Program

Streaming Media Connect 2026 this February 24 - 26 offers a dynamic lineup of sessions packed with practical advice, inspiring thought leadership, actionable insights, and lively debate. Learn how leading organizations are using innovative approaches to tackle the latest challenges in live streaming, OTT, content delivery, monetization, and more. Join us for cutting-edge information, analysis, and education that you won't find anywhere else.

If you'd like to join us as a speaker, please see our Call for Speakers or Invitation to Sponsor.

Tuesday, Feb 24

Day One - Free Online Sessions

 

TUE1. Keynote Fireside Chat

11:00 AM2026-02-242026-02-24

Tuesday, February 24: 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (ET) / 8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. (PT)

Additional Information Coming Soon!

 

TUE2. Forging FAST’s Middle Mile: Building Live Linear Streaming Infrastructure

12:30 PM2026-02-242026-02-24

Tuesday, February 24: 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. (ET) / 9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. (PT)

Live linear FAST lives or dies in the middle mile, where ingest, encoding, packaging, and routing determine whether channels can contend with increased traffic as audiences scale. This session explores how to forge resilient, flexible infrastructure that keeps FAST channels humming, costs controlled, and viewers engaged.

Moderator:

, Consultant, Reality Software and Contributing Editor, Streaming Media


 

TUE3. Match & Measure: Evaluating CTV Ad Effectiveness

02:00 PM2026-02-242026-02-24

Tuesday, February 24: 2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. (ET) / 11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (PT)

As more advertising budget trends toward CTV, proving performance across fragmented platforms is critical to the success of the brands that invest in it. This panel of measurement and metrics experts from the ad-supported streaming ecosystem breaks down how marketers and publishers are reaching responsive audiences, moving from exposure to engagement to measurable outcomes, and identifying what truly moves the needle in CTV advertising.

 

TUE4. Squeeze Box: SGAI & the Future of CTV Sports Advertising

03:30 PM2026-02-242026-02-24

Tuesday, February 24: 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. (ET) / 12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. (PT)

Traditional ad breaks are a drag on premium sports streaming experiences for engaged fans, especially in sports that don’t lend themselves to frequent interruption. This session explores how SGAI and the innovative squeezeback ad formats it enables are reshaping live sports advertising by unlocking new revenue opportunities, enhancing audience targeting, and squeezing more value from every high-stakes impression.

Moderator:

, Principal Analyst, Ring Digital llc


Wednesday, Feb 25

Day Two - Free Online Sessions

 

WED1. Delivering Resilient Live Streams at Scale: Architecture, Latency, & Cost Control

10:00 AM2026-02-252026-02-25

Wednesday, February 25: 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (ET) / 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. (PT)

As free streaming audiences grow, platforms must deliver reliable, high-uptime streams while managing latency and sync expectations and keeping infrastructure costs in check. This panel of streaming infrastructure and operations experts explores robust architectures, workflow strategies, and operational trade-offs that enable resilient, high-volume streams without compromising viewer experiences or allowing runaway costs.

 

WED2. Peak Performance: Handling Traffic Spikes for Global Live Sports Streams

11:30 AM2026-02-252026-02-25

Wednesday, February 25: 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (ET) / 8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. (PT)

When the biggest moments in live sports hit, traffic surges coming from unexpected directions can stymie even the most mature streaming stacks. This panel of live streaming and content delivery pros breaks down how top platforms prepare to manage peak demand—using smart load-balancing, real-time monitoring, and advanced failover strategies to maximize uptimes when streams scale globally.

 

WED3. Protect & Deliver: Securing Ad-Supported & Branded Streams

01:00 PM2026-02-252026-02-25

Wednesday, February 25: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (ET) / 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (PT)

As ad-supported and branded streams scale and become targets for pirates, protecting content and revenue is as critical as delivering great quality. This session explores the ever-evolving state of DRM, forensic watermarking, ad fraud prevention, and maintaining stream integrity—offering best practices for securing and protecting investments in monetized streams.

 

WED4. Ad Insertion Under Fire: Monetizing Live Events Without Breaking the Stream

02:30 PM2026-02-252026-02-25

Wednesday, February 25: 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. (ET) / 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (PT)

A Streaming Media Connect keynoter and adtech expert once answered the question, “What breaks in live stream ad insertion” with a single word: “Everything.” Everything that breaks in premium live event streaming comes at a steep cost. Any disruption in signaling, manifest manipulation, or ad delivery is immediately apparent to audiences and advertisers. This panel of ad tech aces examines the technical challenges of monetizing high-stakes, low-latency live streams and explores resilient ad insertion architectures, including SSAI/CSAI/SGAI trade-offs, sync and drift issues, and real-time decisioning.

 

WED5. Let’s Talk Shop: Strategies & Solutions for Shopifying CTV in 2026

04:00 PM2026-02-252026-02-25

Wednesday, February 25: 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. (ET) / 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (PT)

Shoppable CTV is edging toward the mainstream as platforms, brands, and retailers converge. This session dives into the strategies, tech, and partnerships shaping “shopified” CTV and integrating it into streaming programming in 2026: what sells, what scales, and what’s more hype than reality.

Moderator:

, CEO, Chris Pfaff Tech Media


Thursday, Feb 26

Day Three - Free Online Sessions

 

THU1. Best Content Bets: Programming Decisions That Maximize Fill, Yield, & Scale

10:00 AM2026-02-262026-02-26

Thursday, February 26: 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (ET) / 7:00 a.m. - 8:00 a.m. (PT)

Curating the right content mix is the foundation of scalable streaming channel monetization. This session breaks down the art and science of building a content library that draws and engages viewers and shows how data-driven programming decisions impact ad fill rates and cultivate sustainable growth across platforms.

 

THU2. Eyes Only: Personalizing Streaming Ad Experiences

11:30 AM2026-02-262026-02-26

Thursday, February 26: 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (ET) / 8:30 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. (PT)

Non-targeted ads waste attention. Personalized ones earn it. This panel of content monetization pros explores how audience data, metrics analysis, and real-time decisioning propel tailored streaming ad experiences that boost relevance, heighten engagement, and grow revenue.

 

THU3. Finder’s Feat: Optimizing Search & Discovery With Metadata & Machine Learning

01:00 PM2026-02-262026-02-26

Thursday, February 26: 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (ET) / 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (PT)

In this era of constant content proliferation and channel saturation, discovery is critical to content monetization. This panel explores how structured metadata and machine learning-powered discovery tools bring great content to light, improving relevance, boosting engagement, and driving measurable revenue impact.

Moderator:

, Owner & Principal, Integration Therapy


 

THU4. Winners’ Circle: Hot Takes From the Streaming Media Top 100 on Streaming in 2026 & Beyond

02:30 PM2026-02-262026-02-26

Thursday, February 26: 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. (ET) / 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. (PT)

Top executives from the 2025 Streaming Media Top 100 deliver data-driven perspectives on the technologies, business models, and operational strategies that will define streaming platforms in 2026 and beyond. The session examines infrastructure evolution, monetization mechanics, and content delivery optimization alongside how global and local content strategy must adapt to shifting consumption patterns and economics.

 

THU5. Vertical Leap: Growing the Free Vertical Drama Business

04:00 PM2026-02-262026-02-26

Thursday, February 26: 4:00 p.m. - 5:00 p.m. (ET) / 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (PT)

Vertical drama is exploding on free streaming platforms, driven by mobile-first viewing, bingeable formats, and a new generation of viewers and global creators. This session breaks down the business models, distribution strategies, and monetization tactics driving the vertical drama boom—and how to scale it effectively.

Moderator:

, CEO, Chris Pfaff Tech Media