Home security product company SimpliSafe is representing the tech category during the Super Bowl, Adweek reported Tuesday, the company’s first such appearance. A 30-second spot is set to air in the first quarter, it said. Creative agency Preacher won't give a sneak peek, nor did it respond to questions Wednesday.
Videa will add Comscore TV measurement data to its linear TV buying and selling platform, it said Wednesday, for media buyers to reach targeted audiences and broadcasters to better position their inventories within linear TV advertising.
New York City public broadcaster WNET will launch the All Arts streaming platform and cable and broadcast channel Monday, it said Wednesday, with original programming, acquired programming and archival WNET content. It said All Arts in the New York City area will be part of the Comcast, Charter Communications, Altice's Cablevision and Verizon FioS lineups and available over the air; in the rest of the country, All Arts content will be available via web browser and an app for iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV.
“Consumer lab” testing in the ATSC 3.0 Phoenix model market (see 1812060027) found “strong appeal” for next-generation TV features that could increase broadcast TV viewing and drive sales of new 3.0-capable TVs, said Pearl TV Tuesday. Pearl commissioned Magid to test consumer reaction to the new service and found 3.0 likely could induce viewers to start watching broadcast programming, even if they don't currently do so, said Pearl. The testing found the “combination” of 4K video, HDR and immersive audio has “the broadest appeal," said Pearl Managing Director Anne Schelle. Other findings: (1) 91 percent of consumers said they would be "interested" or "very interested" in using a service like 3.0; (2) Consumers said they find 3.0's “enhanced audio” features especially appealing, including the ability to “customize audio tracks”; (3) 80 percent of consumers said they would be “interested" or "very interested" in buying a 3.0 TV or add-on device.
Verance will partner with Fincons Group to speed and expand the development of ATSC 3.0 in the U.S. and HbbTV in Europe, said the companies Tuesday. ATSC adopted the Verance Aspect audio watermark technology for 3.0 nearly four years ago (see 1504030030), and Aspect "is currently being adapted for use within the HbbTV ecosystem," they said. Fincons is a systems integration company that partnered to develop several over-the-top service offerings in Europe, including the Mediaset Play OTT platform launched in Italy during last year's World Cup. The companies' initial projects will focus on accelerating “readiness” of 3.0 and HbbTV in both markets, they said: “Examples include the identification and development of leading consumer offerings, business modeling, proof of concept and market trial management, retailer education, and service lifecycle management and operations.” By deploying Aspect, “programmers gain cross-platform audience measurement data and new revenue opportunities such as audience targeting and addressable advertising,” said Verance. “Viewers gain more personalized 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" will be "significantly smaller," said Verance. "In 2020, only 20% of ATSC 3.0-enabled connected TVs in the U.S. 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 due to their different transmission protocols. Aspect enables this information to be automatically recovered by the TV regardless of distribution path."
Former CBS CEO Les Moonves told the company Wednesday he's exercising his option under his Sept. 9 separation agreement to demand binding arbitration to dispute the board firing him for cause and denying him $120 million in severance, said CBS in an 8-K SEC filing Thursday. Directors decided Dec. 17 that CBS had grounds to fire Moonves for cause for “willful and material misfeasance,” violating CBS policies and failing to cooperate with the company's independent investigation into sexual misconduct (see 1812170050). CBS doesn't plan to “comment further” until the “arbitration proceedings” are complete, it said.
Sinclair launched free, advertising-supported streaming service Stirr that will include live local news and sports. It said Wednesday Stirr will carry 20 national networks to start, including Cheddar, NASA TV and Outdoor America, with original channels including Stirr Movies and Stirr Sports to follow. It said by year's end, it should have more than 50 linear networks. The broadcaster will add a local channel, Stirr City, with live news, local and regional sports and entertainment programming from its local station.
Though ATSC 3.0 TVs for the U.S. market weren't featured at CES, the “ingredients” for a 3.0 launch in 2020 “were prominent in private demonstrations and press coverage,” wrote Brian Markwalter, CTA senior vice president-research and standards, in Wednesday's ATSC’s newsletter, The Standard. Examples he cited included Sony’s demonstration, “with a focus on ATSC 3.0,” of a TV remote-friendly “application-authoring environment that allows broadcasters to share a common user interface while integrating individually customized digital services from broadcast and broadband,” said Markwalter. The demo showed “integration of captured RF sources and encapsulated data” from digital over-the-top services, “illustrating how customization for individual broadcasters is possible with a common user interface and application-development framework,” he said. The system supports use of all application programming interfaces prescribed in A/344, said Markwalter. That's the 3.0 specification document that describes a receiver’s interactive content functionalities.
A proceeding to determine rates webcasters pay for non-interactive public performance of sound recordings is being delayed by the partial federal shutdown, blogged Wilkinson Barker broadcast attorney David Oxenford Tuesday. Though the Copyright Royalty Board is operating, the Federal Register is accepting only vital notices such as those connected with public safety, Oxenford said. Since notice of the proceeding’s opening has to appear in the FR, it will be delayed, Oxenford said. When the proceeding starts, it’s likely to involve broadcasters that stream their signals, small commercial webcasters and noncommercial webcasters, but it’s not clear if interactive streaming services like Pandora will be involved, Oxenford said. “Will they participate in the upcoming case, or have they negotiated direct deals that cover their more traditional webcasting services along with their interactive services?"
The proposed C4 FM class could help small and rural radio stations, said Senate Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., in a letter to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in December we received from a stakeholder and confirmed Monday. “There are potentially hundreds of stations in the U.S. -- including approximately 20 radio stations in Mississippi -- that may be eligible for a Class C4 designation if created." The FCC released a notice of inquiry on C4 in June (see 1809110051). “I appreciate your recognition of the need to consider modernizing or updating the Commission’s rules to help improve the quality of FM service in an evolving media marketplace," Wicker wrote.