CTV spend is surging, but results aren’t. Why? Most marketers are dragging outdated digital strategies into a channel that demands brand thinking. The real issue isn’t the screen. It’s the internal dysfunction and strategic misalignment inside marketing orgs.
NFL to Discuss FAST at OTT.X Summit
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Roku Now Incorporated into FreeWheel’s Streaming Hub
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Eyes on AI: Innovation at the Intersection of Content and Data
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CTV Isn’t Broken. Your Marketing Strategy Might Be
CTV spend is surging, but results aren’t. Why? Most marketers are dragging outdated digital strategies into a channel that demands brand thinking. The real issue isn’t the screen. It’s the internal dysfunction and strategic misalignment inside marketing orgs.
The Take
Marketers say CTV is for brand, but run it like performance. Until they fix their orgs, creative, and media mindset, they’ll keep wasting potential. Context, not just data, is the unlock.
Read the Full Analysis: The Streaming Wars
NFL to Discuss FAST at OTT.X Summit
As the most popular sport in the U.S., the NFL captivates fans across digital streaming platforms year-round.
Right in the middle of football season, join NFL Media’s Senior Director of Audience Development, Matt Lathrop, and Director of Product – Ad Products & Technology, FAST, Jonathan Vu, for a keynote session at the 2025 OTT.X Summit exploring how the league is expanding its digital footprint through the FAST ecosystem.
Discover the strategy behind the NFL Channel and how highlights, classic games, and original programming keep fans engaged year-round.
With its unmatched reach and influence, the NFL’s expansion into digital streaming is setting industry-wide trends and shaping strategies across the broader media and entertainment landscape. Gain insight into what this approach means for sports content in FAST, and the opportunities it creates for advertisers, distribution partners, and content creators in the evolving streaming ecosystem.
ESPN and Fox One Launch Bundle
The ESPN and Fox One streaming bundle is officially live. The $39.99 per month price point offers a $10 discount compared to subscribing to each service individually. More importantly, the bundle reflects a shift toward streamlined, high-value packaging built for today’s consumer expectations.
This bundle started to take shape in August when both ESPN and Fox Corp. launched their newly upgraded streaming services. ESPN introduced a more robust standalone product, while Fox One debuted with a mix of live sports, news, and entertainment. Six weeks later, the two companies rolled out a joint offer that combines access to both services under a single price, even though the apps remain separate.
That structure is strategic. Instead of fully integrating the platforms, the companies chose a “soft bundle” approach. It lets them collaborate while retaining control over their own user experience, data, and monetization. It also allows them to bill subscribers directly, which helps avoid the 15 to 30 percent platform fees typically charged by Apple, Roku, and Amazon for in-app purchases.
In an interview with Deadline, ESPN’s Senior Vice President of Direct-to-Consumer John Lasker described the effort as a gradual rollout. Both companies had just completed significant product launches, so bundling was a logical next step. Lasker noted the timing was helpful, with both companies holding strong but complementary sports rights.
Tony Billeter, SVP of Strategy and Business Development for Fox One, emphasized that the two companies already had some technical groundwork in place. That allowed them to build and launch the bundle more quickly.
This collaboration follows the delayed rollout of Venu Sports, the joint streaming venture involving ESPN, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery. Venu was originally planned for 2024 but has been held up by an antitrust lawsuit from Fubo. The ESPN and Fox One bundle avoids those legal concerns because it does not involve joint ownership or a unified app.
Read the Full Story: The Streaming Wars
Roku Now Incorporated into FreeWheel’s Streaming Hub
FreeWheel, and Roku announced a major expansion of their longstanding partnership, following strong results from the collaboration launched in 2024. With this strategic move, Roku establishes the FreeWheel Streaming Hub as an important platform for Roku Advertising, deepening the pair’s connection and delivering greater value to mutual partners.
Roku’s premium CTV supply can now be activated through the FreeWheel Streaming Hub with better demand signals, more transparency, and more efficient monetization. At the same time, this partnership creates greater scale for buyers to transact more efficiently with Roku inventory, with a direct path to the FreeWheel Advertiser Suite.
“At Roku, we want to create better outcomes for all our advertisers and content partners, with more transparency and streamlined workflows,” said Miles Fisher, Senior Director, Strategic Advertising Partnerships, Roku. “This collaboration with FreeWheel is a great opportunity to represent supply to buyers and deliver a more efficient, data-rich environment.”
With this deeper collaboration, Roku can seamlessly manage direct-sold and programmatic campaigns and distribution inventory, as well as tap into demand via the FreeWheel Marketplace. Participating publishers have direct access, and for the first time, they can connect directly to Roku’s supply in the FreeWheel Marketplace, through a standardized, Open Real-Time Bidding-based connection. Additional enhancements include direct access to the FreeWheel Curation Hub and FreeWheel Buyer Cloud.
Read Complete Press Release: Roku
2025 OTT.X Summit - Eyes on AI: Innovation at the Intersection of Content and Data
AI is transforming how content is created, distributed, and monetized across OTT, CTV, and streaming.
Join AI innovators from KERV Interactive, Parrot Analytics, SymphonyAI, and VideoAmp at the 2025 OTT.X Summit to explore how AI is being applied across multiple sectors and processes.
Speakers
- Melva Benoit, Vice President, Product Sales, VideoAmp
- Doug Finberg, Partnerships Executive, Parrot Analytics
- Mark Moeder, President, SymphonyAI
Discover how AI powers real-time ad optimization, automated content tagging and metadata enrichment, predictive audience insights, personalized recommendations, and advanced performance measurement for both advertising and programming.
Gain actionable insights into how AI is reshaping operations, enhancing decision-making, and driving growth across the streaming ecosystem.
Learn how machine learning, computer vision, and predictive analytics are enabling smarter content delivery, more relevant viewer experiences, and optimized monetization strategies across platforms.
Platform Movie + TV Demand vs. Monthly Cost
Presented By:
Parrot Analytics' Streaming Economics highlights how a recent wave of streaming price increases are shifting the competitive landscape and value proposition for consumers.
Key Findings
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- Apple TV+ bets on prestige over value: After raising its price to $12.99, Apple TV+ now costs as much as Paramount+ Premium despite offering only a fraction of its total catalog demand. Its exclusive originals and Emmy-winning reputation will test how far consumers are willing to pay for “prestige” content.
- Peacock vs. Paramount+ diverging value paths: Peacock’s $3 price hike pushes it into a weaker value position, while Paramount+ now stands out as the most competitively priced major streamer based on its strong catalog demand-to-cost ratio.
- Disney and Netflix win on strategic positioning: Disney is clearly steering users toward its Hulu/Disney+ bundle, which delivers more than double the demand of most rivals for just $1 more than its standalone services. Netflix continues to offer the best standalone value per dollar, reinforcing its must-have status in the streaming mix.
In Case You Missed It
- Ask Skip: What Happens to Hollywood If Trump Actually Tariffs Foreign-Made Films? The Streaming Wars
- Fox Secures U.S. Rights to 2026 World Baseball Classic, Expands Streaming Footprint. The Streaming Wars
- Paramount Installs Bari Weiss as CBS News Editor-in-Chief After $150M Free Press Acquisition. The Streaming Wars
- The New Streaming Playbook: Monetize the Hell Out of Your IP. The Streaming Wars
- Myths in Streaming: Automation Doesn’t Equal Efficiency. The Streaming Wars
- Subscription Success Isn’t About Shows, It’s About Systems. The Streaming Wars
- Disney Goes Global with Hulu, Drops Star Branding from Disney+ The Streaming Wars
- From the Archives: Viewster’s Free Streaming Dream. The Streaming Wars
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