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I can see right now that this week’s newsletters are going to be overnight editions, given my long workdays. But I am learning so much, and I met several people in person who are subscribers, so that was good for the ego.
StreamTV Denver, Day One
Day one of StreamTV Denver was a bit more lowkey than will be the case on Wednesday and Thursday. There were two basic session tracks, TVREV’s Summit and the StreamTV Marketers Summit.
Here is the official description of the TVREV Summit:
The monoculture has collapsed and been replaced by what we call “Feudal Media”: a series of disconnected audience bubbles spread across multiple media platforms.
In these sessions, we’ll lay out the premise and talk about how it impacts the role of the TV OS, the ability of advertisers to reach mass audiences, where TV goes next and how the fragmentation is impacting sports.
In practice, that meant sessions such as “The Collapse of The Monoculture and the Rise of Feudal Media,” “How To Reach A Mass Audience When There’s No Mass Media,” “The TV OS Ad Layer Can’t Play Favorites, ”and “Beyond The 30 Second Spot: New Paths To Monetization.”
I’ll have a lot more to report once things slow down, but what struck me the most from listening to these conversations is that while a lot of legacy media and reporters are focused on the most-watched shows, much of the action is happening around programming that can be monetized by focusing on targeted audiences that are very passionate about specific shows, movies and actors.
That’s not to say that popular titles aren’t important - they are the bread and butter of the media industry. But as the industry moves towards better viewing data from TV OS’s and other outside data collection services, there are a number of ways to make money selling advertising against programming that by traditional standards would be considered niche.
Why should any of this matter to you if you are just a loyal TV fan? This evolution in the business model of television opens up the possibility of production companies, networks and studios investing in programming that might not have the promise of a big audience. But the audience it does receive can be monetized at a level that makes production worth it for everyone involved.
Track two was the StreamTV Marketers Summit and while marketing isn’t my primary interest, there were a lot of really fascinating conversations.
Reelgood’s David Markowitz talked at length about how having metadata about content not only makes it easier for platforms to manage titles, but by tracking who is watching which titles, platforms can use the data to decide which programs to promote and which genres are being underserved.
And if you are of a certain age, you likely remember Tivo, whose DVRs are remembered as some of the best ever sold to consumers. Tivo is now a software company, licensing its technology to other DVR makers, various streaming platforms and other products.
Stephane David, Head of Partnerships, EMEA, Tivo gave a presentation based on data the company has tracked through its software and it was focused on Europe, which I appreciated.
He provided a lot of data about what viewers in the U.K. are watching and why. One of the things that jumped out at me is that if you look at the raw data, nearly one half of the content available on European FAST channels comes from the United States. But that is misleading, because many of those channels have almost no viewers.
What engages European viewers is the same thing that engages viewers in Asia, Africa or anywhere else in the world. Viewers value locally-produced programming over anything else. And that includes live sports that are regionally popular.
But as David notes, there are so many factors at play here which determine what people will watch, and why:
An interesting finding is that we see that FAST is reducing time to content and simplifying content discovery.
You know exactly what you're going to get on a fast channel. And we know that content discovery and therefore engagement has become a real challenge for the SVOD players where people have to go from one app to another app. It doesn't happen with FAST.
FAST users are actively seeking specific content formats, for example True Crime, as opposed to browsing in the 90s. A second point with localization that becomes important with regard to content discovery is localization of metadata. If you don't have localized metadata, then viewers will not find behavioral FAST content.
And I think the flip side of the coin of the increase in the number of fast channels as well is that content discovery, which used to be very simple, is becoming more and more complex. Therefore, a lot of FAST players need to be featured as part of the homepages of the TV OSes. Featured content, content that is on the homepage, gets direct access.
And we see that more than 50% of FAST users never go to the FAST pages. They click from the homepage. So the relationship with platforms is key for the success of FAST available content.
Which is another reason why Fox Corp. acquired Roku. Owning that home page opens up all sorts of opportunities for content discovery and monetization.
Tomorrow will bring a lot of interviews and I’ll try and hit as many sessions as I can around that. And tomorrow night, there are a couple of big receptions, followed by what is described as the “Big Bash At StreamTV,” which will include the announcement of the StreamTV Awards.
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M&A Fever Isn’t Helpful For Anyone In Hollywood
Journalists, industry analysts and hot take writers love discussing media mergers and acquisitions. In large part because it’s an easy topic to discuss: what would happen if these two companies combined? What would the new company look like? How many people would lose their jobs? The speculations are almost endless and honestly, they are fun to write and the stories get lots of social media chatter and traffic.
The problem is that most of the media M&A speculations are just that - random musings like “wouldn’t it be nice if X happened?” And even on the rare occasions the mergers and acquisitions are completed, the larger the deal, the more likely it is going to be a disappointment.
But people can’t keep themselves from speculating. On Tuesday, shares of Lionsgate surged nearly 15% on a couple of reports suggesting Netflix might be looking at acquiring the company. And then they dropped again when the streamer was forced to issue a release denying the stories.
This comes a day after stories circulated that Netflix had made a run at acquiring Roku before Fox Corp. ultimately made the deal. Another report that Netflix has now denied.
A lot of this is the consequence of Netflix’s ill-fated attempt to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery. The theory by some analysts is that since Netflix was willing to make that deal, it is open to acquiring any or every other company in the media business. An attitude which profoundly misunderstands the reasons why Netflix was interested in WBD.
So my advice is that you should be skeptical of just about every media industry M&A story you read. There is a huge difference between a reporter writing about M&A speculations and the possibility of the M&A even being considered, much less acted on and negotiated.
Odds & Sods
DirecTV has added some updates to its genre packs. AMC+ is being added to the MyEntertainment genre pack, Shudder is being added to the movie-oriented MyCinema mini pack and Fanatiz joins MiEspanol, DirecTV’s Spanish-language Genre Pack.
Cineflix Rights is launching a Property Brothers FAST channel in the U.S.
Netflix has renewed Funny AF With Kevin Hart for a second season.
Heartstopper Forever, a movie which will conclude the love story of Nick and Charlie as they face up to going their separate ways, premieres Friday, July 17th on Netflix.
Life of Fire has been renewed for a third season by the Outdoor Channel.
Crunchyroll is planning to expand its presence in Taiwan and South Korea through investment in content, localization, marketing and community.
The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy has been renewed for a fourth season by Apple TV.
The three-part docuseries Pompeii: Out of Time with Tom Hiddleston premieres Wednesday, July 22nd on NatGeo.
William Smithers, an actor best known for a recurring role on the hit ’80s TV series Dallas, died late last month at the age of 98.
Rivals has been renewed for a third season by Disney+.
The Complex Issues Around A CBS News/CNN Merger
Speaking of speculation, there have been a LOT of stories about what a combined CBS News and CNN might look like if the Paramount/WBD merger is completed.
Honestly, most of the reporting has been light on actual details, but I thought this piece from Oliver Darcy in tonight’s Status newsletter was worth highlighting:
The first targets are likely to be back-office functions. CNN and CBS News can draw on the same shared infrastructure for human resources, legal affairs, communications, marketing, and other such services. Those are the easiest efficiencies to achieve and will be the least messy, though they’re still likely to generate plenty of headlines.
Things get much trickier after that. CBS News operates with a unionized workforce, while CNN does not. Media insiders I spoke with are not entirely sure how Paramount intends to navigate that reality.
Merger discussions between the two news organizations have famously been held before, and labor issues have always been among the biggest obstacles. Perhaps CBS News could license content from CNN, or vice versa. But one industry insider warned that if Paramount attempts to brazenly sidestep union rules, it will almost certainly face stiff resistance. We’ll have to wait and see whether the company ultimately finds a creative solution, but it’s difficult to imagine Ellison will bite the bullet and allow CNN to become a union shop.
What’s Coming Tonight And Tomorrow
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17TH, 2026:
Alone Season Premiere (History)
Clarkson's Farm Season Five Finale (Prime Video)
5th Annual Las Culturistas Culture Awards (Bravo/Peacock)
Million Dollar Nannies Series Premiere (Freeform/Hulu)
Never Change (Hulu)
OG Stories Series Premiere (BET)
Outlast: The Jungle Season One Finale (Netflix)
Outside Tonight Series Premiere (YouTube)
Sugar Season Two Premiere (Apple TV)
The Kimberley: Australia's Wild West Series Premiere (PBS)
The Season Series Premiere (Hulu)
The Simpsons: Extreme Makeover Homer Edition (Disney+)
Swamp Patrol Series Premiere (A&E)
Widow's Bay Season One Finale (Apple TV)
Your Fault: London (Prime Video)
THURSDAY, JUNE 18TH, 2026:
BAKI-DOU: The Invincible Samurai (Netflix)
I Will Find You Series Premiere (Netflix)
On The Roam Season Two Finale (HBO Max)
The Capture (Peacock)
Trigger Point (BritBox)