Disney at CES 2026: House of Mouse Talks Verts, Dollars, and Sense

At this year's CES, Global Tech and Data Disney produced an event that offered insight into a few of their latest public tech strategies, including how they are funneling data intelligence through their environment to provide real ROI for advertisers. The event was designed to make the case to advertisers why buying placement with Disney is so compelling. However, it was also a chance to hear about how the company is thinking about what it means to run a modern media company in the world of data everywhere, AI, and changing consumer multi-screen behavior.

Sports in 2026 Will Be Smarter. Let’s Make Sure They're Still Human

With smart stadiums, distributed production, automation, and data-driven decision-making, we're seeing a sea change in the way sports streams are produced, delivered, and consumed. None of this is a bad thing. Much of it is necessary. But it is also worth pausing to remember what sports are actually built on. Not code. Not platforms. Not dashboards. But people, emotion, and shared experience.

Sports Media Predictions: Looking Ahead to 2026

The next phase of sports media will not be defined by breakthroughs alone. It will be defined by decisions. About focus. About balance. And about where value really sits.

When Stadiums Start Thinking for Themselves

There is something special about walking into a stadium. The noise, the anticipation, the energy you can feel in your chest. For all the things technology has transformed in sports, that moment has remained stubbornly human. But stadiums are changing. Slowly, quietly, and in ways most fans never see, the matchday venue is becoming one of the most technologically sophisticated environments in sports.

Roundup: Streaming Industry Predictions for 2026

The predictions game is a fascinating one, and one that's hard not to play at year's end, whether we're talking about what's to come in the next year or three, or what's just as likely to be gone. In the last few weeks, my own editorial inbox has filled to bursting with unsolicited but much-welcomed season's greetings from a disparate array of industry experts and thought leaders ringing in "End-of-Year Prediction Season" with all manner of educated guesses and promising bets about what's going to happen in 2026.

Rethink's Alex Davies Talks New Transcoding Report and Future of VVC, AV1, and LCEVC

Contributing Editor Jan Ozer recently spoke with Alex Davies, senior analyst at Rethink Technology Research, about Rethink's new report, "The Media and Entertainment Transcoding Workload and Device Royalty Forecast for 2020 to 2030," and what it says about the future of VVC, AV1, and LCEVC for streaming publishers.

IBC2025: 5G Finally Winning for Live Sports

Rewind to last year and 5G was still more proof of concept than real world scenario. Not any more. "5G is here and real," said Brad Cheney, VP, Field Operations & Engineering, Fox Sports at the IBC2025 trade event in the Netherlands.

Teradek Launches Prism Jetpack: A New Era of 5G Video Contribution for Live Production

Teradek, a leading provider of video transmission and live production solutions, today announced the launch of Prism Jetpack, a groundbreaking 5G video contribution pack designed to meet the demands of live field production at the highest level. With cutting-edge connectivity and studio-grade monitoring, Prism Jetpack introduces a new category of mobile contribution for news, sports, and event coverage.

ESPN’s Balancing Act: Inside the New All-in-One DTC App

With ESPN Unlimited, the new DTC app rolled out August 21, the sports giant is trying to do three things at once: preserve the cable bundle's profit machine, stand up a direct-to-consumer DTC) business, and wire the product for betting and commerce. There is also an unspoken fourth aim: give friendly distributors a head start and make holdouts feel pressure, which hands Hulu + Live TV a short-term edge over YouTube TV.

YouTube streaming continues fast track to distribution domination

According to UK regulator Ofcom in its annual report, YouTube has become the UK's second most-watched media service, behind only the BBC. One in five viewers aged four to 15 years go to the video sharing platform first when they turn on their smart TVs, it found, while older generations aged over 55 are watching nearly twice as much YouTube as they did two years ago.

Q&A: Verizon CTO Josh Arensberg Talks Revolutionizing Live Sports Streaming via Private 5G Networks

In this interview, Verizon CTO of Media and Entertainment Josh Arensberg explores how the company is revolutionizing live sports production through the use of private 5G networks, pushing the boundaries of cloud-based workflows, real-time AI, and immersive fan experiences.

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.

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

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.

Live Streaming Gear at NAB 2025: Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger

While trade tariff wars loomed outside the halls for NAB 2025, inside on the show floors, and in various locations around the Las Vegas Convention Center, and in the cloud—because some companies feel the need to pre-announce their new gear so you go to the show knowing what you want to check out—the message was all about doing more, faster, better.

Q&A With Aarki CEO Aman Sareen: Programmatic’s iGaming Problem - App Hopping, ROAS, and Retention

Programmatic advertising is one of the most powerful tools in iGaming—but also one of the most challenging. Rising acquisition costs, limited tracking post-IDFA, and intense creative fatigue are just the start. In a space where traditional user acquisition is getting more expensive and less effective, iGaming marketers face a clear programmatic crossroads. Aarki CEO Aman Sareen discusses the ways that Aarki's latest report highlights how the most successful apps are adapting.

The Future of Media and Entertainment Unveiled at NAB Show

AI, Sports, Streaming, Cloud Virtualization and the Creator Economy Take Center Stage

Meta's David Ronca Talks Benchmarking and Deploying AV1 in the Android Ecosystem

The arc of AV1 codec adoption at large-scale content owners has been long and complex, as Meta Senior Media Software Engineer David Ronca (who also spent 12 years developing encoding solutions at Netflix) knows as well as anyone. In this interview with Jan Ozer of Streaming Media and Streaming Learning Center, Ronca discusses the integration of AV1 into the Android ecosystem, focusing on the challenges and solutions for mobile devices. 

How Brands are Transforming TV Content in 2025 - A Q&A With Joe Perello of Props

With a potential TikTok ban still looming and platforms competing for relevance, one big question looms for brands: where should their content go next? Joe Perello, founder and CEO of Props, believes brand content will break free from mobile and desktop confines to take over connected TV as the next big stage. In this Q&A, Joe discusses how brands can redefine success by creating engaging, trust-driven content that works in the living room.

Best of CES 2025

CES can be incredibly overwhelming. There are thousands of products on display, which makes finding the good stuff especially hard, so we went with the opinion of a jury of experts for the CES Innovation Awards where they have vetted products. Here I'll summarize the ones that are closest related to streaming.