NAB Show Preview: Streaming’s next phase and the push to operate smarter

Streaming is no longer a growth story in the way it was five years ago.

The race to launch platforms and accumulate subscribers has given way to a more measured set of questions: how to run streaming operations efficiently, how to generate sustainable revenue across a fragmented audience and how to deliver reliably at scale.

At the 2026 NAB Show, those operational and commercial realities are expected to shape the conversations around connected TV, FAST channels and the infrastructure supporting them.

The exhibit floor will reflect an industry that has largely moved past the launch phase and is now focused on making what exists work harder.

Doing more with existing content

For broadcasters managing content across linear, digital, social and streaming platforms simultaneously, the challenge is less about what to produce and more about how to move it efficiently across an expanding number of destinations.

“Audience behaviour continues to shift toward digital formats, so broadcasters are producing more variations of the same stream than ever before,” said Sam Peterson, chief operating officer at Bitcentral. “The real challenge – and opportunity – is creating workflows that let teams quickly shape content for multiple platforms without slowing down core news operations. When content can move fluidly across channels, broadcasters can reach more viewers and maximize the value of every story.”

That efficiency pressure is visible at the distribution level as well.

Media companies are less focused on launching new channels than on making existing assets easier to package and move.

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“Streaming expansion has entered a more pragmatic phase. Instead of launching more channels, media companies are focusing on how to make existing content easier to package, localize, and distribute across a fragmented platform landscape,” said Jean-Christophe Perier, chief marketing officer at Globecast. “Expect more discussion around operational efficiency and rights-aware workflows than around raw channel growth.”

Managing rights across that many platforms adds its own layer of complexity, particularly for scheduling teams working across FAST, linear and digital simultaneously.

“As channels and distribution outlets span across FAST, linear, digital and social platforms, scheduling teams face growing pressure to manage complex rights, improve programming performance, and deliver schedules faster, often with fewer resources. The only way out is to transform scheduling from a static task-based process into a dynamic system that automates continuous channel optimization,” said Ivan Verbesselt, chief strategy and marketing officer at Mediagenix.

Business models in motion

The subscription-only streaming model has given way to something considerably more varied.

Services now operate across advertising-supported tiers, premium subscriptions, promotional bundles and distributor partnerships, often simultaneously, and the infrastructure required to manage that complexity has become a product category of its own.

“Direct-to-consumer streaming continues to evolve as services refine how they package and distribute content. Subscription offerings now exist alongside advertising-supported tiers, promotional bundles and partnerships with distributors, telecom providers and other platforms,” said Sahil Dhar Hakim, chief business officer at Evergent. “That dynamic environment requires infrastructure that can support constant changes in offers, access rights and billing relationships without disrupting the viewer experience.”

Free ad-supported streaming television has become a key part of that diversification, particularly for broadcasters seeking to extend their reach without the overhead of a subscription-based operation. Analyst forecasts have projected the FAST market’s ad revenues will roughly double by 2030, according to research firm Omdia.

“Broadcasters are increasingly adopting a broad-beam strategy to reach as wide an audience as possible. This requires content to be delivered in a diverse range of formats, from traditional linear distribution to AVOD, subscription-based services, as well as hybrid services. FAST channels are increasingly being added to the mix as a means of increasing reach, attracting a broader audience, and opening up new opportunities for ad revenue,” said Lelde Ardava, chief operating officer at Veset.

AI-powered dubbing has changed the economics of multilingual content in ways that are beginning to show up in FAST specifically.

“FAST is interesting because, historically, nobody spent on dubbing that content, as the economics didn’t justify it. Now, AI-dubbed channels are pulling meaningful viewership, and YouTube’s auto-dubbed creator content is shifting audience expectations. Audiences are starting to expect multilingual by default, and the companies ready for that will have a strong year,” said Anton Dvorkovich, chief executive and founder of Dubformer.

Advertising as a technical problem

As more streaming services add advertising tiers, the ad experience has moved from a commercial consideration to a technical one. Errors in ad delivery affect revenue directly, and a poor ad experience affects retention.

“Streaming is entering a new phase of speed and scale, and advertising sits right at the core of it. With CTV ad inventory growing, streaming providers cannot afford errors in ad delivery because it impacts revenue and leads to a poor viewing experience. This is driving demand for video-specific observability that can deliver real-time insights into playback performance and ad engagement,” said Ian Baglow, co-CEO of Bitmovin.

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Dynamic ad insertion, the technology that places targeted advertising into streams in real time, continues to see investment as hybrid monetization models expand.

“Broadcasters and streaming services are increasingly relying on ads to monetize their content, which makes dynamic ad insertion a critical component of streaming. With innovations like server-guided ad insertion and new ad formats, DAI technology is developing fast, helping streaming services improve viewer experience, increase platform reach and monetize at scale,” said Paul Davies, head of marketing and partnerships at Yospace.

The ad experience itself is increasingly being framed as a competitive differentiator, not just a revenue mechanism.

“In the current market where it is difficult for services to stand out, the ad experience may well turn out to be a key differentiator, so there will most likely be a lot of investment in this area on show at NAB Show,” said Mrugesh Desai, vice president for North America at Accedo.

Delivering at scale

Underlying all of it is a delivery infrastructure question that becomes more acute as audiences grow and viewing behavior fragments across devices, platforms and global markets.

Peak events,  such as the Olympics or World Cup, stress-test streaming infrastructure in ways that routine viewing does not.

“We expect a lot of discussion around how platforms can reliably deliver high-quality streams to peak audiences while managing latency, cost, and network efficiency. Broadcasters and platforms are increasingly exploring new delivery architectures and emerging protocols such as Media over QUIC, alongside investing in features like multiview that allow audiences to watch multiple streams simultaneously, particularly around premier global sports tournaments,” said Elodie Levrel, corporate marketing and communication director at Broadpeak.

Media over QUIC, commonly referred to as MoQ, is an emerging transport protocol designed to improve the efficiency and latency of media delivery over the internet. It has gained attention as an alternative to existing streaming protocols for large-scale live events where responsiveness and reliability are both critical.

The questions around scale, monetization and operational efficiency are connected: a platform that cannot deliver reliably at peak cannot monetize that peak effectively. How vendors are addressing all three simultaneously is likely to be the central thread running through streaming discussions at the show.

NAB Show 2026 opens April 18, with exhibits running April 19-22 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Make sure to check out the latest NAB Show News in our dedicated section or visit the NAB Show website to register for the show.

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