MIAMI – There are the headlines—traditional TV versus digital upstarts—and then there’s the reality behind the scenes. To wit, Google is playing a big part in helping traditional broadcasters transition to the digital future with solutions like dynamic ad insertion.
In the U.S., “We work with 28 of the top programmers,” from sports content to networks like CBS and AMC, says Jennifer Koester, Director, Global Partnerships at Google. “As digital video becomes a larger part of how they reach their viewers, we actually do the back end adtech for them and with that is the monetization.”
In this interview with Beet.TV at the Beet Retreat Miami 2017, Koester explains some of Google’s newest products in the streaming video realm and declares that “we’re one and the same” with traditional TV content creators. “Let us help you. We’re in it for the long haul.”
Recent projects include assisting AMC enable cross-screen addressability spanning all of its networks regardless of devices to produce “a single view of the user and the ability to make a better ad experience as they consume content.”
As an example of innovation, she cites fiber technology, which has a “very small footprint” but has been engineered to do what coaxial cable cannot.
“The fiber engineers built an ad stack that essentially does a lot of what we’re trying to do in a traditional infrastructure,” Koester explains. “You’ve got linear streaming that essentially takes real-time tuning data and fuels ad decisioning. So something very digital-like but actually on a linear TV service.”
Google’s new suite of products includes, via DoubleClick, cross-screen monetization simplification (“That concept of VOD versus linear versus digital kind of goes away and our platform enables you to do better pacing and forecasting.); better inventory monetization with its BigQuery cloud offering; machine learning to drive better utilization of bandwidth; and improving search and discovery of programming for viewers.
“We need to embrace change,” Koester says. “We need to recognize that everyone’s got some form of competition out there, but partnership will actually serve that better user experience. Because at the end of the day, that’s what it’s all about.”
This video was produced at the Beet Retreat Miami, 2017 presented by Videology along with Alphonso and 605. For more videos from the event, please visit this page.
