ICYMI: Streaming Media Connect May 2026

Streaming Media Connect May 2026 was all about delivering and monetizing sports streaming featured exclusive keynote fireside chats with Matt Graham of the Tennis Channel and Maria Malinowitsch of Verimatrix and a slate of expert panels packed with speakers from DAZN, Globo, Fubo, OneFootball, FloSports, NESN, IAB Tech Lab, Telestream, Zixi, BuyDRM, ViewLift, CacheFly, Servers.com, Tiledmedia, Norsk, 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.

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.

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.

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.

New Research from Hub: Roku and Amazon TV Operating Systems Gain Influence as Consumers Explore New AI Integrations Across the Home

AI-powered home devices and smart TVs present new opportunities to improve home security, health, and entertainment experiences

H.264 Streaming Fees: What Changed, Who's Affected, and What It Means

Via's new AVC Streaming License Fee structure, which applies to new licenses beginning in 2026, replaces the old single-cap model with a tiered system that scales sharply with platform size.

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.

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.

Fox Sports to Deliver Vertical Coverage of FIFA World Cup with AWS Elemental Inference

AWS is the latest vendor to offer a solution to reformatting and syndicating vertical video for live sports as rights holders look to capitalize on the mobile first boom. Developed over 18 months with beta customers NBC Sports and Fox Sports, the ambition goes beyond reformatting highlights for vertical viewing but potentially live streaming whole games in the format.

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.