Fincons, Verance partner for Next Gen TV
January 24, 2019
Professional services company Fincons Group has partnered with audio and video watermarking technology specialist Verance Corporation to accelerate and expand the development of Next Gen TV experiences in the US and Europe.
The partnership combines Fincons Group’s expertise deploying Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) applications with the Verance Aspect watermark technology, which enables Next Gen TV experiences to reach 100 per cent of ATSC 3.0 and HbbTV connected TVs, regardless of distribution path (over-the-air, cable, satellite and over-the-top services).
Initial projects will focus on accelerating Next Gen TV readiness in both markets. Examples include the identification and development of leading consumer offerings, business modelling, proof of concept and market trial management, retailer education, and service lifecycle management and operations.
“The convergence of broadcast and broadband enables novel strategies and new revenue streams within the traditional TV space,” commented Francesco Moretti, Deputy CEO at Fincons. “We look forward to partnering with Verance to apply our HbbTV experience to the ATSC environment in the US and include the Aspect watermark into our portfolio for the European market. We’re also excited to announce that we successfully shared our initial versions of Next Gen TV experiences at CES. These were based on direct collaboration with leading US broadcasters and our participation in the ATSC 3.0 Interactive Environment Specialist Group.”
“We are pleased to partner with Fincons Group to provide programmers and manufacturers with additional tools and technologies that help them realise the benefits of Next Gen TV as quickly as possible,” added Nil Shah, CEO of Verance. “Together we combine best in class learnings from HbbTV deployments with the ability to maximise the reach, scale and ROI of Next Gen TV in the US, Europe and beyond.”
The Verance Aspect technology was selected by the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) to be a part of the ATSC 3.0 Next Gen TV standard and is currently being adapted for use within the HbbTV ecosystem. By deploying Aspect, programmers gain cross-platform audience measurement data and new revenue opportunities such as audience targeting and addressable advertising; viewers gain more personalised and interactive experiences; device manufacturers gain a new opportunity to market and sell TVs; and advertisers gain linear measurement and attribution capabilities.
Without Aspect, the reach and scale of Next Gen TV experiences are projected to be significantly smaller. In 2020, only 20 per cent of ATSC 3.0-enabled connected TVs in the US are expected to be able to receive Next Gen TV experiences without Aspect. This is because the metadata and triggers required for these experiences are not carried by cable operators as a result of their different transmission protocols. Aspect enables this information to be automatically recovered by the TV regardless of distribution path.
“We see 2019 as a pivotal year for Next Gen TV market readiness as we look to full market deployment in 2020,” said Eric Anderson, SVP and Chief Partnership Officer at Verance. “For the industry to achieve rapid success, it will be vital for both programmers and TV makers to take an integrated business approach combining proven strategy, tech integration, end user service offerings and operations. That is what this partnership achieves.”