Inside The Stream

Free ad-supported TV (FAST) continues to expand, and this week, we discuss new initiatives from TCL, Fire TV, Google TV, and Cox Media Group.

Nielsen says that linear TV fell below half of July viewing. Is it right? Q2 2023 pay TV losses continue. Watching with subtitles is the default for many. And The Roku Channel adds local Fox and CBS stations.

Disney made progress toward direct-to-consumer profitability in the last quarter. Another Disney+ price increase and password-sharing curbs could finish the job on schedule in 2024. But at what cost?

In Q2 2023, WB Discovery lost 1.8 million DTC subscribers globally, though it recorded a slight increase in ARPU. We discuss the loss, DTC profitability, and what to expect going forward.

Comcast’s cable TV subscriber losses continued to accelerate in Q2 2023. We discuss whether Peacock is picking up the slack and how it will fare if the writers’ and actors’ strike continues into the new year.

In this interview with Paramount executive Jeff Shultz, he explains Paramount+ and Pluto TV’s joint strategy, three innovative distribution deals, and why FASTs are not cable TV 2.0.

Paramount+ With Showtime launched this week. We put into context what the end of a decades-old, standalone premium TV brand means in today’s streaming market.

Google TV has made great strides since its introduction in 2020. In this interview with product management director Ben Serridge, he explains the keys to the product’s success.

Some connected TV insiders liken FASTs to the second coming of cable TV. But the services are very different, though some of cable’s legacy problems still hamper them.

We discuss the top 5 takeaways from VideoNuze’s just-completed CTV Advertising Summit virtual. Innovation, full-funnel, CTV households, business models, and AI all loomed large.