News
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BBC and Channel 4 Discuss Streaming Partnership to Counter Sky-ITV Scale
BBC and Channel 4 Discuss Streaming Partnership to Counter Sky-ITV Scale BBC Director-General Matt Brittin told UK MPs the BBC and Channel 4 have discussed a streaming partnership that could see Channel 4's ad-supported content distributed through BBC iPlayer, aimed at building scale against foreign-owned streamers after Comcast's Sky agreed to buy ITV's networks and streaming unit. Brittin said Channel 4 looks "subscale" in a market where Sky and ITV are merging, though he cautioned significant commercial, technical and public-service issues remain unresolved. Key takeaway: The Sky-ITV deal is already reshaping how the UK's remaining independent public broadcasters think about scale, even without a formal Channel 4 sale process underway. Source: broadbandtvnews.com
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Netflix Signs Short-Form Video Deals With Condé Nast, Hearst, Penske Media and More
Netflix Signs Short-Form Video Deals With Condé Nast, Hearst, Penske Media and More Netflix struck video-licensing agreements with major publishers — including Condé Nast, Hearst, People Inc., BuzzFeed Studios and Penske Media's Variety, Rolling Stone and Billboard — to carry two-to-20-minute lifestyle and entertainment clips starting August 3. The move is a direct response to YouTube's dominance of living-room short-form viewing, launching first in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. Key takeaway: The world's largest SVOD platform is now building a YouTube-style short-form layer inside its own app rather than ceding that attention to a separate platform. Source: variety.com
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Bad Streaming UX Drives More Cancellations Than Price, CTAM/Hub Study Finds
Bad Streaming UX Drives More Cancellations Than Price, CTAM/Hub Study Finds A CTAM and Hub Entertainment Research study of 3,000 US consumers found 36% of viewers — and 43% of those under 25 — cite poor app user experience as the sole reason they cancelled a streaming subscription, ahead of price or content complaints. Pinning "Continue Watching" and watch-list features tested as the most effective fixes, each rated as valuable by roughly 40-46% of respondents. Key takeaway: For a VaaS provider, this is a direct data point that UX quality is now a retention lever on par with pricing and content, not a secondary product concern. Source: advanced-television.com
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Dutch Daily Video Viewing Time Falls to 295 Minutes as Young Adults Lead Decline
Dutch Daily Video Viewing Time Falls to 295 Minutes as Young Adults Lead Decline Telecompaper's Q1 2026 Consumer Insights Panel found Dutch consumers watched an average of 295 minutes of video per day, down from 323 minutes a year earlier, with young adults driving the steepest drop. The decline runs counter to the assumption that growing streaming catalogs keep pushing total viewing time up. Key takeaway: In Bedrock's home market, total video attention is shrinking even as catalog size grows, which puts more pressure on discovery and engagement rather than content volume. Source: telecompaper.com
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Roku Leads US Streaming Usage but Trails on Experience, Horowitz Research Finds
Roku Leads US Streaming Usage but Trails on Experience, Horowitz Research Finds Horowitz Research's 2026 "State of Subscription" report found Roku leads US streaming-platform usage at roughly 40% of users but rates behind Amazon Fire TV and Samsung Smart Hub on content discovery, lag and ad experience. It's the first major consumer read on Roku's platform quality since Fox's $22 billion acquisition of Roku was announced. Key takeaway: Usage share and experience quality are diverging for Roku, a reminder that device reach alone doesn't guarantee the best-rated experience — a distinction that matters for any VaaS provider benchmarking its own app. Source: streamtvinsider.com
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S4C Streaming Hours Rise 22% Under Digital-First Strategy
S4C Streaming Hours Rise 22% Under Digital-First Strategy Welsh public broadcaster S4C said monthly viewing hours across YouTube, S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer rose 22% year-on-year to a record high, with social impressions up 83%, under its five-year "More Than a TV Channel" digital-first strategy. Key takeaway: Even a small public broadcaster is finding real growth by leaning into third-party platforms like YouTube rather than only its own app — a distribution lesson smaller European broadcasters keep re-learning. Source: broadbandtvnews.com
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ESPN's John Lasker, Architect of Its Streaming Era, to Exit in September
ESPN's John Lasker, Architect of Its Streaming Era, to Exit in September John Lasker, the ESPN streaming executive who helped build WatchESPN, ESPN3.com, ESPN MobileTV and ESPN+ over 27 years at the company, will leave Disney's sports-media unit in late September. Brian Marshall, ESPN's VP of sports products and strategy, will oversee Lasker's team on an interim basis while a permanent successor is named. Key takeaway: One of the people most responsible for ESPN's direct-to-consumer build-out is leaving just as ESPN's own flagship DTC service settles into its post-launch phase — a reminder that even successful streaming transitions eventually lose their original architects. Source: variety.com
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IAB Europe: Video Passes Half of All Display Ad Investment in Europe for First Time
IAB Europe: Video Passes Half of All Display Ad Investment in Europe for First Time IAB Europe's 20th annual AdEx Benchmark Report found the region's digital ad market grew 10.5% to €131.1 billion in 2025, with video spend up 19.6% to €34.0 billion — enough to cross half of all display investment in Europe for the first time. Social video led the growth within that, up 25.7% year-on-year, while retail media passed 10% of total digital spend for the first time. Key takeaway: Video, not display banners, is now the default unit of European digital advertising — a structural shift squarely in Bedrock's addressable ad market across its four countries. Source: videoweek.com
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TF1+ Sets Streaming Record as Netflix Partnership Hits 18-Month Targets in Three Weeks
TF1+ Sets Streaming Record as Netflix Partnership Hits 18-Month Targets in Three Weeks TF1 said its distribution deal with Netflix, launched June 19, hit targets set for its first 18 months in under three weeks, with TF1+ posting a record 8.3 million unique daily streamers on June 25 during the "Koh-Lanta" finale and "Secret Story" premiere. Daily streaming figures rose 16% week-over-week at launch, with growth strongest among the 15-34 demographic and ad performance on Netflix-hosted TF1 content matching TF1+ itself. Key takeaway: A traditional broadcaster's live and catch-up content can scale rapidly when distributed through a global SVOD partner, validating hybrid distribution as a growth lever for European broadcasters watched closely by Bedrock's own customer base. Source: universfreebox.com
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Canal+ Completes $3 Billion Acquisition of MultiChoice, Expanding to 70 Markets
Canal+ Completes $3 Billion Acquisition of MultiChoice, Expanding to 70 Markets Canal+ completed its buyout of the roughly 55% of MultiChoice it didn't already own for close to $1.9 billion, folding DStv, GOtv and Showmax into full ownership at an implied company value near $3 billion. The deal, three years in the making, extends Canal+'s reach to more than 70 markets, combining its European base with MultiChoice's 50-plus African footprint. Key takeaway: The combined scale gives Canal+ significantly stronger leverage in global content negotiations and pay-TV/streaming bundling just as it competes with Netflix and Disney+ for rights across its European and African markets. Source: news.broadcastmediaafrica.com
