The streaming ecosystem has scaled to over 2 million titles across all services, but the user experience has fractured. Sports illustrates the issue clearly, with fans navigating multiple services, blackout rules, and fragmented rights.
Piracy continues to outperform on usability by aggregating everything into a single interface.
The NFL’s shift to EverPass for commercial Sunday Ticket distribution signals an attempt to fix access without unwinding fragmentation. At the same time, DirecTV is pushing back, arguing that streaming introduces operational risk in high-stakes environments like bars.
Advertising is facing a parallel issue. More impressions are not translating into better outcomes as attention becomes fragmented and inconsistent.
Vizio Helps Walmart Cut A Bigger Slice Of The CTV Ad Pie
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Live Today - OTT.X BUZZ - Women Shaping the Future of Digital Media & Entertainment March 31st - Virtual Webinar
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Samsung Integration With Amazon Brings Shopping to Your TV Remote
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Breakfast at NAB - How Jiostar Reached 70M Concurrent Viewers at the Cricket World Cup
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Prime Video to Live-Stream First Two Rounds of 90th Masters Golf Tournament Beginning April 9
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10% Off StreamTV Europe Registration
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AFM: ITN Boss Stuart Alson on “First Micro Budget Studio” and Releasing 96 Genre Films Per Year
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Share of Audience who Watched a Title Available on Platform X and then Watched a Title on Platform Y
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The Simplest Product Wins. Right Now, That’s Not the Industry
The streaming ecosystem has scaled to over 2 million titles across all services, but the user experience has fractured. Sports illustrates the issue clearly, with fans navigating multiple services, blackout rules, and fragmented rights.
Piracy continues to outperform on usability by aggregating everything into a single interface.
The NFL’s shift to EverPass for commercial Sunday Ticket distribution signals an attempt to fix access without unwinding fragmentation. At the same time, DirecTV is pushing back, arguing that streaming introduces operational risk in high-stakes environments like bars.
Advertising is facing a parallel issue. More impressions are not translating into better outcomes as attention becomes fragmented and inconsistent.
The Take
The industry optimized for monetization layers instead of user flow.
That tradeoff is now being corrected.
The competitive advantage is shifting to whoever owns the cleanest path from intent to action. In sports, that means getting to a game instantly. In advertising, it means reducing the gap between exposure and action.
Right now, simplicity is winning.
Read the Full Analysis: The Streaming Wars
Vizio Helps Walmart Cut A Bigger Slice Of The CTV Ad Pie
What do you get when you combine the world’s biggest retailer with one of the largest smart-TV makers?
On Monday, during their first combined NewFronts event as a fully integrated company, Walmart and Vizio execs announced that unified account logins are coming to smart TVs using Vizio’s operating system. The unified login experience establishes a “secure identity framework across devices, connecting streaming engagement directly with retail interaction,” according to the company.
And that identity framework creates a major advertising and data opportunity for advertisers.
By centralizing streaming data within Vizio’s OS, Walmart hopes for a leg up in its battle against Roku, Amazon, Samsung and other streaming distributors that are competing for growth within the overall CTV ad ecosystem.
During last year’s NewFronts event, just months after Walmart closed its acquisition of the TV manufacturer, the synergistic growth opportunities were hypothetical, Mike O’Donnell, chief revenue and strategic growth officer at Vizio, told the audience in New York City during the joint presentation.
Back then, the news was “about the potential that had us all excited,” he said. “Today, we’re here to show how that potential has turned into real impact.”
Ever since Walmart began courting Vizio, the ad industry has waited with bated breath for Walmart to combine its shopper data set with Vizio’s streaming and device data to run closed-loop attribution on CTV campaigns.
Today’s announcement about the eventual phaseout of Vizio login credentials in favor of Walmart accounts is one step toward making that vision a reality.
Read the Story: AdExchanger
Live Today - OTT.X BUZZ - Women Shaping the Future of Digital Media & Entertainment March 31st - Virtual Webinar
Live Today - 10:00 AM PT - 1:00 PM ET - Virtual Webinar
As Women’s History Month comes to a close, OTT.X is bringing together an exceptional group of leaders for a special OTT.X BUZZ session happening live today.
This conversation features a dynamic lineup of executives shaping the future of digital media and entertainment, sharing real-world insights on where the industry is heading and how companies can stay ahead.
Featured Speakers
- Moderator - Cathy Rasenberger, Founder & President, Rasenberger Media
- Christina Aguilera, Co-Founder & CEO, Synthis
- Michele Edelman, EVP, Technology & GM, Matchpoint
- Preeya Naul, SVP Streaming Partnerships & Supply, VideoElephant
- DeShuna Spencer, Founder & CEO, kweliTV
Together, they will explore key shifts across the ecosystem—from monetization and platform evolution to partnerships, distribution, and operational innovation.
Designed as an open and interactive forum, OTT.X BUZZ invites candid conversation, fresh perspectives, and meaningful dialogue with industry peers.
Join the conversation and hear directly from the leaders shaping what comes next in streaming.
Samsung Integration With Amazon Brings Shopping to Your TV Remote
At its IAB NewFronts 2026 event, Samsung revealed a new partnership with Amazon Ads to bring interactive video and shoppable content to a user’s remote control. According to the company, Samsung TV Plus is the first external CTV device partner to offer this capability thanks to its integration with Amazon DSP.
In addition to new content and live events, Samsung is looking to make the viewer experience easier with interactivity and new AI tools to engage consumers.
Among the most significant announcements at its NewFronts event on Tuesday, Samsung revealed a partnership with Amazon Ads to bring remote-enabled interactive video technology to Samsung TV Plus, letting users take action on their screens.
“The Amazon partnership allows us to show that we have that full funnel audience that’s able to not only just be exposed to an ad, but actually take action against that ad,” Jimmy White, managing director, head of large customer sales, Samsung Ads, told ADWEEK. “Even more so, we have our machine learning on the back end that allows us to understand who we should be targeting, how we should be targeting someone, and what creative we should be delivering.”
Launching in July, the integration will let advertisers access and activate Samsung TV Plus inventory through the company’s partnership with Amazon DSP. They can also tap into Amazon’s browsing, streaming, and shopping signals—brought together in Amazon Marketing Cloud.
Brands selling on Amazon can have “add to cart” functionality, and brands outside of Amazon can utilize outcomes-based actions like “send to phone” or “sign up.”
“Our shoppable ad formats are proven to drive measurable performance on and off Amazon through our differentiated combination of broad reach and authenticated signals,” Kelly MacLean, vp of engineering, science, and product, Amazon DSP, said in a statement. “By bringing Amazon’s interactive ad technology to Samsung through Amazon DSP, together we’re providing an experience for advertisers to deliver on any full-funnel marketing objective—whether it’s awareness, consideration, or conversion.”
Read the Full Story: ADWEEK
Breakfast at NAB - How Jiostar Reached 70M Concurrent Viewers at the Cricket World Cup
What does it take to deliver a seamless live stream to 70 million concurrent viewers?
At the OTT.X Breakfast at NAB on April 19, Amazon Web Services (AWS) and JioStar break down how this was achieved during the Cricket World Cup.
Chris Ziemer and Akash Saxena will share the architecture and cloud orchestration strategies behind this scale, including the use of AWS Elemental Media Services and Amazon CloudFront to handle massive demand while maintaining quality of service.
Gain insight into Jiostar’s video optimization journey and how performance is delivered consistently across geographies, networks, and devices.
Take part in the conversation and uncover what it takes to deliver streaming at true global scale.
Prime Video to Live-Stream First Two Rounds of 90th Masters Golf Tournament Beginning April 9
Prime Video is set to make history exclusively live-streaming in the United States the first two hours of the first two rounds of the 90th Masters Tournament, golf’s most storied annual competition from Augusta, Ga.
Prime Video will begin streaming from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. on April 9, followed by Disney’s ESPN Unlimited live-streaming 3 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Prime Video will again live-stream from 1 p.m.-3 p.m. on April 10, followed by ESPN Unlimited 3 p.m.-7:30 p.m.
Prime Video will originate coverage from within Augusta National’s Butler Cabin with host Terry Gannon, who also heads CBS Sports’ Masters coverage, along with Paramount+, exclusively on April 11-12 from 12 p.m.-7 p.m.
Prime Video’s live coverage will include competition, in addition to interviews with current stars and special guests, including six-time Masters champion Jack Nicklaus.
Prime Video will exclusively host a new analytics-driven feed featuring real-time ball tracking and swing analysis for holes 11, 12, and 13. Subscribers can also access “Featured Groups” and coverage of holes 15 and 16 for the duration of the tournament.
Golf fans can also access the various live video channels (Featured Groups, Amen Corner, etc.) for free through the official Masters.com website and the Masters app.
Starting today (March 30), Prime Video will begin streaming the feature-length documentary Rory Mcllroy: The Masters Wait, showcasing the 2025 Masters champion and the 14 years previously he tried unsuccessfully to win golf’s grandest tournament.
Read the Full Story: Media Play News
10% Off StreamTV Europe Registration
OTT.X is delighted to continue its partnership with the StreamTV Show as a media partner for the StreamTV Europe Show, taking place April 13–15, 2026 in Lisbon. The event brings together senior leaders from streaming platforms, broadcasters, FAST operators, studios, advertisers, and technology providers to discuss the strategies shaping the future of streaming across Europe.
With focused tracks covering Content, Advertising, and Product & Technology, the conference delivers executive-level insights alongside curated networking opportunities with the companies driving the next phase of streaming innovation.
From platform strategy and monetization to evolving viewer experiences, StreamTV Europe provides a unique forum for executives shaping the global streaming ecosystem.
As part of this partnership, OTT.X is pleased to offer 10% off registration for the StreamTV Europe Show using code OTTX.
More Information & Registration: StreamTV Europe
AFM: ITN Boss Stuart Alson on “First Micro Budget Studio” and Releasing 96 Genre Films Per Year
With a wildly colorful film catalog that ticks practically every low-budget genre box going — murderous clowns (Clownery), creepy nuns (The Bad Nun), deadly dolls (Mandy the Doll), zombie hunters (My Uncle John is a Zombie), haunted amusement parks (The Devil’s Fairground), outlaw cowboys (The Dalton Gang), warring Vikings (Pagan Warrior), talking animated dogs (00K9), and Tara Reid (Art of the Dead) — production house ITN Films and its sales and distribution arm ITN Distribution has become a mainstay of the AFM.
For president Stuart Alson, it’s all about keeping what he claims to be the “first micro budget film studio” — which releases some 96 titles a year— as efficient and streamlined as possible, working directly with filmmakers around the world and cutting out every possible middleman to get his titles onto VoD platforms and Walmart shelves as quickly and painlessly as possible.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Alson explains why the movie world in which ITN operates has been one of the few to benefit from the pandemic, why keeping his titles in the $30,000 budget range keeps the pressure off and allows creativity to thrive and why it’s impossible to guess which terrifying monster is going to be the next big genre trend.
Read the Full Story: The Hollywood Reporter
Share of Audience who Watched a Title Available on Platform X and then Watched a Title on Platform Y
Presented By:
As the industry looks ahead to the implications of a Paramount acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, we considered what audience behavior already tells us about the compatibility of the companies’ flagship streaming platforms.
Key Findings
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Hulu and Disney+ provide a relevant benchmark to understand platform compatibility. Despite being bundled for years, the two platforms remain distinct ecosystems. A Hulu viewer is less than half as likely to watch something on Disney+ (7.7% cross-platform affinity) compared to the internal retention of a core Disney+ user (16.6% internal affinity).
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In contrast to the Disney bundle, the affinity between HBO Max and Paramount+ is remarkably high. An HBO Max viewer is 86.7% as likely to watch a Paramount+ title (9.6%) as a core Paramount+ viewer is to watch another title on their own platform (11.1%).
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The data suggests that HBO Max and Paramount+ audiences are already "habituated" to both catalogs. This low behavioral friction indicates that a merger would create a highly efficient, unified front rather than two separate silos that require a "heavy lift" to integrate.
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In Case You Missed It
- OpenAI’s Sora Shutdown Ends Hollywood’s First Real AI Licensing Experiment. The Streaming Wars
- Advertising Was Built for Reach. Attention Doesn’t Work That Way. The Streaming Wars
- TikTok Expands Beyond the Feed With High-Impact Ad Inventory Strategy. The Streaming Wars
- Sony Hands TCL Operational Control of Bravia in Strategic Capital Shift. The Streaming Wars
- Nexstar Closes Tegna Deal and Rewrites the Economics of Local TV Scale. The Streaming Wars
- Netflix Locks in Warner Music’s Catalog to Build a Scalable Documentary Pipeline. The Streaming Wars
- Streaming Growth Is Now Priced Into Distribution Deals. The Streaming Wars
- Tubi and TikTok Formalize a Creator Supply Chain for Long-Form Streaming. The Streaming Wars
- Basics of Streaming: The Tech Behind Interactive And Shoppable CTV Ads. The Streaming Wars
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