Cable TV is on track to fall behind tattoos in cultural relevance and adoption. As pay-TV penetration slips below 50% and tattoo ownership among U.S. adults climbs, the trendlines are set to cross by the late 2020s. The real takeaway:…

Canon is becoming the most valuable asset in an AI-driven entertainment economy, shifting the industry’s focus from content creation to content authority. As generative AI platforms proliferate, studios risk losing control unless they define and enforce what’s canonically “real” within…

Holiday streaming promotions may boost sign-ups, but most platforms fail to convert those gains into lasting subscribers. Ampere’s data shows only a few services retain users acquired during the Black Friday window, signaling a structural flaw in how the industry…

Basics of Streaming breaks down the invisible but essential workflow that powers every viewing session, from encoding and CDN caching to adaptive bitrate decisions and edge computing. Delivering a seamless "play" experience depends on a global chain of technology that…

Disney's investing $1 billion in OpenAI and licensing over 200 characters from Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars for use in OpenAI’s Sora, marking the first large-scale AI-native licensing deal by a major studio. The three-year partnership gives Sora users…

Kirby explores how streaming services are architecting systems that match their economic realities. General entertainment platforms like Netflix and Disney are designing systems that scale franchises across formats, regions, and revenue lines, while niche services like AMC+ and Crunchyroll are…

From the Archives revisits how ESPN3 quietly laid the groundwork for ESPN’s streaming future. Long before ESPN+, the service tested scalable live sports streaming and identity-based access via ISP authentication, proving the internet could carry premium sports without cable. Disney’s…

Skip tackles the challenge of maintaining brand identity on Prime Video Channels, likening it to renting shelf space in a crowded supermarket. The advice? Use Amazon for scale, but invest in your own DTC app to preserve control, customer data,…

Streaming services are shifting focus from high-volume output toward IP with the potential to scale across formats, markets, and revenue lines. As production costs rise and budgets tighten, platforms are increasingly concentrating investment on ideas that can support long-term value.…

Gracenote’s Tyler Bell explores how fragmentation is overwhelming viewers and degrading the overall streaming experience. Despite a flood of content and high engagement, discovery issues are fueling churn, cutting into ad revenue, and undercutting monetization across the board.