How Google Bundles Cloud With Ads And Media; ViacomCBS Plans New Streaming Service

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Newly merged ViacomCBS will throw its hat into a crowded ring of streaming services with a new service that spans its whole content portfolio, joining its current OTT vehicle CBS All Access. Nothing is set in stone, but executives are considering an ad-free service that will pull Viacom assets like Pluto TV, Nickelodeon, BET, MTV, Comedy Central and Paramount Pictures into the CBS All Access app, CNBC reports. A premium version of the service will include Showtime. The idea is to maintain the two companies’ current streaming offerings while marketing the new service to current subscribers, who are likely to upgrade for more content. A name or a price hasn’t been decided, but the base service will likely cost less than $10 per month. Executives plan to introduce the service on ViacomCBS’ earnings call on Feb. 20, when it will also reveal total subscriber numbers and revenue figures for its combined streaming entities for the first time. More. ViacomCBS is also considering offers for CNET, Bloomberg reports, since the tech news and product review site doesn’t fit into the streaming video-centric focus after the merger.

Head In The Clouds

Google is increasingly bundling its cloud platform in package deals alongside its ad tech and media properties such as YouTube, The Information reports. Activision Blizzard, a large video game studio, recently shifted to the Google cloud and made YouTube its streaming and esports broadcast partner. Disney is a flagship client for both the Google Cloud Platform and Google Ad Manager, which snatched the kingdom’s video SSP business away from Comcast FreeWheel in 2018. The world’s No.3 cloud business and No.1 ad stack are also fused in the form of Ads Data Hub (ADH), the clean room data service that allows marketers to use a Google identifier for served ad impressions (called the UserID) without exporting user-level data. ADH is a booster for the Google cloud, since marketers that want to continue leveraging UserID to measure impressions need a cloud account seat. But there are risks too. “If this really makes sense as a business matter, OK. But maybe they should just hold off for a while,” said NYU Law School antitrust expert Harry First. “Why would you emphasize the scope and power of your business when the government is zeroing in on you?” More.

Compliance Boom

Businesses will spend around $55 billion to comply with the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and companies are coming out of the woodwork to grab some of that cash. Case in point, Quantcast is partnering with Kochava on a CCPA compliance tool, one of the first to productize the IAB’s CCPA compliance framework. The solution encompasses opt-out management for the web and apps, MediaPost reports. Essentially, this is a retooled version of existing consent management technology Quantcast developed to comply with GDPR in Europe. But, speaking of Europe, Quantcast is one of numerous companies under investigation in Ireland over potential GDPR privacy violations. The Irish Data Protection authority opened a formal probe into Quantcast in May 2019 to establish whether the company’s data processing is kosher. Thanks to its numerous preexisting publisher relationships – Quantcast has a widely distributed free site-tracking widget – it’s well positioned to scale its compliance tech with publishers. BuzzFeed, Minute Media and Reach are all customers. But Quantcast’s visibility in the market also means that it’s got a target on its back, and regulators are watching.

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