The Streaming Wars

Roku's advertising business drove 76% of its Q3 platform gross profit growth, with ad margins expanding to 63.2%, while subscription margins fell and device losses doubled. The results underscore advertising's importance to Roku's profitability as FOX prepares to acquire the…

DAZN has reportedly secured an exclusive option for global streaming rights to the 2029 FIFA Club World Cup, sidelining rival bidders as it evaluates the return on its $1 billion 2025 investment. FIFA gains a potential buyer but no guaranteed…

DoorDash's planned $17 billion Instacart acquisition would combine businesses representing 77% of tracked delivery retail-media ad impressions and expand purchase-based targeting and measurement across CTV. The deal could strengthen DoorDash's position against Amazon and Walmart while giving it greater influence…

Roblox plans to test skippable pre-roll ads during game loads, creating new advertising inventory across its platform without requiring developer integration. The company will share revenue with creators and exempt Plus subscribers, but undisclosed payout terms and frequency limits leave…

Reddit plans to test login requirements in select international markets as Google's AI search cuts referrals and raises user acquisition costs. With 59% of its daily audience logged out, Reddit's betting stronger ad monetization, better retention, and tighter data control…

SiriusXM counted 230,000 free Companion net additions across Q2 and Q3, offsetting roughly 203,000 net losses elsewhere and delivering just 27,000 overall self-pay gains. The program pressures ARPU while its retention benefits remain unquantified, with SiriusXM's outlook implying roughly 217,000…

Kirby examines how record political ad spending is driving battleground CTV CPMs to $43 and pushing regular advertisers out of premium inventory. With streaming offering more options and national TV ad rates falling, local stations risk losing year-round advertisers once…

Amazon's Full-Funnel Campaigns put Prime Video in competition with sponsored products for AI-managed ad budgets, strengthening Amazon's control over spending and attribution. Independent CTV sellers can compete by proving incremental sales across retailers and buying platforms, protecting their pricing power…

From the Archives revisits BBC iPlayer's 2007 launch, which made free catch-up viewing a consumer expectation and pressured traditional TV rights models. Now generating 8.9 billion annual requests, iPlayer faces growing funding challenges and increased dependence on third-party platforms like…

Netflix's acquired catalog is now 65% non-English-language titles, yet 60% of Japanese and 70% of Turkish VOD content remains unavailable internationally. That gap creates significant licensing opportunities for global streamers to expand their catalogs and for rights owners to generate…

YouTube Music and Premium topped 150 million global members as Q3 ad revenue growth slowed to 9.2% despite record TV viewing. Google's 2027 Peacock bundle expands NBCUniversal's distribution while strengthening YouTube Premium's appeal and Google's negotiating leverage with streaming partners.

Hollywood's record $4.765 billion summer exposed a fragile theatrical business, with five films generating 53% of revenue while the rest of the slate earned $960 million less than in 2013. Low-budget hits like *Obsession* and *Backrooms* highlight the value of…