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

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

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

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

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

This week, we discuss JioHotstar's recent live stream of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, which set a global streaming record with a peak of 72.5 million concurrent viewers. We detail some of the tech specs from the event, including the split between mobile and TV viewing and the rebuffer rate. We cover EverPass Media's news that it will be the exclusive commercial option for the NFL Sunday Ticket package this season, with DIRECTV no longer having a license to carry the games. This change raises many questions, including how the streaming video will sync across multiple TVs streaming the same game. We highlight Spectrum's launch of its new multiview feature in the Spectrum TV App, noting that at launch, viewers can't select their own games and must choose from pre-curated options. We share a few new numbers from Netflix's Next on Netflix summit, including that subscribers watch about 7 movies a month and that the company will invest in original storytelling and a renewed focus on theatrical comedy and content for young adults. Finally, we detail new technology in the video streaming pipeline, including MoQ, AV1/2, VVC, SGAI, and ULL, to refute an analyst's claim that there is "no more to get out of the core technology of video streaming."Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we discuss reports that the NFL has begun renegotiating its $110 billion domestic broadcast agreements ahead of the 2026 season, seeking a 50% increase with some broadcasters, if the reports are accurate. We also explain why it's gotten so hard to compare big live streaming events to one another when viewership numbers alone don't provide a clear picture. We use NBCU as an example: it released a rebuffer rate for the Super Bowl stream but did not provide viewership numbers, while JioHotStar provided viewship numbers for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, but not the rebuffer rate. On the vertical video front, we detail news from both Peacock and Disney, who are rolling out trials of the new viewing format. Peacock will debut a new vertical video option for all live NBA broadcasts, not just highlights, powered by AI that performs real-time cropping and is optimized for phone screens. Disney+, meanwhile, has rolled out Verts, letting users swipe through a stream of scenes and moments from Disney+ movies and shows, add them to their Watchlist, or jump directly into playback.Finally, we discuss Apple's claim that viewership for the first weekend of the F1 races was "up year over year" compared with ESPN's coverage, but provided no numbers, and the latest in the WBD and Paramount Skydance merger.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we discuss why a "unified streaming stack" is not the same as combining two streaming services, despite media reports that HBO Max and Paramount+ will merge into a single DTC service shortly. As we break down the latest details of the proposed Paramount and WBD deal, we speculate on the layoff impact across both companies, as Paramount tells bankers it expects to see billions in cost savings while telling employees the savings target will be realized mostly through non-personnel means.We also cover the launch of F1 on Apple TV, Versant Media's full-year 2025 earnings, Sling TV losing 167,000 subs in Q4, NBCU not planning to publish Super Bowl viewership numbers for Peacock/digital, and YouTube in talks to stream four more live NFL games. Finally, we detail that, due to rising costs for servers, RAM, SSDs, and energy, Akamai has notified customers and partners of upcoming surcharges and contract renewal adjustments.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we discuss the latest Olympics viewership numbers on Peacock and debate whether Peacock's offer to give me a 72% discount on the service for six months to keep me as a subscriber is beneficial to the company's long-term viability. We cover the latest Apple TV news, including MLS, which kicked off the season this week; Apple's launch of its new dedicated Formula 1 channel in the Apple TV app; and the news that IMAX will show five major Formula 1 Grands Prix in their theatres. We also detail the new ultra-low-latency technology behind Comcast’s 30 Mbps upscaled 4K Super Bowl Stream, called RealTime4K, the workflow, and the supported devices. Finally, on the infrastructure side, we cover the latest numbers from Akamai's Q4 and full-year 2025 earnings, as well as the news that it will no longer break out delivery revenue. In addition, we detail the numbers from CDN Netskrt, which has broken out its network capacity, capital-to-revenue ratio, and the unique factors behind its underlying costs.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, I discuss my review of Peacock's Super Bowl stream, which was executed flawlessly, along with some of the limited viewership numbers released to date. I also detail the new live TV bundles from YouTube TV, the launch of HBO Max in the UK and Ireland and a new bundle from Sky that includes Disney+, HBO Max, Netflix, and Hayu. I cover earnings results from Roku (full-year revenue up 15%), AMC Networks (AMC+ price increase), Optimum (lost 49,000 pay-TV subs), Amagi (which had its IPO last month) and positive earnings from Fastly and Cloudflare, with Fastly stock up 116% in the week of earnings.Finally, with the hyperscalers projected to collectively spend close to $700 billion in capex in 2026, I break down what we are seeing in the bond market for their capital raise, the risks, and why analysts expect free cash flow to plummet this year.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

Filippo Maria De Salazar, General Manager of the Brightcove business, sat down with me for a detailed conversation on the state of the business, one year after the Bending Spoons acquisition. Filippo discusses Brightcove's size, its structure under the Bending Spoons umbrella, and the benefits Brightcove derives from being part of a larger software and engineering company. We also discuss Brightcove's business, including OTT services for media customers and video use cases for enterprise customers tied to marketing and communications. Finally, Filippo details Brightcove's roadmap, highlighting the new functionality already added to the platform and the 2026 product roadmap they released publicly earlier in the month.Podcast produced by Security Halt Media