Episode 146: Media Stocks up 25% in the Past Six Months; Latest News from Peacock, Max, FOX, Fubo, Disney, Versant, Prime Video, the NBA, and YouTube TV

This week, special guest Eric Black and I detail the latest news in sports streaming and price increases. We cover the impact on UK sports fans, with Paramount Skydance having secured the bulk of UEFA Champions League rights in the UK and Ireland, starting in 2027. We also cover MLB's newly announced licensing deals for 2026-2028, which will feature new packages of games on NBC, Peacock, and Netflix, while ESPN is bringing back a smaller selection of games. We detail the new deal terms between MLS and Apple, with the contract ending three years earlier and payment terms altered and NBC Sports' upcoming "EA SPORTS Madden NFL Cast" stream on Peacock for Thanksgiving. We discuss T-Mobile and Xfinity price increases, with T-Mobile announcing it will charge $3 per month for the "On Us" Apple TV perk for all customers who previously received the streaming service for free. Similarly, Xfinity is raising the monthly cost of the Xfinity "StreamSaver" bundle by $3, from $15 to $18. Finally, we do a news roundup across Netflix, Verizon's layoffs, Amazon's CloudFront CDN, and the reported non-binding bids placed for Warner Bros. Discovery. Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we detail all the numbers you should know from Disney and Paramount's earnings and the comments made by executives during the earnings calls. We discuss the latest subscriber numbers, DTC operating income, ARPU, content spending budgets, Paramount ending free trials and the upcoming Paramount+ price increase. We also debate what Disney's CEO might mean when he said that gen-AI short-form UGC will be available on Disney+ in the future. We also highlight that, starting in 2026, Apple's MLS Season Pass will be discontinued, and that all MLS games will be streamed on the Apple TV service at no additional cost, potentially bringing more exposure to MLS content. We break down Amazon's announcement that Prime Video now reaches 315 million monthly viewers globally, and why we don't know what it means, without any details on the methodology. To wrap up, we cover news related to Netflix, Roku, NBC, and Kaltura's plans to acquire eSelf.ai.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we detail Amazon's confirmation that it has started blocking sideloaded apps on Fire TVs that it deems are being used for piracy, in an effort to restrict users from accessing pirated content. We also discuss ITV's confirmation that it is in talks with Comcast-owned Sky about a potential acquisition of its broadcast business, valuing the company at £1.6 billion. We review the latest financial numbers and subscriber counts from Q3 earnings reported by WBD (HBO Max), Xperi, EchoStar (Sling TV), Altice, and AMC Networks, and highlight the strong earnings results from Akamai and Fastly.Note: I incorrectly stated 'Hulu+ Live TV' when I meant to say 'YouTube TV', and on a second occasion, I meant to say 'YouTube' instead of 'Amazon'. My apologies for the confusion.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we detail Netflix's plans to offer live, dynamic ad insertion (DAI) for NFL games on Christmas and why this is a significant development for the industry. We also debated their new ad viewing definition and the announcement that ads on Netflix now reach more than 190 million MAUs globally. We break down the latest developments on the YouTube TV and Disney Carriage Dispute and how both companies are being disingenuous with users. For Q3 earnings data, we highlight Fubo's improving balance sheet, with its net loss shrinking to $18.9 million, while also reducing churn by 50% compared to last year. We also detail how Disney will take over advertising sales across Fubo, with Fubo integrating its inventory into Disney’s ecosystem and ad server. Additionally, Fubo announced plans to utilize Disney to grow internationally over the next 18 to 24 months. Finally, we dicuss how, in their latest earnings reports, Meta, Alphabet, Microsoft, and Amazon have announced plans to increase their AI spending in 2026 to a combined $ 400 billion, but with no details on what percentage of their AI spend is going toward internal projects, versus selling cloud AI services to other companies. Additionally, quick updates on earnings from Broadpeak, Harmonic, Qwilt's new CEO, as well as Bending Spoons' $710 million equity raise at a $11 billion pre-money valuation.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, I detail Netflix's Q3 earnings, its new interactive ads rolling out this quarter, and discuss its current use cases for GenAI. I also cover the upcoming Max price hikes and the latest WBD acquisition rumors, focusing on the numbers that matter most —revenue, debt, and financial metrics. Also discussed is the new NBA season, with the NBA back on NBC for the first time since 2002, Prime as a new addition to the NBA party, and ESPN returning for its 24th straight season. Finally, I detail the recent F1 viewership numbers on ESPN, FOX Sports plans to stream the FIFA World Cup 26 in native 4K, and layoffs by Charter Communications and Meta, with more on the way.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we highlight my review of Amazon's new Vega OS-based Fire TV Stick, which claims to offer "remarkably fast app launches,” but when tested against the Fire TV Stick Max, I found there was no difference in speed. We also detail all the news from Apple regarding its deal with F1, Apple's services chief discussing how Apple approaches the live sports business and Apple's new bundle with Peacock. We also dispute Apple's odd claim that Apple TV has better video quality than other broadcasters because it doesn’t compress its video, and the news that Apple will stream Select Los Angeles Lakers games in Apple’s Immersive on Vision Pro. Also covered is the latest news from WBD regarding the launch of CNN All Access, Max now streaming in over 100 markets, and HBO Max ingesting the All Elite Wrestling PPV at native 1080p60 HDR (HLG source), transported at 425mbps JPEG XS and PCM audio directly from the venue. Finally, we cover some of my thoughts on my opening talk at the DanAds conference, where I reinforced why the CTV industry needs to prioritize outcomes over impressions.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we highlight all of the comments from Netflix's co-CEO regarding its upcoming release of five Party Games designed for connected TVs. We also detail his remarks on why Netflix doesn't bid for an entire season of NFL games, why Netflix doesn't want to acquire WBD, the impact of their new UI/UX and why trying to copy YouTube is the "dumbest move" a company can make. We also cover some announcements made during Advertising Week NY, with news from NBC, Paramount Skydance, Roku, Snap, The Trade Desk, Sky Media and Fox.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we highlight the stocks of WBD, Disney, Roku, Paramount, Apple, Fubo, and others, which have all increased by at least 25% over the past six months, with WBD leading the way at 112%. We detail all the latest news related to Peacock, Max, FOX, Fubo, Disney, Versant, Prime Video, the NBA, and YouTube TV, as well as rumors that Yahoo is in advanced talks to sell AOL to Bending Spoons. Finally, we discuss some tips and tricks for increasing exposure on LinkedIn, including recent best practices from the company regarding content focus, length, reposts and new analytic metrics.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we highlight the balance sheets of WBD, Netflix, and Roku, including their market capitalization, debt, cash, and profit and loss statements, as we examine some of the high-level rumors of mergers in the industry, where no one seems to be considering the financials. We also discuss Disney's DTC price increases and the ridiculous comparisons about Kimmel's monologue viewership numbers between TV and YouTube, as some claim Disney has seen "mass" cancellations. We cover the unconfirmed news that MLB has agreed to a three-year deal with Netflix for games that include the Home Run Derby and the 2026 opening day game, and highlight how Apple used iPhone 17 Pros to capture and stream live footage of their last Friday Night Baseball game on Apple TV+. Finally, we discuss Roku's unusual comparison, declaring "FAST is the new cable," in their latest report, and highlight the revenue and profit disclosed from vendor Cleeng.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, I highlight where the hype lies in AI, where there is opportunity, and why an "AI-first native strategy" by vendors is the wrong approach. I also explain the importance of AI use cases that help boost efficiency, versus those that are more disruptive to a given industry and how AI is truly upending the news media industry. I detail the new financial details released by Versant Media Group, Comcast’s spinoff of the majority of its NBCU cable network portfolio and the importance of understanding the difference between free cash flow and profitability.I also break down the viewership numbers from Netflix’s Canelo vs. Crawford boxing event, Amazon’s TNF kickoff NFL game, and YouTube’s exclusive live global stream of the NFL game from Brazil, which YouTube originally misreported, resulting in updated numbers that increased by two million viewers a few days later. Also covered are Sky's plan to lay off 600 employees, the NBA's investment arm investing in MediaKind, and why Antenna's numbers of ESPN Unlimited and Fox One sign-ups should not be trusted.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media