Newswire

Server-Side Ad Insertion technology is being used to replace standard programming, rather than just ads, in FAST channels so content owners can create one version of a channel for all connected TV distribution platforms and then swap programmes to adapt to different business, language or regulatory rules on a per-platform basis. OKAST and Broadpeak reckon their FAST solution will reduce costs and so enable wider distribution for content owners.

The number of Internet users claiming to watch little or no linear TV on a typical day grew 22% in the two years to Q1 2023, based on a 28-market, 54,000 adult consumer survey by Ampere Analysis, and now stands at 45%. This is not the same thing as consumers turning their backs on broadcasters, however, and the survey points to rapid growth in BVOD usage. It also notes stability for low-level linear viewing, explained by live sports, reality TV and exclusive drama.

Netgem has partnered with cloud streaming specialist Gamestream to develop a combined TV-plus-games offer that even includes cross-content recommendations so users can switch from video content to games and vice versa. Offered as an extension to Netgem’s existing B2B2C television platform solution, which telcos offer under their own brand name, this solution is designed to make TV a shared family experience and ultimately drive loyalty and ARPU.

DAZN and the NFL have begun a 10-year strategic partnership that makes DAZN the home of NFL Game Pass International. Fans will be able to stream live games and watch NFL Originals – and a key part of the partnership is to improve the viewing experience, which will include more ‘community’, plus alerts for key in-game moments. NFL views the partnership as a way to reach new international audiences and expand NFL fandom globally.

On the eve of the Women’s World Cup, FIFA has revealed that Sky Media is the official and exclusive sales representative in Europe for ad inventory on FIFA+, the football federation’s direct-to-consumer streaming service. FIFA+ is added to a wide-ranging sports portfolio Sky Media can offer advertisers.

Netgem and ZTE have worked together to deliver an Android TV Operator Tier solution to Zeop TV, a small Pay TV operator in La Reunion. This is Netgem’s first Operator Tier deployment and the company says its UX, cloud platform and choice of hardware partner enables telcos to differentiate and become super-aggregators cost-effectively

DoubleVerify and TVision claim they will provide the most holistic attention measurement solution for advertisers looking to gauge their performance on CTV at scale, having joined forces to bring the solution to market in the USA initially, before moving to other territories. The new product is billed as a “significant stride towards comprehensive and reliable attention measurement in connected TV”.

Claro Colombia is the latest Pay TV operator to find a way to become the default user experience on a Smart TV without having to ship a set-top box to customers. It is using the TVkey Cloud direct-to-TV solution that was defined by NAGRA and Samsung, which also takes care of content security to the very highest MovieLabs requirements. This direct-to-TV model is one of two serious options if a Pay TV operator wants to avoid STBs but remain the default UX, with Sky Glass style private labelled TVs being the other.

Third-party measurement of ad exposure will disappear along with broadcast TV, and at some point during the broadcast-to-streaming transition the media industry will adopt a model where the initial audience count will be based on media owner ad server log data, which is then backed by independent verification, demography and proof of co-viewing as separate measurement exercises. This is the opinion of Chris Kelly, CEO at Upwave, who believes third-party audience ‘counting’ could be replaced long before the end of the decade.

BMW has selected TiVo’s ‘Powered by TiVo’ video media platform to deliver immersive in-car entertainment experiences, with Ingo Lasslop, Vice President, Product Management for digital products and services at BMW Group, promising that the collaboration with Xperi (owner of TiVo), “will allow us to deliver a world-class entertainment offering to our customers”.