With the streaming service's launch just a day away, a survey indicates that relatively few consumers know that HBO Max will offer high-profile content like "Friends" and the DC Extended Universe movies, But lest we forget, HBO Max has some massive launch advantages.

Ad-ID, the unified standard for advertising metadata considered key to the growth and evolution of premium video, hasn't been usable by those who still haven't upgraded to the 4.0 versions of VAST. But now there's a "stopgap" for those tech lingerers.

Limited-time rentals promise to be a lucrative channel for studios and streaming partners, especially if they can establish a business model that draws more at-home renters without cutting them off from theatrical ticket sales.

As shelter-at-home orders rolled out in mid-March, advertiser pullback resulted in a 27% increase in ads not filled or not played during streaming -- which leaped 57% YoY, driven by a 79% increase in VOD.

Live viewership, streaming, time with CTV, VOD and binge-watching were all up significantly during the first several weeks of widespread shelter-at-home, per an analysis by Xandr and AT&T Lab using DirecTV and Nielsen syndicated data.

The Vudu acquisition will help Fandango scale up its transactional VOD business to compete with Amazon and iTunes, although FandangoNow and Vudu will remain separate, at least for now.

A survey conducted in the U.S. and U.K. shows which age groups are consuming more online video, broadcast TV and OTT, among other media, during the coronavirus shelter-at-home period. The good news: Some of this may stick.

Another example of the growing trend among paid video platforms and pay-TV providers to offer content sampling with the goal of converting viewers to paid subscribers as shelter-at-home drives more viewing hours.

As views of kids' videos are spiking and hit classics remain most-watched, kid-oriented DIY videos like workouts and hand-washing how-tos and food-and-drink and science-and-tech videos are also trending up as kids and parents are forced to stay home.

The expected surge in streaming consumption is materializing, and users who say they're planning to spend more on those services have risen, at least for the present. Ad platform data indicates that video inventory is on the rise,eCPMs are down just slightly, and digital ad spend is flat month-to-month, but up YoY.