Yospace, fresh from a similar deal with Sky, has announced it has partnered with ITV to provide dynamic ad insertions on live channels broadcast on ITV’s online player.
Integrated with ITV Hub, the Yospace system allows advertisements to be replaced in a way that retains the consistent viewability of ITV’s live channels when watched online – but with ads selected according to the demographic of the viewer, a process that takes place in real-time and is reactive to the variances of a live environment.
Additionally, by performing ad stitching on the server side, a single continuous stream is delivered simultaneously to all platforms, ensuring consistency for the viewer no matter which device they are using.
The new system is accessible to ITV Hub’s 11 million-plus registered users, and will feature across a live event schedule that includes the European Football Championships and Britain’s Got Talent.
“Yospace is the recognised expert in server-side ad insertion and this partnership highlights our commitment to live channels, with live streaming already accounting for over 30 per cent of the ITV Hub’s total online streaming,” said Paul Kanareck, ITV’s director of online.
Late last year ITV also announced it had partnered with programmatic ad platform RadiumOne to launch Ad Sync+, which will link ITV’s broadcast output to RadiumOne’s sharing data capability.
The move will allow ITV’s television advertisers to reach audiences simultaneously across other devices and online environments with targeted ads.
RadiumOne’s technology enables an additional layer of audience to be included – typically those likely to be interested in the ad based on the content they share or engage with online.
Despite the obvious moves to incorporate adtech into its broadcasts and make advertising more targeted and relevant, ITV still maintains that the high levels of so-called “advertising wastage” found in linear TV is still the best way to build a brand.
Speaking at the Connected TV World Summit earlier this month, ITV’s group commercial director, Simon Dagish, said: “All of the brands in your fridge have been built on wastage,” he said. “It is enormously effective.”
Daglish added that the ad industry is guilty of over-using data – and should view it as only one part of the solution to long-term brand success.
