Is the sport industry so busy chasing new fans that we're forgetting the ones we already have?

The sports industry has become increasingly focused on acquisition. We spend huge amounts of time discussing how to attract new fans, yet relatively little time discussing how to keep existing ones engaged. That's becoming a problem.

Sneak preview: optimising live streaming QoS and QoE

On August 12, panelists from AWS, Paramount, Al Jazeera, and TAG Video Systems will join the Streaming Media Connect panel "Optimising Live Streaming QoS and QoE." From measuring and improving rebuffering, startup time, and bitrate quality to tying QoE metrics directly to retention, this panel focuses on quantifiable streaming metrics that matter, as well as harder-to-measure viewer satisfaction signals that define true QoS (quality of service) and QoE (quality of experience). Come for the real-world war stories from high-stakes live events, where every hiccup costs viewers and revenue, and stay for the real-time QoS/QoE Q&A with live streaming's best and brightest.

Sneak preview: 'Find it FAST: Leveraging AI in CTV Discovery'

On Thursday, Aug. 13, Dataxis Principal Analyst Ophélie Boucaud will moderate the Streaming Media Connect panel "Find It FAST: Leveraging AI in CTV Discovery," with panelists from TiVo, Gracenote, Hub, and Future Today. AI is transforming how viewers find content and the never-ending struggle for visibility in a saturated content ecosystem. This panel unpacks the recommendation engine architectures and real-time personalisation pipelines that top streaming platforms and EPGs are using to surface the right content for the right user at the right moment and the increasing shift toward agent-assisted, conversational search.

Voting is open for the 2026 Streaming Media European Innovation Awards

Voting is open for the 2026 Streaming Media European Innovation Awards. In 2026, we've got 13 categories. The polls are open - let the voting begin!

The Retention Game: Managing Subscriber Acquisition and Churn

On Thursday 13 August, Roku's Nicole Fencel, Philo's Steven Chang, Women in Streaming Media's Deepali Narsiker, and Horse & Country's David Guinan will join Chris Pfaff for the Streaming Media Connect panel "The Retention Game: Managing Subscriber Acquisition and Churn." Join this closing panel for a candid discussion on which subscriber acquisition and retention strategies work in 2026 and which ones fail to move the needle. Learn how leading streaming platforms are drawing on data science insights and leveraging personalisation to turn one-show drop-ins into long-term, loyal subscribers.

Optimising streaming ops: building the perfect live-event operations playbook

On Thursday, Aug. 13, LinkedIn's Chris Packard, LiveX's Corey Behnke, and MemeHouse's Zylo Hefferan will join the SVTA's Bhavesh Upadhyaya for a Streaming Media Connect panel that examines how top streaming teams prepare for, monitor, and recover from tentpole live events like sport and concerts. The discussion will range from pre-event capacity planning, load testing, and failover strategies to establishing best practices for managing traffic spikes when the stakes are highest.

Gladius debut punches in new data-driven era of sports

When British boxer Harlem Eubank walks into London's Copper Box Arena on 18 July, the welterweight bout against French challenger David Papot will be the first globally broadcast fight in which every punch, feint, collision, and moment of fatigue is captured, analysed, and visualised by Gladius, a new AI-powered broadcast platform that fuses wearable sensors, volumetric video, spatial audio, and real-time analytics into a single broadcast-ready system. DAZN will use the tech in its broadcast presentation though fans in the arena will see even more of the resulting data overlays.

The Next Battle in Sport Isn't Content. It's Context

The sports industry has spent the last decade solving a content problem. We now have more cameras, more feeds, more highlights, more clips and more platforms than ever before. We can stream from almost anywhere, personalise experiences, generate highlights automatically and distribute content globally in seconds. The problem is that content was never the problem. Context was.

Comcast secures lock on UK commercial TV

ITV is to sell its media and entertainment division, including its broadcast channels and ITVX streaming service, to Sky for £1.6 billion ($2.1bn), marking one of the most consequential restructurings in modern British broadcasting. The deal positions Sky, owned by Comcast, as the UK's largest commercial broadcaster and creates a new domestic heavyweight designed to compete more aggressively with global streaming giants such as Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube.

TNT Sports prepares to take on Commonwealth Games broadcast

TNT Sports promises an approach shaped by its Olympic experience as it prepares to produce 600 hours of coverage of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, July 23 to August 2.

QC’ing Live Streams at Scale in the Age of AI: A Q&A with Interra Systems' Anupama Anantharaman

In this Q&A, I had the opportunity to discuss the fast-evolving requirements and best practices for live streaming QC at scale with Anupama Anantharaman, VP Product Management at Interra Systems, developers of the ORION-OTT comprehensive monitoring solution for live and OTT. The 2025 Streaming Media All-Star offers insights into how AI is changing live stream monitoring, how performing "deep QC" impacts streaming workflows, the best KPIs for predictive monitoring, and the continuing role of humans in an increasingly AI-supported QC world.

Stakeholders in UK DTT switch-off fight over timelines

The saga of the UK's switchover to an all-broadband TV future moved up a notch with the publication of a government paper Watch this Space: A new strategic direction for UK media that offers twin-tracks to an inevitable transition.

The Match Is No Longer the Beginning of the Journey

The sports industry spends a lot of time discussing how to attract younger audiences. Every conference seems to feature a panel on Gen Z viewing habits. Every strategy document contains a section on fan acquisition. Every rights holder, broadcaster and streaming platform is searching for the next generation of supporters. Yet despite all this attention, I often feel we are asking the wrong question.

Agentic AI workflows and the future of streaming ad tech

AI makes it possible to model delivery across live, VOD, and FAST together and to update forecasts as signals come in, instead of planning channel by channel.

Serenading the Creator Economy With Branded Music Videos: A Q&A With VP of US Sales Melissa Sofo

In this Q&A, Vevo's Vice President of US Sales, Melissa Sofo, delves into how brands and artists are working together to increase audience participation through seamless authenticity and intelligent alignment with Gen Z and Millennials.

TiVo Channels Expands FAST Offering Across the U.S. and Europe with New Line-Up of Premium Content Partners and Channels

New curated selection brings expanded genres, global content, and leading media brands to audiences across North America and Europe

Comcast’s Universal Ads Officially Launches in the UK with Channel 4, ITV & Sky

For the first time, small and medium sized businesses can run a single campaign across ITV Media, Sky Media, and Channel 4 Sales. Universal Ads makes buying premium TV advertising "as simple as social," allowing campaigns to go live in minutes from a single self-service platform. The launch represents the next phase of Universal Ads' global expansion built on a year of deep collaboration between Comcast, Sky, Channel 4, and ITV

IBC2026 creates new pathways from innovation to real-world industry impact

Future Tech Ignite launches to connect start-ups, entrepreneurs and emerging technologies with the wider media and entertainment ecosystem

What Fox Corp’s Acquisition of Roku Means for the Future of Independent Streaming: A Q&A with Future Today Co-Founder Vikrant Mathur

News broke this morning of Fox Corp's $22bn cash-and-stock acquisition of Roku. To gain more insight into how the Fox-Roku deal is likely to impact the future of independent streaming operators and ad-supported streaming in general, I conducted this Q&A with Future Today Co-Founder Vikrant Mathur.

BBC embraces home-based production for World Cup coverage

The sheer scale of this World Cup, even were it to be hosted in the US alone, makes travel between venues and accommodation a logistical and budget stretch for any broadcaster. For the upcoming tournament, the BBC is adopting a fully LED-powered virtual production environment at Dock10 in MediaCity, Salford.