Special Coverage
More than 2,200 people are in attendance at the 2026 StreamTV Show in Denver, including over 300 speakers and around 50 members of the news media, Questex Vice President Kevin Gray said in his opening keynote speech.
The address kicked off the full official day of the StreamTV Show, an event that continues to grow with each new year — and Gray is already thinking about the next conference.
The 2027 StreamTV Show will take place in August, an adjustment from the conference’s typical schedule, based on a need to rent out the entire Gaylord Convention Center in Denver, Gray said. Questex is also reprising its StreamTV Europe show next April — the inaugural StreamTV Show took place earlier this year — and the conference is expanding to Hong Kong, with dates to be announced.
Here is recap of some keynotes, fireside conversations, panel discussions and exhibits during the StreamTV Show on Wednesday…
1:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. local) — DIRECTV is sponsoring a number of pop-up coffee kiosks throughout the StreamTV Show, with locations in the main corridor and the exhibition hall. Have not had a chance to try a cup of Joe just yet, but it’s on the to-do list.
1:30 p.m. ET (11:30 a.m. local) — DIRECTV is sponsoring a number of pop-up coffee kiosks throughout the StreamTV Show, with locations in the main corridor and the exhibition hall. Have not had a chance to try a cup of Joe just yet, but it’s on the to-do list.
12:40 p.m. ET (10:40 a.m. local) — The free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) side of the industry has a tremendous amount of long-term potential, but only if stakeholders — content owners and platforms — work to address some current pain points.
Wurl CEO Dave Bernath said there are three core areas that FAST content distributors and platforms should focus on: Monetization, Data and Discovery.
On the monetization side, content distributors need to take more agency in monetizing their TV shows and movies via FAST, Bernath said. When platforms sell 100 percent of the inventory, revenue per hour (RPH) on a household basis clocks in substantially lower than distributing that same content on a cable network.
“Platforms are taking too much of the revenue,” he said.
Wurl is the Title Sponsor of the 2026 StreamTV Show.
12 p.m. ET (10 a.m. local) — The first panel discussion focused primarily on the connected television (CTV) ecosystem and how various stakeholders in that part of the industry are meeting the needs of consumers and advertisers alike.
“For the whole screen, you have to meet the needs of the content providers, and getting consumers to the apps they want to go to; you have to meet the needs of advertisers, and you have to meet the needs of consumers and retailers,” TiVo’s Briana Larsen said. “You have to please everyone, or it’s not a good solution.”
Striking that balance is a delicate act, LG Electronics Vice President Matt Durgin said. It is important for platform developers to not get too bogged down on finding ways to generate revenue from their platforms to the point that it compromises relationships with content distributors and consumers.
“Ads are wonderful tools that can provide opportunities to consumers, but they don’t replace all the relationships that you have,” Durgin said. “As business people, we all look at the engagement metrics. If you did something with ads, or any of your technologies, that drops your engagement and the flow of consumer hours into your partners, you’ve just screwed up big time, and you’ve gotta fix that.”
To some, participating in the CTV space in an agnostic way is viewed as one of the best strategies. The Trade Desk is taking this approach with respect to content providers and advertisers alike — the company doesn’t own any streaming platforms, so it doesn’t have an incentive to promote its own content or experiences above others via its emerging platform called Ventura OS, according to Rob Caruso.
“That creates an interface that is truly unbiased and objective, and doesn’t push a particular narrative or a particular objective,” Caruso said. “Users can see that, and we’re seeing in our research that they don’t feel steered or shaped in any particular way — they’re just seeing content that would likely benefit them.”
Hong Kwon of Comcast segues between traditional live television and streaming platforms. Sports is still one of the few live events that attracts a unified, large audience, he noted. The objective of his platform, Xumo, is to get TV viewers engaged with content — across traditional linear streams or streaming platforms — the moment they turn on their sets.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re 20 years old or 85 years old — guess what? You’re all using apps,” Kwon said. “They may be different, but you have to have the (mindset of), just get me to the TV and let me watch something. It doesn’t matter if its FAST or ATV; it should be relevant to me.”
11:40 a.m. ET (9:40 a.m. local) — YouTube was caught somewhat by surprise when video podcasting took off on its platform, the company’s Vice President of Americas Tara Walpert said during a fireside conversation with Allison Brower.
But YouTube meshes naturally with video podcasters, given how the platform nurtures the content creator ecosystem and the desire of audiences to see who is speaking at any given moment.
“There’s an intimacy to it that really captures people and their everyday nature, particularly because podcast hosts are playing the roles of creators,” Walpert said. “In many cases, it goes even further — there’s no filter.”
Video podcasts are effectively long-form shows that just happen to be distributed via audio and video. They also offer a friction-less way for ordinary people and celebrities alike to launch a show and reach a large audience.
“Podcasting feels more accessible for traditional celebrities and experts in any field, so it’s a place that we see a lot of them get started,” Walpert said. “They’re bringing a degree of brand into their world, whether it’s an expert on institutional investment, or Christian Ronaldo who launched a podcast and had 20 million followers in 24 hours. People want to hear what he thinks about things beside soccer, and that is contributing to an amazing supply (of shows).”
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See more coverage from the StreamTV Show on our LinkedIn page by clicking or tapping here. The Desk is an editorial partner of this year’s conference.
