Streaming executives were nearly dead-on with their predictions last year about how various forms of technology and new platforms would influence the industry this year, according to a new report released by Looper Insights this week.
In its new report called “The Big Reset: Revealed,” Looper Insights offered a year-end progress report on how various predictions made by streaming executives played out in 2026, with most of those prediction coming to pass.
More than 60 executives made nearly a dozen predictions about how various parts of the industry would develop this year, with 60 percent of respondents saying free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) platforms would finally become a sustainable advertising business rather than a simple gateway to paid services.
Among FAST services, Looper noted Fox-owned Tubi reached 110 million monthly active users and reported positive adjusted earnings throughout its 2026 fiscal year. (Fox’s earnings cycles do not align with calendar quarterly periods; other companies take a similar approach, including Disney and Apple.) The Roku Channel also captured a record 3.1 percent share of TV viewing in May, according to data from Nielsen cited by Looper. Fox acquired Roku last week.
Executives also anticipated YouTube’s growing importance to younger audiences. The platform accounted for a record 14.2 percent of TV viewing in July, five percentage points ahead of the next-largest media distributor, though its inclusion on Nielsen’s “The Gauge” report has been controversial from the start because YouTube doesn’t allow itself to be measured comparable to other services like Netflix and traditional TV like broadcast channels and cable networks.
Still, traditional TV services saw YouTube’s influence and decided to adopt some of its playbook throughout the year, with networks and platforms leaning into independent content creators to drive new audience growth and stronger engagement. Tubi announced a renewed partnership with TikTok to bring nearly a dozen creator-driven series to its platform, and NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” saw a two-year ratings high during a recent episode hosted by popular YouTube comedian Druski.
The Looper report also examined the trend of media consolidation, which most executives predicted would accelerate based on favorable market and political conditions. Looper pointed to Skydance’s acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery and its folding in of that property into Paramount as evidence of that trend, though the research firm said competition for scale and programming rights played a greater role in media-related transactions than its executives anticipated last year.
Artificial intelligence was also a strong point of interest, and the trend played out through the year with the incorporation of AI-based tools into TV platforms to boost personalization, search, discovery and recommendations. Google, Amazon, Samsung, LG and Roku have all introduced conversational search features over the past two years. Looper said there is not yet enough evidence to determine whether those assistants are significantly changing what viewers watch.
Other predictions remain unsettled: Nearly half of executives expected streaming bundles to reduce subscription fatigue, but live sports rights continued spreading across competing platforms.
The findings were based on predictions collected between November 17 and December 5, 2025 and evaluated against industry developments through mid-October of this year.
