The Dan Rayburn Podcast

This week, we discuss the reports that the NBA has concluded agreements totaling $76 billion that would keep ABC/ESPN as the home of the NBA Finals for 11 seasons while adding NBC and Amazon Prime Video as new partners. But the completed contract must still be sent to TNT Sports, giving WBD five days to match Amazon's offer. We also point out a number of the unanswered questions surrounding the merger of Skydance Media and Par...

This week, we highlight all the sports news related to FIFA, FOX, Disney, NHL, WBD and ITV. We also delve into the NFL's ongoing legal battle over its Sunday Ticket trial, emphasizing the significance of the league's decision to appeal the ruling, which could potentially extend the case until 2026. We break down the latest rumors around Paramount Global and discuss their new Paramount+ pricing, which kicks in on August 20...

See my blog post at www.cdnmarket.com for a detailed breakdown on market sizing.

In this comprehensive podcast update on the CDN market, I separate facts from opinions, providing a detailed analysis of the latest trends. I cover everything from CDN pricing trends, market sizing (about $5.3B in 2023), traffic and revenue growth rates, DIY initiatives (TikTok, Disney, Apple, Netflix), tech trends and demands across 4K, ULL, ...

This week, we discuss ad tech and how some SSPs are packaging CTV inventory into curated, omnichannel deals, resulting in CTV inventory being attached to less desirable content. While SSP auctions allow buyers to tailor bids to media quality, buyers could bid highly on packages with only some premium inventory. We also detail the report that Disney has been striking deals that call for significant rollbacks in CPM rates, discountin...

This week, we recap details from the ongoing Sunday Ticket trial, including the news that the NFL rejected ESPN's proposed reduced price of $70 for the entire 2023 season for Sunday Ticket, along with single-team packages. Trial evidence also showed that Fox considered Sunday Ticket an "existential threat" to its business, asking the NFL in 2021 that Sunday Ticket not be allowed to grow more than 20% of subscriptions...

This week, we recap details from the ongoing Sunday Ticket trial, including the news that the NFL rejected ESPN's proposed reduced price of $70 for the entire 2023 season for Sunday Ticket, along with single-team packages. Trial evidence also showed that Fox considered Sunday Ticket an "existential threat" to its business, asking the NFL in 2021 that Sunday Ticket not be allowed to grow more than 20% of subscriptions...

With all the recent sports streaming news, co-host Mark Donnigan and I did a special “Sports Streaming Podcast Episode” this week. We discuss the upcoming Venu Sports offering (Disney/WBD/FOX sports JV) and the limitations we expect the service to have when it launches. We weigh in on some of the tech behind the scenes and consider whether a 'beta' label could soften the blow for fans expecting a fully polished service fr...

This week, we discuss some of Netflix's latest data on its ad-supported business, including usage, monthly active users and the news that it will launch an ad tech platform to control its ad buying, placement, and targeting. We also cover news from YouTube's Brandcast, announcing that viewers watch more than 1 billion hours of content on TV screens daily. We discuss why FOX's CEO said 90% of viewing time on Tubi come...

This week, we detail all the P&L numbers from the Q1 earnings across OTT platforms and streaming vendors. We highlight that while Disney+ and Hulu had an operating income profit of $47M, the rest of Disney's business didn't fare well, with linear TV operating income slumping 22% and linear network revenue across Disney’s portfolio fell 8% (excluding ESPN). We discuss why simply cutting costs isn't enough and that...

Fubo’s Co-Founder and CEO, David Gandler, sits down for an in-depth discussion about their lawsuit filed against Disney, FOX, and WBD, its Q1 earnings numbers, industry challenges around content licensing pricing and bundling and Fubo’s goal to get to profitability in 2025. 

David defines antitrust, why Fubo believes the JV is anticompetitive and how the suit's outcome could impact the entire industry. We also highlig...

This week, we recap all the Q1 subscriber and P&L numbers you need to know across Peacock, Paramount+ and Roku, breaking down profitability, losses, subscriber additions, ARPU and free cash flow. We cover the latest cord cutting numbers from Verizon, Comcast and Charter, who lost 938,000 pay TV subs in the quarter combined. We also discuss some recent numbers from WBD about their expansion of Max in LATAM, Prime Video getting t...

This week, we did a mini-review of the NAB Show Streaming Summit and some topics we heard discussed around the difficulty in scaling streaming services for low latency and QoE. We also cover Netflix’s Q1 earnings and excellent user growth, adding 9.3 million subs, which was tempered by the news that they will stop reporting quarterly membership numbers and ARM a year from now. We highlight the latest rumors about Paramount Global, ...

This week, we discuss the latest news around Disney, including their plans to crack down on password sharing in June in a "few" countries and markets, with a "full" rollout in September. We detail how complex ESPN’s DTC offering is becoming, with Disney announcing that its new ESPN streaming service will launch in the fall of 2025 and will be offered as part of the Disney+ bundle, which will give Disney three se...

Step up to the plate with us this week as we tackle the complex maze of baseball streaming. We cover the latest baseball streaming news with Fubo adding RSNs, Hulu+ Live TV adding the MLB Network, and discuss the terrible fan experience with some MLB teams requiring fans to access five different networks to stream games. We also highlight other sports news, including Peacock's exclusive streaming deal for the NFL’s first-ever ...

This week, we detail WBD's planned international expansion of Max, which will make the OTT service available in 25 countries in Europe and 65 countries and territories worldwide. We also highlight comments made by the NFL's Chief Business Officer regarding the newly announced WBD, FOX and Disney sports JV, which is missing over half of all NFL games. We discussed the latest rumors regarding a potential sale of Paramount G...

This special podcast takes you inside the NAB Show Streaming Summit with a preview of all the content, speakers and expert strategies you’ll learn at the event. Hear what the keynote fireside chats will cover with Paramount Global, Prime Video and NBCU. We also give an overview of the new AI Demo Track and break down all the sessions tied to sports, content bundling, churn and retention, and streamlining video workflow strategies. ...

This week, we detail how SeaChange, which once dominated the cable TV operator market and had over $216 million in revenue, will have its assets acquired for $30 million. We break down the numbers you need to know from Fubo's full-year 2023 earnings, ending with 1.61M subscribers and reaffirming their expectation to reach positive cash flow and adjusted EBITDA in 2025. We also detail Paramount's full-year 2023 earnings, e...

This week, we break down all the numbers from Warner Bros. Discovery's full year 2023 earnings, including DTC profitability in 2023, exclusive NBA negotiations, international expansion of Max, and their disciplined approach to investing in subscriber growth, mindful of lifetime value to subscriber acquisition cost ratios. We also highlight why Fubo is suing Disney, Fox, and Warner Bros. Discovery over their recently announced ...

This week, we cover infrastructure news and Q4 and full-year earnings from Akamai, Fastly, and Broadpeak, highlighting overall CDN industry revenue growth, pricing trends, and Akamai's continued dominance of the content delivery market. We also discuss the Super Bowl stream on Paramount+, my 8.5 million AMA viewership number, and reported news that Amazon secured an exclusive NFL playoff game for Prime Video in 2025.