MELBOURNE—Mediaproxy has announced that it has further expanded its support for the audio watermarking technologies employed by global measurement and data analytics company Nielsen. 

Mediaproxy, which is already a certified provider of decoding technology for Nielsen's NAVE (Nielsen Audio Video Encoder) system, is now also providing support for CBET (Critical Band Encoding Technology) layer 1 watermarks.

The latest versions of Mediaproxy's LogServer compliance analysis monitor now includes officially certified encoding/decoding capabilities for CBET watermarking. CBET codes enable broadcasters to embed audio content into broadcast streams, which can then be passively detected by PPM (portable people meter) devices that gauge the exposure of test audiences to encoded material, Mediaproxy reported. 

Introduced by Nielsen in 2015, CBET layer 1 watermarks were designed for audience research in the radio market, a sector Mediaproxy operates in parallel to its core broadcast television and streaming business. As well as being used by Nielsen in the U.S., CBET has also been deployed by the Numeris ratings measurement organization in Canada.

The expanded support is the most recent development in the ongoing business relationship between Nielsen and Mediaproxy, which is one of only a few compliance system manufacturers to receive official certification from the audience data specialist. Mediaproxy was already certified to decode Nielsen's NAVE audio watermarking technology. This capability was incorporated into LogServer, enabling it to identify watermarks in the audio segment of compressed ATSC digital transport streams before and after transmission.

LEAWOOD, KAN.—While TV broadcasters in Phoenix announced earlier this month their plans to deploy ATSC 3.0 by spring 2018 to serve as a model for peers around the country, they along with broadcasters in Orlando, Fla., Montgomery, Ala., and Hartford, Conn., are already testing an audio watermarking technology that will play an important role in audience measurement, personalization and interactivity for next-gen TV.

That technology, Verance’s Aspect, is the underlying technology behind ATSC 3.0’s audio watermarking standard. It also can be integrated into legacy ATSC 1.0 transmission as is the case in today’s test markets.

“For the past six or seven months, we have had watermark readers in the market with between 300 and 400 households,” says Nil Shah, company CEO.

Pearl TV members, NBC Universal, NBC Connecticut, Univision and Fox Television Stations participating in the test are embedding their programing with the watermark for the readers to capture. Third-party demographic data is then appended to the captured watermark data to “provide a robust set of reports” to participating stations, says Shah.

For the trial, the watermark receivers are standalone devices, but ultimately the goal is see the technology incorporated into the design of new televisions, he adds.

Interest from the CE community has grown in Verance Aspect since the company in May released the findings of research put together by SmithGeiger. The researchers found consumers say they will spend as much as $200 more for sets with ATSC 3.0 features—especially interactivity, which is driven by Aspect—as well as accelerate their purchase plans for next-gen TVs.

“We have seen a lot of interest from television manufacturers to incorporate the technology now into their sets so they can start delivering the benefits that are contemplated for 3.0 but deliver those benefits earlier [via ATSC 1.0 with the watermark],” said Shah.

While the FCC vote this month to authorize ATSC 3.0 is welcomed news, Shah reiterated that uptake of the audio watermarking technology is not predicated on the action.

“The standard creates a pretext for eventual adoption, but we are seeing broadcasters and television manufacturers already make movement towards using the technology and implementing it today,” said Shah. “The FCC vote didn’t really change that calculus and that dynamic.”

For the moment, the ongoing trial of Verance Aspect has been focused on audience measurement. However, subsequent iterations could see interactivity and delivery of personalized TV added to the test, he added.

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo.