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.
YouTube leads CTV ad spend for fourth straight year, but M&A looms
Modern Retail’s Catherine Wolf and Li Lu report that YouTube topped Modern Retail’s Q1 2026 survey of ad-supported streaming placements for a fourth consecutive year. The report, based on 125 brand and agency professionals, warns the CTV landscape faces major shifts over the next 12 months.
Netflix, Disney+ eye free tiers as FAST goes mainstream
TheWrap’s Lucas Manfredi reports that Sony launched a free ad-supported service on PS5, Paramount+ is testing free mobile content, and Disney’s Josh D’Amaro has floated a free Disney+ tier.
Parks Associates: live TV still sways streaming bundle choice
TV Tech’s Tom Butts reports that Parks Associates research finds live TV access remains a significant factor for consumers when picking a streaming bundle, even as on-demand and ad-supported tiers proliferate across the market.
Netflix licenses ‘Sex Lives of College Girls’ from Warner Bros.
Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva reports that Netflix added all three seasons of HBO Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls” via a non-exclusive licensing deal with Warner Bros. Television, joining Mindy Kaling’s Netflix original “Never Have I Ever.”
Sony launches FAST service Live TV on PS5, adding ad inventory
VideoWeek’s Tim Cross-Kovoor reports that Sony launched Live TV on PS5, a free ad-supported streaming service with over 100 channels, drawing on content from Lionsgate, Fox, NBCU, Bloomberg, Spotify and A+E. It’s live in the US now, with Canada and other markets planned.
HBO Max to stream weekly filmed episodes of Howard Stern’s show
Variety’s Todd Spangler reports that HBO Max struck a deal with Howard Stern’s production company and SiriusXM to release filmed episodes of “The Howard Stern Show” weekly, starting Sept. 17 worldwide, as his radio show scales back to one broadcast per week.
Howard Stern brings weekly filmed show to HBO Max
Deadline’s Denise Petski reports that HBO Max will stream weekly filmed episodes of The Howard Stern Show starting September 17, adapted from his SiriusXM broadcast. The deal pairs HBO Max with SiriusXM and Stern’s own production company for global distribution.
Netflix’s GTA VI first look drove a 24% spike in app downloads
TheWrap’s Kayla Cobb reports that Sensor Tower found Netflix’s U.S. app downloads rose 24% the day it posted an extended GTA VI first look, with iOS downloads up 54% as the app jumped to 35th on the App Store’s free chart.
Netflix renews Shane Gillis’ ‘Tires’ for Season 4
Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva reports that Netflix has formally greenlighted a fourth season of Tires, part of its overall deal with Shane Gillis and John McKeever. Season 3 hit its highest-ever Global Top 10 ranking, reaching #5 the week of August 17.
Magnite sponsors CTV video series on data, TV OS and live sports
TVREV’s sponsored “Making Waves” series features Magnite’s Kristen Williams on data partnerships, Samsung Ads’ Youssef Ben-Youssef on the TV operating system’s expanding role, and Magnite’s Paige Bilins on programmatic buying in live sports.
Sony launches 100+ FAST channels on PS5 to sell ads against gamers
Variety’s Brian Steinberg reports that Sony Pictures Television unveiled “Live TV on PS5,” over 100 free ad-supported channels reachable through the console, launching first in the U.S. with Canada and Bravia TVs to follow. Publica and PubMatic will handle the connected-TV ad sales.
Xbox shops bulk Hollywood rights deal worth $300 million-plus
Puck’s Matthew Belloni reports that Microsoft’s Xbox division is quietly pitching Hollywood on a package of more than a dozen game franchises, including Halo, World of Warcraft, Elder Scrolls, and Diablo, for a single studio or streamer.
Netflix crashed showing a game trailer, and Take-Two shares jumped
CNBC’s Jenni Reid and Alex Buckmaster report that Netflix aired an extended GTA 6 preview Thursday, a rare move for the streamer, and viewers hit error messages from overload; Twitch saw similar bandwidth issues.
Dolly Parton tribute specials give broadcast TV a rare summer ratings win
Deadline’s Katie Campione reports that ABC’s 20/20 tribute to Dolly Parton drew 4.05 million live-plus-same-day viewers, its best non-sports 10 p.m. telecast in three months, while CBS’s competing special pulled 2.1 million the same night.
Apptopia data: Netflix losing YouTube users even as it courts YouTube creators
Tubefilter’s Sam Gutelle reports that Netflix is spending heavily to sign top YouTube creators, but new Apptopia mobile data shows the reach imbalance between the two has flipped since January.
Why YouTube covets an Emmy so badly
Simon Owens’s Media Newsletter reports that Simon Owens’s newsletter previews a paid piece asking why YouTube is chasing Emmy recognition, alongside a companion discussion on whether BuzzFeed and HuffPost’s scale-first model was ever viable.
Apple TV raises US price to $15 a month, ups Apple One to $22
The Ankler’s Sean McNulty reports that Apple TV’s US monthly price rises $2 to $15, with Apple One climbing to $22 a month, timed just before Ted Lasso’s October 7 finale caps its highest-profile original series run.
Apple TV buys BBC comedy hit Small Prophets worldwide
Apple TV acquired worldwide rights to Mackenzie Crook’s Small Prophets from Sphere Abacus, launching October 7 outside the UK. The BBC Two series drew the best 28-day comedy ratings since 2022 and holds a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score.
Apple TV raises monthly price to $14.99, second hike in a year
Deadline’s Jill Goldsmith reports that Apple TV’s monthly price rises to $14.99 from $12.99, with the annual plan up to $119 from $99, effective August 28 for new and existing U.S. subscribers.
The case against Netflix becoming an everything app
Lowpass’s Janko Roettgers reports that Netflix has discussed reselling Peacock and Fox One inside its app, per the New York Times, echoing Amazon’s and Roku’s channel-store model. It’s the second such report in a month, following the Wall Street Journal’s account of bundle talks.
Fox Sports jumps to No. 2 on YouTube as World Cup highlights drive views
StreamTV Insider’s Bevin Fletcher reports that Fox Sports’ YouTube channel rose from No. 8 in June to No. 2 in July, drawing 35.6 million unique U.S. viewers, a 46% month-over-month increase driven by Men’s FIFA World Cup highlights.
DAZN buys EverPass, gains Sunday Ticket commercial streaming rights
Sports Business Journal’s Tom Friend reports that DAZN acquired EverPass, rebranding it DAZN for Business and picking up exclusive commercial streaming rights to NFL Sunday Ticket, plus NFL, RedBird and TKO as minority shareholders.
Lanterns opens at No. 2 as Reacher holds streaming’s top spot
HBO Max’s DC Universe series “Lanterns” debuts at No. 2 on Samba’s weekly chart, unable to unseat Amazon’s “Reacher,” which holds the top spot for a second straight week during its fourth season.
Study: Americans now watch more YouTube than live TV
A new study finds American viewers spend more time watching YouTube than they do watching live television, a shift that underscores streaming’s growing dominance over traditional broadcast viewing habits nationwide. The report frames YouTube as a primary screen destination.
Studios shift summer movie ad dollars from broadcast to CTV
The Measure’s Jon Lafayette reports that connected TV ad impressions for movies rose 16% this summer to 17.7 billion, per AdImpact, while broadcast movie spots fell 50% to 93,600 airings.