Fandom Is the New Foundation: How Fans, Communities, and Culture Will Decide the Winners in Streaming

Session details:

Streaming used to be about libraries. Then it was about originals. Now the real battleground is emotional gravity. The services that win are the ones fans anchor their identity to. Fandoms are reshaping everything… sports streaming that feels like a live stadium, creator ecosystems where audiences co-author the story, and entertainment worlds that blur into lifestyle and community. The human truth: attention follows passion. And passion follows fandom. 

This panel confronts a shift that most services feel but haven’t fully articulated: fandoms, not formats, now determine who grows and who fades. We’ll bring together leaders across entertainment, sports, and creator ecosystems to break down how deeply engaged communities are quietly driving acquisition, retention, and monetization across the entire media landscape. The goal is simple… to give attendees a grounded, actionable understanding of why passion-led audiences are becoming the most reliable engine of long-term value in streaming, and how services can activate them with intent. If you want to grow, retain, and actually matter to audiences in 2026 and beyond, this is the conversation you can’t skip.

This is a panel that I would be prepared to moderate. I would look to include panelists from sports, entertainment, and the creator space. Panalists from Crunchyroll, Hallmark+, Creator TV, and or the NFL would be some ideal participants. I have some people in mind, but not sure yet who will be attending or how to go about making suggestions. I would also be interested in participating in a panel that has a similar discussion topic.