Streaming got 37.3% of October viewing in households with two or more viewers vs. 26% for broadcast TV, 32.9% for cable and 3.8% “other,” reported Nielsen Wednesday. New broadcast and sports content contributed to a 2.2% bump in total TV usage in October; streaming grew 3%, it said. YouTube led streaming services with 8.5% of viewing usage, followed by Netflix at 7.2%, Hulu (4%), Prime Video (2.8%), Disney+ (2%), HBO Max (1.1%) and Pluto (0.9%). Growth among streaming services was led by Disney+ with a 6.8% increase in viewing from September, Hulu at 5% and YouTube, 8.3%, it said. Cable viewing was down 0.7% from September; sports was 9.6% of all cable viewing. Dramas had a 42% rise, accounting for 26.7% of broadcast viewing in the month, it said. Year on year, cable viewing was down 8.6% in usage and 4.1 share points, Nielsen said.

Fubo Sports Network launched on Amazon Freevee, the companies said Tuesday. Fubo Sports Network, with original and partner programming, plus live sports, is now available on more than 155 million devices via multiple streaming platforms, including LG Channels, Samsung TV Plus, The Roku Channel, Vizio WatchFree+, Tubi, Plex and Xumo, the company said.

Streaming media device shipments fell 4.6% year on year to 16.4 million units in Q3 on “unsteady consumer confidence,” said a Tuesday S&P Global report. For Q4, S&P expects new hardware from Amazon, Apple and Roku to help drive sales, but analysts don’t expect significant expansion year on year. “Most streaming media players and sticks are long overdue for upgrades to feature sets with smart home control and cloud gaming optimization, but vendors are preoccupied with keeping prices as low as possible amid persistent inflation,” said analyst Neil Barbour.

Given the projected revenue growth of free ad-support streaming TV (FAST) services, expect the launches of more of them in 2023, nScreenMedia analyst Colin Dixon blogged Sunday. Such services "will be the driving force behind the expansion of the streaming TV market over the next five years," he said. He predicted subscription VOD services will launch FAST channels and license content to competitors, plus better monetizing content, such as pay-per-view models, for new movies and exclusive live events.

The most successful video services will use innovative technology, such as artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to drive high engagement with consumers through advanced content moderation and curation, said Parks Associates analyst Sarah Lee in a Friday report. AI and ML can create a personal experience by using data to understand patterns and relationships at a granular level, beyond recommendations offered by big-data systems, she said. About 30% of U.S. internet households are "service hoppers" who frequently switch services and resubscribe multiple times, according to Parks data, and businesses may be able to use AI to cut down on the practice, she said. AI and ML use cases “are just starting to scratch the surface,” she said. "By understanding the viewer on a deeper, personal level, businesses can deliver a more positive, individualized experience that drives acquisition, satisfaction, and retention," Lee said. Some 83% of U.S. internet households subscribe to at least one over-the-top video service; 45% still subscribe to a linear pay-TV service, Parks said.

Roku expanded the linear channel lineup on The Roku Channel, saying Tuesday users can stream Spanish-language content, live shopping from QVC and HSN, select programming from AMC, sports, cooking shows, films and other genres from the channel’s Live TV guide. The Roku Channel has more than 350 linear channels, it said.

Redbox and Crackle free streaming apps will be included on Vizio remote controls, said the TV maker and Chicken Soup for the Soul Monday. The apps' inclusion will give consumers who buy a Vizio TV in second-half 2023 direct access to the ad-supported VOD services via dedicated buttons, it said.

In Q3, the largest MVPDs, with about 92% of the market, lost about 785,000 net subscribers, compared with a pro forma loss of 650,000 in Q3 2021, Leichtman Research Group said Monday. Combined, those MVPDs have about 71.4 million subscribers, it said. The top cable providers lost about 980,000 video subscribers, up from a loss of 700,000 in Q3 a year earlier. Telco and DBS services altogether lost about 700,000 in the quarter, compared with 630,000 lost the same quarter a year earlier. Virtual MVPDs added about 900,000 subs in the quarter, up from gains of 680,000 year over year. Leichtman said Q3 marked the third-best quarter ever for net subscriber adds for the top publicly reporting vMVPD services.

Subscriber churn for streaming services is heavily influenced by the content they offer up, said streaming executives at a virtual panel for StreamTV World Wednesday. There's a “seasonality” to churn, as a show that attracts subscribers becomes available, said Philo Head-Marketing Strategy and Operations Kirstin Seitz. “We try to super serve them while they are here, but they may churn out because they’re only here to watch one show,” she said. “And we model that into our service. Streaming services looking to shore up their subscriber base should spend money on technology to improve content recommendations, said Matt Lozier, Frndly TV vice president-analytics and customer retention, on a panel on monetizing over-the-top services. “Making sure you can get as close to a one-to -one recommendation on the type of content somebody would be likely to engage in is really important," Lozier said. The rise of free ad-supported streaming channels and the vast amounts of streaming services are going to require large investments in “automation at scale,” said Paul Claussen of Comcast Technology Solutions. “Where we’re headed as an industry cannot be handled with an army of art editors," he said. Music video streamer Vevo offers a mix of linear and on demand content because consumers want a variety of experiences, said Natalie Gabathuler-Scully, senior vice president-global revenue and distribution. They want to be able to “tune in and lean back” for curated content but also search for specific programming, she said. To retain customers, Vevo works to balance ad distribution, she said. “Users are apt to sit through a longer ad pod if there are fewer amounts of ads within the pod,” she said. Ad buyers also want variety, and Vevo offers advertisers the ability to target music genres, specific decades or moods, she said.

FuboTV has a “solid head start” in offering live sports programming to its subscribers and has a “thriving and growing advertising business,” Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter wrote investors Monday, but the virtual MVPD is facing “slowing subscriber growth, fierce competition" and inflation, with rising content costs presenting "near-term hurdles.” Positives for Fubo are the shuttering of the “costly” sports wagering business, a new upfront advertising cycle and original content for the upcoming World Cup, Pachter said. Fubo’s Q3 ad average revenue per user was $7.37 vs. Wedbush’s estimate of $7.57, but despite “significant advertising weakness throughout the economy,” Fubo’s results indicate “some insulation” driven by live TV and sports-based programming, said the analyst. Management’s confidence about Q4 results stems partly from higher political advertising and an expected subscriber uptick from the World Cup, “which fuboTV will uniquely be broadcasting in 4K,” Pachter said. He maintained an “outperform” on the stock.