, Fremantle, IAB, Philo, Estrella, Eluvio, nanocosmos, Cerberus, and more, and session topics ranging from and sports on FAST to biddable advertising to SGAI to AI in live streaming to MoQ and more.

Samsung Ads’ Travis Howe Discusses Their NewFronts 2025 Announcements: Interactive Ad Formats, the Samsung Television Network, and Full-Funnel Performance Solutions

At IAB NewFronts 2025, Samsung Ads kicked off a suite of announcements, including the debut of STN, the Samsung Television Network, along with unveiling a bold lineup of interactive and innovative, data-driven solutions, including Optimal Reach, GameBreaks, Performance Conversion, and Data+. In this Q&A, Travis Howe, Global Head of New Product Solutions, discusses the details of these new offerings and how they will uniquely benefit advertisers and viewers.

Experts Talk Packaging and Selling Sports on FAST at Streaming Media Connect 2025

On Wednesday, May 21, at Streaming Media Connect, Ashling Digital Founder & CEO Michael Nagle moderated the panel "FAST Break: Packaging and Selling Sports on FAST." The panelists set out to answer these questions: What do FAST sports channels look like? What kind of sports programming works on FAST? How do successful FAST sports channels target audiences and satisfy advertisers at the same time?

NGLmitú's Vision for the Future of Latino Media Unveiled at NewFronts 2025: A Q&A With CMO Joe Bernard

NGLmitú, reaching a vibrant community of over 15 million bilingual and bicultural Latinos, took center stage at NewFronts 2025 to highlight the power of the "200%er"—a growing segment that is both fully American and fully Latino, shaping culture and driving consumer trends nationwide. In this Q&A, Joe Bernard, Chief Revenue Officer, highlights the details of NGLmitú's most significant announcements from the NewFronts.

Movies on FAST channels: Spotlight or Sideshow?

In the fast-evolving world of free ad-supported streaming television, movie channels have quietly carved out a meaningful niche, yet they still struggle to command the visibility they deserve. To gauge their true footprint, I examined Samsung TV Plus, one of the fastest-growing FAST platforms across the US and Europe's five largest markets (EU5) to answer the question: Movies on FAST channels: spotlight or sideshow?

Sneak Preview: Going, Going, Gone: Can Biddable Advertising Fix CTV’s Fill Rate Slump?

On Thursday, May 22, Chris Pfaff, CEO, Chris Pfaff Tech Media, will moderate the Streaming Media Connect May panel "Going, Going, Gone: Can Biddable Advertising Fix CTV's Fill Rate Slump?" With FAST and CTV fill rates slipping throughout 2024 (except for a brief election bump), content owners and their partners are casting about for new and different ways to fill inventory. By clearing the way for advertisers to buy in just before show time rather than having to lock in their campaigns months in advance, so-called "real-time" biddable CTV opens up late-breaking, flexible opportunities to unload unclaimed inventory on an auction basis before it goes to waste. But as bidding on audiences reportedly surges for sports, is auction-based advertising really suitable for other premium content? Is it likely to change the way brands approach media-buying, or is it just another transitory trend?

Will Bundles and Indirect Sales Save Subscription-Based Streaming?

On Thursday, May 22, Alan Wolk, Co-Founder and Lead Analyst of TVREV, will moderate the Streaming Media Connect May panel "Will Bundles and Indirect Sales Save Subscription-Based Streaming?" A recent Antenna State of Subscriptions report revealed that a streaming superbundle that finds Max cohabitating with Disney+ and Hulu scored an encouraging 80% subscriber retention rate in the first 3 months after activation. Paramount+, Apple TV+, and Amazon's Prime Video are also forming competitor alliances, and indirect subscription sales are on the rise. Are these arrangements becoming the secret to survival in a fatigued SVOD market? Are deeper reservoirs of content likely to slow churn in all cases, or are some catalogs more complementary than others? Who is leading the bundle boom, and who is profiting? Are Tier 2 services gaining a foothold in the superbundle subscription economy or being squeezed out?

Sneak Preview: Publishers Pay to Play Free: Next Steps in Ad-Based Streaming Monetization

On Thursday, May 22, Brian Ring, Principal Analyst, Ring Digital llc, will moderate the Streaming Media Connect May panel "Publishers Pay to Play Free: Next Steps in Ad-Based Streaming Monetization." Increasingly, content publishers are finding they need more control over their ad stack. This panel looks beyond the touted monetization-ready feature sets in streaming playback solutions and drills down with key content providers on how well these solutions facilitate ad signaling and ad stitching and integrate with ad servers, discussing what kind of reporting they provide to measure success. The panel also highlights the differences in ad-based monetization strategies as between CTV platforms, online video players, and mobile apps. And finally, panelists dig deep into critical emerging standards that are changing SSAI this year.

Fubo Brings Live European League of Football to Fubo Sports FAST Network With Multi-Year Agreement

FuboTV Inc. (d/b/a Fubo) (NYSE: FUBO), the leading sports-first live TV streaming platform, and European League of Football (ELF) announced today a multi-year agreement for distribution on Fubo Sports, Fubo's FAST channel, available on streaming and over-the-air (OTA).