2026 Will Be Defined by AI Gatekeepers and a Battle for CTV Visibility
LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM, January 6, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Looper Insights, the leading CTV merchandising analytics platform, released a new report, “The Big Reset: 10 Trends Reshaping Streaming in 2026,” that examines how shifting audience behaviour, fragmented discovery, and rapid changes in how content is surfaced across CTV platforms are redefining the way viewers find content. The report draws on insights from senior executives across streaming, CTV, sports, distribution, and media platforms, surveyed between 17 November and 5 December 2025.
“Streaming is entering a reset moment,” said Francesca Pezzoli, VP of Marketing at Looper Insights. “For the first time, OS interfaces, AI-powered recommendations, and platform-level merchandising have more influence over what gets watched on CTV than the content apps themselves. This report shows how the rules are changing and what industry leaders need to do in the year ahead.”
Key Findings of the report:
– AI assistants will control what viewers see. More than 75% of survey respondents say AI viewing assistants built into TV operating systems will decide which shows and apps appear first on screen in 2026, shifting discovery power away from individual streaming services.
– AI reshapes what gets watched, not what gets written: Nearly half say AI’s most significant near-term creative impact will be in automated trailer creation, artwork testing, and content packaging. Respondents see AI enabling faster, scalable creation of thumbnails, cuts, and promotional assets tailored to different audiences, at speeds impossible with manual workflows.
FAST is becoming a premium business, not just “free TV.” Nearly 60% of respondents believe FAST will operate as a sustainable, high-value ad-supported model next year, signaling a significant evolution from its early role as a free, supplemental viewing option.
Sports access is moving toward bundles. Almost half of respondents (47%) expect sports rights to be packaged and sold in bundles in 2026, reflecting viewer fatigue with scattered subscriptions and rising pressure to simplify how fans watch live games.
Younger audiences view TikTok and YouTube as their primary TV platforms. Close to 50% say TikTok and YouTube have permanently reshaped youth viewing habits, confirming that for the next generation, these platforms are the new television. 38.3% say streamers must adopt creator-driven models to compete with YouTube.
“The Big Reset: 10 Trends Reshaping Streaming in 2026” is available to download.
About Looper Insights
Looper Insights is the CTV merchandising analytics platform trusted by the world’s leading studios, streamers, broadcasters, and regulators, including Amazon Prime Video, Disney, TNT, NBCU, ITVX, and Ofcom. We track how and where content appears across hundreds of connected TV devices in more than 25 countries, transforming visibility into measurable performance through our proprietary MPV™ (Media Placement Value) framework. From blockbuster launches to live sports, Looper helps marketing, content, and operations teams see what’s promoted, prove what works, and act on it, all in real-time. Looper Insights’ award-winning products include the Sports Visibility Tracker, a recipient of the TVBEurope Media & Entertainment: Best in Market Award, and the AI Strategy Planner, named a Top 20 Game-Changing Use of AI by Media Play News.
Looper Insights Media Placement Value (MPV™)
The company’s proprietary MPV™ framework has become the industry standard for understanding and valuing visibility across the CTV ecosystem. MPV™ (Media Placement Value), measures how visible a title, service, or event is across the streaming user interface; $MPV™ (Dollar Media Placement Value), assigns a dollar value to each placement, estimating the cost to reach an audience based on its location, size, and platform value; and pMPV™ (Performance Media Placement Value), estimates the impressions generated by that visibility to help teams predict audience exposure and campaign performance. Together, MPV™, $MPV™, and pMPV™ deliver a transparent measure of discoverability allowing studios, streamers, broadcasters, and rights-holders to forecast return on investment (ROI), benchmark competitive presence, and optimize for the placements that deliver the greatest commercial impact.
Tracy Akselrud
Looper Insights
email us here
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