State of Streaming Podcast

StateofStreaming.com
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  • TECH NEWS

Covering the topics, trends, people, and acquisitions shaping Streaming TV.

  1. How to Research Attention in Streaming TV with Todd Nicolini, Research and Insights Contributor

    1D AGO

    How to Research Attention in Streaming TV with Todd Nicolini, Research and Insights Contributor

    Have a question? Send us a text! Download Todd's Research on The Creator Economy Here: https://podcast.stateofstreaming.com/downloads/rts-creator-economy/ In this episode, Tim Rowe sits down with Todd Nicolini, a research and insights veteran who spent over two decades at the Washington Post connecting data to decision-makers across advertising, digital subscriptions, content licensing, and the newsroom. The conversation covers where streaming is headed, why the creator economy is poised to explode, how AI slop is reshaping the value of legacy IP, and why measuring attention may ultimately come down to a consumer value exchange. Get the Unified Streaming Power Index - Q1 2026 Key Takeaways Streaming Is Consolidating Into Massive Walled Gardens The Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger, Netflix's evolving acquisition strategy, and Roku's push into younger demographics all signal a future where platforms build full-spectrum ecosystems spanning video, audio, gaming, and creator content.  4:10 – How the Paramount–WBD merger is reshaping walled garden strategy and what it means for advertisers.5:45 – Why Netflix is quietly positioning itself to challenge YouTube as a global multi-format media platform.6:30 – The case for Netflix acquiring Roblox and what gaming infrastructure brings to a streaming ecosystem.The Creator Economy Still Depends on Legacy Media While AI is set to dramatically reduce the production burden for independent creators over the next five to ten years, Todd Nicolini argues that serious creators still rely on legacy media outlets for fact-checking and verification.  7:45 – How fragmentation in media is best defined by the creator economy and the rise of short-form vertical video.8:12 – Why legacy media outlets remain the backbone for fact-checking and verification, even as creators go independent.10:00 – How AI will streamline video editing and cross-platform distribution for creators in the near term.AI Slop Is Making Legacy IP More Valuable As AI-generated content floods platforms like YouTube, the value of original, legacy intellectual property is increasing. Todd Nicolini explains why platforms need to do a better job labeling AI-generated content and why federal regulation may eventually force the issue.  11:38 – Why AI slop is a growing problem for YouTube and short-form content platforms.12:30 – How legacy IP becomes a premium asset as low-quality AI content saturates the market.13:45 – The case for clearer AI content labeling and where federal regulation may be headed.Measuring Attention Requires a Consumer Value Exchange Rather than chasing a single perfect measurement solution, Todd Nicolini argues that the industry needs to focus on transparency with consumers about the trade-off between personal data and personalized experience.  15:25 – Why no single company will fully quantify user behavior across all platforms, and what that means for the industry.17:00 – The value exchange consumers need to understand between personal data and personalized content experiences.18:31 – How triangulating directional data points can move measurement forward without Connect with the Guest Connect with Todd Nicolini on LinkedInAnd on X here

    21 min
  2. How $7.4B in Streaming Ads Becomes Waste with Johnathan Barnes, Founder & CEO at Supply Monitor

    MAR 12

    How $7.4B in Streaming Ads Becomes Waste with Johnathan Barnes, Founder & CEO at Supply Monitor

    Have a question? Send us a text! In this episode, Tim Rowe sits down with Johnathan Barnes, Founder and CEO of Supply Monitor, to tackle one of Streaming TV advertising's biggest problems: waste.  A recent Truthset report estimates that advertisers will waste $7.4 billion in the Connected TV market in 2026, roughly 40% of all open programmatic ad spend, because the audience data guiding those buys is only accurate 13% of the time. Johnathan Barnes breaks down where that waste comes from, how to fight it, and why media buyers need to take a more active role in protecting their spend. Key Takeaways Every Programmatic Impression Is a String of Data, and Every Hop Adds Risk When you buy CTV programmatically, you're not just buying an ad placement, you're buying a chain of data that passes through multiple intermediaries before it reaches your bidder. Each hop introduces the potential for fraud, loose ID bridging, or degraded signal quality.  2:35 – Why waste means different things to different people, and how intermediary hops create efficiency for some and fraud for others.3:23 – What ID bridging is and how probabilistic models attempt to connect disparate identity graphs across the ecosystem.AI Is Accelerating Both Sides of the Fraud Fight AI has made it dramatically easier to detect and filter fraudulent or low-quality supply in real time, but it's also made fraudsters faster and more sophisticated. The organizations winning are the ones actively using AI to monitor supply paths, unify siloed data sets, and action against anomalies. Those that aren't are falling further behind. 7:23 – How AI serves as both weapon and shield in the fight against ad fraud.9:21 – Why bringing together data from your DSP, GA4, and third-party analytics platforms into a single view is now possible and essential.The Best CTV Buyers Go Direct, Ask Hard Questions, and Curate Their Supply Johnathan Barnes outlines a three-part playbook for any team buying connected TV. First, go direct or programmatic direct whenever possible to skip unnecessary intermediary hops. Second, ask your DSP and SSP partners specific questions about how they vet resellers and maintain supply chain health. Third, invest in curation and supply-side decisioning to control what inventory actually reaches your bidder, whether through a third-party curation service or deeper partnerships with your SSPs. 10:24 – Why CTV resembles the mobile app environment and what that means for supply chain visibility.12:23 – The questions buyers should be asking SSPs like OpenX, Index, and Magnite about reseller vetting and supply chain integrity.13:19 – Why curation isn't a buzzword but an ongoing practice that requires active management.Media Buyers Should Get Hands-On with AI Tools Johnathan Barnes challenges media buyers to spend time with AI coding tools like Claude Code to build custom solutions, even without a technical background.  14:25 – How Johnathan Barnes, a non-technical founder, now writes code with AI tools that his product developers can ship.16:40 – Why invalid signal, not just invalid traffic, is the next frontier, and how political advertisers are especially vulnerable to waste. Connect with the Guest Connect with Jonathan Barnes on LinkedIn: Johnathan BarnesWebsite: www.supplymonitor.aiEmail: jb@supplymonitor.ai

    20 min
  3. The Sports Report: Streaming vs Linear with Ross Benes, Senior Analyst @ EMARKETER

    MAR 5

    The Sports Report: Streaming vs Linear with Ross Benes, Senior Analyst @ EMARKETER

    Have a question? Send us a text! DOWNLOAD THE EMARKETER SPORTS VIEWERSHIP REPORT REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE HERE: https://podcast.stateofstreaming.com/downloads/the-sports-report/ In this episode, Tim Rowe sits down with Ross Benes, Senior Analyst at EMARKETER, to separate the hype from reality in sports streaming. Ross's research reveals a striking disconnect: while streaming dominates nearly two-thirds of total TV screen time, live sports viewing on streaming platforms accounts for just 10% of minutes watched. The conversation covers the sports rights bubble, the future of regional sports networks, and why niche streaming might be the most exciting frontier in the space. Key Takeaways Sports Streaming Is Massive In Buzz, Not In Minutes Most sports viewers have watched something on a streaming service, but they're not doing it regularly. On-demand platforms like Peacock, Paramount+, and Prime Video account for roughly 10% of sports viewing time, while digital pay TV services like YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV make up another 20%. The remaining two-thirds still flows through traditional cable packages. 5:19 – Why streaming's share of sports viewing is a fraction of its share of total TV time.8:35 – How vMVPDs blur the line between streaming and cable, and why the distinction matters for advertisers.The Sports Rights Bubble Is Real, For Some The NBA's media rights deal jumped from $2.7B to $6.9B. MLS tripled its rights payments but lost 65% of viewers after moving to Apple TV. Amazon and Apple can absorb sports as a loss leader because streaming is one piece of a larger business. But for platforms where ad revenue is the primary model, overpaying for rights with underwhelming viewership is a ticking clock. 12:50 – Why TNT walked away from the NBA deal and what that signals.9:48 – The college basketball viewership reality, a St. John's game on Peacock likely doesn't crack 500K viewers.Short-Term Revenue Grabs Versus Long-Term Fan Building Some teams are choosing reach over revenue, dropping paid RSN models in favor of free local broadcasts. Ross highlights NBA teams moving games to local affiliates instead of charging fans $6/month through cable networks, a bet on lifetime fan value over immediate subscription income. 17:40 – The NBA teams betting on accessibility over paywalls.14:05 – Why RSNs survive for big-market teams but face extinction in smaller markets.Niche Sports Streaming Is Quietly Expanding Access The most underrated story in sports streaming isn't the NFL or NBA, it's the long tail. Platforms like FloSports and Big Ten Plus now make it possible to watch Penn State wrestling, college volleyball, and semi-pro hockey on your TV. The question is whether discoverability and revenue can catch up to availability. 21:50 – FloSports, Big Ten Plus, and the explosion of niche sports content.16:28 – The Roku Channel carrying League One volleyball and why cheap rights don't guarantee an audience.Connect with the Guest Connect with Ross Benes on LinkedIn: Ross BenesEmail: rbenes@emarketer.com

    21 min
  4. How the 'Unreasonable Consumer' Now Controls Advertising with Sam Khoury, Chief Strategy Officer at Marketecture Media

    FEB 20

    How the 'Unreasonable Consumer' Now Controls Advertising with Sam Khoury, Chief Strategy Officer at Marketecture Media

    Have a question? Send us a text! https://2026.marketecturelive.com/e/u/checkout/marketecturemedia/tickets/order Use discount code FINAL30 for 30% off general admission.  Brands and agencies attend free. In this episode, Tim Rowe sits down with Sam Khoury, Chief Strategy Officer at Marketecture Media, to go behind the scenes on one of ad tech's fastest-growing media companies and preview their upcoming flagship event, Marketecture Live 3: Consumers in Control. From the origins of the company as three independent podcasts to the current debate over OpenAI monetization and the decline of Google Search, Sam delivers a candid look at what's actually moving the needle in advertising right now and what's just noise. Key Takeaways The Open Web Is Under Pressure and Advertisers Need A Plan  Web traffic is declining across open web properties as consumers shift their discovery and research habits toward LLMs and AI platforms. Sam explains why Marketecture Live 3 is deliberately focused on maximizing what advertisers have today rather than chasing AI hype, and how the theme "Consumers in Control" reflects a fundamental shift in how audiences access content, research products, and navigate the internet. 4:04 – The event theme and why consumer behavior, not AI, is the real story.5:10 – Why Marketecture is prioritizing practical advertising fundamentals over trending topics.ChatGPT Ads Could Be A Multi-Billion Dollar Business  With Google Search usage declining and OpenAI announcing plans to add advertising, Sam and Tim break down what LLM monetization could look like, and why the contextual relevance of ChatGPT ads could be a game changer. The key risk? Transparency. If users can't tell what's sponsored, trust erodes fast. If they get it right, it's a new category of marketing entirely. 6:37 – OpenAI's ad play and what it means for search marketers.8:32 – Why demand capture through LLMs still requires demand generation elsewhere.The Startup Showcase Is Ad Tech's Shark Tank  MarketectureLive's pitch competition has a real track record. Past participant Streamer.ai was acquired by Magnite shortly after showcasing, and two other startups raised funding rounds. This year, five startups were selected from over 60 submissions spanning pharma, platform integrations, and more, proving the showcase has evolved well beyond AI-only pitches. 13:18 – How the startup showcase works: submission, selection, live demo, audience voting.15:27 – Real outcomes: acquisitions and funding rounds that followed past events.Headline Sessions Worth Blocking Your Calendar For  The two-day event at The Glasshouse in NYC features the CMO of the NFL discussing the Super Bowl and the rise of live sports advertising, an FTC commissioner addressing privacy and data, leaders from Omnicom and Dentsu, and Ari Paparo's keynote, which Sam calls a can't-miss every time. 8:32 – Session highlights and why the NFL CMO session stands out.10:23 – Venue details, ticket pricing, and how brands and agencies attend free.Connect with the Guest Connect with Sam Corey on LinkedIn: Sam KhouryLearn more about Marketecture Media: https://www.marketecturemedia.comGet tickets to Marketecture Live 3: Use code FINAL30

    17 min
  5. The Streaming Wars: How Media Buyers Win with Jean Carucci, Streaming Strategy Scholar

    FEB 12

    The Streaming Wars: How Media Buyers Win with Jean Carucci, Streaming Strategy Scholar

    Have a question? Send us a text! In this episode, Tim Rowe sits down with Jean Carucci, Streaming Strategy Scholar, to decode the rapidly evolving world of streaming mergers and acquisitions (M&A). They trace the industry’s journey from the Plethora of Plus era and the rise of FAST channels to the current landscape of mega-mergers and consolidation. Jean provides a strategic roadmap for media buyers to navigate the shift from linear-first to streaming-first planning, ensuring brands remain relevant and effective amidst the chaos. Key Takeaways The Shift from Linear to Streaming-First The media planning landscape has fundamentally flipped. Historically, buyers started with linear TV and used digital to extend reach, today, the strategy starts with streaming, using linear only for incremental reach. Jean explains that we have reached a point of diminishing returns for subscriber growth, forcing major media companies to acquire competitors to gain scale and maintain leadership. 4:20 – The Plethora of Plus era and how the pandemic accelerated direct-to-consumer adoption.12:20 – Analyzing the Nielsen Gauge: Understanding the 80% growth in streaming viewership over four years.Two Paths of Consolidation: Prestige vs. Scale Jean compares two potential merger scenarios, Netflix/Warner Bros. Discovery vs. Paramount/WBD, to highlight the different opportunities for advertisers. While one offers high-touch, premium integrations with limited inventory (Prestige), the other offers massive, high-volume reach across linear and streaming with endemic, sticky content like live sports and reality TV (Scale). 18:22 – A head-to-head comparison of merger outcomes for media buyers.20:35 – Choosing between limited premium slots and fragmented high-volume supply.26:20 – Why CPG brands might prefer the stickiness of lifestyle content over high-brow prestige drama.Future-Proofing for Media Buyers With consolidation comes technical hurdles. Jean outlines four critical tips for navigating the M&A wave, emphasizing Data Readiness and Engagement. She argues that the 30-second brand awareness ad is no longer enough; buyers must demand interactive, shoppable formats and prime real estate on the streaming home screen. 32:05 – Why scale is the primary driver for mass-market ROI in a merged ecosystem.34:20 – Four tips to navigate M&A: From data portability to venture buying for tentpole events.The 5 Must-Ask Questions for the Upfront Season Jean identifies five critical questions every media buyer should bring to the table this year: Can I activate my first-party data on your platform?What is the actual ad-available subscriber base post-merger?Can we lock in high-affinity tentpoles before prices reset?Does your ad tech stack support shoppable and outcome-driven formats?How are you carving out opportunities for my brand on the new user interface?Connect with the Guest Subscribe to Jean Carucci’s Substack: The Streaming Strategy ScholarConnect with Jean on LinkedIn: Jean Carucci

    38 min
  6. How Streaming TV Keeps Track of What Content is Where with David Sanderson, CEO of Reelgood

    FEB 5

    How Streaming TV Keeps Track of What Content is Where with David Sanderson, CEO of Reelgood

    Have a question? Send us a text! In this episode, Tim Rowe sits down with David Sanderson, CEO of ReelGood, to discuss the complex world of streaming fragmentation. They explore how the lack of a universal content barcode led to a data crisis, how major studios are using historical availability to make nine-figure licensing bets, and why the current streaming landscape feels more like a logistics problem than an entertainment one. Key Takeaways The No Barcode Problem  There is no industry-standard ID for content. Netflix, Disney+, and Prime all assign unique internal IDs to the same movie, making it nearly impossible to track availability without sophisticated technology. David explains how ReelGood spent eight years and tens of millions of dollars building a machine learning system that maps content based on cast, crew, and metadata rather than relying on inconsistent vendor data. 2:28 – Why licensing data from existing vendors often results in wrong information.5:12 – The challenge of the universal ID and why new standards often make the problem worse.Strategic Insights: Defensive vs. Offensive Moves  Data isn't just for helping consumers find shows; it’s for helping studios survive. David reveals how data shows Paramount is more dependent on Warner Bros. Discovery than Netflix is. He discusses how licensing decisions are shifting from filling gaps to strategic gatekeeping of IP, especially as adaptations of proven books and franchises become the industry's safest bets for ROI. 9:00 – How marketing teams use data to identify and lean into their biggest catalogs (e.g., horror vs. drama).15:00 – Analyzing the Paramount/WBD/Netflix exposure: Why buying WBD is an offensive move for Netflix but defensive for Paramount.17:10 – Case studies on Yellowstone, James Bond, and Jurassic Park that reveal the absurdity of app-switching.The Invisible Gap in Streaming  Nearly half of all movies and TV shows in global databases are not available to stream in the United States. David highlights the massive opportunity in international content and existing IP (like the hit Heated Rivalry), noting that smart services are looking at outsized returns by finding high-impact international titles that can be licensed at a fraction of the cost of a domestic blockbuster. 17:44 – The surprising stat: 50% of global content is missing from US streaming platforms.18:20 – Why the future of margins lies in proven IP from international markets.Connect with David Sanderson on LinkedIn here.

    20 min
  7. How Sports TV Predicts the Future with Brian Josephs, Vice President of the Americas at Sportradar

    JAN 22

    How Sports TV Predicts the Future with Brian Josephs, Vice President of the Americas at Sportradar

    Have a question? Send us a text! In this episode, Tim Rowe sits down with Brian Josephs, Vice President of the Americas at Sportradar, to pull back the curtain on the invisible engine powering the global sports industry. They discuss the evolution of sports data from simple box scores to real-time predictive modeling, how the NBA on Peacock is redefining the home viewing experience, and why the future of sports media lies in hyper-personalization and social gamification. Key Takeaways From Facts to Predictive Insights Data has evolved beyond simply stating what happened. Sportradar now focuses on why it happened and what will happen next. By leveraging AI and computer vision, they provide real-time predictive insights, like shot probability and expected points, that turn a passive broadcast into an interactive, insight-driven experience. 5:17 – The transition from basic data APIs to AI-generated visualizations.6:40 – How player tracking data predicts play outcomes in real time.The Personalization of the Fan Experience The one-to-many broadcast model is fading. Streaming allows platforms to meet fans where they are with personalized overlays, alternate commentators, and interactive features. Brian explains that this interactivity is essential for capturing the attention of a younger, unreasonable consumer who expects a video game-like experience. 8:15 – How the NBA on Peacock’s Performance View adds value without overwhelming the fan.10:32 – Why streaming is the bridge between passive viewing and full personalization.13:00 – Competing with social media and short-form content.Social Viewing and Global Strategy Sportradar is bringing the group chat inside the app through Virtual Stadium, a product that integrates social interaction, gamification, and betting. Looking ahead to 2026, the company is preparing for a sports equinox, the collision of the FIFA World Cup and the Winter Olympics, using dynamic creative optimization to react to on-field action in real time. 14:56 – Understanding Virtual Stadium and the psychology of social betting.17:09 – Global strategy for the World Cup: Deeper insights and more betting markets.18:15 – How ads can react to live events as they happen on the field. Connect with Brian Joesphs on LinkedIn here.

    21 min
  8. How To Spot Ad Fraud on Streaming TV (and beyond) Dr. Augustine Fou, Creator of FouAnalytics

    JAN 15

    How To Spot Ad Fraud on Streaming TV (and beyond) Dr. Augustine Fou, Creator of FouAnalytics

    Have a question? Send us a text! In this episode, Tim Rowe sits down with Dr. Augustine Fou, Creator of FouAnalytics, to pull back the curtain on the multi-billion dollar ad fraud industry. They discuss why fraud isn't a tech problem but an incentive problem, how to spot the red flags of spoofed CTV inventory, and why the most powerful tool in a marketer's kit might be the pause button. Key Takeaways Ad Fraud is an Incentive Problem Fraud persists because the ecosystem is designed to reward volume. Dr. Fou explains that middlemen, exchanges, agencies, and tech platforms, make more money when more traffic flows through their pipes, leaving them with little financial motivation to filter out the bots. 0:00 – Why throwing more tech at fraud won't solve an incentive issue.2:42 – The red flag of 100% click-through rates and how bot mechanics work.5:20 – Transitioning from manual McKinsey-style audits to the FouAnalytics platform.The CTV Conundrum & The CPM Trap In Connected TV, fraud is binary, it’s either 0% or 100%. Buying direct from premium publishers is safe, but chasing efficient CPMs on programmatic exchanges often means buying spoofed bid requests that never reach a real television. 6:23 – How fraudsters pretend to be Disney+ or ESPN to hijack programmatic budgets.9:21 – Why low CPMs are actually driving up your total waste.16:38 – How independent audits prove if your CTV ad actually ran on a TV.Correlation vs. Incrementally Marketers often mistake concurrent sales for successful advertising. Dr. Fou breaks down how attribution models over claim credit for sales that would have happened anyway and why turnoff tests are the only way to find the truth. 11:42 – Why View-Through conversions are often used to hide fraudulent traffic.14:12 – The Uber Case: Cutting $100M in spend with zero impact on app installs.15:30 – Adopting the Small Business Mindset to focus on real business outcomes.Connect with Dr. Augustine Fou on LinkedIn here or visit FouAnalytics.com.

    26 min
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Covering the topics, trends, people, and acquisitions shaping Streaming TV.

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  • Creator
    StateofStreaming.com
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    17
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 State of Streaming Podcast
  • Show Website
    State of Streaming Podcast

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