WATCHING SMARTER Tivo allows data-driven decisions to be made based on cross-platform viewing
Another potential area is the car. “There’s an argument that personalisation in-vehicle is more important to reduce time-to-content and keep eyes on the road,” says Cosgrave. “And with operating systems like Tivo available for both TVs and cars, if you watched a war documentary one evening, your car might recommend a similar podcast for the next morning’s commute.” Personalisation certainly seems to have a positive effect. According to the Google Cloud/Harris Poll research, 79% of viewers had kept a subscription after discovering new content, while 85% of upgrades to paid subscriptions were influenced by the ability to find content. “Customers using our AI-based Think360 personalised content discovery solution have achieved massive increases in engagement,” says Peter Docherty, founder and CTO of Think Analytics. “Some have seen a doubling of VOD consumption and a 35% increase in the time spent watching content.” Most viewers seem to be positive about personalisation. In a survey conducted for Xperi by Opinium Research last year, a whole three- quarters of respondents said it was important for entertainment content to be personalised to their individual preferences. This rises to 84% for younger viewers. In a way, this is hardly surprising. Who wouldn’t want something that saved them time and helped them find programmes they enjoyed watching? What’s more revealing is that the same enthusiasm often extends to the ads. “Close to three-quarters of viewers prefer advertising that relates to the
content they’re viewing, according to research from Integral Ad Science,” points out Kjetil Horneland, CEO of Ease Live. “I certainly remember, in the pre-streaming days, sometimes noticing that all the ads during a TV programme were completely irrelevant to me, which made it clear that the programme itself probably wasn’t for me either,” says Christopher Bell, global media and entertainment strategy and business development leader at Amazon Web Services (AWS).
“Good personalisation is essential commercially and, when handled correctly, sharing private data offers a clear benefit to the consumer.” Basic-level targeting can be achieved without data on individual viewers. “Time of day or year, the weather or even the user’s general location can provide contextual signals that can make sensible suggestions about which ads to push and when – cold drinks on a hot summer’s day, or food delivery on a rainy night,” notes Alice Beecroft, senior director for global strategy and partnerships at Yahoo Advertising. Another approach is to match the ad more closely to the content. “An upcoming challenge is Google’s plan to phase out third-party cookies for Chrome, which will require new solutions that can deliver relevant ads while respecting user privacy,” says Stefan Lederer, CEO of Bitmovin.
» With operating systems like Tivo available for both TVs and cars, if you watch a war documentary one evening, your car might recommend a similar podcast for the next morning’s commute «
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