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.
Prime-time upfront dollars rise 9% to $33.7B as streaming grabs 30% more
Total prime-time upfront ad commitments climbed 9% to $33.7 billion even as CPMs fell 6%, with streaming volume up 30%. Buyers are trading rate for reach, pushing dollars into streaming faster than linear can hold price.
Netflix nearly doubles ad commitments, wraps 2026 upfronts
Netflix says every major agency signed on, nearly doubling ad commitments year over year, while also getting MRC accreditation for its Ads Suite. It’s the clearest sign yet that Netflix’s ad business has moved from experiment to must-buy.
World Cup hydration breaks turned into prime ad inventory
FIFA’s new mid-half hydration breaks lost under 3% of audience, far better than halftime’s 18-20% drop. Fox Sports used the low-churn windows to sell added inventory, showing tentpole broadcasters new ways to monetize live sports beyond kickoff and halftime.
Report: Kushner and Iger group nears deal to buy the Lakers
TBPN flags a Kushner-Iger investor group reportedly closing in on Lakers ownership. A media exec buying a marquee NBA franchise would reshape sports rights leverage and streaming carriage talks around the team.
Disney weighs a free ad-supported tier for Disney+
Disney is exploring a FAST-style free tier following Paramount’s similar move, aiming to monetize unwatched library content and expand ad reach. Analysts argue it curbs churn by keeping downgraded subscribers in-ecosystem rather than losing them outright.
Peacock turns a profit as Comcast preps NBCU-cable split
Comcast’s Q2 results show Peacock hit profitability for the first time since 2020, even as broadband keeps losing subscribers. The mix bolsters NBCUniversal’s standalone case ahead of its planned split from Comcast’s cable business.
Business Insider launches its own FAST channel, tapping Magnite for ad tech
BI is building a standalone FAST/CTV channel to complement its huge YouTube presence, using Magnite’s SpringServe for ad serving. It’s a bet that owned distribution and direct advertiser relationships beat platform reach alone.
Peacock’s ad yield per subscriber jumps 43% to $4.98 in Q2
Peacock’s monthly ad revenue per subscriber rose to $4.98, driving its first-ever profitable quarter. But growth leaned heavily on World Cup, NBA and Love Island scheduling that won’t repeat next quarter.
AI-made microdrama lands on Disney-backed DramaBox, no novelty label attached
Globavend’s AI-produced microdrama is streaming in DramaBox’s regular catalogue, not an experimental tab. As production gets cheap and abundant, power shifts further to platforms that control discovery and monetization, not to the content itself.
Ad tiers set to pass half of North American streaming revenue in 2026
Ampere Analysis expects ad-supported tiers to hit 54% of North American subscription streaming revenue by end of 2026, topping $45bn. Prime Video leads on ad revenue after its 2023 opt-out shift, showing where global streaming monetization is headed next.
Magnite exec: AI ad generation aims to bring millions of new advertisers to CTV
Magnite’s Jonathan Moffie, whose Streamer.AI was acquired last year, says AI-generated TV ads let anyone create a commercial from just a business name. The pitch: lower the barrier so SMBs flood into streaming TV advertising at scale.
Roku’s ad revenue jumps 25% ahead of Fox’s $22B buyout
Roku Q2 ad revenue hit $672.8M, up 25%, with subscriptions up 26% to $548.2M. The results arrive as Fox’s $22B acquisition awaits close, strengthening the case for a combined CTV ad powerhouse.
WBD ad revenue falls 22% in Q2 as NBA exit bites
Warner Bros. Discovery’s linear ad revenue dropped 22% to $1.7B, mostly from losing NBA rights, while streaming ad revenue grew 9% to $306M. Streaming remains the bright spot as linear erodes, even as net income fell 91%.
Broadband-first cable ops no longer sell the TV habit for broadcasters
Independent cable operators now market broadband, not video, removing free promotional reinforcement that once kept TV central to households. With retrans growth flattening too, local broadcasters must build viewing habits themselves instead of relying on distributor marketing.
NY Public Radio’s CEO on why local media must stop thinking in platforms
Christy Tanner says New York Public Radio treats podcasts, streaming, events and newsletters as one system, not separate businesses. A third of its audience already comes from outside the NY DMA — a model local broadcasters chasing growth could copy.
Ad tiers now drive 54% of North American streaming revenue: Ampere
Ampere Analysis projects ad-supported tiers will generate 54% of North American subscription streaming revenue in 2026, with ad revenue alone topping $18B. Prime Video’s opt-out model leads the pack, and P&G, Amazon and Walmart already drive 22% of impressions.
Ad tiers now drive over half of North American streaming revenue
Ampere Analysis projects ad-supported tiers will hit 54% of North American subscription streaming revenue in 2026, with ad revenue alone topping $18 billion.
Samsung Ads: 30% of India large-screen budgets now go to CTV
Samsung Ads’ Nishit Kanchan says CTV clients grew from 300 to 450 in India this year, on track for 600, as budgets shift from linear. Measurement stays fragmented, but programmatic already covers half of Samsung’s CTV mix.
NBCU strikes YouTube deal, folding Peacock into Premium subscriptions
Peacock content will be free to YouTube Premium subscribers, ceding the customer relationship in exchange for scale.
TVREV report: the TV OS is now the real streaming battleground
TVREV’s new report argues the TV operating system, not individual apps, controls discovery, ad inventory, and ACR data. That makes home-screen placement the real prize in a fragmented “Feudal Media” landscape, worth hundreds of millions in share shifts.
Madhive’s Jim Wilson: station scale won’t fix local TV’s transformation problem
As the FCC moves to loosen the 39% ownership cap, Madhive CEO Jim Wilson argues consolidation alone won’t save local TV. Broadcasters still protect linear cash flow over digital growth, leaving the harder shift to true multiplatform media companies unresolved.