The Ugly Truth About the TV OS Wars

PREDICTING 2025 MEDIA: PART 2

Global TV shipments fell 3% in 2023 to reach 223 million units. Yet we saw:

→ The sale of VIZIO to Walmart
→ Roku manufacturing its own TVs
→ Amazon Fire TV breaking free from Google
→ The launch of new players like Titan OS, Telly TV, TiVo
→ The merger of ZEASN and Foxxum to form Whale TV
→ Comcast's Entertainment OS coming to more devices via Xumo
→ The Trade Desk entering the TV OS arena with Sonos, Inc. as its 1st partner

More contenders going after the same pie.

Where are we at now? So far, global TV shipments in 2024:

→ Declined by 4% YoY in Q1
→ Grew 3% YoY in Q2
→ Climbed 11% YoY in Q3
→ Q4 numbers expected in February

CES 2025 took place last week. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall to hear the pitches to secure new TV OEM partners. Few partnership announcements were made but here are announcements which caught my attention:

→ Whale TV gave a sneak peek into their deal terms with manufacturers.

→ TiVo announced Sharp as a US OEM partner and so did Xumo.

→ Roku goes higher end with its Pro Series line now available in stores.

→ IMDb makes an entrance in the Roku ecosystem to bring more data to your shows & movies.

→ Google TV brings Gemini AI in to feed you news (Google’s grip on news publishers just got tighter).

→ Could Samsung have solved the need for content localization?

→ Finally, a cool open source collab between two giants.

My prediction for this year: consolidation is a must, otherwise it’s gonna get messy in 2025 and beyond.

Discover more of our hottest media and streaming predictions for 2025 in this week’s Media Odyssey episode “PREDICTING 2025 MEDIA - PART 2”.

Evan Shapiro

and I dive into the rise of brand-owned content, the looming race-to-the-bottom in AI licensing, the influx of ads in gaming, the ever-growing value of live events, and the shakeup in FAST channels.

We also spotlight the unstoppable creator economy, explaining why traditional media must adapt—or risk losing cultural relevance.

If you’re tracking AI innovation, Connected TV, gaming advertising, FAST growth, live events and all things creator-driven, this episode is for you.

Prefer watching on Spotify or Apple? Finally, we’re going as ubiquitous as possible with this pod so more platforms can be found here.

Mentioned in this episode: Amazon, Apple, Ateliere, BAMTech / MLB Advanced Media, Chick-fil-A, Coca-Cola, Comcast, Conde Nast, Disney, Duolingo, EA (Electronic Arts), Fortnite, Epic Games, Google, Microsoft, NBC, Netflix, PBS (Public Broadcasting Service), Prisma, Roblox, Roku, Samsung, Spotify, The Trade Desk, TikTok, Ubisoft, Vizio, Walmart etc.

For more 2025 predictions, check out this week’s Deep Dive:

15 Media Trends To Follow In 2025

Interested in sponsoring the pod?

→ Send us an email at themediaodyssey@gmail.com or fill in this inquiry form to see how your brand can reach C-suite level M&E executives across the globe.

That’s it for today but before you go, we just released a bonus episode of the Media Odyssey, have a look:

Enjoy your day and see you on Saturday for the next Weekend Wrap Up edition of Streaming Made Easy!

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