Episode 123: Sports News Roundup From ESPN, Netflix, Max, Prime, DAZN, DIRECTV, Roku, F1 and Akamai's Q4 Earnings

This week, we highlight DIRECTV's expanding RSN bundling options, which cover 18 MLB, 16 NBA, and 10 NHL franchises and the addition of Max Basic with Ads to its MyEntertainment Genre Pack. We also highlight the MLB TV streaming outage on opening day, JioHotstar's announcement that JioHotstar now has over 100 million subscribers, and Netflix's news that it is now streaming HDR10+ content for AV1-enabled devices. Finally, we detail the launch of EdgeCast Cloud Services from Parler Cloud Technologies and Bitmovin's news of reaching free cash flow in 2024, with 2025 revenue expected to be in the $30M+ range.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we discuss JioHotstar's live stream of the ICC Champions Trophy Final, with a reported 60 million concurrent streams and why the industry needs to stop putting so much clout on concurrent or AMA numbers without any other details on the quality of the stream. We also detail the F1 TV Premium tier, offering 4K video and multiview functionality for an additional $6 monthly, and Comcast's deal with the International Olympic Committee to keep NBC and Peacock as the U.S. TV and streaming home of the Olympic Games through 2036. Finally, we detail some new platform improvements rolled out by Max and why it doesn't matter if Apple loses money on its Apple TV+ service.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we talk about the problems with Hulu's Oscars live stream and why streaming cannot take the place of broadcast distribution in terms of scalability and dependability. We also point out the likelihood of MSG Networks and/or its affiliates declaring bankruptcy and the potential consequences for their streaming business. We discuss the announcement that all Elite Wrestling PPV events will soon be available on Prime Video, and Netflix plans to live stream another boxing match later in the year. Lastly, we discuss Fox Nation's new subscriber figures, the largest CTV device botnet ever discovered and made public, and MLB's commissioner's difficulties in getting all the teams to cooperate for a new DTC MLB service without blackout restrictions.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we discuss the Q4 earnings numbers tied to subscribers and profitability from Fubo, Warner Bros. Discovery, Paramount, and EchoStar. We also highlight the latest sports news from Disney, DAZN, LALIGA, Fox, LFP, and Sky. We detail the new $35 entertainment package from DIRECTV, which includes 43 linear channels and Disney+, Hulu+ and Max streaming services. Finally, we cover the news that Amazon will launch a live, linear TV channel for Prime Video members in Germany and Austria and highlight how CDN77's revenue grew to $175 million in 2024 while being cash-flow positive.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we discuss all the latest sports news, including ESPN and MLB ending their contract early, the excellent looking live stream of the NASCAR Daytona 500 on Max and SURJ's investment in DAZN, rumored to be $1 billion. We also highlight the news that DIRECTV's MySports package will include 140 NBC affiliates, Prime Video offering Ligue 1 matches via PPV, reports that ESPN has walked away from F1 negotiations, and Bassmaster tournaments now streaming on the Roku Channel. Finally, we cover Q4 and full-year earnings from Akamai, who provided an update on its delivery business for 2025 and beyond. Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we review FOX and Tubi's Super Bowl stream, detailing the video quality, latency, playback, viewership numbers and overall event success. We also detail Q4 and full-year earnings from Roku, AMC Networks, Altice, Fastly and Harmonic, which saw mixed results. We highlight the launch of JioHotstar, which resulted in the merger between Hotstar and JioCinema, subscriber numbers from Philo, the Apple TV app launching on Android and the changes taking place at Brightcove due to the acquisition by Bending Spoons.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we detail the launch of competing $70 sports streaming packages from Comcast’s Xfinity and DirecTV and FOX's plans to launch a DTC streaming service. We also cover the latest earnings from Comcast, Disney and Alphabet, with Disney+ losing 700,000 subscribers, Peacock's DTC business losing $436M, and YouTube seeing advertising revenue of $10.4 billion, with growth driven by the 2024 U.S. election. We also discussed the latest cord-cutting numbers from Charter, Comcast, and Verizon, which have lost nearly half a million cord-cutters combined. Finally, we detail Parler's $7.5 million acquisition of select Edgio assets.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we discuss all the latest NFL streaming news, including Amazon's exclusive NFL Wild Card playoff game, which reached an all-time high of 24.6M viewers, details from FOX on their 1080p upscaled 4k HDR stream and their plans to make the stream available on Tubi. We also detail the network shutdown of Limelight Networks as part of Edgio's bankruptcy, what it means for the CDN industry, and the thousands of employees who have worked at the company over the past 23 years. Finally, we cover some news about Apple TV+, Altice, and the launch of a new video distribution patent pool by Access Advance.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, I discuss the Disney and Fubo deal, what it means for subscribers and the impact of Venu Sports no longer launching in the market. I detail the deal terms and what's being misreported, separating facts from guesses. I also discuss viewership numbers from Netflix's debut of WWE’s Monday Night Raw, final global viewership numbers for Netflix's NFL games on Christmas and complete NFL season viewership data on Peacock. Finally, I highlight Diamond Sports Group's emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, DAZN's plans to acquire Foxtel, MSG Networks blackout dispute with Altice and TV news from the CES show.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

For this special podcast episode, we review Netflix's streaming of the NFL games on Christmas, detailing some tech details related to the stream quality, latency, player functionality, reported user feedback, and viewership statistics for the U.S. market. We compare the 27 million peak viewers in the U.S. stat to previous NFL games across broadcast, Prime Video and Peacock and why viewership was down compared to broadcast. We also discuss why Netflix's success on Christmas wasn’t just a big day for the company individually but for the entire industry.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media