The Dan Rayburn Podcast

Dan Rayburn
  • 5.0 (16)
  • Tech News
  • Updated Weekly

Curating all the streaming media industry news of the week that matters most, in 30 minutes. Unvarnished, unscripted and providing you with the data and analysis you need, without any hype. The pulse of the streaming media industry.

  1. Episode 1: The Sports Streaming Podcast, with Dan Rayburn & Eric Black

    1d ago

    Episode 1: The Sports Streaming Podcast, with Dan Rayburn & Eric Black

    Sports streaming is kinda a big deal. So Eric Black and I have teamed up to record a new monthly podcast breaking down the Business and Technology of Sports Streaming. Giving listeners insight into the latest content deals, viewership numbers, user experiences and technical workflows, without any hype. In episode one, Eric and I talk about the World Cup's streaming quality, latency, piracy, free trials across OTT services and discuss the streaming rollout across FOX, ZEE5, Peacock, and FIFA+ on DAZN. We detail the renewed distribution deal between NBCU and Fubo, Fox’s expanded deal with the NFL that will bring games to Mexico, and Disney's new partnership to carry L’équipe’s TV channel in France on Disney+. We highlight a recent interview with MLS's Commissioner, who admitted that the added paywall and timing weren’t right for the market, and the impact on MLS within the Apple TV ecosystem. We also discuss the impact of RTL's acquisition of Sky Deutschland on sports content, which combines Sky’s premium sports rights with RTL’s entertainment and news brands, forming the strongest local competitor to Netflix in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.  Finally, we recap comments from those who testified at the congressional hearing on the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961, and I question why EverPass Media has been so quiet about providing any technical details to businesses or integrators who are still in the dark about how NFL Sunday Ticket will be rolled out later this year. Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

    49 min

  2. Jun 1

    Episode 172: World Cup Preview; Peacock's Vertical Video; NFL Streaming Schedule; Prime Video's Profitability

    This week, special guest Eric Black and I discuss the upcoming World Cup, detailing streaming and pay-TV viewership numbers from the 2022 event and what to expect this year. We also discuss the MLS game that used Apple iPhones for video capture, noting that they were used only as camera sensors and image processors. We review the NFL's 2026-2027 schedule, calling out the newly announced exclusive games on Netflix and Peacock and detail Netflix's newly extended media rights deal with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. We discuss the growth of Prime Video and Amazon's disclosure that Prime Video, as a stand-alone business, is profitable, without knowing how Amazon accounts for costs to the business. Eric details his recent experience with Peacock's vertical video stream, noting quality differences when the video source is Peacock versus a third party. Finally, we recap some numbers from Netflix on its monthly active viewers for its ad-supported plan, new price increases for DirecTV streaming packages, and a YouTube stat that two billion hours of Shorts are streamed on TVs each month. Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

    44 min

  3. May 12

    Episode 171: Infrastructure News from Akamai, Fastly and Cloudflare's Earnings; Anthropic and OpenAI Cloud Spend; Disney, WBD and Fubo Earnings

    This week, we discuss a wild week in infrastructure news, with Akamai, Fastly and Cloudflare reporting earnings, sending all three companies' stock up or down by at least 30%. We detail Cloudflare's announcement that it will lay off over 1,100 employees, Akamai's new $1.8 billion seven-year contract for Cloud Infrastructure Services for AI modeling, and Wall Street's lack of understanding of the CDN business. We highlight reports suggesting that contracts involving Anthropic and OpenAI now ‌account ⁠for more than half of the $2 trillion in backlogs at major cloud providers, and how Google and Amazon reported a surge in profits in their Q1 earnings, based on the valuation of the stock they bought in Anthropic, and not any actual net profit. We also detail the latest numbers you need to know from WBD, Disney, and Fubo earnings, and how, with WBD no longer breaking out streaming subs and Fubo no longer breaking out Hulu+ Live TV subs, it's now almost impossible to compare the growth of DTC services quarter-to-quarter. Finally, we break out the pay TV losses by Optimum, and discuss the unconfirmed reports that Netflix will get two additional NFL games starting in the 2026-27 season. Finally, we highlight Sky Sports' announcement that it will remain the exclusive home of Formula 1 in the UK and Ireland until 2034, and in Italy until 2032, which keeps Apple from getting the rights to stream F1 content in those countries. Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

    49 min

  4. May 4

    Episode 170: Q1 Earnings Data from Roku/Peacock/Amazon/Microsoft and AI Capex Spend; YouTube Custom Multiview; Amazon's Fire OS Confusion

    This week, we detail the numbers you need to know from Q1 earnings from Roku, which, for the first time, separated out revenue for its advertising and subscription business. We also cover earnings from Comcast, the latest Peacock numbers, cord-cutting at Charter, and the massive capex spend in the quarter from Microsoft, Alphabet and Amazon, with AWS revenue growth at its fastest in 15 quarters. We detail YouTube's Q1 revenue, which was down from the previous quarter and highlight YouTube TV's launch of a fully customizable multiview, including some device and content limitations. Moving on to NFL news, we also mention a rumored deal between the NFL and YouTube for a long-form contract review of a five-game package, and Comcast dropping the NFL Network and RedZone Channel from its Xfinity service due to a carriage dispute. We share live sports viewership numbers from April, including the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship game and NBA on Amazon Prime, and discuss a hardware failure that caused one of Prime's games to lose video for 20 seconds during gameplay. Finally, we discuss why Amazon’s newly announced Fire TV Stick HD, which runs its Vega operating system, is not good for customers, and how Fire TV's lack of explanation of its Fire OS strategy to the market is bad for developers and consumers. Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

    41 min

  5. Apr 27

    Episode 169: Special NAB Show Recap: Content, Themes, Messaging and Lessons Learned

    This week, we recap what we saw and heard at the 2026 NAB Show, covering themes, content, the West Hall exhibit floor and what speakers presented at the Streaming Summit. We highlight some of the topics discussed most, including sports, workflow orchestration, MOQ, scaling live events, multiview, UI/UX, and how AI tech is being implemented into the video stack. I also cover what I want to improve at the Streaming Summit next year, what exhibitors can do to improve their messaging and booth presence, and where we both see room for improvement in the attendee experience. Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

    55 min

  6. Apr 13

    Episode 168: NFL and DOJ News Overblown; New Amazon AI Revenue Data; YouTube Raises Premium Pricing; Sling TV/FOX/Fubo/Disney+ News

    This week, we detail YouTube's upcoming price increase across all U.S. YouTube Premium plans, Sling TV's new $20 monthly plan that includes ESPN, and FOX's announcement that it will shut down the Fox Sports app for smart TVs and connected devices. We also discuss Fubo's newly released set of long-term financial targets, which projects positive free cash flow by fiscal 2027, and why the news that the DOJ is exploring whether the NFL is engaging in anti-competitive tactics isn't a surprise. Finally, we discuss AI news, including Amazon's newly released revenue data for its AI business, which shows AWS’s AI revenue run rate is over $15 billion. We break down Amazon's plans to double its total power capacity by the end of 2027, its $20 billion in revenue for its chip business, and its stated model of investing disproportionately behind what matters and pulling back when something isn’t working. Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

    39 min

  7. Apr 5

    Episode 167: Latest Sports Streaming Viewership Numbers; Oracle Layoffs; The Problem With AI Capex Spending

    This week, we detail viewership numbers from Netflix, NBC Sports and Peacock for MLB's opening week, highlighting the multiple issues with how the data is collected and presented, leading to impossible comparisons. We also discuss OpenAI's hiring of Indian streaming giant JioStar to lead its Asia-Pacific operations and news that Main Street Sports Group lenders have formally signed paperwork to close the business, after the first round of the NHL playoffs. Finally, we discuss Oracle's recent round of layoffs and break down the numbers from its balance sheet that led to them, including $58 billion in new debt, net income, operating cash flow and $50 billion in capital expenditures expected during fiscal 2026. Dan argues that all this reckless spending on AI isn't innovation but rather financial engineering dressed up as leadership with no accountability, no consequences and lacking leaders who manage with discipline. Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

    41 min

  8. Mar 29

    Episode 166: Netflix's MLB Opening Night Stream and Newly Announced Price Increase; News Recap from OpenAI, YouTube TV, DAZN, Roku, Fubo and NFL

    This week, special guest Eric Black and I discuss Netflix's opening-night MLB stream, which received a lot of negative reviews for its production, relentless, intrusive promotions and poor video quality. We also discuss Netflix's price increases across all its packages and the 18.4 million global viewers who watched the live stream of the BTS concert. We also highlight the launch of HBO Max in the UK and Ireland, the launch in 12 new markets in the APAC region, and the news that WBD will hold the Special Meeting of Shareholders to vote on the merger with Paramount Skydance Corporation on April 23. We discuss why OpenAI shut down Sora, the lack of a business model behind the service and why it makes sense for OpenAI's bottom line. We do a quick roundup of the latest news from YouTube TV, DAZN, Roku, Fubo, NFL and Epic Games. Finally, we mention the newly appointed CEO at Deltatre, prompting me to ask whether this now means the company will explain its strategy and focus and tell the market what it wants to be known for. Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

    42 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
16 Ratings

About

Curating all the streaming media industry news of the week that matters most, in 30 minutes. Unvarnished, unscripted and providing you with the data and analysis you need, without any hype. The pulse of the streaming media industry.

Information

  • Creator
    Dan Rayburn
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    190
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The Dan Rayburn Podcast
  • Show Website
    The Dan Rayburn Podcast

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