The streaming landscape is more complicated than anyone expected
Open the app drawer on a smart TV and the density is overwhelming. Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, Max, Hulu, Peacock, Prime Video, Tubi, Paramount+, Crunchyroll — and behind those, dozens of more specialized services that didn't exist five years ago. The consolidation that analysts predicted hasn't arrived. Instead, more services exist, each with a more specific audience.
The Vergecast runs an annual streaming draft as a way to cut through this: three participants (David Pierce, Nilay Patel, Jake Kastrenakes) each build a portfolio of streaming services across seven categories. The portfolio they assemble is their argument for which combination of services wins the next 12 months. The draft produces pointed arguments about what matters in streaming right now.
This is the 2026 edition breakdown.
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The rules and categories
Each service can only be drafted once. The seven categories this year:
| Category | Rule |
|---|---|
| Cheap | Must have a plan under ¥1,400/month (free counts) |
| Awards | Must have won an Academy Award |
| 4K | Must offer 4K content |
| Live | Must offer live streaming in some form |
| Niche | Must target a specific genre or audience |
| Content | Pick one specific show or film (not a service) from any platform |
| Wild Card | Free choice, any service |
The Content category is new this year — it acknowledges that individual IP can be more valuable than entire platforms.
Last year's result
The 2025 draft was won by Alex Cranz (whose picks Jake is continuing in spirit this year): Peacock, Hulu, Netflix, Channels app, Crunchyroll, Paramount+. Peacock's Olympics coverage drove the win; the combination of Hulu and Netflix gave broad content coverage; Crunchyroll remains the dominant anime service with a strong fan base.
The draft: pick by pick
Round 1
Jake — Awards — Netflix
Jake dislikes Netflix as a default but acknowledges the 2026 lineup is unusually strong: Stranger Things final season, Squid Game final season, new Knives Out film. He pairs this with the 4K plan for quality assurance. Netflix remains the only service that consistently produces content everyone is actually talking about.
Nilay — Cheap — TikTok
Two years running, Nilay opens with TikTok in the Cheap slot. The US shutdown risk is real and he acknowledges it directly — but argues that its current cultural centrality is unmatched. TikTok doesn't just host content; it sets the agenda for what other platforms' content gets discussed. He notes TikTok is beginning to serve movie clips, not just short original content.
David — Live — YouTube TV
David positions YouTube TV as "the future of cable that actually works." It has the channel depth of traditional cable with a cleaner interface and better DVR. He asks the obvious question — why hasn't Google released dedicated YouTube TV hardware? — and doesn't have a good answer. Still, as a live TV bundle, nothing else matches it.
Round 2
Jake — 4K — Hulu
Not flashy, but dependable. Hulu's catalog of older television is unmatched. It's where you go when you're tired and want something reliable to watch. The 4K plan covers the category requirement.
Nilay — Awards — Max
HBO's legacy of prestige television is so strong that Max qualifies on accumulated credibility alone. He mentions the upcoming Harry Potter series as a family viewing anchor. His own access is through an AT&T bundle at 1080p — the service's quality and the experience of accessing it remain two different things.
David — Awards — Amazon Prime Video
David calls Prime Video "the most boring but complete mainstream service." NFL coverage has been successful; investments in Lord of the Rings and Citadel were large. Jack Reacher has been consistently watched. More relevantly for David's viewing pattern: it works well as background content, which is how a lot of streaming actually gets used.
Round 3
Jake — Cheap — Tubi
Free, ad-supported, with a surprisingly deep movie catalog. Tubi's Super Bowl broadcasting rights were a genuine surprise. For discovering older films that aren't on subscription platforms, Tubi is now a first stop for many users.
Jake — Live — Instagram Live
This is the draft's most speculative pick. With TikTok drafted by Nilay and its US future uncertain, Jake bets on Instagram Live expanding its role. It's a hedge on social live content rather than a conviction play.
Jake — Niche — PBS Passport
Ken Burns documentaries, Antiques Roadshow, public broadcasting's back catalog — PBS Passport is what Jake calls "sleeping television." It serves a real audience that no commercial service is competing for. There's also a public-interest dimension to supporting it.
Jake — Content — Lofi Girl (YouTube)
Music listening as streaming content. This is a YouTube-category pick, acknowledging that ambient YouTube channels serve a real use case.
Jake — Wild Card — Canopy
Library card-accessible independent film streaming. Canopy sits at the intersection of public library access and quality independent cinema. It's unconventional but serves a specific, underserved audience.
Nilay — 4K — Disney+
Nilay gets Disney+ at pick 9, which is later than most would predict given its content volume. Bluey, the Marvel catalog, Star Wars, and core family content in 4K make this a strong play. The fact that it was still available this late in the draft surprised the room.
Nilay — Live — NFL Sunday Ticket
Expensive. But for NFL fans who want out-of-market games, there is no substitute. Nilay treats it as a targeted, high-value service rather than a broad-audience pick.
Nilay — Niche — Collide Scape
This is the most unusual pick of the draft. Collide Scape requires a dedicated server and playback device that costs tens of thousands of dollars. It's aimed at ultra-high-end home theater installations. As a "niche" pick, it's technically accurate. As a practical consumer recommendation, it's only relevant to a very small audience.
Nilay — Content — CNBC (live stream)
Business news, live, with real-time market data. Nilay's argument: there's no other streaming source for real-time financial information at this quality level.
Nilay — Wild Card — F1 TV
Multiple camera angles, live data overlays, driver radio, historical race library. F1 TV is an example of what sport-specific streaming can be when done properly. It sets expectations that other sports streaming services haven't met yet.
David — Cheap — Peacock
The Office, newer film acquisitions, NBCUniversal content. Peacock has carved out a specific niche in the streaming landscape — it's not trying to be Netflix and it doesn't have to be.
David — 4K — YouTube Premium
Controversial category choice: YouTube Premium as a 4K platform rather than a traditional streaming service. David's argument: the sheer volume of 4K content available on YouTube, accessed without ads, is more than any other service. The category constraint is met; the choice reflects how he actually uses YouTube.
David — Content — Stranger Things Season 5
If Stranger Things final season delivers at the level of the earlier seasons, this is one of the most significant content events in streaming this year. David uses the Content category for its most obvious use: bet on the biggest anticipated release.
David — Wild Card — Paramount+
CBS sports (NFL, March Madness, Masters, Champions League) make Paramount+ necessary for sports viewers who haven't already picked it up through another category. David is honest that the service quality is mixed but the sports rights are real.
David — Niche — Britbox
British television — BBC drama, comedy, mysteries, documentaries. Britbox serves an audience that is largely ignored by US-focused streaming services. Gardeners' World gets mentioned.
Draft results summary
Jake Kastrenakes
| Category | Pick |
|---|---|
| Cheap | Tubi |
| Awards | Netflix |
| 4K | Hulu |
| Live | Instagram Live |
| Niche | PBS Passport |
| Content | Lofi Girl |
| Wild Card | Canopy |
Profile: Cultural, low-cost, public-interest oriented. Bets on library access and public broadcasting alongside Netflix as the mainstream anchor.
Nilay Patel
| Category | Pick |
|---|---|
| Cheap | TikTok |
| Awards | Max |
| 4K | Disney+ |
| Live | NFL Sunday Ticket |
| Niche | Collide Scape |
| Content | CNBC |
| Wild Card | F1 TV |
Profile: Premium quality and live sports. Willing to pay for best-in-class within specific categories.
David Pierce
| Category | Pick |
|---|---|
| Cheap | Peacock |
| Awards | Amazon Prime Video |
| 4K | YouTube Premium |
| Live | YouTube TV |
| Niche | Britbox |
| Content | Stranger Things Season 5 |
| Wild Card | Paramount+ |
Profile: YouTube ecosystem + mainstream coverage. Practical and broad rather than curated.
What the draft reveals about the industry
Niche services are no longer afterthoughts
Crunchyroll (last year), PBS Passport, Canopy, F1 TV, Britbox, Collide Scape — the Niche category is generating the most interesting arguments. These services don't need to compete with Netflix on scale; they own their specific audiences completely. The business case for a deeply specialized service is often stronger than for a mediocre general service.
Live content commands attention
Four of the seven categories were won by live content picks (YouTube TV, NFL Sunday Ticket, CNBC, F1 TV appear across drafts). Linear television's decline has not reduced the value of live content — it has increased it. Scarcity of real-time, can't-watch-it-later content is exactly what commands premium pricing.
The Content category changes the calculus
By allowing individual IP to be drafted separately from platforms, the format acknowledges what everyone already knows: a single mega-hit series is worth more than most entire streaming libraries. Stranger Things Season 5, if it delivers, could determine the draft outcome by itself.
TikTok's uncertain status creates real strategy problems
Nilay's TikTok pick represents a genuine dilemma: the service with the strongest cultural position in its segment exists under regulatory threat. Drafting it may be the right call for 2026 specifically, while being the wrong call for a 3-year horizon. The draft's one-year framing makes this more defensible than it would otherwise be.
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