As it prepares for its first CES event in Las Vegas, data and analytics provider 605 will be looking at new video delivery devices slightly differently than programmers. Whereas programmers mostly envision additional viewer fragmentation, 605 sees opportunity to provide measurement solutions.
As a “pure data play,” 605 doesn’t sell media or advertising, isn’t a media broker and doesn’t run an ad marketplace, according to President and Co-Founder Ben Tatta.
“Our goal is really to empower programmers and advertisers with data direct,” Tatta says in an interview with Beet.tv.
605 was formed this year by Dolan Family Ventures—which had sold East Coast MVPD Cablevision Systems Corp.—via the acquisition of Analytics Media Group, a pioneer in the use of set-top box data. Tatta had been President of Cablevision Media Sales.
The goal of 605 at CES is “to look at all the new devices that are out there, because ultimately these devices represent fragmentation, which present measurement challenges we can help solve,” Tatta explains.
By acquiring AMG, 605 enjoys access to data across roughly a half dozen MVPD’s. “Our goal is to build on top of that and also extend that beyond just addressable to programmers so they can do other forms of programming analytics,” says Tatta.
Given AMG’s roots, 605 has a deep perspective of the addressable TV landscape. So it’s more than familiar with the need for census-level data for more uniform audience targeting.
“The biggest challenge is that there isn’t a census level data set available,” says Tatta. “A lot of the data that’s used today is sort of pockets. Whether it’s a certain MVPD or certain device that might make their data available.”
Another limitation is the two minutes per hour of local ad inventory currently earmarked for addressable. While it’s beneficial to cable operators and local advertisers, it’s just not enough longer term.
“I think where over time this goes is addressable capability extending to the national advertising avails,” Tatta says. “That’s where it really starts to serve the programming interests well in the sense that they’re serving a national audience,” plus the ability to target based on discreet customer segments.
“This will take some time because it requires a lot of capacity to do addressable on a national basis, but I do think it’s coming,” Tatta adds.
This interview is part of our series “The Road to CES,” a lead-up series in advance of CES 2017. The series is presented by FreeWheel. Please find more videos from the series here.
605 is the sponsor of Beet.TV’s upcoming coverage of CES 2017.
