The Dan Rayburn Podcast

This week, we detail YouTube's upcoming price increase across all U.S. YouTube Premium plans, Sling TV's new $20 monthly plan that includes ESPN, and FOX's announcement that it will shut down the Fox Sports app for smart TVs and connected devices. We also discuss Fubo's newly released set of long-term financial targets, which projects positive free cash flow by fiscal 2027, and why the news that the DOJ is exploring whether the NFL is engaging in anti-competitive tactics isn't a surprise.
Finally, we discuss AI news, including Amazon's newly released revenue data for its AI business, which shows AWS’s AI revenue run rate is over $15 billion. We break down Amazon's plans to double its total power capacity by the end of 2027, its $20 billion in revenue for its chip business, and its stated model of investing disproportionately behind what matters and pulling back when something isn’t working.
Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we detail viewership numbers from Netflix, NBC Sports and Peacock for MLB's opening week, highlighting the multiple issues with how the data is collected and presented, leading to impossible comparisons. We also discuss OpenAI's hiring of Indian streaming giant JioStar to lead its Asia-Pacific operations and news that Main Street Sports Group lenders have formally signed paperwork to close the business, after the first round of the NHL playoffs.

Finally, we discuss Oracle's recent round of layoffs and break down the numbers from its balance sheet that led to them, including $58 billion in new debt, net income, operating cash flow and $50 billion in capital expenditures expected during fiscal 2026. Dan argues that all this reckless spending on AI isn't innovation but rather financial engineering dressed up as leadership with no accountability, no consequences and lacking leaders who manage with discipline.
Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, special guest Eric Black and I discuss Netflix's opening-night MLB stream, which received a lot of negative reviews for its production, relentless, intrusive promotions and poor video quality. We also discuss Netflix's price increases across all its packages and the 18.4 million global viewers who watched the live stream of the BTS concert. We also highlight the launch of HBO Max in the UK and Ireland, the launch in 12 new markets in the APAC region, and the news that WBD will hold the Special Meeting of Shareholders to vote on the merger with Paramount Skydance Corporation on April 23.

We discuss why OpenAI shut down Sora, the lack of a business model behind the service and why it makes sense for OpenAI's bottom line. We do a quick roundup of the latest news from YouTube TV, DAZN, Roku, Fubo, NFL and Epic Games. Finally, we mention the newly appointed CEO at Deltatre, prompting me to ask whether this now means the company will explain its strategy and focus and tell the market what it wants to be known for.
Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we discuss JioHotstar's recent live stream of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026, which set a global streaming record with a peak of 72.5 million concurrent viewers. We detail some of the tech specs from the event, including the split between mobile and TV viewing and the rebuffer rate. We cover EverPass Media's news that it will be the exclusive commercial option for the NFL Sunday Ticket package this season, with DIRECTV no longer having a license to carry the games. This change raises many questions, including how the streaming video will sync across multiple TVs streaming the same game. 

We highlight Spectrum's launch of its new multiview feature in the Spectrum TV App, noting that at launch, viewers can't select their own games and must choose from pre-curated options. We share a few new numbers from Netflix's Next on Netflix summit, including that subscribers watch about 7 movies a month and that the company will invest in original storytelling and a renewed focus on theatrical comedy and content for young adults. Finally, we detail new technology in the video streaming pipeline, including MoQ, AV1/2, VVC, SGAI, and ULL, to refute an analyst's claim that there is "no more to get out of the core technology of video streaming."
Podcast produced by Security Halt Media

This week, we discuss reports that the NFL has begun renegotiating its $110 billion domestic broadcast agreements ahead of the 2026 season, seeking a 50% increase with some broadcasters, if the reports are accurate. We also explain why it's gotten so hard to compare big live streaming events to one another when viewership numbers alone don't provide a clear picture. We use NBCU as an example: it released a rebuffer rate for the Super Bowl stream but did not provide viewership numbers, while JioHotStar provided viewship numbers for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, but not the rebuffer rate. 

On the vertical video front, we detail news from both Peacock and Disney, who are rolling out trials of the new viewing format. Peacock will debut a new vertical video option for all live NBA broadcasts, not just highlights, powered by AI that performs real-time cropping and is optimized for phone screens. Disney+, meanwhile, has rolled out Verts, letting users swipe through a stream of scenes and moments from Disney+ movies and shows, add them to their Watchlist, or jump directly into playback.

Finally, we discuss Apple's claim that viewership for the first weekend of the F1 races was "up year over year" compared with ESPN's coverage, but provided no numbers, and the latest in the WBD and Paramount Skydance merger.
Podcast produced by Security Halt Media