Streaming
State of Play
Revised Sep 18, 2026The moment. Bundling came back in one week. Amazon launched a five-service Prime Video bundle of AMC+, BritBox, MGM+, PBS Masterpiece and Starz at $29.99 a month. Roku opened 30 bundle combinations through its Premium Subscriptions storefront at savings of up to 30% against buying each service alone. JustWatch, which spent a decade telling people where to watch things, becomes a service itself in October with JustWatch TV. Netflix, Amazon and YouTube founded the Streaming Access and Choice Alliance, a Washington lobbying group run by TechNet, under bipartisan criticism over the cost and complexity of watching sports. Digiday charted every major price change since 2019: Netflix’s ad-free tier rose from $10.99 to $19.99, Disney+ from $6.99 to $18.99.
The tension. The bundle is being rebuilt by the companies that sold unbundling, and the arithmetic that made unbundling attractive has closed. Cable’s share of US TV viewing fell to 21.2% in January 2026 from 35.6% in January 2021 while streaming climbed to 47% from 28.9% — and on the way, Peacock’s ad tier went from $7.99 to $10.99 and the Disney+/Hulu/HBO Max bundle from $16.99 to $20. Ad minutes per hour on the top nine premium streamers rose 18% between January and August. The customer who cut the cord to pay less is being sold a package again, at a price that has been climbing for seven years.
Who’s moving. Amazon, on the five-service bundle, and outspending Netflix and YouTube combined on sports rights. Roku, on 30 storefront bundles. JustWatch, turning a guide into an AVOD service. Netflix, Amazon and YouTube, jointly, in Washington. Ampere Analysis and Guggenheim Securities, counting the ad loads. Mediobanca, whose Media and Entertainment Report put the top 25 global operators at 362.8 billion euros in 2025 turnover, up 2.8%, with streaming up 13.4% to 22.2% of revenues. Comcast and Paramount Skydance, weighing a wind-down of SkyShowtime. Channel 4, cutting around 340 roles, 28% of its workforce. Sony, pitching PS5 FAST channels on 40 to 50 million engaged users. Byron Allen’s Local Now, adding 111 Gray Media stations.
What the desk is watching. Whether a rebuilt bundle slows churn or just raises the price of leaving, and whether the DC alliance is about sports costs or about getting ahead of the regulation that follows them.
Emmys ratings sink 10%, but Apple TV dominates with 29 wins
This year’s Emmys drew just 6.7 million viewers, down 10% from last year, even as NBCU touted 133 million social video views.
Disney unwinds DTC co-presidency, hands Adam Smith sole control
Six months after naming Adam Smith and Joe Earley co-presidents of direct-to-consumer, Disney has made Smith sole leader as Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer. Earley moves to Disney Entertainment Television to run franchise and content strategy under Debra O’Connell.
New study puts streaming tech spend at 16.4% of revenue
Bedrock and DPP surveyed 15 major US and European streaming platforms and found a median “Streaming Platform Ratio” of 16.4% of revenue spent on tech, versus Netflix’s disclosed 10%.
Why performance advertisers should look back to linear TV
Dave Morgan argues CTV’s performance plateau is an inventory problem: only 15% of TV ad viewing time is streamed even though streaming accounts for 50% of content viewing, and most of that ad inventory is locked up in upfront and linear-forest deals.
CTV’s show-level data gains don’t yet translate into show-level buying
CTV buyers are getting better show-level reporting, but a Tatari executive writes that major exchanges still don’t offer scaled show-level optimization as a standard product.
CTV set to overtake linear in healthcare and pharma TV by 2028
EMARKETER projects connected TV will surpass traditional TV in healthcare and pharma ad spending by 2028. The shift reflects advertisers chasing targetable, measurable inventory as linear audiences keep shrinking.
Roku launches 30 streaming bundles across Premium Subscriptions storefront
Roku is rolling out 30 bundle combinations of services like AMC+, Fox One and Starz through its Premium Subscriptions storefront, its first bundles offered there, with savings of up to 30% versus buying each service alone.
Sony pitches PS5 FAST channels as a hard-to-reach ad audience
Sony TV chief Keith Le Goy says the console’s 40-50 million engaged users are a rare shot at gamers who are traditionally hard for linear channels and advertisers to reach.
Flexcar’s single Netflix ad spikes site traffic 22x
A one-time Flexcar spot during Netflix’s lone Thursday Night Football broadcast drove site traffic up as much as 22 times baseline, crashing Flexcar’s website for about an hour and lifting organic search 156 percent.
Broadcasters admit TV only needs a fraction of their spectrum
Sinclair, Nexstar and Gray executives now say ATSC 3.0 lets them deliver core broadcast service on as little as 2 MHz of a 6 MHz channel.
TVREV’s Hot List rounds up 18 think pieces on AI, influencers and fragmentation
TVREV’s newsletter curates 18 original think pieces from its analysts and sister pub The Measure, spanning IBC fragmentation, AI in ad production, influencer marketing and local TV’s political ad boom.
NFL ad revenue stays 80% linear even as streaming catches up elsewhere
EMarketer’s Ross Benes says the NFL still draws over 80% of ad revenue from linear TV, four times streaming’s share, even as converged TV in the broader market nears parity.
Nathanson: Fox-Roku, YouTube TV and Netflix’s ‘eventization’ redraw sports TV map
Analyst Michael Nathanson joins Puck to break down the logic behind Fox’s bid for Roku and why YouTube TV could actually save cable bundles.
Streaming price hikes since 2019: Netflix up 82%, Disney+ up 172%
Digiday charted every major subscription price change since 2019 across nine streamers. Netflix’s ad-free tier rose from $10.99 to $19.99 while Disney+ climbed from $6.99 to $18.99, with Peacock’s ad-supported tier up 160% since 2020.
Disney quietly ramps up its own podcast buying spree for Hulu and Disney+
Disney is about a year into a podcast push for Hulu and Disney+ and is now in active dealmaking mode, sources tell The Ankler, with several new shows expected to land in coming weeks.
Emmys viewership falls 9% on NBC’s Monday move
NBC’s Emmys telecast drew 6.7 million viewers, down 9% from CBS’s Sunday broadcast a year ago, though up 41% from the last Monday airing on Fox in 2024. Ad spend fell to $22.6 million from $27.5 million.
Emmys draw 6.7 million on NBC/Peacock, down 10% year over year
NBC and Peacock drew 6.7 million viewers for the Emmys in early Nielsen numbers, down 10% year over year but above 2022’s 5.9 million on NBC. About 500,000 viewers, or 7.5%, watched on Peacock.
Prime Video bundles AMC+, BritBox, MGM+, PBS Masterpiece and Starz for $29.99
Amazon Prime Video is launching a five-service bundle combining AMC+, BritBox, MGM+, PBS Masterpiece and Starz for $29.99 a month in the U.S.
Mediobanca: streaming now drives global M&E growth as legacy TV shrinks
Mediobanca’s Media & Entertainment Report finds the top 25 global operators posted 362.8 billion euros in 2025 turnover, up 2.8 percent, with streaming growing 13.4 percent to reach 22.2 percent of revenues.
Emmys draw 6.7 million viewers on NBC, down 9% year over year
NBC’s telecast of the 78th Emmy Awards drew 6.7 million viewers, a 9% drop from last year’s CBS broadcast, which had aired on a Sunday and hit 7.4 million. The show also competed against an NFL playoff game.
‘60 Minutes’ season opener falls 21% amid NFL lead-in, overhaul questions
The season 59 premiere drew about 7.94 million viewers, down from nearly 10.02 million a year ago, with the 25-54 demo falling 33% to 1.58 million, per Nielsen.
Alix Earle’s Netflix show grows 127% in second week
Alix Earle’s reality series “Earle Meets World” barely cracked Netflix’s top ten with 1.8 million views in its first three days.
‘The Gentlemen’ S2 viewership jumps 48% in week two on Netflix
‘The Gentlemen’ Season 2 climbed to number one on Netflix’s English TV chart with 9.9 million views from Sept. 7-15, up 48% from its debut week.
Netflix, YouTube, Amazon form D.C. streaming lobby group
Netflix and YouTube are teaming up with Amazon in Washington, founding a new lobbying group called the Streaming Access and Choice Alliance. TechNet leads the effort, representing Big Tech companies on programming investment issues.
Apple TV tops Emmys with 28 wins, pushing Netflix to a distant third
Apple TV entered the Emmys trailing HBO/HBO Max and Netflix in nominations but won the night with 28 trophies, led by Widow’s Bay’s 14 wins. HBO took 21, Netflix fell to 16, its worst showing since 2016.