Streaming
State of Play
Revised Nov 1, 2026The moment. Netflix delivered its Q3 forecast, revenue up 12% to $12.9 billion at a 34.6% operating margin, and then lowered its own sights: Variety’s Brian Steinberg reports the 2026 ad revenue projection cut to $2.7 billion from $3 billion, blamed on delays to new ad products while a supply glut hands buyers leverage on price. The Pixel and The Trade Desk are the answer it has offered. The house kept moving: Bela Bajaria and film chief Dan Lin are out, Peter Rice is in, 1,000 jobs are gone, David Fincher has exited, and The Ankler’s Richard Rushfield is already handicapping the film job. Skydance closed its $110 billion Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger and immediately looked like a company under pressure: a five-day office mandate paired with voluntary buyouts, a mandate to make 30 films a year, a reported $1 billion Elon Musk stake that Puck says is causing friction inside Warner Bros., and a review of whether to keep FreeWheel as its ad server.
The tension. Netflix is being asked to prove the ad tier can carry a slowing business while the engagement evidence goes the other way. Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw reports customers opening the app on fewer days per month than two years ago; The Ankler counts Netflix’s share of Nielsen’s weekly originals chart down from 80% of titles in 2021 to 51%; Nobody Wants This opened its third season to 6.2 million views against 10.3 million for its first. Reed Hastings says the answer to YouTube is more and better shows, while YouTube takes a record 15.8% of US TV usage, more than twice Netflix’s share, and Instagram, Disney, Tubi and Amazon chase it into long creator video. Apple TV is running the opposite bet, with 18% of its catalog unscripted against Netflix’s 25% and HBO Max’s 72%. Sports is where the money still behaves: Thursday Night Football averages 17.7 million viewers on Prime Video through Week 7, up 12%, with advertisers up 6%, while automakers pull out of prime time for streaming and regional spots.
Who’s moving. Netflix, cutting its 2026 ad forecast to $2.7 billion. Bloomberg’s Lucas Shaw, on fewer qualified play days. Reed Hastings, on out-creating YouTube rather than copying it. Skydance’s David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz, on a five-day office and voluntary buyouts. Elon Musk, with a reported $1 billion stake. Paramount TV Studios, with three of Nielsen’s top four streaming slots in September. Comcast’s Michael Cavanagh, making deeper Peacock-YouTube bundling a priority. Amazon, at 17.7 million Thursday Night Football viewers. Apple TV, holding to scripted. Automakers, leaving prime time for streaming and local deals. Disney+, taking Channel 4’s linear feed in the UK and Ireland in early 2027. TVREV’s Tim Hanlon, on affiliates facing a 6% decline once the political money ends.
What the desk is watching. Whether the $2.7 billion forecast holds once the Pixel and The Trade Desk are live, and whether Skydance keeps FreeWheel or hands its streaming ad tech to Google.
New studies show Hispanic viewers lean free, ad-supported streaming
Digiday’s Tim Peterson reports that Nielsen and Horowitz Research studies show Hispanic audiences’ share of streaming watch time roughly matches their share of the U.S. population, while still watching significant traditional TV, with free ad-supported services preferred over paid subscriptions.
WNBA playoffs post most-watched first round ever at 1.3M viewers
The Ankler’s Sean McNulty reports that the WNBA’s first-round playoffs averaged 1.3 million viewers across ESPN, Amazon Prime Video and USA Network, the most-watched first round ever.
Skydance CEOs split duties, defend $30B-$40B content spend amid $79B debt
Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva reports that David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz held their first press conference as Skydance co-CEOs, dividing responsibilities between creative strategy and day-to-day operations.
Skydance leads TV ad share at 21%, but market stays stagnant
MediaPost’s Wayne Friedman reports that Skydance launches with a leading 21% share of U.S.
Ellison pledges original bets at newly merged Skydance-Warners
The Hollywood Reporter’s Aaron Couch reports that David Ellison, fresh off closing the $110 billion Warner Bros. Discovery deal, said Skydance will outspend Disney and Netflix on content and still back original films like Sinners despite $80 billion in debt.
Skydance CEOs warn of layoffs, $6B in cuts after WBD deal closes
TheWrap’s Lucas Manfredi reports that Skydance co-CEOs David Ellison and Ynon Kreiz told staff at their first town hall to expect “difficult decisions” as the company targets $6 billion in cost savings over three years following the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery merger close.
UK ad-supported streaming overtakes all other TV viewing, Roku finds
Advanced Television reports that Roku’s first VOD Evolution study finds ad-supported streaming now accounts for 52 per cent of all UK TV viewing, with streamers watching 14 of their 26 weekly hours through BVoD, ad-supported SVoD, or FAST.
Disney+ ad tier tops 4,000 EMEA brands, UK revenue up 80%
Advanced Television’s Nik Roseveare reports that Disney Advertising used its UK Upfront event in London to reveal more than 4,000 brands have advertised on Disney+ across EMEA since the ad tier launched in 2023.
Skydance’s debt gets tied to shaky AI-investment markets on day one
The Ankler’s Sean McNulty reports that as the Paramount-Skydance deal closed and its stock began trading as SKYD, Wall Street linked the company’s fortunes to volatile AI investment markets, reviving interest in credit default swaps, even though Skydance has no direct data center exposure.
Skydance’s firing of WB film chiefs signals war on ‘originals’
The Ankler’s Richard Rushfield reports that Skydance’s dismissal of Warner Bros. film chiefs Mike De Luca and Pam Abdy, officially blamed on overspending, actually reveals a broader shift against greenlighting original movies rather than branded, franchise-driven IP.
Netflix’s ‘Unabomber’ tops weekly charts with 24.9 million views
TheWrap’s Kayla Cobb reports that Janus Metz Pedersen’s crime drama “Unabomber,” starring Jacob Tremblay and Shailene Woodley, led Netflix’s English-language movie chart with 24.9 million views for the week of September 28.
Puck weighs whether Shawn Levy’s Disney overall deal pays off
Puck’s Julia Alexander examines Shawn Levy’s new overall deal with Disney against the backdrop of the Peak TV-era arms race that produced nine-figure pacts for Shonda Rhimes, Ryan Murphy and others.
‘East of Eden’ tops Netflix chart with weakest No. 1 debut since March
Deadline’s Peter White reports that Zoe Kazan’s Florence Pugh-led Steinbeck adaptation topped Netflix’s weekly chart with 6.5 million views, its lowest No. 1 opening since One Piece’s 5.9 million in late March, though Netflix touted top-ten rankings in 80 countries.
Doug Shapiro: AI agents will decide what gets watched, not distributors
The Mediator’s Doug Shapiro argues that as consumers delegate search and discovery to AI chatbots and agents like Meta’s Muse, distributors lose even more control over what content gets chosen than they already have.
Amazon takes Emmys global in six-year, $20M+-a-year deal
Deadline’s Peter White reports Amazon closed a six-year deal with the Television Academy for global Emmys rights, worth $20 million to $25 million annually, ending the 30-year broadcast wheel among ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC.
Netflix’s market cap has halved since its 2025 peak
VideoWeek’s Dan Meier reports that Netflix’s share price has fallen 50 percent since its all-time high in June 2025, narrowing the gap with Disney, which it overtook in market value back in 2023.
Apple TV bucks streaming trend, doubles down on scripted drama
Advanced Television reports that Ampere Analysis found Apple TV is the only major US streamer increasing its scripted-content share while rivals lean into unscripted fare.
ITVX hits 3bn streams for 2026, two months faster than last year
Advanced Television’s Nik Roseveare reports that ITV’s ITVX passed 3 billion streams in 2026 on September 9th, two full months ahead of 2025’s pace.
‘The Voice’ Season 30 premiere draws 7.8 million viewers in a week
Variety’s Selome Hailu reports that “The Voice” Season 30 premiere hit 7.8 million viewers across seven days, blending Nielsen linear data with NBCUniversal’s Peacock streaming figures, marking the show’s biggest opening since Season 27.
Casey Bloys signs new deal to run both HBO Max and Paramount+
Variety’s Michael Schneider reports that Casey Bloys signed a multiyear extension to stay on as co-chair and chief content officer of Skydance DTC, overseeing HBO Max and Paramount+ as the merged company sets its new structure.
Hollywood unions: US share of film budgets fell below half since 1999
TheWrap’s Jeremy Fuster reports that an Ernst & Young study commissioned by Hollywood’s major unions found U.S. studios’ domestic production spending share fell from 72% in 1999 to under half by 2024.
WBD’s JB Perrette jumps to Skydance in expanded streaming, ad sales role
Deadline’s Dade Hayes reports that JB Perrette, WBD’s head of global streaming, is moving to Skydance as Co-Chair and Chief Business Officer of both Skydance TV and Skydance DTC once the $110 billion merger closes.
Tom Cruise’s ‘Digger’ bombs with $20M worldwide on up to $180M budget
The Ankler reports that Tom Cruise’s Digger, directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu on a reported $140 million to $180 million budget, opened to just $8 million domestically and $20 million worldwide.
Skydance’s Cheeks inherits three TV studios — and a consolidation question
The Ankler’s Elaine Low reports that George Cheeks now oversees Warner Bros. TV, CBS Studios and Paramount Television Studios as Skydance closes its Warner Bros. Discovery deal, while HBO’s Casey Bloys has signed a new deal to lead the combined direct-to-consumer division.
Hollywood unions: US film/TV production share hit record lows
Deadline’s Katie Campione reports that a study commissioned by the DGA, IATSE, SAG-AFTRA, Teamsters, LIUNA and both WGAs found U.S. studios’ domestic production spending share fell from 74% to 42% for movies and from 94% to 64% for TV between 1999 and 2024.