Streaming’s America First Movement

david zaslav bob iger
The question for streamers is thus how to strike the right balance when considering an investment in local content—an issue both Zaslav and Iger have referenced on recent earnings calls. Photo: Michael Buckner/Variety/Getty Images
Julia Alexander
May 14, 2025

Among the many anxieties coursing through media C-suites right now, the challenges of international expansion in streaming is top of mind. Most other countries are more price sensitive than the U.S., and their broadband isn’t as reliable—and, obviously, they speak other languages, too. And then there are specific complexities. In parts of Greece, for example, 17 percent of people didn’t even use the internet in 2023, per a recent E.U. report. And while the vast majority of European households maintain about one streaming service (78 percent, per consulting firm Oliver Wyman), there is far less appetite for a second service than there is in the U.S.