Industry Insights: How monetization models are being rebuilt for streaming-first audiences

As audiences continue to move fluidly between subscription, ad-supported and free streaming environments, broadcasters are rethinking how revenue is created, packaged and sustained.

Part one of this Industry Insights roundtable examines how monetization strategies are shifting in response to changing viewer expectations, advertiser demands and competitive pressure from digital-native platforms.

The discussion explores the rise of hybrid business models, the growing role of FAST and bundled offerings and how first-party data is reshaping the economics of advertising and content distribution.

Together, these perspectives point to an industry moving beyond single-model thinking toward more flexible, audience-driven approaches that aim to maximize revenue without sacrificing viewer experience. This is the first installment in a three-part Industry Insights series on the evolving business of broadcast and streaming monetization.

Industry analysts issue mixed outlook for streaming in 2026

Key takeaways from this Industry Insights roundtable

• Hybrid models dominate: Broadcasters are combining SVOD, AVOD, FAST and transactional options to serve different audience segments without relying on a single revenue stream.
• Audience-based selling grows: Monetization is shifting from time-based spots to audience- and outcome-driven packaging across linear and streaming platforms.
• FAST gains momentum: Free ad-supported channels are emerging as a major growth engine, extending content libraries and attracting scaled advertiser demand.
• First-party data matters more: Richer subscriber and contextual data is becoming central to pricing, targeting and long-term monetization strategies.
• Trust and transparency lag: Participants note that measurement consistency, data quality and viewer trust remain critical gaps in the monetization conversation.

What new revenue models are emerging as audiences continue to shift to streaming and digital platforms?

Krzysztof Bartkowski, CEO, Big Blue Marble: The most effective revenue models today are those that mirror the diversity and flexibility of audience behavior. A hybrid video on demand (HVOD) model for example, allows platforms to monetize across every segment from premium subscribers to ad-supported viewers seeking free access. Meanwhile, FAST channels and tiered pricing structures are helping broadcasters and rights holders expand reach, repurpose content libraries, and capture incremental value without diluting their core offerings.

Mrugesh Desai, VP, North America, Accedo: Alongside standard SVOD and AVOD models, service providers are increasingly leaning on hybrid models that combine not only subscription and advertising but also transactional elements. These hybrid blended models may include linear format FAST channels as well as TVOD (transactional video-on-demand) and PPV (pay-per-view) which can be used to give viewers the option to purchase blockbuster film releases and access to premium live events. Another new revenue model gaining traction is freemium tiers which offers free content with ads, with premium content held behind a paywall.

Tim Sewell, CEO, Yospace: We are a part of the IAB Tech Lab’s Ad Format Hero working group, which is working to standardise new nonlinear formats, such as L-banners and side-by-side placements. We’re also seeing momentum behind dynamically monetized extended DVR windows, where historic ad breaks are resolved in real time during rewind, creating valuable new inventory as roughly 12% of live streams are viewed in rewind mode. Meanwhile, emerging standards like the SVTA’s Ad Creative Signalling and the CTA’s Common Media Client Data v2 (CMCDv2) are enabling consistent, standardized solutions to ad measurement.

Mathias Guille, VP, cloud platform, Broadpeak: Revenue share models between broadcasters and network operators are gaining traction as the demand for streaming content surges. Guaranteed audience targeting models — aggregating viewers across platforms, services and channels — are also becoming more popular. Meanwhile, performance advertising using cost-per-click (CPC) or cost-per-action (CPA) formats is growing fast, giving advertisers real-time, accurate insight into conversion and ROI.

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Hadar Tel Mizrahi, senior product manager, targeted ads and recommendations, Viaccess-Orca: Hybrid tiers that mix AVOD, SVOD and FAST are gaining serious momentum across major platforms. Services now offer multiple price points, from free-with-ads to reduced-cost ad tiers to full premium. This reflects a shift in platform goals — moving away from pure subscriber growth towards stronger overall revenue generation.

Dave Bernath, CEO, Wurl: As more people move to streaming, free ad-supported channels have turned into one of the biggest growth drivers in TV. Over the past year, we’ve seen a 12% jump in households watching free streaming channels and a 16% lift in daily viewing hours — so not only are more people watching, but they’re sticking around longer. That kind of engagement opens the door for advertisers to reach real audiences across premium content — and do it at scale.

Jean Macher, senior director, global SaaS solutions, Harmonic: We’re seeing a major recalibration in the video streaming environment as streaming service providers move beyond purely subscription-based models. Ad-supported tiers have become the norm because advertisers recognize the greater long-term value of engaged and addressable audiences. Innovative ad formats like in-stream advertising during live sports are becoming critical to keep viewers engaged to boost monetization.

Jason Fairchild, co-founder and CEO, tvScientific: As advertisers move from linear to streaming, the most important shift isn’t just where audiences watch, but also how performance is measured. Outcomes-based TV models are replacing impression-based buying, enabling marketers to optimize campaigns around measurable business results like site visits, app installs, or purchases. This model gives brands confidence to treat TV as a digital performance channel and gives broadcasters new ways to monetize premium inventory tied to outcomes, not just reach.

Evan Rutchik, president & chief strategy officer, Viamedia AI:We’re seeing a shift away from thinking in “channels” and toward thinking in “audiences,” where the same campaign follows a household across linear, streaming, FAST, and digital in one plan. That shift is enabling local inventory to participate directly in programmatic demand, so an MVPD can monetize a single impression in a way that historically required separate linear and digital buys. At Viamedia, tools like our Parrot ad decisioning system let operators package linear and CTV inventory together, bringing more budgets into the mix without forcing viewers or providers into an all-streaming world overnight.

Steve Reynolds, CEO, Imagine Communications: As audiences move to streaming and digital, broadcasters are shifting from time-based spots to impression-based selling that lets them package linear, OTT, CTV, and FAST inventory as one unified audience product. That shift also clears the path for dynamic ad insertion, addressable targeting, and pop-up or FAST channels that monetize niche content while keeping operational overhead in check. And the real upside comes from pairing broadcast-grade control with cloud-native, cross-platform workflows, so every piece of content can be monetized consistently and every viewer is part of a well-defined, converged audience.

How are broadcasters experimenting with hybrid monetization models? Bundling?

Subscription providers test new distribution models as consumer shopping behavior evolves

Mrugesh Desai, VP, North America, Accedo: As well as leveraging hybrid monetization models that blend subscription, advertising and transactional component parts together, providers are also increasingly experimenting with bundling. This may mean bundling together different streaming services or bundling services alongside complementary providers such as telecom or cable operators. When done well, bundling is an effective tool to expand reach, lower customer acquisition costs, and reduce consumer fatigue and churn by making it easier and cheaper for consumers to manage multiple subscriptions.

Daniel Weinbaum, partner, Altman Solon: In response to the shift of advertising dollars from traditional linear TV to digital platforms, many are launching tiered subscription (SVOD/AVOD) and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) offerings to generate recurring subscription and advertising-based revenue via direct-to-consumer or partner-based bundles. In the process, broadcasters generate ample first-party ad inventory within an often addressable and data-rich environment. By leveraging original short-form content on their own digital platforms or partnering with social video outlets, broadcasters are not only creating new sources of revenue but also increasing their inventory of valuable, addressable advertising options.

How are first-party data strategies evolving?

Daniel Weinbaum, partner, Altman Solon: Over the past five to seven years, many broadcasters have enhanced their first-party data capabilities to include a broader capture and use of content-based and contextual data from their digital platforms. This enables them to create richer subscriber and household-level profiles. The next critical step is monetizing this enhanced first-party data into revenue opportunities, specifically through addressable advertising, content sales, and audience development use cases. We have seen broadcasters significantly strengthen their data strategies by leveraging clean rooms and forming more selective third-party partnerships. Some have gone further and developed enviable audience graphs that capture broad parts of hard-to-measure consumer segments at a national scale.

Justin Rosen, SVP, data and insights, Ampersand: The smartest advertisers know that those who are able to rely on deterministic, high-quality data will be the most effective at achieving their desired business outcome with every investment they make across every screen. As AI and machine learning become more central to campaign planning and activation, harnessing first-party data exclusively is becoming perhaps the most critical competitive advantage. Industry leaders are focusing not just on scale, but on the quality, transparency, and cross-screen applicability of their data to optimize performance and measurement. The adoption of clean room technology has been an accelerant of this.

James Shears, SVP, advertising, ThinkAnalytics: First-party data strategies are evolving from simple identity resolution to deeper behavioral and contextual intelligence. Broadcasters are beginning to treat their viewership data as a strategic resource for advertising across Linear, VOD and FAST channels—continuously transforming consumption patterns into actionable insights across targeting and content curation. At the same time, AI-driven metadata enrichment is turning content libraries into more dynamic assets, enabling new forms of privacy-safe contextual and behavioral advertising.

Laura Brandano-Lauta,VP, market retail, large agency and inside sales, Comcast Advertising: We see the market looking to inform buying decisions and report on outcomes by leveraging not only the media first-party data, but also advertiser first-party data. And more specifically for outcomes, being able to match back advertiser sales data to their advertising buys shows true ROAS and is a game changer for their business. In fact, when advertisers do not have clean access to their own first party sources, we can unlock major business value by enabling seamless behind the scenes ROAS measurement with partners like MasterCard — it’s as simple as matching ad exposure to transaction data, and the advertiser doesn’t have to lift a finger.

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What lessons from digital-native platforms are being applied to traditional broadcast monetization?

Roger Franklin, chief strategy officer, LTN: Whenever possible, understand who the viewer is and what segments of a marketing journey they have experienced. This enables advertisers to build more effective marketing journeys that are delivered in sequences that generate desired results.

Daniel Weinbaum, partner, Altman Solon: Traditional broadcasters have been steadily adopting a digital subscription-based monetization model, which enables them to monetize content offerings based on different consumer preferences and willingness to pay. Leading broadcasters have been able to apply another key lesson from the digital-native platform playbook: using their digital platforms as hubs for other monetizable extended digital offerings such as third-party content bundles, e-commerce, and video-adjacent experiences like gaming and audio, among others. Traditional broadcasters are redesigning their monetization models by productizing content through new tiers, bundles, and formats; driving a more audience-based and unified ad sales model that combines linear and digital inventory; and more readily activating first-party data across the entire digital value chain.

James Shears, SVP, advertising, ThinkAnalytics: Digital-native platforms have set the expectation that every impression should be informed by as many meaningful signals as possible. Broadcasters are adopting similar discipline — focusing on recency, intent, household composition, and content affinity rather than broad demographic assumptions. Another lesson is the importance of standardized, enriched metadata to fuel discovery and contextual ad relevance, which streaming platforms have long relied on. These core principles, now underpinned by AI advancements, establish a foundation for broadcaster-grade targeting and higher CPMs; especially within FAST environments where inconsistent metadata, lots of available inventory, and CPM pressure make effective monetization challenging.

How are evolving audience behaviors influencing how broadcasters package, price and deliver advertising inventory?

Krzysztof Bartkowski, CEO, Big Blue Marble: Audiences are redefining what “value” looks like in media consumption, moving fluidly between ad-free, ad-light, and free streaming environments. In response, broadcasters are introducing flexible packaging and pricing that mirror digital economics, combining real-time bidding, audience segmentation, and campaign outcome metrics. This shift from static ad slots to dynamic, data-informed delivery is reshaping how inventory is valued, sold, and optimized across platforms. The ability to deliver consistent, broadcast-grade quality across platforms and devices ensures that this flexibility doesn’t compromise experience by creating a more stable, premium environment for both advertisers and viewers.

Daniel Weinbaum, partner, Altman Solon: Audience preferences for flexibility, optionality, and affordability in their digital content choices have paved the way for broadcasters to offer more ad inventory via FAST, AVOD, and lower-priced tiers across a diverse set of digital ad formats, some of which are highly innovative and command greater CPMs. Over the past five to eight years, the audience’s shift to digital video consumption has been a catalyst for the adoption of a more unified, audience-based ad sales model for broadcasters, which has promoted the purchase of potentially higher-valued ad supply within an addressable context. Broadcasters are now focused on justifying and growing their right to higher CPMs by ramping up investments in newer and more interactive ad formats, enhancing targetability through data, and providing a more sustainable path to ad attribution.

Mathias Guille, VP, cloud platform, Broadpeak: Viewers today have high expectations — they’re less tolerant of disruptive or repetitive ad experiences. QoE needs to match up to premium subscription costs, and even if they’re on an ad-supported plan, they expect those ads to be fresh, relevant and smoothly presented. This is pushing platforms towards more personalized targeting, lower frequency capping, and to package inventory with more interactive, context-aware ad formats — including shoppability.

Hadar Tel Mizrahi, senior product manager, targeted ads and recommendations, Viaccess-Orca:The continued shift to streaming is reshaping expectations, as viewers seek flexibility and increasingly accept ads when the value is clear. Broadcasters adapt by structuring inventory around streaming habits, offering hybrid packages, FAST channels and more flexible pricing. Live events and sports continue to command premium rates, while the rest of the portfolios are redesigned for digital-first consumption.

Jean Macher, senior director, global SaaS solutions, Harmonic: As the industry evolves from pay-TV to streaming, broadcasters are rethinking how they package and price services to match changing viewer expectations. After years of ad-free models, ad-supported tiers have emerged as a popular middle ground — offering consumers more flexibility and providing streaming providers with new, incremental revenue opportunities. In-stream ad formats are key to maintaining lighter ad loads while enhancing viewer engagement, enabling broadcasters to deliver a premium, less disruptive viewing experience that keeps audiences engaged and watching longer.

Laura Brandano-Lauta,VP, market retail, large agency and inside sales, Comcast Advertising: The reality is, some audiences are difficult to reach. And that’s where leveraging technology enables solutions like our addressable offering. Smart media companies are also increasingly focusing on what audience advertisers want to reach and then creating audience packages based on entertainment, sports, etc. This gives advertisers pricing efficiency in reaching their target audience across content genres versus simply buying specific programs.

Maximizing monetization potential for VOD services

What is missing from the monetization conversation?

Krzysztof Bartkowski, CEO, Big Blue Marble: Too often, the focus centers on formats and technology rather than trust, transparency, and content strategy. As the ecosystem matures, monetization must evolve beyond ad delivery mechanics to consider how engagement, privacy, and creative quality contribute to long-term value. The next wave of growth will come from deeper collaboration between broadcasters, brands, and technology providers, aligning metrics and storytelling to create experiences that serve both audiences and advertisers meaningfully.

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Dave Dembowski, CRO, Operative: Often, broadcasters think in terms of solutions for a very specific need or platform, but a broader approach is going to set the stage for long term success. Advertisers value audiences over screens, broadcasters must think about streamlined monetization across their entire product portfolio — including linear, streaming and digital. It’s important that they build solutions for the future that support convergence using a hybrid approach.

Roger Franklin, chief strategy officer, LTN: There are three key things that are missing or not emphasized enough: first, frequency capping is important as repeating the same message too often can lead to negative results. Also, it’s crucial to ask for and listen to direct feedback from viewers, which digital platforms make entirely possible. Lastly, once the deal is closed and the customer is gained, update the message or end the journey. Don’t keep trying to convert someone who has already been converted. The bottom line, see monetization from the viewer’s perspective.

Mrugesh Desai, VP, North America, Accedo: To increase revenue per user, we need to look further than rolling out new features and experimenting with hybrid monetization and new revenue models, and instead look at how services are built and managed. Monetization strategies can’t reach their potential if they’re sitting on fragmented, inflexible architectures that make it hard to adapt or personalize at scale. By shifting from static systems to outcome-driven models that leverage composable architectures, AI orchestration and agent automation, service providers can optimize content monetization to maximize the value of every dollar spent.

Daniel Weinbaum, partner, Altman Solon: Ongoing audience fragmentation across the video landscape means broadcasters are increasingly depending on a broader range of partners — including those in content, distribution, advertising, and technology — to drive revenue growth. Taking a closer look at where broadcasters retain the most revenue and control can provide valuable insights into which partnerships truly foster growth versus those that may create challenging, unsustainable dependencies. Within this partner ecosystem, it is essential for broadcasters to carefully evaluate the “fine line” between investing in data and technology for differentiation and independence, while also pursuing financially sustainable strategies to acquire and deliver content.

James Varndell, senior director of product management, playback, Bitmovin: Broadcasters and streaming services typically have huge libraries of content, yet the surface level metadata available for assets is generally not enough to provide the level of granular insight needed for more tailored user experiences and smarter ad placement. If service providers want to monetize their content libraries more effectively, they need a much deeper level of insight into their assets. Multimodal AI analysis makes this possible at scale enabling service providers to uncover scene-level metadata. These granular insights can then be used to improve recommendations, deliver more targeted ads, and to create more personalized and engaging user experiences.

Tim Sewell, CEO, Yospace: Missing from the conversation today is an emphasis on consistent, reliable, and trusted measurement, because ad insertion only creates real value when it’s paired with accurate and consistent reporting. High-quality measurement boosts advertiser confidence, raises inventory value, and enhances campaign decision-making, ultimately driving better fill rates, higher CPMs, and larger budgets for CTV. Emerging standards, such as the CTA’s CMCDv2, are now helping to create a more interoperable and transparent ecosystem by filling in the gaps where SDKs are unable to report on, which in turn helps broadcasters monetise their full ad-funded audience.

Evan Rutchik, president & chief strategy officer, Viamedia AI: We spend a lot of time talking about “transition” from linear to streaming and not enough time talking about how to make the current footprint work harder right now. There is still enormous value in local and regional linear inventory when it’s connected to digital with privacy-safe identity and unified decisioning. Tools like Parrot and identity frameworks like LFID let us accelerate streaming growth while still funding local content and communities by monetizing every screen to its full potential.

James Shears, SVP, advertising, ThinkAnalytics: There is heavy focus on inventory, identity, and ad tech infrastructure — yet far less attention on the accuracy, freshness, and granularity of the data informing the decisions. Without strong first-party signals and transparent measurement, it becomes difficult for advertisers to validate effectiveness or shift budgets confidently. Equally important is understanding why people watch certain content; metadata and contextual cues play a critical role in aligning ads with intent, yet they’re often treated as secondary when this type of first party data should be foundational.