The Streaming Wars

Gaming Advertising

Roblox Plans Pre-Roll Ads to Monetize Game Loads, Putting Creator Payouts and Player Retention to the Test

The Streaming Wars Staff

Advertising News

Reddit Will Gate Access to Raise Ad Yield as Google Search Referrals Fall, Making Growth More Expensive

The Streaming Wars Staff

Finance News

SiriusXM Counts 230,000 Free Companion Adds as Subscribers, Pressuring ARPU as Q4 Losses Loom

The Streaming Wars Staff

Exec Briefing Advertising

Try Selling That $43 CPM on Wednesday

Kirby Grines

MORE ANALYSIS

Advertising

Amazon Makes Prime Video Compete With Sponsored Products for AI-Managed Budgets, Pressuring CTV Sellers to Prove Incremental Sales

The Streaming Wars Staff

October 30, 2026

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

From the Archives: BBC iPlayer Made On-Demand TV a Cost of Doing Business

The Streaming Wars Staff

October 29, 2026

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…

Programming

Netflix and Disney+ Have the Viewers. Japan and Turkey Have the Rights

The Streaming Wars Staff

October 29, 2026

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…

Advertising

YouTube Tops 150 Million Music and Premium Subscribers, Strengthening Google’s Bundle Leverage as Streamers Trade Control for Reach

The Streaming Wars Staff

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.

Entertainment

Hollywood’s $960 Million Hole

Kirby Grines

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…

Ask Skip

Ask Skip: Why Do Political Campaigns Still Buy TV Like It’s 2006?

Skip Buffering

Skip breaks down why broadcast TV still commands the largest share of political ad spending, with $5.6 billion projected for 2026 versus CTV's $2.7 billion. Favorable pricing, established buying relationships, and predictable execution keep broadcast ahead, putting pressure on CTV…

Advertising

Instagram Links Reels to 90-Minute Shows to Challenge YouTube’s TV Lead, Pressuring Meta to Share Ad Revenue

The Streaming Wars Staff

Instagram's testing 90-minute videos linked to Reels and expanding its connected-TV reach to capture long-form viewing and ad revenue currently flowing to YouTube. Meta's using nonexclusive creator deals to build its catalog, with long-term growth dependent on proving meaningful creator…

Advertising

Automakers Redirect Ad Dollars to Streaming and Dealer Offers, Shrinking National TV Demand and Pressuring Rates

The Streaming Wars Staff

iSpot estimates automakers' national linear TV spending fell 14.8% to $1.1 billion through August 2026, while regional campaigns captured nearly 40% of linear budgets. The shift toward streaming and local targeting weakens networks' pricing leverage and puts pressure on streaming…

Advertising

Discover-Tech’s Suspected Starlink Surveillance Exposes the Cost of Bid Data, Pressuring Streaming Publishers to Restrict Buyers

The Streaming Wars Staff

Discover-Tech allegedly used programmatic ad auctions to track Starlink users across more than 100 countries, with its ads also linked to spyware infections. Google and Beeswax have removed the company, raising pressure on streaming publishers to restrict buyer access to…

Mergers & Acquisitions

Amazon’s $11.5B Globalstar Deal Adds Apple Revenue and Spectrum, Pressuring Starlink’s Carrier Strategy

The Streaming Wars Staff

October 27, 2026

Amazon's $11.5 billion Globalstar acquisition has cleared FCC review, giving Leo a path to licensed satellite spectrum and Apple as an anchor customer. The deal positions Amazon as a wholesale alternative to Starlink for wireless carriers wary of SpaceX's retail…

FAST

TRAI Wants TV Makers to Enforce FAST Licenses, Raising Channel Costs and Putting Ad Sales to a Ratings Test

The Streaming Wars Staff

October 27, 2026

TRAI wants smart-TV platforms to block unauthorized FAST apps, charge internet-native channels ₹1 lakh annually per feed, and integrate FAST viewing into India's TV ratings. If adopted, the rules could squeeze smaller publishers, reshape carriage economics, and give advertisers a…

Finance

Anthropic Files for IPO With $600 Billion in Compute Commitments That Claude Customers Aren’t Bound to Cover

The Streaming Wars Staff

October 27, 2026

Anthropic filed for an IPO with $16.3 billion in first-half 2026 revenue and over $600 billion in long-term compute commitments, leaving it exposed to enterprise customers that can cut spending. With 48% of revenue flowing through cloud marketplaces and potential…

BASICS OF STREAMING

Basics of Streaming Insights

Basics of Streaming: What It Really Costs to Support Another TV OS

The Streaming Wars Staff

October 23, 2026

Basics of Streaming Insights

Basics of Streaming: What It Takes to Build a Netflix-Like Recommendation Engine

The Streaming Wars Staff

October 16, 2026

Basics of Streaming Insights

Basics of Streaming: Why Short-Form Video Starts So Damn Fast

The Streaming Wars Staff

October 9, 2026

More Our News

Mergers & Acquisitions

DoorDash’s $17 Billion Instacart Deal Would Expand Its Retail Ad Reach and Deepen Grocers’ Supplier Dependence

The Streaming Wars Staff

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…

Gaming

Roblox Plans Pre-Roll Ads to Monetize Game Loads, Putting Creator Payouts and Player Retention to the Test

The Streaming Wars Staff

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…

Advertising

Reddit Will Gate Access to Raise Ad Yield as Google Search Referrals Fall, Making Growth More Expensive

The Streaming Wars Staff

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…

Finance

SiriusXM Counts 230,000 Free Companion Adds as Subscribers, Pressuring ARPU as Q4 Losses Loom

The Streaming Wars Staff

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…

Advertising

Amazon Makes Prime Video Compete With Sponsored Products for AI-Managed Budgets, Pressuring CTV Sellers to Prove Incremental Sales

The Streaming Wars Staff

October 30, 2026

Advertising

YouTube Tops 150 Million Music and Premium Subscribers, Strengthening Google’s Bundle Leverage as Streamers Trade Control for Reach

The Streaming Wars Staff