Television Prepares For the Brave New Technological World at the TV of Tomorrow Conference

The New York TV of Tomorrow (TVOT) conference is coming up on December 7, 2017 and promises to offer the most cutting edge trends in media today. I sat down with Tracy Swedlow, co-founder and CEO of TMRW Corp., the parent company that owns InteractiveTV Today and the TV of Tomorrow Show conferences to find out what to expect from this year’s meeting:  

Charlene Weisler: What makes this TVOT different from previous TVOTs?

Tracy Swedlow: This year we have a very broad array of participating companies, including many companies that are participating in the show for the first time, such as Amazon, Visa, MGM and IBM Watson Media, which I think attests to the growing importance of the advanced-TV/video industry as a whole, and the increasing number of areas that are impacted by it.

Weisler: Why are these companies now deciding to join the TVOT participant ranks? 

Swedlow: We believe it's because our presence and influence is growing, and more and more companies are starting to understand the value of being a part of this event. Each show focuses debates and sessions on new timely industry topics, new controversies and the hottest TV trends.

Weisler: What are the major trends and topics for this year?

Swedlow: We always cover OTT, advanced advertising, content, measurement, data, etc., this year we are also doing a mini-track on potential repercussions/effects of ATSC 3.0--which is a broadcaster tech that people believe will transform the TV industry at large.

Another area is artificial intelligence (AI)--the way it is being deployed, how it is being utilized, and what companies are planning to do with the technology. Data and the use of AI software are going to influence every aspect of TV experience--with everything from content being suggested to you, to how your TV is programmed, to the kinds of advertising you see. It will be the blood in the veins of the industry. AI will be broadcasters' and networks'--and really any content distributor's or advertiser's--superhero power, providing a turbo boost to data analysis, and allowing companies to use data incredibly dynamically and creatively.

Some other areas we'll be focusing on are the rise of diginets, the increasing importance of social-video creators/influencers, 360-VR film making, and the future of the TV viewing experience. And, of course, measurement continues to be a hugely important topic: among other things, this year we have leaders from multiple ad-industry organizations--the MRC, the 4A's, the ANA , the IAB, Ad-ID and EIDR--discussing the latest work they're doing on setting new standards for cross-platform measurement.

Weisler: What are the major challenges to TV in the next three years?

Swedlow: ATSC 3.0 is coming on very strong and could transform the entire TV industry--but how will that happen? It has the potential to completely change the local TV landscape, but the challenge lies in how will the industry be able to collaborate on the standard. Devices will need a special chip to make ATSC 3.0 happen--and how long will it take for that to reach critical mass? Will consumers be willing to buy the new ATSC 3.0 chip devices? So while ATSC 3.0 has huge potential, it still has adoption challenges to overcome.

Another area is in OTT. While it is a trend/topic we discuss every year, it seems that right now OTT still has a lot of issues to iron out. There is a huge amount of content on the market with so many platforms (i.e. Showtime, CBS All Access, Netflix, YouTube, Apple and more) trying to scale and find a customer base, while customers are trying to figure out what service works best for them. The result has been a lot of confusion for consumers and the creation of the dynamic of binge-and-bolt, where people sign up for a particular service to view one series and then cancel it once that series is over. So, ultimately all of these platforms are dealing with retention issues and trying to figure out how they can better manage these relationships and prevent all these cancelations--or else develop new business strategies that embrace the fact that high churn rates are now normal.

Then of course there is measurement, tracking and data which is always a challenge, with companies still trying to figure out how best to track viewership across platforms, how best to relate viewing data to purchase behavior, how to better manage data, how to share it, what to share (i.e.: privacy issues). We believe AI will play a significant role in the future of this area.

Weisler: Is linear TV dead, evolving or doing just fine as it is?

Swedlow: No it is not dead. In fact it is doing more than just fine. Right now, for example, diginets are emerging as a major new area of innovation in content and advertising. Also, ATSC 3.0--which basically brings IP to broadcast--has the potential to bring rich interactivity to linear TV. It likely means that linear and interactive and onDemand are going to combine in unusual ways.

This article first appeared in www.Mediapost.com

The Future of “The Big Screen.” Strategist Stu Rodnick Talks TV

There has been a lot of industry talk about the future of television as it is impacted by the expansion of platform choices and greater, faster technological advancements. Stu Rodnick, founder of the strategic advisory firm Three Screen Nation, has years of experience as an entrepreneur, business strategist and consumer marketer with a specialty in identifying opportunities created from technology usage trends, digital innovations and demographic shifts.

He learned early on that household databases are the bedrock for marketers to deliver meaningful and measurable messages. Rodnick expects that the growth of connected TV will “offer a utopian environment for marketers to deliver ad experience that provide utility and interactivity to consumers, fulfilling many of the long hoped for possibilities of digital aided marketing.”  He shared with me some of his opinions on the subject of television.

Charlene Weisler: First off, what is your definition of TV?

Stu Rodnick: The big screen through which the majority of our video content is viewed, and a key influencer of our pop-culture. 

Weisler: Do you think programmatic will help or hurt the TV economic model?

Rodnick: I’d expect both, because while it would be more profitable to keep the status quo, the reality is that the market is changing due to technology.  And, with content viewed across many different platforms, it’s necessary to have programmatic technologies to automate processes and enable the advanced targeting & measurement capabilities that digital supports so well. Fortunately for television, there are lots of learnings already in place on what works and what doesn’t work with programmatic technologies & business models.

Weisler: How can we best facilitate cross platform measurement?

Rodnick: It's necessary to deploy multiple approaches, because there is no easy solution. Likely a combination of working with the incumbents, licensing cable & wireless carrier data, and investing in new approaches which rely upon transactional databases. 

Weisler: How can the Internet of Things help in TV measurement, if at all?

Rodnick: With audio watermarking offering promise as a proxy for viewership, there should be a way for consumers to be compensated to share data collected on mics from their smartphones, watches or connected TV devices. Seems like an area filled with opportunity, and Alexa like devices offer the potential to measure viewing behaviors in ways that were not previously possible. We need to recognize that the voice assistant market is still at a very, very early stage. And, Amazon has been smart to enable all Fire branded products with Alexa, doubling down on its first mover lead.

Weisler: Where do you see the state of TV in the next five years?

Rodnick: The app phenomenon will carry over from smartphones to televisions, as internet connected television reaches significant penetration levels. This will lead to more & more of our viewing experiences being controlled by apps over the next few years. We’re already starting to see this trend take place. And, we can expect it to accelerate across the mass market as apps are better integrated into televisions & game consoles, become integrated within set-top boxes, remotes & voice assistants, and sales of stand-alone internet connected devices keep increasing. With around 80% of our mobile time spent using apps, we already know that consumers love this sort of navigation and are used to it. The future of TV will be highly influenced by software and the simple & elegant experiences it provides for audiences.

This article first appeared in www.Mediapost.com

Merging Digital and TV Ad Tech. Interview with TiVo’s Joan FitzGerald.

Joan Fitzgerald, VP Product Management and Business Development, TiVo, is a TV data expert whose work on the quantification of media defined her entire career. “I have had the good fortune of working with some of the world’s leading marketers on data and analytics innovation projects, including CPG, pharma, retail and media’” she stated. 

Her work at comScore helped to frame cross media measurement. “As new data became available – whether it was purchasing data or CRM data or digital data or television viewing data via the set top box – we developed new techniques for quantification of media effects, including econometric modeling and then attribution modeling,” she added. Now at TiVo, she is putting her skills to work using new data assets combined with new analytics techniques to achieve breakthroughs in understanding how advertising works. 

Charlene Weisler: Tell me about your current job at TiVo.

Joan Fitzgerald: I’m head of product management and business development for the emerging area of programmatic, data-driven video.  In joining TiVo, I was interested in tackling the question of how to integrate audience selling and data-driven TV into our operational and monetization systems.   Rovi – which recently acquired TiVo and kept the brand name -- had acquired a start-up with the right idea: Revenue and inventory management software that enables TV to deliver on the promise of audience-based targeting and data-driven TV, with significant operational workflow improvements. 

Charlene Weisler: How have TV and media measurement and research changed from when you first started?

Joan Fitzgerald: TV has always been a data-driven business, but it’s the form of the data and the availability of the data that has changed.  Visibility into viewership used to be limited to 3^rd party research.  It’s hard to imagine this now, in this era of big data viewership assets, where there is visibility via STB, ACR, digital tags, DMPs and any number of other technologies.  The other significant change is the digital ecosystem itself:  It’s hard to understate the changes that the digital ecosystem has caused, including new ways of thinking about how TV can be more effective.    

Charlene Weisler: Where do you see the role of data in measurement going in the next three years?

Joan Fitzgerald: Media brands have made major investments in people, including data scientists and ‘big data’ engineers, and ad tech systems, such as inventory management systems from tech companies such as TiVo. Already, these investments are having a positive, transformative effect on the video business model, including expanding the currencies used for transactions so that they are more closely aligned with how marketers manage their brands.  The payout from this investment is going to significantly increase in a 3-year timeframe, with media brands continuing their historical track record for growth and innovation.    

Charlene Weisler: Give me your state of the art appraisal of cross platform measurement

Joan Fitzgerald: Today, digital and linear TV are separate throughout almost the entire ad tech stack.  This impacts our ability to measure the two platforms together.  As TV morphs into IPTV and into ATSC 3.0 delivery, the executional layers of the digital and TV ad tech stacks may become more similar to each other.  They may even converge.  This presents an opportunity for better cross platform measurement.  There’s a business layer too that needs thoughtful integration.  Media brands want to reduce complexity for their advertisers and sell “video advertising” rather than TV and digital separately.  Ad agencies are motivated to reduce the costs of operations in the same way.  We need systems that support an integrated approach at the business layer, while managing the execution layer so that we achieve new benefits such as measurement but continue to optimize by source of inventory.      

This article first appeared in www.Mediapost.com

Appointment TV is Dead. Interview with Charles Cantu, CEO & Founder, Huddled Masses

Charles Cantu, CEO and Founder, Huddled Masses, has a background steeped in advertising. “I have worked for and been mentored by some amazing advertising all stars in radio and spot cable, as well as ad agency legends and brilliant digital and programmatic visionaries,” he said. 

His company, Huddled Masses was launched four years ago, as he explained, “as a boutique trading desk, with a vision to bring programmatic technology to advertisers and agencies who didn’t have the expertise, resources or time to invest in getting up to speed on their own.”

Charlene Weisler: What is your definition of television?

Charles Cantu: My definition of television is content-based and less platform-centric. I look at television as the most desirable sight, sound, and motion means to deliver entertainment and brand messages to consumers. I also see it as well-produced content that individuals and families like to consume on any screen, but are likely to enjoy it most front and center in their living room on the big screen. That said, content is king and it’s a WIWW-WAWIWWI world (what I want to watch, when and where I want to watch it). Appointment TV is dead.

Charlene Weisler:  What do you think are the perceptions of programmatic TV at this time?

Charles Cantu: It’s not real. It’s overpriced for what it is, and nobody is fooled (I hope).

Charlene Weisler: How will programmatic impact TV?

Charles Cantu: For now things will not change dramatically. Until the networks, cable companies and satellite companies begin selling inventory beyond OTT it will be cost prohibitive for anyone to change the way they buy / sell television. That having been said, many advances in addressable programmatic TV have come into play and as that scales industry dollars will follow.

Charlene Weisler: How do you propose moving programmatic in house?

Charles Cantu: Moving programmatic in house is a step-by-step process and no two companies or brands are the same, so at my company we employ customized solutions to each client’s unique requirements. That said, there are some core services that every organization looking to bring programmatic in-house will need. They’ll want to employ the most flexible and extensive technology they can acquire to enable them to quickly transition operations from external to internal teams, and they’ll need experienced professionals to consult and provide support through and beyond this transition.

Charlene Weisler: What do you see as the future for television?

Charles Cantu: I see holograms as the key to unlocking AR/VR at scale, along with time and place shifting continuing to drive consumption habits.  I believe compelling content will continue to be a driver for everything TV. As with all media, the selling and buying of advertisements for TV will increasingly become an automated transaction that can take place within cloud-based platforms, with storytelling for advertisers and agencies becoming more of a science but still dependent on people that “get it”.  It also means that the distribution and creation of content will become more and more automated over the coming years.   

This article first appeared in www.Mediapost.com