The trade body’s DEGI Roadshow concluded its 2026 programme in Munich on 20 October, bringing together more than 70 representatives from the entertainment, technology, culture and research industries at LEONINE Studios. Organised in partnership with AllScreens, the event focused on audience value and the future of transactional entertainment.

Justin Che, President at Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, discussed how transactional distribution contributes to the company’s overall film strategy during a keynote fireside chat with Liz Bales, Chief Executive at DEGI. The discussion covered the role of leadership, collaboration, creativity and audience engagement in building long-term value across international markets.

“At Universal, we embrace and invest in a strong global transactional business as an important part of our overall film distribution strategy, delivering meaningful value for consumers while supporting our continued investment in an exciting future slate,” Che said. He added that a test-and-learn approach and industry partnerships were important to sustaining growth and developing opportunities in Germany and beyond.

Another session, moderated by journalist Jörn Krieger (Broadband TV News), examined how established industry organisations could support the next generation of media technology and secure funding to make transactional entertainment easier to discover and use. EIT Culture & Creativity, a new DEGI sponsor and strategic partner in 2026, led the discussion alongside representatives from ORF, New Renaissance Ventures and Einbliq.io.

A separate panel featuring Prime Video, Warner Bros. Discovery and Constantin Film Distribution explored ways to optimise transactional entertainment. YouGov Shopper Intelligence presented its latest consumer research on the German market, highlighting the positioning of transactional services and their potential for further growth.

Peter Schauerte, Managing Director at AllScreens, also addressed the changing conditions facing the German market and how businesses could respond.

“Unsettled times are when habits change, and those who act early do better than those who wait,” Schauerte said. He highlighted the importance of visibility as AI-driven recommendations increasingly narrow the range of titles presented to audiences, arguing that clear release windows, strong data and a shared industry voice would influence how content is discovered, financed and valued.

The Munich event was the final stop in DEGI’s largest Roadshow programme to date, which visited five European markets during 2026.

“Germany remains a significant market for home entertainment, and it’s clear there is real appetite to capitalise on momentum to drive transactional and meet evolving consumer demand as the returning strength of the box office and emergence of premium early releasing provide exciting opportunities to unlock greater value across the content lifecycle,” Bales said.

The Munich Roadshow was supported by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC), EIT Culture & Creativity and Silk Factory. DEGI plans to continue the series in 2027.

Netflix has remained ahead of YouTube in Samsung’s Polish smart TV app figures for a fifth consecutive month, according to data released by the manufacturer.

Samsung reported 1,271,995 views for Netflix, compared with 1,227,165 for YouTube, with Prime Video and Disney+ following. The company said Netflix’s lead had widened from approximately 37,000 in July to almost 50,000 in August.

The figures provide an indication of app use within Samsung’s connected television ecosystem, although the announcement does not define what constitutes a view or provide viewing-time data.

Samsung’s latest top ten apps, listed alphabetically rather than by ranking, were CANAL+, Disney+, HBO Max, Netflix, Player.pl, Prime Video, SkyShowtime, Spotify, SWEET.TV and YouTube.

The manufacturer said 19 of its 20 most popular non-system apps were video-on-demand services, with Spotify the sole music service in the group.

Samsung offers more than 1,000 smart TV apps, approximately 200 of them available in Polish. Citing Filmweb figures from March 2026, it said users could access around 46,000 films, series and programmes across 36 VOD platforms.

At the end of December 2025, Samsung had 4.1 million internet-connected active televisions, monitors and projectors in Poland.

The company also highlighted the availability of sports streaming services, including TVP Sport, MEGOGO and Eleven Sports Polska, as live programming becomes a growing part of the connected TV offering.

While Samsung suggested Netflix’s performance could point to stronger demand for films and series, the figures do not establish a wider shift away from short-form video. YouTube also carries substantial long-form and live programming, and the data covers Samsung devices rather than the Polish television market as a whole.

Netflix has reported a 44% increase in third-quarter profits, but a cut to its advertising forecast added to investor concerns over slowing growth and changes at the top of its content business.

Revenue increased 11.8% to $12.87 billion, while net income reached $3.66 billion. Operating margin rose to 34.6%, from 28.2% a year earlier, partly reflecting the timing of expenses.

However, Netflix reduced its expected 2026 advertising revenue to approximately $2.7 billion, against $3 billion previously, citing delays in introducing advertising product capabilities. Full-year revenue is now forecast at $51.1 billion, with an operating margin of 31.5%.

The results followed a difficult period that included cuts to around 6% of the workforce and the appointment of former Disney executive Peter Rice to replace Bela Bajaria as chief content officer.

Engagement has become a particular focus with investment banker Jefferies estimating that average monthly viewing per Netflix member had fallen to 49 hours in the first half of 2026, compared with 66 hours three years earlier.

Netflix shares fell 4.1% in initial after-hours trading, having already lost approximately a quarter of their value this year.

During the earnings interview, co-chief executive Ted Sarandos argued that the response should centre on improving delivery within the existing business.

“There is no need for a fundamental shift in the strategy. We do need better execution in the US.”

Sarandos said international programming was performing strongly, including in the Nordics, while US content needed to deliver more hits capable of attracting audiences globally. He highlighted Rice’s combination of creative and commercial experience.

Co-chief executive Greg Peters attributed the redundancies to overinvestment in some areas during rapid expansion, with resources being redirected towards future growth. He said advertising revenue would still grow by more than 80% this year.

Netflix also positioned its new television user interface as an enabler of broader content aggregation. The company said the interface helps integrate and promote third-party programming, highlighting its TF1 partnership in France. It did not disclose a separate measure of the redesign’s effect on viewing.

Peters said TF1 viewing on Netflix was increasing each month, with early testing suggesting it was generating additional engagement. The integration preserves TF1’s identity within the Netflix experience.

He also left open the possibility of distributing other subscription services as optional add-ons, although there was no announcement. Netflix believes elements of the product experience developed for partnerships could support that approach.

Despite concerns over viewing growth, Netflix said churn had improved year-on-year globally and in the United States, outperforming its expectations. Customer responses to price increases were also consistent with previous adjustments.

UKTV is launching eight new FAST channels dedicated to BBC programme brands including Top Gear, EastEnders and Casualty, expanding its portfolio to 12 channels.

The free advertising-supported channels will begin rolling out on LG Channels and Freely before the end of 2026. UKTV’s four existing FAST services – U&Laughs, U&Transport, U&Real Heroes and U&The Past – will also join both platforms.

The new line-up comprises Antiques Roadshow on U, Bargain Hunt on U, Casualty on U, DIY SOS on U, EastEnders on U, Gardeners’ World on U, Holby City on U and Top Gear on U.

Each channel will offer a curated selection of archive programming. Highlights include the arrival of the Branning family and the “Stax” storyline in EastEnders, Charlie Fairhead’s years in Casualty, and Top Gear’s Patagonia and Polar specials.

Jonathan Newman, Chief Commercial Officer at UKTV and BBC Studios UK Region, said: “The launch of these channels is an exciting moment for UKTV, helping us reach new audiences, unlock advertising revenue and grow our streaming presence through harnessing the power of great British television. We’re delighted to be launching with LG Channels and Freely for the first time.”

The expansion forms part of UKTV’s investment in free streaming through third-party platforms and its own service, U, alongside its pay-TV business.

Andrea Amey, Chief Digital Officer at UKTV, said: “By creating dedicated destinations for these programmes, we’re making it easier for viewers to rediscover favourite episodes and enjoy hundreds of hours of great content for free.”

UKTV said additional platform agreements are under discussion. Individual channel launch dates have yet to be announced.

STARZ has reached a new distribution agreement with Verizon, ending a blackout of almost three weeks that affected its linear channels, on-demand programming and authenticated streaming access through Fios.

The US operator’s previous contract expired on September 30, with services removed as negotiations broke down. The agreement announced on October 20 restores all STARZ channels, STARZ On Demand and access to the STARZ app through Verizon Fios. Financial terms and the duration of the agreement have not been disclosed.

The settlement follows a public disagreement over carriage fees. Verizon accused STARZ of seeking higher rates that would increase customers’ bills, while STARZ challenged the operator’s account of the negotiations.

At the start of the blackout, Alison Hoffman, President of STARZ Networks, accused Verizon of having “mischaracterised our position” and being unwilling to negotiate towards an agreement. Verizon, meanwhile, described STARZ’s public warnings about a potential removal as an “unnecessary pressure tactic”.

The interruption extended beyond conventional television viewing. Customers subscribing through Fios also lost access to STARZ programming through the network’s app, although a separate direct streaming subscription remained available.

During the dispute, Verizon offered customers receiving STARZ within a television package a one-off $5 credit, which they had to redeem. Customers paying for STARZ as a premium add-on were promised a retrospective credit covering the period of interruption.

Announcing the settlement, Hoffman said: “We are pleased to have reached a mutually beneficial agreement that brings STARZ’s premium programming to Verizon Fios customers.

“We remain committed to delivering bold storytelling for women and underrepresented audiences and to serving viewers who value our distinctive programming.”

The restored offering includes the Power franchise, Outlander and its prequel Outlander: Blood of My Blood, alongside P-Valley and other original series.

The dispute also highlighted STARZ’s position as an independent programmer negotiating with a major telecommunications distributor. The company separated from Lionsgate in May 2025 and has made distribution partnerships and bundling central to its strategy as a standalone business.

JustWatch has launched its own streaming service in 11 countries, adding direct viewing to the programme discovery tools used by its existing global audience of 50 million.

JustWatch TV is available within the company’s website, mobile and television apps, combining free advertising-supported content, film rentals and an ad-free offering under the JustWatch TV Plus brand.

The launch covers the UK, Ireland, United States, Canada, Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, Australia and New Zealand.

Thirty content partners are participating initially with newly announced agreements including Altitude in the UK, Cineverse in the United States, Leonine Studios in Germany and SND in France. They join previously disclosed partners including Paramount, New Regency, Fremantle, Bleecker Street and Vortex Media.

The move takes JustWatch from directing viewers to other streaming platforms to serving content directly within the same interface.

“The launch of JustWatch TV marks the most important new development in our company’s 12-year history, and it’s only the start,” said David Croyé, Founder and CEO of JustWatch Group.

“JustWatch TV will help fill in the gaps and will make it easier for the massive JustWatch audience to discover and watch great movies and series, including those hard-to-find titles, right from the app itself.”

The company said it would use viewing demand data gathered through its streaming guide, alongside editorial recommendations, to build a catalogue intended to complement existing services.

JustWatch TV Free offers a curated advertising-supported selection, while JustWatch TV Store provides films to rent. JustWatch TV Plus combines ad-free access to selected catalogue titles with additional streaming guide and app features. The announcement did not disclose pricing for Plus or individual rentals.

The service will also provide additional audience insights for JustWatch Media, the group’s advertising division, which plans and buys digital campaigns for studios, distributors and streaming platforms.

JustWatch said further content partnerships and catalogue additions are planned. Its streaming guide operates in 140 markets, substantially beyond the initial footprint of the new viewing service.

Streaming will account for more than half of Germany’s audio and audiovisual media revenue for the first time in 2026, VAUNET predicts in its autumn forecast. Combined revenue from advertising, subscriptions and teleshopping is projected to rise by 1.8% to €16.3 billion, up from €16.0 billion in 2025.

Revenue from video and audio streaming, including advertising and subscriptions, is expected to reach €8.6 billion, representing 52% of the total market. In 2019, streaming accounted for just 26% of revenue.

The shift is particularly evident in the advertising market. While total advertising revenue across audio and audiovisual media is forecast to increase by 1.8% to €6.4 billion, traditional television advertising is expected to decline by 6% to €3.1 billion. Radio advertising revenue is also projected to fall by 6%, to €636 million.

Video streaming advertising, by contrast, is forecast to grow by 15% to approximately €2.5 billion. Its share of total audiovisual advertising revenue will consequently rise to 45%, up from 41% in 2025. Audio streaming advertising is expected to increase by 10% to €147 million, lifting its share of audio advertising from 16% to 19%.

However, global technology platforms are capturing a substantial proportion of the growth in video streaming advertising. According to VAUNET, Alphabet, Amazon, ByteDance and Meta together account for 72% of the segment’s €2.5 billion in revenue, with their share continuing to increase.

“Despite the challenging economic environment, we are seeing encouraging resilience across the media market as a whole in 2026,” said Frank Giersberg, Managing Director of VAUNET. While commercial media providers are driving the transition through their investments, he warned that they are capturing an increasingly small share of advertising growth as global tech platforms strengthen their position in the video streaming market.

The shift towards streaming is also continuing in the subscription market. Revenue from paid audio and audiovisual services is forecast to increase by 2.3% to €7.8 billion in 2026. Paid video-on-demand revenue is expected to rise by 4.5% to €3.7 billion, while paid audio services are projected to grow by 5% to €2.2 billion. Pay-TV revenue, however, is forecast to decline by 4% to €1.9 billion.

Streaming is expected to account for 75% of revenue from paid audio and audiovisual services, compared with 74% in 2025. Teleshopping revenue is forecast to remain stable at €2.2 billion.

VAUNET is using the figures to renew its call for political measures to strengthen commercial media providers’ competitiveness. Claus Grewenig, Chair of the Board at VAUNET and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer at RTL Deutschland, warned that market growth was increasingly benefiting global platforms rather than domestic media companies. “Growth in the media market no longer automatically benefits those whose services contribute to media diversity, the formation of public opinion and a democratic public sphere,” he said.

Grewenig called for a moratorium on further regulatory and financial burdens and a concrete media diversity action plan to translate policy objectives at German and European level into effective measures by 2028.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, with financial details remaining undisclosed.

The acquisition expands 3Q’s offering for publishers beyond its existing software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, which is based on licensing fees, to include premium video content, distribution and revenue-sharing models.

Munich-based 3Q serves more than 1,000 business customers across Europe, including media companies, publishers, sports providers and institutions. Glomex operates a video marketplace connecting publishers, content providers and advertisers. According to the company, its platform is used by more than 500 digital properties reaching over 30 million unique users per month.

Glomex will retain its brand and operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of 3Q. Managing Director Lars Friedrichs will continue to lead the business, while Michael Sandbichler is leaving glomex to become VP Distribution Global Video Platforms at ProSiebenSat.1.

The German media group will remain a content supplier and marketing partner to glomex following the sale. The divestment is part of ProSiebenSat.1’s strategy of focusing on its core entertainment business.

“Publishers need sustainable models to expand their video business while retaining control over their content, technology, and monetization,” said Julius Thomas, CEO of 3Q. The combination of the two companies’ offerings is intended to help publishers streamline video production and distribution while diversifying their revenue streams.

The joint portfolio will bring together video hosting, live streaming and video-on-demand services with premium content, syndication and monetisation. It will also include mobile journalism solutions designed to help publishers produce and distribute local video news through cost-efficient workflows.

While glomex focuses on advertising-based monetisation, 3Q’s infrastructure is intended to support additional revenue models, including digital subscriptions. The companies aim to give publishers greater flexibility in selecting services across the video value chain, while providing content owners with wider distribution and advertisers with access to established publisher brands.

“I’m delighted that we’ve found the ideal strategic partner in 3Q to offer publishers and content owners an even more comprehensive and improved suite of services,” said Lars Friedrichs, Managing Director of glomex. “In the future, publishers will be able to choose exactly the building blocks from the entire video value chain that fit their business.”

As part of the integration, glomex will migrate to 3Q’s European video infrastructure. The companies expect the move to deliver economies of scale and strengthen an independent European infrastructure for online video services.

3Q provides infrastructure for video streaming, OTT services and FAST Channels, supporting the management and delivery of live and on-demand content across websites and apps.

The BBC will close the linear broadcast services of BBC Three, BBC Scotland and BBC Radio 4 Extra in spring 2027, shifting their programming towards iPlayer, Sounds and other digital platforms.

The closures form part of the corporation’s efforts to deliver £500 million in savings by 2028 amid sustained financial pressures.

BBC Scotland will continue as a channel on iPlayer, with content also shown on BBC One and BBC Two in Scotland. The BBC Scotland television channel launched on 24 February 2019. In addition to a much heralded Scottish centric news bulletin and other new commissions, the channel also broadcast content previously shown on BBC One and BBC Two in Scotland.

BBC Three commissions will be available through iPlayer and other platforms, including YouTube. The BBC said the move would be supported by increased investment in content for younger audiences. BBC Three has been here before; is was online-only from 16 February 2016 to 1 February 2022, when it returned as a linear television channel. The channel was behind the launch of Gavin & Stacey, Fleabag and Killing Eve.

Radio 4 Extra programming will move to BBC Sounds, while The Daily Service will be available through Sounds and local radio.

“We need to make every pound work harder for audiences as we respond to the immediate cost pressures and reinvent the BBC for a changing world,” Director-General Matt Brittin told staff. “We all know that means tough choices.”

Brittin said much of the programming carried by the services would remain available digitally.

“While this follows media speculation, I recognise the confirmation of this news will be hard for audiences and colleagues,” he added.

The BBC also announced further changes within BBC News including the merging of some editor positions. Its new director, Rachel Jupp, will set out additional savings plans early next year as part of a longer-term strategy for the division.

Other divisions will confirm their plans in the coming months, following savings already announced across the BBC’s nations, local services, and Speech and Sounds operations.

The announcement did not specify how much the three linear closures would contribute to the overall savings target.

NEM Zagreb has announced Timothy Oh, General Manager and Chief Marketing Officer at COL Group International, as its first keynote speaker for the 2026 event.

Taking place at the Esplanade Zagreb Hotel on December 7–8, the conference will examine changes in television, streaming and the wider video industry across Central and Eastern Europe.

Alongside Oh’s keynote, organisers have outlined five panel discussions covering audience behaviour, advertising technology and the changing roles of creators and established media businesses.

The New TV Advertising Mix: Reach, Targeting and Results will explore how addressable TV can combine television’s reach with targeting and measurable performance, including the challenges of wider adoption across CEE.

Personalised discovery will be examined in Algorithms and Stories We Believe: Living in Your Feed, looking at how recommendation systems influence the content audiences encounter and their shared cultural experiences.

Video Industry 2.0: Who’s Becoming What? will consider creators’ growing involvement in production, intellectual property ownership and format development.

The Fear of Missing Out session will discuss how controversy, negative reactions and online conversation can drive viewing and commercial value. A closing industry review, The Year in Video: Looking Back, Moving Forward, will assess developments in 2026 and their implications for 2027.

Organised by Croatian marketing and television industry agency Mediavision, NEM Zagreb brings together broadcasters, streaming platforms, production companies, creators, brands and agencies for conference sessions and networking.