Wavefront TV’s take on last week:
100 days to go until the election, sports are back, and back-to-school shopping just might happen. (It might not be all-the-way-back, but I think all parents will take ANY way back.) Hopefully this means that a little bit of normalcy can creep back into our lives, even if it’s the new normal instead the old normal. But with a number of big box stores declaring bankruptcy, closing locations, and reducing in-store hours (Best Buy) and with the second stimulus package slow to get out the door, it remains to be seen if we’ll see the 2nd half bounce that we’re all hoping for.
Now, on to the news:
Wavefront TV’s take: This is a pretty significant announcement and the first of what will likely be a number of steps to measure CTV like digital
DoubleVerify offers CTV ad viewability metric
Good read here on Tubi and what role it might (or might not) play in Fox’s future:
Tubi: everything you need to know about Fox’s big dollar 440M AVOD buy
Wavefront TV’s take: Very interesting move from Xiaomi – an Android device that will give users access to Peacock and HBO Max (missing from Roku and Amazon Fire). Could this be the start of the dongle wars?
Android TV powered Xiaomi mi TV offers Peacock and HBO Max fas low cost alternative
– Related news: There is a LOT of talk right now about the future of Roku. Is it an acquisition target (Microsoft or Samsung?) Is it an acquirer (Hulu?)? Or is it going to be left on the ash heap by Apple, Amazon, and Google?
Content news:
AMC streaming service arrives Dish Network Sling TV
TV One Reaches first vMVPD deal with Philo
Related news: This is a big deal for Pluto as it significantly expands their coverage.
Pluto TV and Verizon strike broad-reaching integration deal Wavefront TV’s take: Don’t sleep on Plex:
Plex adds livestreaming channels
Wavefront TV’s take: SpringServe is a well-respected CTV ad server with a small programmatic marketplace. SpotX is a large platform that includes both an ad server and robust programmatic marketplace. This tie-up is interesting for a number of reasons and makes SpotX a potential acquisition target (Roku?).
SpotX takes stake in Springserve
Wavefront TV’s take: No Quibi news this week, which is good for Quibi.