Streaming And Measurement Took Center Stage At CES

The annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas is a popular destination for streaming TV publishers and video currency sellers to kick off the year’s deal-making and somewhat prepare for the first steps. It seems like planning ahead start earlier each year.

As the connected TV market consolidates and competition for measurement intensifies, streamers and video exchanges are using CES as an opportunity to reach clients with flashy meetings and flashy product announcements. Take Disney, which is now holding its annual ad tech dog and pony show in Vegas to get more attention from the CES hype.

Disney and other streamers like NBCUniversal and Roku all flocked CES last week compete for advertisers and clients. The same goes for the big ones kahunas alternative currency (Comscore, VideoAmp, iSpot), all fighting to replace Nielsen.

Let’s dive in.

He dreams of streaming at CES

Being a broadcaster doesn’t get any easier. Legacy studios are trying to limit their linear losses while trying not to lose market share to streamers like Netflix, Apple TV and Prime Video.

Disney was particularly vocal at CES. On Monday, he opened the Mouse House and new advertising product help fight data fragmentation. It announced the next day great deals on live sports and the Live Sports Advertising Certification Program. Then, on Wednesday, Disney held its fifth annual Tech and Data Showcase live at CES. It introduced new custom ad options for ESPN+’s standalone streaming app, which launched in the fall, and showcased the growing scope of ad-supported streaming. Disney now has 157 million ad-supported global subscribers across its streaming portfolio (Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+).

NBCUniversal, another legacy broadcaster with a major streaming platform, competes directly with Disney for advertiser budgets during CES. This week, NBCU launched new ad formats for live events on the Peacock. With nearly all streamers looking to make live sports a competitive advantage in search of advertising budgets, NBCU touts advantageous sports offers more than a year, especially during Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Also this week, NBCU parent Comcast debuted a self-serve advertising platform designed to appeal to small businesses and local advertisers. The new platform, the so-called Universal adsis integrated with other studios for delivery, including Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery and Roku in addition to NBCU.

Speaking of Roku, let’s not forget the TV distribution platforms, which also have a huge share of the streaming wars as well as a presence at CES.

This year, Roku kicked off CES with its clean room development, the Roku Data Cloud, designed to give buyers more direct access to detailed streaming TV data. Roku also touted its growing scale — more than 90 million households as of this week — and a new partnership with Innovid for frequency managementone of the biggest annoyance when buying CTV advertising.

Currency flows

With TV advertising measurement sorely lacking in standardization, measurement is becoming increasingly important competitive differentiator for streamers and a hot topic at CES.

However, alternative video currencies need more market share before measurement can be standardized. And that requires taking clients from Nielsen.

Earlier this week, VideoAmp renewed its deal with Paramount, cementing its place as the studio’s go-to video currency. While it’s clear the partnership announcement was timed at CES, VideoAmp and Paramount’s relationship also marks the next stage in the fight against TV measurement — and the importance of using CES to lure media buyers actively seek new business and partnerships.

When the contract between Paramount and Nielsen disappeared in the fallParamount blamed Nielsen for its unsustainably expensive services. A few weeks later, Nielsen removed Paramount’s streaming data from its service that tracks ad transactions, prompting a flurry of purchases frustration.

Capitalizing on that frustration, VideoAmp announced Monday that it is offering brands and buyers access to its national linear content rating panel. free until the end of March. The offer may help the challenger currency win over agencies and advertisers unhappy with Nielsen.

VideoAmp is certainly not the only altcoin vying for multi-agency buy-in. Comscore and iSpot are also at CES this week, and both are likely booking sales meetings and demos with as many buyers as possible.

I wonder: Will CES change the trajectory of investments in streaming and measurement this year?

Let me know what you think. Attack me [email protected].