Jon Watts

Quality Over Quantity in FAST Channels Users may have been initially drawn to free streaming services, but they're staying for the high-quality content. Analyst Gavin Bridge notes a slight slowdown in new FAST channel creation, yet growth continues with over 5,000 channels across 18 platforms in the U.S., up by 1,129 from last year. This shift towards prioritizing quality ensures ongoing user engagement and satisfaction. #Streaming #ContentQuality #FASTChannels #MediaTrends #DigitalGrowth

10

Comcast spin-off - what does it say for the future of the #tvindustry Comcast announced "plans to spin off most of its linear cable networks into a separate company, including such stalwarts as CNBC, MSNBC, USA Network and SyFy...The resulting SpinCo, as it’s being called for now, would create a company with a more focused makeup, and really crummy long-term prospects, given the continued cord-cutting that has sent cable subscriptions plummeting. It also may become the fulcrum for a roll-up of other cable networks." Is that the case, as the article says, that there are few long-term prospects? It does seem set up for a future merger or acquisition. "The nets are mired on the cable box, their content largely also available on direct-to-consumer streaming services such as Peacock, which Comcast is keeping. The cable nets’ revenue models are built on advertising and carriage fees, both declining alongside those shrinking audiences. And cable distributors, including Comcast, are more focused on higher-growth broadband and wireless opportunities." Indeed, it seems that this is more complicated than the headline suggests "Less clear is how the company manages to extricate its cable operations from the units Comcast plans to retain. For instance, how will NBC News be separated from CNBC and MSNBC operations? And ad sales may also face some complicated disentangling." According to Comcast management, both companies will be set up to be profitable and go on the offense. But what exactly is offense for the cable networks? Will they move more and more to streaming? How does that work if their services are on Peacock, which stays under Comcast? It all seems that this merger has more questions than answers at the moment. #comcast #mediaindustry #media #mergeracquisition #streamingmedia

9

3 Comments

Every company founder has a story to tell, and in the case of the Connected TV Marketing Association, there’s quite a tale to tell. In ‘Beam Me Up, The Future of Smart TV - Battle for Control' (Ch 7), I share with readers the 7 year legal battle and fight to control the CTVMA during the global streaming wars. For those of you who don’t know, there were over a hundred people involved in our foundation, and many of whom are prominent, well known, leading industry figures in entertainment, business, broadcasting, advertising and finance, who will all receive special mentions in my upcoming book #StreamingWars 💣

5

The stage was set at the NAB Show 2024. Hundreds of products battled for supremacy in the ever-evolving streaming video arena. Tensions were high as the industry's elite judging panel meticulously evaluated each offering. Then, a true champion emerged from the fray. Vimond's VIA App Builder captivated the experts with a perfect fusion of power and elegance. Features that dazzled: - Lightning-fast development capabilities that make deploying streaming services across devices a mere formality. - An interface so intuitive even a novice could wield its might. - Unparalleled content management that monetises like never before. In an epic clash of innovation, the VIA App Builder reigned supreme – conquering the "Next TV" category to seize the coveted Best of Show honour. A thousand competitors stood in awe. This was more than just an award. It was a statement of Vimond's unwavering commitment to streamlining video streaming for the modern era. An undisputed mark of quality that will shatter industry conventions. The victory horn has sounded. All others have been put on notice. Brace yourselves for the VIA App Builder's continued dominance, as it leads content creators to a new era of broadcast supremacy. https://lnkd.in/gssvefKG

29

1 Comment

Streaming will be added to national TV ratings. The Media Rating Council (MRC), an oversight group that applies standards to audience measurement models from companies such as Nielsen, Comscore and VideoAmp, has approved a plan for Nielsen to integrate first-party streaming data into the company's panel-based national TV ratings. The "panel plus big data" measurement has the potential - at least for live events - to show that a significantly higher number of people are watching a particular program than the panel-only measurement. The sample size for panel plus big data is currently small. Amazon is the only Nielsen client currently using integrated measurement, for its Prime Video Thursday Night Football telecasts. In his a statement Nielsen CEO Karthik Rao highlighted the importance of the MRC's approval, which confirms Nielsen's ability to introduce this innovation in a safe and verified manner. With proven methodologies such as our panel of accredited individuals and precise new research solutions for the streaming measurement era, Nielsen will ensure accurate measurement of the content viewers are watching. Our industry will finally have a true picture of linear and streaming audiences. Data there has shown a significant increase with the addition of Amazon's streaming data, about an 8 per cent increase (just under 1 million viewers) from the panel-only measure. Nielsen's panel-only figures have 'Thursday Night Football' averaging 13.2 million viewers per game this season. The Big Data addition pushes the audience to 14.26 million. This increases the number of titles with limited multi-platform data from other networks that occasionally report combined TV and streaming numbers for live events. NBC's Sunday Night Football has averaged about 18.9 million TV viewers this season (streaming on the Peacock and other digital platforms, as measured by Adobe Analytics). Those games have grown to 21.3 million, an increase of about 13 percent. Other Nielsen clients such as Fox, ESPN and CBS have also seen streaming gains for live sports, although not as regularly (CBS is also currently in a contract dispute with Nielsen and does not use its ratings product). Nielsen is currently in talks with a number of other clients to use the panel plus big data measurement for live events. What it won't do, however, is show additional same-day viewing for most regular programming or episodes of popular TV series. The new tool could help networks and streamers reach an even wider audience. Live broadcasts are among the most reliable viewers on television. Let me know what you think in the comments. You can find a link to the full article in the first comment under this post. Follow my profile to stay up-to-date when it comes to industry news, technology updates, and market analysis. #SzymonKarbowski #StreamVX #videostreaming #Nielsen #TheMediaRatingCouncil #NationalTVRatings #Amazon #Peacock #NBC #PrimeVideo #Fox #ESPN #CBS

16

11 Comments

Whether to merge or bundle with each other, or to bend the knee to #Google, #Apple and #Amazon, a good article about the decisions that await the media industry and their streaming businesses. I tend to believe old will be new again with bundling and a return to the wholesale model. #bundling #streaming #media

17

1 Comment

Are you monitoring the effectiveness of your subscriber acquisition strategies? Learn how to track the full LTV profitability of newly acquired subscribers to better manage margins and marketing campaigns. Get our guide to show you how to scale subscriber growth profitably. Read more 👉 https://lttr.ai/AZS7g #how-to #growthmarketing #subscription #LTV #subscriberretention #Subscriptionmodel #b2b #b2c #premium

3

1 Comment

Great article by Fabio Sonnati in Streaming Media Magazine outlining the increasingly complex nature of measuring perceived video quality. Traditional metrics, like VMAF, may serve well for a narrow set of use cases but quickly show their limits with modern codecs and AI enhancements. For instance, when assessing scenarios involving film grain synthesis or AI-based super-resolution, VMAF falls short, misinterpreting enhancements that align well with creative intent as degradation.   However, unlike VMAF, IMAX’s XVS metric rewards grain retention, lack of banding, and retention of detail, offering more consistent, perceptually aligned evaluations.    As someone who’s spent 18 years studying video quality, I’m excited to see our metric continue to evolve, ensuring accurate, actionable insights for the next era of video technology.   #VideoQuality #Innovation #AI IMAX Streaming and Consumer Technology

61

📺 The Battle for Your TV Screen: The OS Wars! TVREV's latest report dives deep into the high-stakes world of smart TV operating systems. As streaming becomes dominant, control over the TV's interface is the next frontier. The stakes are HIGH – controlling the OS means dictating viewer interaction, gatekeeping content, reaping variable kinds of ad revenues, and harnessing viewer data. The OS Wars are being fought globally by three main groups: 1. Home Electronics Manufacturers (Samsung, LG, VIZIO) 2. Internet Giants (Google, Amazon, Apple) 3. Independent & local TV OS Makers (ZEASN's whaleOS, Xperi's TiVO) According to the report, what makes a great TV OS? Some 🔑 factors: 🔹 Responsiveness & speed 🔹 Natural language voice search 🔹 Personalized content discovery 🔹 Integration with smart home features 🔹 Innovative ad formats 👑 One thing is for sure: the company that can best navigate the complex landscape of content, data, and user experience will have a major advantage in the living room of the future. Download The Report 👉🏻 https://lnkd.in/ek8yTYAT #TVOSWars #StreamingWars #ConnectedTV #SmartTV #IPTV #Broadcast #Television

17

HOW CAN WE MOVE ATTENTIVENESS FOR TV FORWARD? This is the question we pose in the third chapter of our new report on TV attentiveness, just released to subscribers. In it we point out that many potential users of such data are standing idly by---or are not involved---while mass usage is effectively blocked as attentiveness is not part of TV's standard audience measurement systems. We propose a possible solution to this unfortunate impasse which you may---or may not agree with. Interested? To find out more why not subscribe to our hard hitting report and learn the realities about TV attentiveness---how it has developed over the years, where we are now and how we might move more aggressively forward. https://lnkd.in/erSjyzB6

1

Consoladation is where it is at...

2

In the dynamic realm of media consumption, the shift from free-to-air (FTA) television to advertiser-funded streaming television (FAST) signifies a remarkable milestone. The emergence of FAST, championed by industry giants like Amazon and Tubi, is reshaping content delivery with a focus on global reach and precise audience targeting. This evolution paves the way for broadcasters to harness streaming technology and data analytics, enabling real-time measurement of revenue streams. Explore more about this transformative era in television broadcasting: https://lnkd.in/eGx8zk8X

9

Radio ad demand is shrinking • How the major radio groups are privately dealing with declining advertising. • What market managers are doing to save the day (and their jobs). • The non-radio solutions being teed up by radio groups. • What some radio groups have turned to quarter by quarter to offset ad revenue declines with artificial cash infusions. • Typical market manager response to shrinking ad demand. https://lnkd.in/eXGHPhTM

3

Advertisers heading to #CannesLions take note: Diverse TV programming is in greater supply than diverse ad spending. Huge thanks to Veronica H., William Quinn and our amazing Gracenote Inclusion Analytics team on putting together a phenomenal report providing new intelligence to help inform inclusive media spend decisions. Download our free report here and reach out to us learn how to be more inclusive with your media investments and make an impact. https://lnkd.in/gxkhKpDx #gracenote #media #datadrivendecisions

28

STREAMING BUNDLES: Is the cable box making a comeback!? Subscriber churn remains an issue for SVOD services – 42% of US streaming subscribers report that they “'regularly subscribe, cancel and resubscribe,” according to Ampere’s Media Consumer survey covering 1Q24. But bundling streaming services can have a significant impact on mitigating the issue. Ampere cites Disney subscribers as an example: Consumers who had previously churned and then returned to take the Disney+/Hulu/ESPN+ bundle are 59% less likely to churn within 12 months than those who take Disney+ alone, based on 1Q23 sign-ups. Ampere also found that US resubscribers skew younger (aged 18-44), are more likely to be in family households, and are typically avid media consumers. And with that wide media diet, the cohort is 40% more likely than average to exhibit signs of subscription fatigue and 21% more likely to desire unified access to content across different services. Which makes bundles, Ampere concludes, a key strategy in subscriber retention. The cable box is making a comeback! This time, it's on your mobile device$!

3

2 Comments

The latest Radio World eBook includes a great QA with Chris Gould of All In Media (part of Xperi Inc.) on how its Rapid solution fits into the metadata ecosystem. As Chris explains, Rapid enables broadcasters to "manage the creation, synchronization, and distribution of metadata associated with their audio services across broadcast and IP platforms." He further explains how "metadata is the key that ensures a listener has the best experience while consuming the station's content." For more insight read the article, starting on page 27: https://lnkd.in/ep7RFTnr #Radio #automotive #connectedcars #cars #broadcastradio #BroadcastIndustry #hybridradio

43

2 Comments

We're seeing a steady increase in the number of consumers and advertisers gravitating toward CTV and streaming. It's the fastest-growing advertising channel right now and is expected to reach $30.1 billion in spending this year. To succeed during this shift, advertisers will need to leverage their first-party data, focus on smart buying practices through premium channels, and embrace sound measurement solutions. #Advertising #DigitalAdvertising #CTV

7