AVIA OTT NEWSLETTER

Friend MTS, the anti-piracy provider, is partnering with MNC Media & Entertainment, the Southeast Asian media group, to implement anti-piracy strategies and services for its video streaming platform, VISION+.

Gracenote, the content data business unit of Nielsen, has reported quarter-over-quarter growth in available programming on Prime Video, Apple TV+, Disney+, Netflix and Paramount+, the top global SVoD services.

Gracenote, the content data business unit of Nielsen, is helping brands gain confidence in CTV as an advertising channel through new business intelligence, market data and real-world campaign findings captured in a new contextual advertising report.

Magnite, the largest independent sell-side advertising company, announced the integration of Anoki ContextIQ, the industry-leading multimodal AI platform for contextual video intelligence at scale.

Zee Entertainment invests in startup Bullet to launch Indian micro-drama app, targeting mobile-first audiences with short-form content.

AI-powered startup Ecco has raised $8 million in seed funding to tackle one of streaming’s biggest pain points: content discovery.

The streaming giant also plans a new ad product that uses generative AI as it rolls out its in house ad tech suite.

Warner Bros Discovery and U-Next unveil global distribution of Japanese dramas on Max, in the U.S., Brazil and Asia.

Video streaming behaviours differ when consumers watch alone and with others. According to Omnicom Media Group Asia Pacific’s (OMG APAC) latest research, ‘Connecting Connected TV’, the incidence of distracted viewing while doing chores or consuming other content declines by 13% when one watches with others.

Cignal in the Philippines is introducing what it is billing as the first premium streaming bundle in Southeast Asia, aligning with Brandwith to deliver a package that includes Viu, Lionsgate Play and other services.

New streaming bundles launched in the US over the past year by both distributors and streamers are generating strong returns in 2025.

Max and Discovery+ now have more than 122 million subscribers, the company says, beating Wall Street expectations in most categories.

Paramount Global said its direct-to-consumer streaming business was "on track" to reach domestic profitability in 2025.

The years-long saga over the fate of Hulu is officially resolved, with Disney set to pay Comcast $439 million to finally complete the sale of its 33 percent stake in the streaming service.

SVOD subscribers aged 18 to 34 subscribe to more services than average audiences but are more likely to churn if a platform is not meeting their needs, according to Ampere Analysis.

Nielsen’s Media Distributor Gauge for April shows YouTube capturing 12.4 percent of all TV use — nearly one of every eight minutes viewers spent on their televisions. That’s up from 12 percent in March and marks YouTube’s third straight month leading all distributors in share of TV usage.

The media buying giant WPP Media (recently rebranded from GroupM) is downgrading its projected ad revenue forecast for 2025. After initially forecasting 7.7 percent growth in December, the firm is now projecting only 6 percent growth for the year, thanks largely to an uncertain economy and limited visibility for global trade.

wedotv, the ad-supported streaming TV network, has announced a distribution agreement with sooka, the Malaysian streaming content provider, to bring four of its signature FAST channels to its platform.

According to a report from Bango, 48 per cent of subscription leaders report diminishing returns from traditional direct acquisition methods like paid search and paid social media.

Indonesian over-the-top (OTT) streaming platform Vidio has reportedly surpassed a valuation of US$1 billion. According to data submitted to regulators and cited by Alternatives.pe, the company has raised nearly US$200 million in equity funding to date.

Coupang Play is set to disrupt the OTT market by launching an ad-supported free streaming service starting in June.

Almost 40 percent of YouTube's monthly active users globally are using the platform to watch more traditional TV and film content.

The company unveiled what it is calling its 'Storyverse' initiative at its upfront Wednesday, opening up opportunities around 'Harry Potter,' 'Elf,' 'The Matrix,' 'Friends' and other IP.

Key highlights from Integral Ad Science (IAS) 20th edition of its Media Quality Report (MQR) include a significant rise in non-optimised ad fraud rates, an increase in the proportion of brand risk attributed to offensive language and hate speech in these environments, and a stabilisation of viewability rates as marketers shift toward new metrics such as attention.

Disney's streaming outlets reach 164 million monthly active users, ad chief Rita Ferro said at the company's upfront presentation in New York.