Vote in the 2024 Streaming Media Readers' Choice Awards

The Streaming Media Readers' Choice Awards has grown along with the industry. In 2024, we've got 17 categories. The polls are open! Let the voting begin!

The Economics of Music: Streaming vs. CD Sales—A Deeper Look

In recent years, a narrative has emerged pitting streaming services against traditional music sales, particularly CDs and vinyl. Social media posts often circulate claiming that a single CD sale is worth hundreds of hours of streaming for an artist. While these comparisons can be eye-catching, they often oversimplify a complex ecosystem and misdirect artists' frustrations. This article aims to unpack the intricacies of music royalties, challenging common misconceptions and highlighting the real issues at play.

CTV Advertisers Losing 4-8% of Viewers Per Break, Wurl Study Reveals

Wurl, a leader in the CTV industry, recently published "A Full-Funnel Approach to CTV Marketing 2024," a new report developed in partnership with parent company, AppLovin, a leading marketing platform, and measurement and analytics company, Adjust. The report walks readers through tangible considerations for three major stages of the marketing cycle: awareness, consideration, and decision-making. In this Q&A, Peter Crofut, VP, Business Development, highlights the most effective strategies advertisers can use during each of these stages.

To AI or Not to AI? Industry Thought Leaders Make Their Cases in a Lively Debate at Streaming Media Connect 2024

On Thursday, August 22, 2024, at Streaming Media Connect, key industry thought leaders and stakeholders engaged in a lively debate on "The Real Value of Artificial Intelligence" in today's streaming ecosystem. Panelists included media cartographer Evan Shapiro, Chris Giliberti of Avail, H Schuster of HUSSLUP, and Peter Csathy of Creative Media.

ICYMI: Streaming Media Connect August 2024

Streaming Media presented its 14th Connect virtual conference August 20-22, 2024, with Media Industry Cartographer & CEO ESHAP Evan Shapiro and Streaming Media Editor-in-Chief Steve Nathans-Kelly as hosts and MCs, and featuring speakers from Google, Amazon, Roku, Bloomberg, DAZN, Fubo, IMAX, and more, and session topics ranging from streaming monetization to FAST strategy to OTT bundling to cloud streaming OpEx and live streaming at scale.

CTV Ad Strategists and Adtech Pros Talk Making Streaming Ads Perform at Streaming Media Connect 2024

On Tuesday, August 20, 2024, at Streaming Media Connect, Alan Wolk, one of the industry's most influential thought leaders, moderated a panel that confronted the current challenges (or, some would say, failures) to reliably deliver the right ads to viewers and measurable results to brands and discussed innovative technologies and strategies to make streaming ads perform. Panelists included Christina Chung of Estrella MediaCo, Julie Triolo of Vevo, C.J. Leonard of Mad Leo Consulting, and Erin Firneno of Advertiser Perceptions.

Contextual Advertising for CTV and FAST Raises the Bar on CPMs

The challenge with FAST advertising is how to serve appropriate ads when limited first-party data about the consumer is available. Contextual advertising can provide targeting for this untracked FAST audience adding scene-by-scene detail of exactly what a viewer is watching, and a new partnership between Anoki and Amagi aims to take content-to-advertising matching to a new level.

Fubo Wins Preliminary Injunction Against the Walt Disney Company, Fox Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery’s Venu Sports Joint Venture

FuboTV Inc. (d/b/a Fubo) (NYSE: FUBO), the leading sports-first live TV streaming platform, has been successful in stopping the launch of The Walt Disney Company, FOX Corp. and Warner Bros. Discovery's Venu Sports joint venture (JV) after its request for a preliminary injunction was approved by the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York today.

Streaming Media Connect Sneak Preview: Subscription Management and the Great Re-Bundling

On Wednesday, August 21, media and entertainment technology and consumer electronics analyst Paul Erickson will moderate the panel "Subscription Management and the Great Rebundling." With the constant push and pull of market fragmentation and consolidation, streaming services that rely entirely or partly on sustained subscription revenue need more than plentiful content to fight churn and keep subscribers engaged. As consumer budgets tighten, free and ad-supported options multiply and emerge as new norms. More and more, that means bundling and streamlining offerings. This panel of industry experts from Hub Entertainment Research, Fubo, Antenna, Ampere, and Plex will discuss the art and science of making subscriptions smoother, simpler, and churn-proof.

Telestream: “What’s Going to Happen if the AI Gets an Answer Wrong?”

AI enhancements and a Cloud platform build out are the twin developments promoted by Telestream heading into IBC. This includes the unveiling of a comprehensive Cloud platform which will eventually house all of its products, and a focus on AI to streamline user operations.

Unpacking Amazon Prime’s UI Redesign With UIC Digital’s Matt Lasky

Amazon Prime recently redesigned its interface. To help us understand what Amazon did, why they did it, and what it could mean for other streaming publishers, I recently interviewed Matt Lasky, lead user experience designer at UIC Digital. His quotes in the article have been edited for flow and readability.

Streaming Media Connect Sneak Preview: Now It’s Personal - AI and Streaming Personalization

On Tuesday, August 20, leading new media and technology producer and strategist Chris Pfaff will moderate the panel "Now It's Personal: AI and Streaming Personalization." Many of the ways AI is poised to alter the streaming ecosystem happen behind the scenes, involving streamlining workflows or automating repetitive production or delivery tasks. But AI also has the potential to transform viewing experiences, making them more personal and immersive. This panel of industry experts from Google TV, Vionlabs, TCL, and Deltatre will explore what's possible and probable with AI and streaming in the months and years to come.

Streaming Media Connect Sneak Preview: Hat Trick - Delivering Live-Streaming Experiences that Scale, Perform, and Engage

On Tuesday, August 20, leading streaming consultant Nadine Krefetz will moderate the panel "Hat Trick: Delivering Live-Streaming Experiences That Scale, Perform, and Engage." Live streams at scale offer great payoffs for fans and brands alike for all kinds of events, from sports to concerts and festivals. Effective streams deliver personalized, interactive experiences that traditional broadcasts can't match. A panel of industry experts from DAZN, AWS, B Live, and Infinitive will delve into the ongoing challenges of delivering great streams at scale in 2024.

Roku and XR Extreme Reach Partner to Drive TV Streaming Ads Performance

XR Extreme Reach (XR), the global technology company that powers the creative economy, has announced an expanded partnership with Roku. This will allow advertisers to link all ads on the Roku platform to performance outcomes and better capitalize on insights from their data to drive targeting that marries creative with audiences. Read more for exclusive insights into the unique benefits of this expanded partnership from Jo Kinsella, President of Extreme Reach, and Miles Fisher, Senior Director, Strategic Advertising Partnerships at Roku.

Altman Solon’s David Dellea Discusses the 2024 Olympics and New Global Sports Survey Insights

Boston-based consulting firm Altman Solon recently released "Going for Gold: The Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games, media, and digital native fans," which used their annual Global Sports Survey findings to understand how broadcasters are adapting their 2024 Summer Olympics coverage to appeal to a digitally native fan base. David Dellea, Partner, Altman Solon, talks with Streaming Media's Tyler Nesler in-depth about the findings of this survey, and he provides his professional insights and expertise into the rapidly evolving sports media business.

Streaming Media Connect Sneak Preview: Over the Hedge - Monetizing CTV and FAST Channels With Samsung, Roku, TVREV, and IAB Tech Lab

On Wednesday, August 21, adtech expert Tim Ware will moderate the panel "Over the Hedge: Monetizing CTV and FAST Channels as Walled Gardens Proliferate." The emergence of the smart TV OEM has created increasing opportunities for platform distributors and challenges for content providers as distributors grab greater percentages of inventory and revenue splits to generate greater revenue upside to selling the hardware. How do programmers contend with the high costs of programming that require ad support among the next generation of walled gardens in smart TV OEMs? A panel of industry experts from Samsung, Roku, TVREV, and IAB will discuss these issues in-depth.

Forecasting Revenue from Streaming Weather Content

The 2024 Streaming Weather Trends survey highlight a potential untapped revenue stream

Telestream CTO Simon Clarke Talks AI, Cloud, and Wirecast and Vantage Trajectories

In a recent interview, Simon Clarke, Chief Technology Officer of Telestream, discussed two key products, Wirecast and Vantage. Celebrating Wirecast's 20th anniversary, Clarke reflected on its evolution from a nascent streaming tool to a robust application used by a diverse range of streaming producers, including educators, business professionals, and houses of worship.

Streaming Media Connect Sneak Preview: Ex-Factor - Cutting Cloud Streaming OpEx With Zixi, Paramount, SVTA, A+E, and Amazon Web Services

On Wednesday, August 21, Jason Thibeault, CEO, Streaming Video Technology Alliance, will moderate the panel "Ex-Factor: Cutting Cloud Streaming OpEx." An expert group will discuss managing and streamlining cloud OpEx and implementing strategies and technologies for making cloud operations as cost-efficient as possible. Confirmed panelists include Eric Bolten of Zixi, John Barber of AWS, Corey Smith of CBS Sports and Paramount Global, and Dave Klee of A+E Networks.

Ad Tiers and Original Series Driving UK SVOD Market

Despite a contraction in the number of UK households paying for streaming services, the importance of original content to keeping and attracting subscribers is reinforced in new figures from consultancy and data analyst Kantar.