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.
Multiple takes on the same IP are proving additive, not cannibalistic
Overlapping true-crime and IP projects like podcast, doc and drama versions of “American Hostage” are multiplying across platforms. Data from Ampere and Showlabs shows this cross-format layering boosts total viewership rather than splitting audiences.
One top streamer packs 18% more ad minutes into 2026 hours
Ampere Analysis and Guggenheim Securities find the top nine premium streamers averaged 18% more ad minutes per hour in August 2026 versus January.
YouTube pays 30% more for a shrinking NFL Sunday Ticket
Sunday Ticket costs YouTube nearly $9 billion over its seven-year deal, up sharply from DirecTV’s roughly $1 billion final season, even as the NFL shifts more games into prime-time windows and leaves fewer for the package.
Cable’s TV viewing share halved in five years, Nielsen data show
Cable networks drew 21.2% of U.S. television viewing in January 2026, down from 35.6% in January 2021, while streaming climbed to 47% from 28.9% over the same five-year span, Nielsen data show.
BBC Studios exec: YouTube views alone no longer prove brand value
BBC Studios’ SVP of digital argues that after YouTube’s public view metric changed, a view now only shows something started, not whether audiences stayed, subscribed, or bought in.
Ad-supported streaming tiers keep creeping toward old ad-free prices
Netflix, Peacock and the Disney+/Hulu/HBO Max bundle have all raised ad-supported pricing in the past two years. Peacock’s ad tier jumped from $7.99 to $10.99 monthly, while the bundle rose from $16.99 to $20 since its 2024 debut.
Channel 4 to cut 28% of workforce in turnaround plan
Channel 4 will cut around 340 roles, 28 percent of its workforce, by year end as part of a three-pronged transformation strategy.
French TV exports hit ten-year low as European broadcast spend craters
French international TV sales fell 21.6% year-on-year to €164.2 million, with co-production investment down 18.7% to €87.7 million, prompting the CNC to convene an emergency symposium.
Kimmel, ABC in renewal talks as late-night ad economics keep sliding
Jimmy Kimmel and Disney’s ABC are negotiating whether he continues hosting “Jimmy Kimmel Live” past the 2026-2027 season.
Paramount sits on $100M Trey Parker-Kendrick Lamar reparations musical
Paramount has spent $100 million on a Trey Parker, Matt Stone and Kendrick Lamar musical about slavery reparations, but the studio has left it undated. Insiders describe ballooning costs, creative conflicts and long delays on the project.
FilmNation, CAA execs say distributors over-index on streaming risk-mitigation
At TIFF: The Market, FilmNation CEO Glen Basner said indie distributors default to selling projects to pay TV and streamers to mitigate risk, which he argued produces movies built for streaming rather than theatrical.
Hallmark and the NFL expand their rom-com franchise to a third team
Hallmark’s third NFL-branded holiday film, set with the Chicago Bears, debuts Oct. 17 after the Chiefs edition drew 3.7 million viewers and the Bills sequel drew 2.3 million, making both among the network’s highest-rated movies.
Tubi launches first global brand campaign as it surpasses 110 million users
Tubi debuted “Find Any Feeling For Free,” its first global marketing campaign, built with agency Mischief @ No Fixed Address around humorous spots and a “TubiFone” hotline that recommends titles by mood.
Dolby adds AI game-tracking and ad flexibility to sports streaming platform
Dolby unveiled updates to its OptiView live sports platform at IBC, including an AI tool that builds a minute-by-minute read of game action and viewer engagement.
Google Cloud exec: agentic AI, not gen-AI clips, is Hollywood’s real cost lever
A Google Cloud guest column argues studios’ biggest AI payoff isn’t synthetic video but agentic systems that orchestrate fragmented back-office workflows.
Amazon deepens shoppable Prime Video with scene-level product discovery
Amazon is expanding shopping features within Prime Video, letting viewers discover and buy products tied to specific scenes as they watch, per EMARKETER.
Reacher season four tops streaming chart despite softer opening
Prime Video’s Reacher drew 1.5 billion viewing minutes for the week of Aug. 10-16, with 1.19 billion from its new season alone.
Hulu’s ‘Furious’ turned weekly drops and social buzz into a Season 2 renewal
“Furious” premiered quietly and fell off Nielsen’s top 10 within a week, but TikTok, Threads and X word of mouth drove viewership up 90% by the finale versus the premiere.
AWS unveils dynamic multiview for up to 10 live feeds per stream
AWS launched MediaPackage Dynamic Multiview, letting streamers deliver up to 10 personalized camera feeds in one channel without per-layout encoding costs.
Samba: 13% of Netflix households watch podcasts, no correlation to audio rankings
Samba TV’s first Netflix Podcast Ranker finds 13% of U.S.
‘The Gentlemen’ Season 2 sheds 15% of UK premiere audience despite Markle buzz
Season 2 of Netflix’s ‘The Gentlemen’ drew 3 million UK viewers in its first seven days, per Barb-sourced Overnights.tv data, down from 3.5 million for Season 1’s debut.
Evan Shapiro: Ellison’s Paramount-WBD bid could leave him $85 billion in the hole
A Media War & Peace breakdown pegs the Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery deal at $111 billion, beating Netflix’s $84 billion bid. If Oracle’s debt gets downgraded to junk, Larry Ellison’s assets freeze, jeopardizing his $40 billion cash backstop.
BIG Money for a short story: Netflix buys Understudy short story for $1 million with Lord Miller, Yeun producing
Netflix has set up drama Understudy, based on Nicholas Binge’s short story, for development with Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Steven Yeun executive producing.
Disney pitches shared streaming and new ad tools at ANZ upfronts
Disney Australia and New Zealand used its 2026 Upfronts in Melbourne to position Disney+ as the centrepiece, arguing shared viewing moments like finales and premieres are prime advertising opportunities.
Twitch’s 2026 gaming report: cozy and horror titles surge past esports staples
Twitch’s State of Gaming 2026 report tallies 8.6 billion hours of gaming watch time from January through September.