Walmart Connect has gotten a lot more Connect-y of late. Now the retail media platform is striking partnerships to measure social commerce on TikTok and Snap, CTV ads on Roku and live-shopping content with companies Firework and TalkShopLive. The Walmart ad business has had bursts of new partners since it settled on The Trade Desk […]
Free, ad-supported TV (FAST) is the fastest-growing tier of streaming. To take advantage of the trend, Samsung relaunched its FAST platform, Samsung TV Plus, on Tuesday. The relaunch includes more channels from TV networks like A+E and AMC, more local news, and distribution across Samsung … smart fridges.
Slapping a broadcast signal into an over-the-top stream is generally harder than it sounds. But streaming services need to have local news and sports, too. VUit, for one, helps broadcasters create and distribute FAST channels so they can get a leg up in CTV. As streaming platforms seek more content, VUit has been filling that gap. VUit channels tripled in viewership minutes in 2021.
Broadcasters have long been dissatisfied with Nielsen’s panel-based approach. But now, panels are making headlines again as a fresh way to measure streaming and TV consumption. But this time, the TV industry says it’s talking about “calibration panels,” not audience panels.
Regardless of the ongoing debate as to the viability of panels, the TV measurement industry is starting to increasingly rely on automatic content recognition (ACR) data, especially as set-top box data becomes less available. But like any other form of data collection, it’s nicer if you ask first.
Vizio has walked a tricky tightrope since launching its advertising business in late 2019. But after a tough first year on the market, with Vizio down by more than half over the past 12 months, the company is seeing the improvement it needs from the platform side of its house.
Disney+ continues to lose money but gain subscribers. The service is adding an ad-supported tier in just four months, with a US launch date of December 8. Disney+ AVOD will be available for $7.99 a month, the same price as Hulu’s Basic plan, and the current price of Disney+ with no ads. Meaning, Disney will hike the price $3 a month for viewers who want to continue avoiding ads.
Magnite reported 20% year-over-year growth with $137.8 million in revenue for Q2. And its CTV business alone grew by more than double that number (52%). It’s a plateau compared with last quarter’s growth, but Magnite has strong hopes for CTV’s burgeoning programmatic ecosystem.
Warner Bros. Discovery lost 1% in total Q2 revenue, closing out the quarter with $9.8 billion, $2 billion behind expectations. So it plans to do some belt-tightening of its streaming services. Specifically, it’s HBO Max productions that are getting the cut.
Paramount is just one of many broadcasters juggling its linear (and declining) TV cash cow with a budding DTC streaming biz. Paramount’s total revenue grew 19% year-over-year in Q2 to a total of $7.7 billion. But the growth was primarily attributed to streaming – particularly Paramount+.
