Observed Signal · Mar 24, 2026 · Product Launch · Source: State of Streaming · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Positive
State of Streaming Launches Unified Streaming Power Index
State of Streaming published the inaugural Unified Streaming Power Index (USPI) for Q1 2026, an open-source, directional index that ranks streaming platforms by estimated addressable household reach and attention quality. The USPI is built from twelve consecutive weeks of public viewership data (January–March 2026), calibrated across six weighted dimensions (content/sports heat, engagement, ad clutter, CPM value, etc.) for an initial set of 17 streaming apps and benchmarked to 101,582,619 U.S. broadband households. Early findings highlight Prime Video’s breadth (estimated 88M premium reach), HBO Max and Netflix with similar ad-tier reach (27M and 28M respectively) but different CPM dynamics, and Peacock’s high attention density (low ad load around 2–4 ads/hour). The publisher plans to expand The Grid to 285+ additional apps and invites publishers and buyers to claim or contest metrics.
Introduces an open-source, directional measurement index for CTV/streaming that benchmarks addressable household reach and attention — useful to buyers, publishers and measurement partners but not a major platform policy or technical change.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Unified Streaming Power Index (USPI) uses 12 consecutive weeks of open-source viewership data from January through March 2026.
- USPI benchmarks platform reach against 101,582,619 U.S. Census households with broadband.
- Methodology calibrated across six weighted dimensions and initially scored 17 streaming apps; publisher plans to add 285+ more apps.
- Estimated ad-tier household reach: Prime Video ~88M (premium reach), Netflix ~28M, HBO Max ~27M.
- Ranking shifts: Peacock rose to USPI #2 (from reach rank #7/42%), HBO Max to USPI #3, Netflix to USPI #4; Pluto TV, Roku Channel and Hulu fell in composite rank.
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Unified Streaming Power Index Updated — April 2026
State of Streaming published an updated Unified Streaming Power Index (USPI) for April 2026 that revises platform rankings after methodological corrections and expanded audience denominators. Prime Video remains number one; a methodological correction that treats Roku’s operating system as the unit of analysis lifts Roku to number two after Roku reported 100 million streaming households, $613 million in Q1 2026 advertising revenue (up 27% YoY) and a 60.5% advertising gross margin. Peacock’s ad spend and attention-conversion metrics validate its placement (reported $1.91 billion in spend and 46 million paid subscribers in Q1 2026). The April index also adds a second denominator — 117,696,246 households with any cellular data plan (including 16.7 million cellular-only households) — changing how platforms are scored against reachable audiences.
June USPI: Three Themes Reshaping Streaming Power
The June 2026 Unified Streaming Power Index (USPI) analyzes how a dense live-sports window (NBA Finals, Stanley Cup Final, FIFA World Cup) is accelerating structural shifts in streaming advertising. It identifies three macro themes: (1) home-screen portals (OS vendors and OEMs) have become primary discovery engines, reducing the primacy of content catalogs; (2) the economic vulnerability of the wrapper model (virtual MVPDs like YouTube TV, Fubo, DirecTV Stream) when they lack rights-holder control and suffer distribution failures; and (3) convergence of CTV real estate with retail first-party data (notably Walmart–Vizio and Amazon) enabling closed-loop attribution and performance marketing on the television. The index includes a ranked scorecard (Roku #1, Amazon #2, Peacock #3, ESPN top for live sports, DirecTV Stream bottom) and highlights advertiser implications for inventory selection, attribution, and top‑of‑funnel buying.
State of Streaming Adds Stadium Profile
State of Streaming is a publisher index page aggregating recent coverage, briefs and resources about the streaming/CTV ecosystem. The page lists multiple article headlines covering topics such as Roku passing 100 million streaming households, Netflix’s ad business running on Amazon infrastructure, contextual targeting and AI for premium video, TiVo Ads’ household ID work, and other CTV/streaming industry items. The site provides links to articles, a podcast, a directory, an asset library, and publisher/company profiles — including a profile for Stadium, a free sports streaming app headquartered in Chicago (founded 2017). The page footer shows © 2026 State of Streaming and exposes navigation to articles, briefings, chat and USPI rankings.
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