How OTT and CTV Platforms Monetise First-Party Data
Is zero-party and first-party data emerging as a new revenue generator for OTT platforms in the CTV landscape in Europe and the U.S.? When it comes to collecting data for monetisation purposes–particularly for addressable TV–where do we draw the line vis a vis consumer privacy? Evan Shapiro, CEO, ESHAP, discusses this topic with Ophelie Boucaud, Senior Analyst, Dataxis, in this clip from Streaming Media Connect.
Shapiro says that zero-party and first-party data as revenue generators are new frontiers for OTT companies. He asks Boucaud, “I'm wondering – especially in Europe and Middle East North Africa (MENA), where General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and privacy are taken even more seriously than the United States – are these new revenue areas for the companies that you track?”
Boucard outlines several innovations in addressable TV and demographic-based ad targeting. When the GDPR was implemented in the European Union, she says, it also provided a strong framework for protecting data from individuals outside of the EU territories. “And so this is where the line is drawn from now on when it comes to collecting data and using it for monetisation purposes,” she says.
She highlights some developments in addressable TV within Europe. “In the US, you already have ad replacement on the cable networks because that's something that was done for decades,” she says. “You have political campaign ads that differ from one territory to another, and we don't have that in Europe. So, the ad campaigns on TV are linear and national broadcasts. So you don't get different ads if you're in the north of one country or in the south, for example. But with technology and digital capabilities going on the big screen now, we can do that. So we have ad replacement on linear TV in several European countries, and that's going through the set of boxes itself. It creates a new monetisation opportunity for the publishers. So, the TV broadcasters sell those campaigns at a higher price because you can target them based on demographic or preference data. A lot of things can also be matched with retailers, for example. So we have some cases where individual data from post offices were matched with what the set of boxes can grant, so you get more information on the household size.”
She cites an example of how a furniture retailer may use this data for enhanced audience targeting. “You could match this [data] with a campaign for a furniture seller who would want to know who moved out in the last six months,” she says. “So you get an IKEA ad because your setup box provider knows when you moved in. Those are new things that can be monetised on the big screen.”
She also mentions how unskippable ads are helping the TV ecosystem leverage data and monetise new formats. Before the implementation of unskippable ads, she says, “Advertisers were missing out, because if you skip the ad watching replay and catch up, then you have all those formats that the advertisers just pay for but not consumed. So it's also something that's gaining traction. Also, in countries with a lot of IPTV viewing, for example, in central Europe, it's a big thing. So the technology is actually helping the TV ecosystem leverage everything they can do around data and monetise new formats that were just not accessible before then.”
Boucaud further highlights how these developments in using data for better-optimised advertising are even better suited to OTT since it is digitally native. “The advertising around data itself is what they're building their proposition on already,” she says. “So it's less of an innovation for [OTT], it’s more of a given.”
Watch full sessions from Streaming Media Connect November 2023. We'll be back in person for Streaming Media NYC on May 20-22, 2024. More details here.
Related Articles
For "data machines" like Google, the problem is never having too little customer data—it's all about managing the data overload to pinpoint the right data to leverage to build customised, targeted, personalised experiences that satisfy users and keep them engaged. Increasingly, according to Google TV Product Manager UX Rob Caruso in this interview with Media Universe Cartographer Evan Shapiro at Streaming Media NYC, it's working with partners to identify the right mix of first-party and partner data to take personalization to the next level.
25 Jun 2024
Arguably, the two biggest challenges in the FAST ecosystem are managing the ad experience and delivering ROI for the brands that support the platform. Experts, from Fremantle's Laura Florence to Fuse Media's Patrick Courtney to Media Cartographer Evan Shapiro, agree that standardising the data they collect and delivering on the promise of programmatic advertising is the key to making it all work. But as this clip from Streaming Media Connect 2024 reveals, it's easier said than done.
09 Apr 2024
The CTV viewing experience continues to evolve as new UX developments arise. Still, many experts and users agree that the experience is essentially broken, with too much choice and too little personalization as users' #1 complaint, far from where it needs to be. According to Google TV Senior Director of Engineering Shobana Radhakrishnan in her Streaming Media Connect Keynote, the critical challenge is understanding what viewers want and letting that drive other decisions.
20 Feb 2024
It's well-established that the FAST market matured in the US years earlier than in Europe and other parts of the world. But as the European market grows, is it evolving along the same lines as the US market, and are there lessons in where the US market stumbled that inform FAST strategy in Europe? Streaming Made Easy newsletter author Marion Ranchet and ESHAP's Evan Shapiro discuss the state of the FAST ecosystem in Europe in this clip from Streaming Media Connect 2023.
22 Jan 2024
Whether your game is FAST, AVOD, SVOD, hybrid, or premium or longtail content, leveraging metadata intelligently is a critical component of monetizing your offerings. Warner Bros. Discovery's Dan Trotta, TVREV's Alan Wolk, Vevo's Bethany Atchison, Erickson Strategy's Paul Erickson, and Chris Pfaff Tech Media's Chris Pfaff break down current and emerging stratagems in this clip from Streaming Media Connect 2023.
02 Jan 2024
Much discussion of AI and streaming relates to streamlining and automating workflows, but how content companies can leverage it to personalize their content and target ads more efficiently, among other monetisation strategies, is another question the industry is examining closely. Chris Pfaff dives into this question with Vevo's Bethany Atchison, Warner Bros. Discovery's Dan Trotta, TVREV's Alan Wolk, and Erickson Strategy's Paul Erickson in this clip from Streaming Media Connect 2023.
12 Dec 2023