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.
Starz revenue climbs, losses narrow as owned-content strategy pays off
Deadline’s Jill Goldsmith reports that Starz revenue rose to $321.4 million in its fiscal third quarter, with OTT revenue climbing even as linear dipped to $95.8 million.
Netflix, Disney+ point to international subscriber growth ahead
TV Tech’s Tom Butts reports that Netflix and Disney+ both see continued room for international subscriber growth, pointing to markets outside North America as the primary driver of future streaming expansion for the two companies.
Jassy: Prime Video revenue run rate now in the tens of billions
TechCrunch’s Julie Bort reports that Amazon CEO Andy Jassy told investors on the quarterly earnings call that Prime Video has a revenue run rate “in the tens of billions of dollars” and is now profitable.
Laika self-releases Wildwood, bets $100M stop-motion epic ends Oscar drought
The Ankler’s Katey Rich reports that Laika self-released Wildwood through Fathom Events, handling its own marketing and flying awards voters and journalists to Portland for set tours.
YouTube ad revenue growth slows, missing Wall Street estimates
Business Insider’s Dan Whateley reports that Alphabet posted $11.2 billion in third-quarter YouTube ad revenue, up 9% year over year but below the $11.43 billion analyst consensus.
Netflix’s ‘Below’ tops Nielsen chart as horror takes over streaming ratings
The Hollywood Reporter’s Rick Porter reports Nielsen’s Oct. 12-18 streaming chart turned toward horror, with Netflix’s Below taking the top spot at 1.3 billion viewing minutes, unseating Prime Video’s Carrie, while Peacock’s Crystal Lake debuted at No. 5 with 774 million minutes.
Peter Rice inherits Netflix’s global hit problem
The Ankler’s Manori Ravindran reports that Netflix content chief Peter Rice now oversees local production in 50 of the 190 countries Netflix operates in, with Enders Analysis finding 40 percent of viewers aren’t primarily English speakers.
Non-English titles now dominate Netflix, Disney+ acquisitions
Deadline’s Jesse Whittock reports that Ampere Analysis found non-English content made up 65% of Netflix’s acquisitions and 50% of Disney+‘s as of September, led by Japanese and Korean titles at Netflix and German and Japanese titles at Disney+.
YouTube subscriber growth hits highs as ad revenue growth cools
The Ankler’s Sean McNulty reports that YouTube is hitting new subscriber highs even as its ad revenue growth rate slows, part of a broader Q4 pullback across media.
World Cup, ViX gains lift TelevisaUnivision Q3 despite US ad slump
Variety’s Brian Steinberg reports TelevisaUnivision’s total Q3 revenue rose 9% to $1.4 billion, driven by $90 million in World Cup sublicensing, ViX premium-tier growth and $389 million in Mexico World Cup ad sales, even as U.S. ad revenue fell 24% to $328 million.
Hallmark’s brand discipline fuels its “One Hallmark” flywheel
Media War & Peace’s Evan Shapiro reports that Hallmark Media, which makes 100 movies a year, has built a loyal “cult” fanbase by refusing to chase trends and staying anchored to positivity and comfort.
Skydance may shed sports rights as $6.6B tab, $80B debt collide with NFL talks
The Ankler’s Lesley Goldberg reports Skydance holds at least 36 sports-rights deals worth over $6.6 billion yearly, and sources say it’s weighing cuts to Big Ten football, NASCAR and the French Open, worth $515 million combined, ahead of pricier NFL talks.
‘Nobody Wants This’ S3 debut down 28% as ‘Below’ holds Netflix’s No. 1 spot
TheWrap’s Loree Seitz reports that “Nobody Wants This” Season 3 opened to 6.2 million views, down 28% from Season 2’s 8.6 million debut, landing at No. 2 on Netflix’s weekly TV list behind “Below.”
Local broadcasters scale streaming, but ad dollars lag the audience shift
TVNewsCheck reports that executives from NBCUniversal Local, E.W. Scripps, CBS, Gray Media and Viamedia told its Local TV Strategies conference that local streaming platforms are expanding fast, yet monetization has not kept pace with that growth.
Coupang Play orders SNL Korea spin-off sitcom ‘The Smile Clinic’
Deadline’s Max Goldbart reports that NBCUniversal Formats struck a deal with Korean streamer Coupang Play to turn the SNL Korea digital short “The Smile Clinic” into a ten-episode, thirty-minute sitcom.
Netflix cuts up to 3% of London staff, production VP Anna Mallett exits
Variety’s K.J. Yossman reports Netflix has laid off up to 3% of its London HQ, with U.K. and EMEA production VP Anna Mallett departing amid the fallout from last month’s U.S. reorganization under new content chief Peter Rice.
Netflix’s ad business needs more than subscriber growth — it needs viewing hours
TVNewsCheck, syndicating David Wainer’s WSJ piece, reports that Netflix’s advertising ambitions hinge on viewing hours, which have stalled even as subscriber and revenue growth continue. The piece frames engagement, not sign-ups, as the real constraint on how much ad revenue Netflix can extract.
Netflix’s new content chief raises 3 big questions, eMarketer podcast says
eMarketer’s Marcus Johnson discusses why Netflix brought in a new content chief, whether live sports is central to its future, and what both moves signal about the streamer’s strategic direction.
Prime Video packs four live games into one Black Friday night in November
PPC Land’s Luis Rijo reports that Amazon’s November schedule lists 23 live sports events on Prime Video, including four overlapping broadcasts on Black Friday: an NFL game, two NBA games and a Kraken matchup.
ITG CEO pitches six CTV ad formats to shrink streaming ad breaks
PPC Land’s Luis Rijo reports that InTheGame CEO Aviram Sharon, writing as a member perspective on IAB Tech Lab’s site, argues CTV publishers could shorten commercial breaks by shifting ads into six standardized formats like pause, overlay and squeezeback units.
Netflix fires film and content chiefs amid engagement slump
The Verge’s Hideo Kojima reports that Netflix ousted the heads of its film and content divisions this month, part of a broader clearout that included cutting 1,000 employees.
Twitch hours rise 4% as Kick surges 30.7% in Q3
PPC Land’s Luis Rijo reports Twitch hit 4.51 billion hours watched in Q3, up 4%, while Kick grew 30.7% to 2.04 billion hours, per Streams Charts, even as Amazon’s earnings and 10-Q never mention Twitch by name.
Starz streaming growth offsets linear TV decline in Q3
TheDesk.net reports that Starz’s streaming revenue climbed 1.7 percent to $226.6 million in the third quarter, even as revenue from traditional television distribution and other sources continued to decline.
Amazon’s Rings of Power viewer tally jumps 15 million, with no method disclosed
PPC Land’s Luis Rijo reports that Amazon’s viewer claim for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power rose from “over 170 million” in June 2025 to “over 185 million” by the May 2026 Upfront.
Doğan sells Kanal D Romania to Clever Group for €109 million
Advanced Television reports that Doğan Holding will sell Romanian national broadcaster Kanal D to Clever Group in a deal valued at €109 million.