蘑菇AV

The news: Streaming watch time outpaced cable and broadcast combined for the first time ever. Streaming accounted for 44.8% of TV viewing in May, per Nielsen, compared with broadcast鈥檚 20.1% and cable鈥檚 24.1%.Our take: With TV viewership increasingly fragmented, advertisers that abandon cable and broadband entirely could leave many consumers behind. Brands should use a hybrid placement model that makes selective investments in linear TV while using streaming to reach younger cord-cutters, helping to retain flexibility as user habits fluctuate.

The news: Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) plans to split into two separate public companies by 2026, one focused on streaming and studios and the other on global cable networks, the company announced. Its streaming company will include HBO Max and WBD鈥檚 movie properties, while the global networks company will include TNT Sports, Discovery, and CNN. Our take: WBD鈥檚 move emphasizes that sticking with a one-size-fits-all model is no longer viable given traditional TV declines and the rise of streaming. Managing decline while pursuing growth requires two fundamentally different playbooks.

US Black adults spend the greatest share of their total TV time watching cable (22.4%), followed by broadcast (21.8%), according to a 2025 Nielsen report.

Comcast gives details on its spinout of several NBCU cable networks: As Peacock takes center stage, legacy TV networks must adapt to stay relevant.

With cable in decline, Comcast bets on hybrid strategy: Peacock revenue grows, but subscriber slowdown raises questions ahead of its NBA media rights rollout.

Viewership of children鈥檚 cable programming declined significantly in the past decade. Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, and Cartoon Network lost more than half of their total viewership between 2016 and 2023, according to Nielsen.

With Meta and Google building private subsea cables, they鈥檙e bypassing telecom giants, ensuring faster services and reshaping how the internet reaches developing regions.

Comcast looks to free streaming biz from linear鈥檚 decline: The company is separating cable and digital assets in a move that others will mimic.

The news: Charter Communications Inc. will merge with rival Cox Communications, bringing together two major cable providers, the companies announced Friday. The transaction, which 鈥渨ill create an industry leader in mobile and broadband communications services, seamless video entertainment, and high-quality customer service,鈥� values Cox Communications at about $34.5 billion.

Prediction: Paramount will divest from some cable assets. Following in the footsteps of Comcast/NBCUniversal and Warner Brothers Discovery spinning off cable assets, Paramount could divest from networks like BET and Nickelodeon. For media companies, these divestitures represent a focus on digital growth areas rather than maintaining declining legacy businesses.

Fox will debut its own subscription service, Fox One, this fall鈥攂undling content from its broadcast network, cable channels, and live sports like the NFL. Fox One targets cord-cutters but intentionally avoids cannibalizing cable subscribers, who will receive access for free. Pricing hasn鈥檛 been revealed but is expected to match or exceed cable rates.

Note: Traditional distribution includes IPTV, cable, satellite, wireless carriers and fiber operators, multiple system operators (MSOs), multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), and major TV broadcast and cable networks.

Linear still generates significantly more ad inventory than streaming, with cable and broadcast linear TV accounting for nearly 90% of time viewers spent watching ads on TV screens in Q2 2024. This is due to higher ad loads, as linear averages about 15 minutes of ads per hour, while streaming ad loads range from nine minutes to as low as one minute per hour.

Cable TV and local broadcast ad revenues will also decline significantly after last year鈥檚 election, falling 27.2% to $17.3 billion. Zooming out: TV ad spending is expected to decline steadily, per our forecast, coinciding with shrinking ad revenues as CTV gains dominance.