NOVI, Mich.—ENCO has announced a major evolution of its aiTrack dynamic content insertion technology for NAB Show 2026, transforming the original aiTrack workflow into a fully cloud-native, automation-agnostic platform designed for modern broadcast environments.

The company will demo the new features at Booth C2116 in the Central Hall of the LVCC during the show, April 18-22 in Las Vegas.

Built to meet the growing demand for timely, localized and engaging content, aiTrack enables broadcasters to instantly generate, customize and schedule AI-driven audio segments for live and automated programming.

Accessible through any web browser for the first time, aiTrack allows on-air and production teams to create broadcast-ready content in seconds using advanced generative AI models and natural-sounding synthetic voices. From breaking news, entertainment, weather and sports updates to sponsored segments and localized content, the platform delivers seamless insertion into live broadcasts or scheduled playlists across terrestrial and streaming platforms.

“aiTrack represents a fundamental shift in how broadcasters approach content creation and delivery,” said Ken Frommert, President, ENCO. “By removing infrastructure barriers and simplifying AI workflows, we’re giving stations of all sizes the ability to produce high-quality, real-time content that connects with audiences in more meaningful and personalized ways.”

aiTrack's architecture combines large language models, real-time data integration and advanced prompt engineering with high-quality synthetic voice technology. A unique “foundation prompt” framework streamlines complex AI processes into intuitive templates, allowing users to generate consistent, on-brand content simply by entering key variables such as location, format or sponsorship details, according to the company.

The platform’s automation-agnostic design ensures compatibility with any broadcast system, enabling seamless delivery of generated audio files into existing workflows from anywhere in the world. Its role-based interface supports collaboration across teams, while integrated scheduling tools allow users to plan and automate content delivery through a centralized calendar.

aiTrack also introduces significant advancements in audio realism and flexibility, including multi-voice capabilities, language localization and voice cloning technology derived from ENCO’s SPECai platform. These enhancements bring AI-generated audio closer than ever to human performance, enabling broadcasters to maintain a consistent and authentic on-air sound.

As broadcasters navigate staffing challenges and increasing content demands, aiTrack provides a scalable solution that reduces production overhead while expanding creative and revenue opportunities. Stations can deliver more frequent updates, personalize content for local audiences, and incorporate branded or sponsored segments—all while maintaining operational efficiency, according to the company.

“By combining dynamic content generation, flexible scheduling and cloud-based delivery, aiTrack redefines what’s possible in live broadcasting, empowering organizations to do more with less while enhancing audience engagement,” said Frommert.

In today’s digital-first media landscape, broadcasters are under pressure to deliver premium viewing experiences while maximizing ad revenue. Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) has emerged as one of the most powerful tools for delivering both.

The real value of DAI isn’t just inserting ads. It’s scaling that capability across every viewer, device, and platform without compromising quality. Every unmonetized stream, unsupported device, or timed-out ad call is revenue left on the table. For broadcasters, scalability isn't just a technical goal; it’s a commercial imperative. The more effectively they can reach, measure, and monetize their entire audience, the more complete their revenue capture will be.

Here is an explanation of the five most effective ways to elevate DAI.

1) Elevate Viewer ExperienceAdd value with addressability

In digital advertising, relevance is key. But addressability is not just about ad targeting; it's also about enabling accurate, real-time measurement. That’s what advertisers want, and they’ll be more likely to spend on CTV if they get it.

Provide a seamless viewer experience

Ad transitions must be smooth without jarring audiovisual changes. Best practices include transcoding creatives in advance, accurately placing SCTE-35 markers, and co-locating content and ads on the same CDN.

2) Maximize DAI ReachSupport multiple streaming protocols

Broadcasters need as much of their audience as possible to be on a DAI-enabled stream. Supporting server-side ad insertion (SSAI) on HLS and MPEG-DASH protocols is a good start, especially where DRM is required.

Monetize legacy devices

Legacy devices, like pre-2020 smart TVs, often lack SSAI support. Broadcasters should support all devices to monetize their whole audience.

3) Unlock New Advertising InventoryMaximize ad opportunities in live events

Live events offer a unique opportunity for mass-reach monetization. Contingency ad-pods open up new inventory, without disturbing the ad pod for the next planned break.

Apply advanced advertising to pop-up channels

One-off live events often generate smaller audiences and become overlooked for DAI. Orchestration software allows monetization of multiple pop-ups without needing additional infrastructure.

Open up historic ad breaks

Around 12% of Yospace’s live sessions enter rewind mode. Resolving historic breaks with DAI opens significant previously untapped ad inventory. Server-guided ad insertion (SGAI) requires less server power than SSAI, making this more practical.

Support spot replacement

Multi-Avail Breaks allow broadcasters to replace ads within a break, increasing potential monetization across distribution partners.

Embrace new formats

Ad formats like pause-ads or L-shaped banners generate incremental revenue. These require client-side development, which will become easier to implement with SGAI.

4) Scale Monetization for Large AudiencesApply prefetch to live streams

Prefetch is critical for live events, like the Euro 2024 soccer semi-final, where a last-minute goal caused a sudden spike in mobile viewing right before an ad break. Prefetch ensured broadcasters could scale quickly, avoiding timeouts and revenue loss.

Support the adtech

Close adtech integration is equally important. Broad support for VAST (2.0 to 4.2) and multiple ad servers ensures flexibility and performance across all demand sources.

5) Apply Accurate, Transparent MeasurementMeasure ad views, not just ads stitched

To deliver the most accurate, trusted measurement, SSAI should be paired with client-side tracking to provide the granular level of reporting advertisers expect.

Standardize your approach

The soon-to-be-ratified Common Media Client Data (CMCDv2) standard will provide accurate data for IAB-compliant ad measurement where using client-side SDKs is impractical, or where the content owner does not control the end-user’s device.

Real-time monitoring adds value

Another advantage of real-time ad performance data is that it can be surfaced in a live dashboard to help analyze and adjust campaigns on the fly, improving ad performance. DirecTV achieved its highest-ever technical fill rate using this approach.

The Bottom Line on DAI: Scale, Trust, and Monetization
Simply enabling ad stitching with DAI isn’t enough; the real value comes from doing it reliably, at scale, and with the insight advertisers require to justify premium spending.

Scalability is where the stakes rise. Every limitation - whether in device coverage, playback environment, latency, or measurement - directly impacts revenue. DAI should no longer be treated as a bolt-on feature. It must be at the core of streaming infrastructure, integrated deeply across workflows, platforms, and partnerships. Only then can broadcasters ensure that ad revenue is not left on the table.

At first glance, the rise of ad-supported streaming video could feel like a return to familiar TV models. Traditional broadcast television was always supported by advertisements. Netflix’s bold emergence in 2007 seemed to signal that the internet would be different. For OTT television viewers, a monthly subscription meant premium content with no advertisements.

The media landscape today looks different than it did then. In 2023, Netflix, along with top streamers Hulu, Max, and Disney+, began offering a cheaper subscription tier for viewers who didn’t mind watching a few ads, a model that Peacock launched with years ago. 

At the same time, ad-supported services like Freevee and Tubi began rising in popularity and critical reception, while free advertising-based streaming television (FAST) channels caught on by adopting a cable-like set schedule. Today, as sports streaming breaks new viewership records and social media video apps like TikTok continue to define culture, it’s clear that internet video means watching ads.

Behind the scenes, video service providers know that streaming ads are an entirely different process than they were on cable, with personalized ads being selected and triggered in the moment. It’s a new technical challenge to navigate. As the popularity of ad-supported streaming video rises, so do the expectations of audiences for a perfect viewing experience. When ad insertion can directly lead to streaming issues, that’s easier said than done.

How Ads Are Inserted into Streaming Video
Streaming ads are generally “dynamically inserted” into the content they’re accompanying, instead of being packaged together in advance like on cable TV. The ads come from a different origin server than the rest of the content, which is pulled from its source to a video player that inserts the ads in real time.

The most common way to achieve dynamic ad insertion (DAI) involves using SCTE-35 ad cues. These cues are added at appropriate spots in the content. When the video player reaches a cue, it triggers an “ad pod,” or a group of ads playing in a row. The cue contains information on how long the pod will last and how many ads should fill it. 

With that information, the video player pulls the required ads to fill the pod all from different sources, often personalized to the preferences or general location of the viewer. DAI is complex, and the level of required technological interaction leads to errors more often than it ideally should.

The Errors Involved with DAI
Streaming ad issues happen frequently. Anyone who has watched ad-supported video is familiar with them. Common errors include ads starting early, late, or not playing in full before they are cut off; significant buffering before or during the ads; a single ad being repeated multiple times in an ad pod; and ads playing with an entirely different audio or picture quality than the content itself.

The most severe ad issues involve slates, which commonly appear on FAST channels. Since FAST runs on a set schedule with frequent ad breaks, slates often fill the regularly scheduled intervals. Slates can include countdown timers to the content continuing, or a static image promising a return to the programming. 

With DAI, these slates can appear entirely blank — convincing the viewer that the slate has crashed — or, even worse, crash the stream immediately. Witbe’s independent research has observed that up to 30% of all FAST viewing sessions are affected by an ad insertion error.

The Path Forward for Video Service Providers
The impact that ad insertion errors have on streaming video is significant. So, how can they be fixed? The answer is important to video service providers, who depend on revenue from third-party advertisers. 

If viewers are unable to watch the ads due to streaming errors, providers are unable to sell those ad impressions (i.e., views) — and often, those viewers don’t return in the future. On the other hand, if advertisers experience their ads not being properly aired, they can withhold payment or quit working with a provider.

Of course, there is no single mistake that leads to ad insertion issues. The errors that reach viewers could have been introduced at several different stops in the video delivery pathway. However, there is a single way to discover the issues affecting viewers at home: ad monitoring.

How to Monitor Streaming Ad Performance
It’s a common mantra in internet delivery: verification is key. Streaming performance cannot be improved until it is reliably verified. The same is true for ad performance. Since the ads are dynamically inserted, the errors they cause are often dynamic too: they might not appear the same way across different types of devices. 

Accordingly, service providers interested in ad monitoring should do it on the same real devices and networks that their viewers use. Witbe has observed several ad errors that are only visible through real device monitoring, including ones caused by the interaction with other services on the same device.

Scaling up testing across all the combinations of device models and operating systems their service runs on can only be achieved through automation. Automated testing can evaluate ad performance by specific criteria, including the duration of the ads played; the video and audio quality of the ads; the total amount of buffering involved; the appearance of any slates, particularly blank ones or black screens; and any time the stream crashes, among others. 

Once providers have this data, they can use it to resolve the errors themselves, as well as share successful results and video recordings with advertisers when necessary.

The Benefits of Real Device Ad Monitoring
Dynamically inserted ads are essential for providers, but they currently pose a direct threat to the mission of delivering superior streaming quality. The only way to truly verify and resolve ad errors is by monitoring them on real devices and networks. 

When reliable ad monitoring leads to consistently delivering a strong ad-supported video performance, providers build positive brand awareness and increase their ability to secure ad revenue. When dealing with DAI, real device monitoring is a must.

MediaKind has added support for low latency streaming with dynamic advertising and blackout to  MK.IO, its cloud streaming platform. Leveraging the Low Latency HLS and DASH standard, MK.IO reduces latency by 75% and continues to support standards-based dynamic ad insertion (DAI), blackouts, and DRM security for premium content providers, the company said.

MK.IO comes pre-integrated with multiple CDN providers, video players, and popular ad decision servers. This unique combination of low latency, security, and targeted advertising makes MK.IO a prime choice for operators, content owners, and sports teams who want to monetize live video at scale, according to MediKind.

“We are thrilled to introduce this update to MK.IO, as it represents a significant advancement in our streaming technology and empowers our customers to deliver a premium user experience they can monetize,” said Cory Zachman, SVP of Engineering and Services at MediaKind. “We’ve built MK.IO for high viewership events by providing the ability to prefetch ad decisions and auto-scale our infrastructure in the cloud. All this is achieved without sacrificing MediaKind’s trusted picture quality and security.”

MediaKind’s latest update is available on request for existing MK.IO customers. 

MediaKind will showcase this new functionality at Booth W2201 in the West Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center during the 2024 NAB Show, April 14-17. 

SAN JOSE, Calif. & NEW YORK—Roku and Nielsen are partnering up to boost addressable advertising and cross-media measurement as a result of Roku’s purchase of Nielsen’s Advanced Video Advertising (AVA) business.

The AVA business consists of Nielsen’s video automatic content recognition (ACR) and dynamic ad insertion (DAI) technologies. Roku says that the acquisition will accelerate its planned launch of an end-to-end DAI solution with linear TV programmers, a process that it already has on its streaming platform.

“Combining Nielsen’s AVA technology with Roku’s innovative ad tech and scale will enable us to deliver the benefits of TV streaming advertising to traditional TV,” said Louqman Parampth, vice president of Product Management at Roku. “Roku will bring the promise of DAI to the market for the first time ever at scale—providing better targeting and measurement for advertisers, creating easy integration and additional revenue opportunities for programmers’ ad sales teams, and improving the TV experience for viewers.”

Nielsen has already tested its own DAI system with the likes of AMC Networks, CBS, Discovery, NBCUniversal and WarnerMedia, according to TV Tech’s sister publication Next|TV.

As part of the deal, Roku and Nielsen will enter into a long-term commercial agreement to leverage Total Ad Ratings (TAR) on the Roku platform. This includes Roku’s OneView ad-buying platform, which will natively integrate with Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings for advertisers. Roku will also enable publishers to implement Nielsen Digital Content Ratings. In addition, Roku will help further advance Nielsen One, Nielsen’s cross-media measurement scheme.

“The measurement of ads and content on Roku devices will accelerate the path to a single, deduplicated cross-media currency,” Scott N. Brown, general manager, Audience Measurement, Nielsen. “As Roku brings the power of dynamic ad insertion to all forms of TV, we’re excited to help monetize the addressable market by measuring smart TV as a currency, which Nielsen can do at scale.”

No financial details of the deal were disclosed. Roku said in its announcement that it expects the deal to close in the second quarter of 2021.

At the closing of the deal, Roku will take on Nielsen AVA employees and ownership of ACR and DAI patents.

SAN DIEGO, Calif.—Verance, a provider of standards-based watermarking technology, has announced the development of a new tool to prevent fingerprint-based Dynamic Advertising Insertion (DAI) issues with Netflix and other SVOD platforms.

DAI technology enables broadcasters and advertisers to deliver different ads to different viewers in broadcast systems. With the new technology from Verance, SVOD platforms can now privately identify their content to TVs to ensure that their content is neither measured nor manipulated via the insertion of unauthorized dynamic ads.

This is a specific response to some industry fears regarding Nielsen’s DAI technology. Fingerprint-based systems are not always able to differentiate content from streaming services with content from syndication. For example, “Seinfeld” appears across national syndication, basic cable and Netflix. With Nielsen’s DAI tech now incorporated into smart TVs, DAI commercials for ad-supported broadcasters could inadvertently be placed in a Netflix stream.

Verance worked with manufacturers, programmers and distributors to create the technology that allows SVOD platforms to send private messages notifying TVs that no measurement or ad insertion should take place. These messages are kept private to prevent Nielsen or others from using the information gathered to infer viewership.

“We believe this will create a path forward for the subscription VOD and ad-supported broadcast world to co-exist,” said Nil Shah, Verance CEO.

For more information, visit www.verance.com.  

NEW YORK--SpotX has inked a deal with Syncbak to connect its digital advertising platform to Synkbak’s AdSync proprietary dynamic ad insertion (DAI) solution. Syncbak is also leveraging SpotX for its programmatic ad decisioning layer and ad serving technology.

“At Syncbak, we want to help local broadcasters monetize and make their content available to their viewers on any platform,” said Dean Mandel, vice president, Revenue at Syncbak. “SpotX industry-leading video monetization solutions allow us to present a whole new revenue stream to our users, and we’re thrilled to be partnering with them.”

Launched in May 2018, SBTV and its affiliate destinations allow viewers to stream live and on-demand local TV station content on any device. The SimpleSync platform lets local stations stream their content to any vMVPD, their own sites and apps, and Syncbak's direct to consumer app. SBTV is available on Apple TV, Roku, iOS, Android and the web.

[Read: Syncbak To Conduct 'First Ever' Live OTT Broadcast Using Local Dynamic Ad Insertion]

As a result of the partnership, SpotX is connecting advertisers directly to Syncbak’s premium, local, live, and on-demand video inventory which runs across the SBTV website, the SBTV app (web or mobile), linear TV stations, and Syncbak publisher websites and apps. Syncbak will also retain the ability to execute direct deals with linear advertisers.

“This is a massive opportunity for advertisers because when they access Syncbak inventory through SpotX, they will have the ability to reach two different audience segments simultaneously, viewers watching traditional linear TV and those tuning in via OTT,” said Benjamin Abbatiello, vice president, audience and distribution management at SpotX. “Syncbak has really been a pioneer in the OTT space, and we’re excited to help its content owners and creators earn more revenue.”

The amount of video accessed online, particularly by mobile devices, is expanding exponentially. As a result, there is a need to maximize the monetization opportunities by delivering ads across multiple devices and platforms with a uniformity of presentation and minimum of overhead, regardless of the platform type or content type.

Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI, or dynamic ad insertion) has emerged as a technology solution that can deliver a consistent experience akin to TV at the same time as opening up addressable advertising opportunities. This consistency is a by-product of the “ad copy normalization” that is built into SSAI. “Ad copy normalization” is a process through which ad content is encoded with the same bitrates, frame rates and audio levels as those of the original content, therefore ensuring a smooth transition between primary and stitched content and vice versa (with the same CDN being loaded for both content and ads).

CLIENT-SIDE AD INSERTION

SSAI technology is already being used with increasing success by broadcasters to deliver a seamless, engaging Live experience. However, the principal means of monetization for catch-up remains Client-Side Ad Insertion (CSAI), where, at the start of every ad break, the primary player has to be stopped and the ad player put on top, with the primary player having to be resumed at the end of the break. For a broadcaster with both Live and VoD, it makes sense for a single advertising workflow to be applied across all content.

It is, of course, possible for broadcasters to deliver a near-seamless experience using the CSAI model, by preloading the ad player and buffer in the background and swapping the players over at the exact moments when an ad break starts and resumes. However, there is always the risk of playback issues caused by inconsistent encoding of the ad copy. In addition, considerable effort is required in terms of implementation, with code having to be continuously duplicated from one device type to another, and from one environment to another, with the inevitable testing and maintenance overhead to achieve this result consistently across devices.

Many of those broadcasters of VoD streams who have a working CSAI solution in place are finding it increasingly hard to maintain, so there is a growing interest in the SSAI approach. This is partly driven by positive experiences of SSAI for Live, where CSAI is not an option owing to the strict requirements around ad break timings. There are a number of reasons why SSAI should appeal to broadcasters over CSAI:

• Implementation: The code is decoupled from the ad server, with the work on stitching and interfacing to the ad server being performed by the backend SSAI platform, providing overall flexibility in that the inventory and decisioning engine is abstracted from the actual delivery. SDKs have also been developed, which means that there is effectively a middleware layer, with the SDKs talking to the backend, and the backend talking to the ad server, making it possible to swap out the ad server without changes to the SDKs.
• Control: There can be a single point for all ad insertion calls across Live and VoD, a single interface providing access to a single set of Broadcast Streams, Promotions and VoD assets, and a single API providing real-time analytics.
• Interactivity: The aforementioned SDKs can support the use of clickable linear content and dynamic overlays, and also allow broadcasters to customise the instances when skipping, seeking and pausing are allowed.
• Ad blockers: The stitching used by SSAI mean that ad blockers are unable to decipher where the call to the server is being made, and so cannot differentiate between an ad and the content itself, making SSAI highly resistant to ad blocking.

Besides being able to deliver SSAI at scale and to provide all of the existing benefits of configurable user interactivity, SSAI has enormous security benefits, which cannot be totally covered in this article. In brief:

• With SSAI, the aforementioned middleware layer affords control over the systems with which viewers are interacting. By contrast, with CSAI, the viewer’s device is touching the ad server and presenting its IP address (and potentially other information). The first party ad server might, in turn, involve the use of multiple third party servers and expose the same viewers to being tracked by unknown companies, to the possible detriment of a broadcaster's commercial model.

With the correct deployment, there is no logical reason why broadcasters should not consider SSAI when deploying VoD streams. As OTT audiences for Live and VoD continue to thrive, providers are increasingly likely to seek a joined-up SSAI strategy, and by so doing, not only safeguard their current ad revenues, but also enhance them.

Click here for more on server-side ad insertion for live and VoD streams.

David Springall is the founder & CTO at Yospace.

There is nothing new in the distribution of linear TV over the internet; TV Everywhere (TVE) is pretty much demanded by consumers and is now considered the norm. Traditional broadcasters are forced to keep up with evolving viewer habits by making content available online pretty much immediately and on any device.

But in almost all cases, they are doing so without inserting the necessary signalling which indicates where within a linear stream advertising and other content segments begin and end, and which segments can, must, or must not be replaced with alternate content. Broadcasters already consider providing content Over-The-Top (OTT) a cost of doing business–they know it is part of their future. However, without the right signalling, it is virtually impossible to realize the maximum monetization OTT has to offer broadcasters. Moreover, without the right signalling it is extremely difficult to provide the seamless professional viewing experience broadcasters and viewers expect.

By failing to invest in the technology which can make OTT so lucrative, including signal delivery and correct metadata signalling, broadcasters are not making the most of the opportunities presented by OTT, of which there are many.

THE OTT CHALLENGE

Although OTT should be looked at as an opportunity (as long as the right technology is in place), distributing linear content over the internet is considerably more complex than OTT VOD or TVE distribution. Even the process of reformatting content for OTT is time-consuming, let alone the challenge of correctly adhering to content distribution rights across various devices and regions.

OTT distributors must now programmatically and automatically react at the last second if a piece of content cannot be distributed to viewer X on a cell phone in California because it does not have the right to do so. Without the correct signalling in place to trigger the replacement of this content with something else, the broadcaster could be fined and the OTT distributor may just default to putting up a “slate” to blackout the content. With the current level of competition for viewing time, modern viewers simply won’t wait for this to be resolved and are likely to switch off or watch another video stream.

Linear TV advertising is big business with transactions for the priciest slots coming in at over half a million dollars. Broadcasters are able to cover the astronomical cost of putting a channel on air with the revenue generated from this advertising. But making this content available online could involve costly duplication of workflows and costs, which are not covered by today’s OTT advertising and subscription revenues. The sad fact is, however, that it doesn’t have to be like this for broadcasters, with OTT presenting a number of opportunities to add further value to their existing linear content.

[Read: Syncbak To Conduct 'First Ever' Live OTT Broadcast Using Local Dynamic Ad Insertion]

One of these opportunities is dynamic insertion, or more accurately, replacement of targeted ads. But again, this simply isn’t as easily done in the case of linear TV streamed OTT. For example, it makes no sense for ads broadcast on linear TV to remain with the content for OTT VOD streaming several days later. These ads may be stale and irrelevant by then. More pressingly, the replacement ads must be the exact duration of those needing to be replaced otherwise there will be a discontinuity (a black frame if the ad is too short, or cutting off the beginning of the following content segment if too long, for example). To do this seamlessly and to make OTT as profitable as possible, the broadcaster must be able to deliver the metadata, which signals the frame boundaries and duration of every content segment, to OTT distributors so ads can be replaced dynamically.

DELIVERING THE RIGHT SIGNALS

Broadcasters also have the opportunity to capitalize on the expansion of Nielson Ratings to include the first few days after a linear broadcast, in order to account for on-demand viewing. Linear content streamed OTT effectively has “two bites at the apple,” but only if broadcasters are able to making this content available almost immediately within the C3 window, and cost-effectively too.

Integration with broadcast systems, like media asset management systems, automation playout systems, on-air switchers, etc., provides the most effective way to access timing data associated with content segments. This way, information including timing, asset type and unique IDs can be signalled in-band or delivered out-of-band and applied to the video stream later, with no impact on the main linear broadcast workflow.

If a broadcaster were to extract metadata describing a linear TV channel, including the start and end of each content segment, and deliver these as SCTE 35 messages, it is possible to automate a whole host of value adding applications. This includes Dynamic Ad Insertion/Replacement, the creation of on-demand assets and even interactive TV. As this is done in an automated fashion, it removes much of the cost and labor associated with making linear TV available OTT and solves many associated business challenges.

For example this solves the issue of complex rights management. A policy can be triggered downstream when metadata within a content segment indicates that a particular piece of content must be replaced according to certain parameters as further defined using SCTE 224. For example, if a stream is requested by a viewer in country X or on a particular network, the metadata signalling can indicate that a different stream must be delivered instead.

With the ability to dynamically replace ads on-the-fly, thanks to correctly delivered metadata signals, providing linear content OTT can be a much more valuable process. This is particularly the case if these ads are personalized. In fact, a recent study found that ads within OTT platforms are 67 percent more effective per impression than those on broadcast or cable television. This is because it is much easier to personalize ads according to individual users when delivering content over the internet, as an individual stream is sent to each viewer.

Using additional metadata about users, such as location, viewing history, browsing history etc., it is possible using a distributed playout architecture to deliver much more targeted ads to specific users. Naturally this means the ads themselves are much more valuable and therefore profitable. As long as the timing information and metadata about each segment and ad is delivered, either in-band or out-of-band, to the last video server in the distribution chain, operators can make sure the ads they insert are seamless and accurate.

CONCLUSION

Broadcasters have very little choice when it comes to providing OTT content if they want to remain relevant. This does present many challenges as we have discussed, but none of these are insurmountable with the right technology in place to deliver signalling and metadata information. With these measures in place, linear broadcasters can take advantage of the applications that can make OTT an attractive proposition. Everything from content replacement, rights management, automated asset creation and dynamic ad insertion/replacement are all possible, increasing the value of linear content and opening up new revenue streams. OTT is no longer a cost of doing business, it is a lucrative business. 

NEW YORK–Syncbak, a provider of OTT technology to the broadcast industry, will be conducting what it says is the first ever live straight to OTT broadcast using dynamic ad insertion on the local level. The test will take place at 10 p.m. EST, May 16 from Syncbak’s New York Media Center. The live stream, featuring comedian Michael Somerville in front of an audience of executives from broadcast groups, local stations and ad networks, will be available to viewers in all 210 DMAs across the U.S. on Syncbak’s SBTV app or at Syncbak TV.

The “broadcast” is designed to demonstrate Syncbak’s newly launched SBTV platform, which enables local broadcasters to quickly and easily build OTT channels. SBTV also includes an app that delivers these local broadcast OTT streams live or on demand on mobile devices.

Syncbak’s SimpleSync platform—which is now delivering about 600 channels, powering more than 7.5 million hours of live local programming on services such as CBS All Access, Hulu, fuboTV, and hundreds of local station apps and websites—serves as the backbone for SBTV. Syncbak says its OTT platform is currently being deployed by approximately 55 station groups in 196 DMAs, covering 99 percent of the U.S.

Jack Perry, president of Syncbak, says tonight’s test is a “slightly different twist” on the company’s technology. “We have almost 600 stations on our platform doing the live linear straight broadcast,” he said, “but this is where we are using our technology to take content—which is live but isn’t necessarily being broadcast over the air, so it’s going straight to over the top.”

Perry added that monetization via DAI doesn’t stop with the live performance. “It instantly becomes a DVR-ed asset in the cloud,” he said. “So the minute the show is over, it’s available for on-demand viewing, also using our dynamic ad insertion platform to monetize it.”

SBTV is comprised of three components:

The SimpleSync OTT Platform allows local TV stations to broadcast any content over-the-top to any vMVPD, as well as power their station websites and news apps with the SBTV platform. Any station in the U.S. can elect to be carried on the SBTV app at no cost, thereby instantly creating an always-on channel, through SBTV, with hyperlocal content such as live newscasts, locally-produced programming, syndicated shows, and more.

With the Cloud Syndication Marketplace, content owners can syndicate and license their programming for OTT delivery – live, on-demand or both – through local television stations that participate on SBTV. In addition, stations with original programming can be placed into the marketplace for it to be syndicated in markets where the broadcaster currently does not have a station.

adSync: Syncbak’s DAI technology automatically manages local and national advertising spots based on the location of the viewer. When the originating local station has exclusive rights to the programming, it can sell ads against that inventory, providing the station with an additional revenue stream.

“We’re very excited about the possibilities for our live local programming,” said Julia Campbell, Vice President of Media Systems, Gray Television. “With SBTV this past March, our station KTUU in Anchorage, Alaska was able to carry the Iditarod dogsled race live locally and build an audience nationwide.”

[Read: Gray TV Invests $3 Million In Syncbak]

“SBTV gives our stations the tools we need to deliver our own, unique, hyperlocal OTT channels,” said Brian Brady, CEO of Northwest Broadcasting. “And, since Syncbak is the leader in providing linear feeds to the vMVPDs, I know every one of my stations is ready for subscription OTT as well.”

For the SBTV launch, Syncbak has seeded the Cloud Syndication Marketplace with a dozen shows, each with a handful of seasons. The first show placed into the marketplace, the James Beard Award-winning food series food.Curated, which airs in New York City, was immediately syndicated in every DMA where SBTV has a local affiliate.

“I'm excited about the possibilities this technology presents,” said Liza de Guia, creator and executive producer of food. Curated. “SBTV enables my series to organically expand its reach to places that want more engaging food programming. The potential for my brand is limitless, and connecting with local programming partners just got easier. Plus, if these partners want to attract more local lifestyle advertisers and I want more viewers, SBTV can help make this happen. It's a win-win.”

Syncbak has opened the Cloud Syndication Marketplace to any content owner with live or on-demand programming wishing to syndicate for OTT on a local level.

Perry says Syncbak’s experience in providing local broadcasts over OTT has provided the company, the expertise required to pull off such a test. “We’ve handled some of the biggest events for hundreds of stations, like the Grammys,” he said. “We think the next great frontier in live streaming is in live local niche programming.”

NEW YORK—CBS and Nielsen are working together to deliver Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) in live linear national broadcast television, helping to actualize and progress addressable advertising. The platform will use frame-accurate video recognition technology for precise ad detection and content insertion in live TV powered by Nielsen Gracenote ACR (Automatic Content Recognition).

CBS already delivers addressable advertising to millions of users across CBS Interactive's portfolio of digital properties including OTT brands; CBSN, the 24/7 digital news network, CBS Sports HQ, the 24-hour streaming sports news network; and CBS All Access, CBS' digital subscription video on-demand and live streaming service.

[Read: Broadcasters Eye DAI To Compete With Online]

"CBS has been at the forefront of using Nielsen data and measurement to prove the value of television, and now we are working on taking the next step with Nielsen to go beyond age and gender by bringing targeted dynamic ad insertion to national live TV inventory," said Jo Ann Ross, President and Chief Advertising Revenue Officer, CBS Corporation. "This will create a more relevant ad experience for our viewers and better outcomes for our clients."

Gracenote ACR is integrated into millions of smart TVs from major manufacturers, and uses anonymized information from smart TVs with advanced personalization features. By combing Gracenote’s ACR platform with Nielsen's technology, CBS will be able to offer impressions segmented by behavioral attributes, beyond age and gender, within a live national television program to advertisers, allowing them to reach the appropriate segments of households with the most relevant ad creative.