Subscription Streamers Increase Sports Programming in April: Gracenote

Subscription streaming services increased the amount of sports programming on their services in the first quarter, according to a report from Gracenote, Nielsen’s content data business.

At the same time, the number of free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels continue to proliferate.

According to a second-quarter update report based on information pulled from the Gracenote Data Hub, sport content made up 5% of the global programming on the services Gracenote tracks, as of April.

For the first time, the services included HBO Max. The other services monitored are Amazon Prime Video, Disney+, Netflix and Paramount+. Adding HBO Max means the Data Hub has info on 5.4% more content.

HBO Max had the most sports content, with 35% and 42% of the individual games and events.

Gracenote says that combined, the other five providers tracked have more than doubled the amount of sports in the catalogs over the past 18 months.

Paramount+ has the second-most sports content with 30%, followed by Amazon Prime Video (25%), Netflix (16%) and Disney+ (14%). Data for Disney+ includes Hulu and the ESPN app.

In all, there were nearly 38,599 sports shows, episodes, games and events available on the top services.

Globally, Amazon Prime Video had the largest catalog, with 66.6% of the content available on the top subscription streaming services.

Disney+ had the fastest growing movie catalog, up 22.1%. On the other hand, Netflix’s movie catalog was 6.6% smaller.

The total amount of content on the five services Gracenote tracked a year ago jumped by 16.4% at the program and episode level.

Gracenote also reports that the number of FAST channels increased by 19% from a year ago. Gracenote tracks 2,120 FAST channels and finds that the top genres are entertainment, sports, news and reality.

The news genre showed the biggest increase, up 57% from a year ago.

Of the sports content on FAST channels, 47% is live games and events.

Music genre content shrank, making up 4.5% of FAST programming, down from 7.8% a year ago.

TransUnion Integrates YouTube Outcomes

The debate over whether or not YouTube is television is less important to advertisers than how effective it is as a marketing channel.

That has been difficult to judge because YouTube has been a walled garden and resisted sharing its data with measurement companies. But that’s been changing.

In a new arrangement, YouTube owner Google has agreed to an integration that connects YouTube ad exposure to business outcomes within TransUnion’s Multi-Touch Attribution product.

The companies say this will enable marketers to see how YouTube generates results relative to their other marketing efforts.

Marketers will be able to measure YouTube’s incremental impact from exposure to conversion and be able to optimize media investment across channels based on factors including return on ad spending.

“Marketers are increasingly focused on understanding how every channel contributes to business outcomes,” said Brian Silver, executive VP, Marketing Solutions, TransUnion. “By enabling YouTube measurement within our Multi-Touch Attribution solution, we’re helping marketers move beyond clicks reporting and gain a clearer, cross-channel view of performance.”

LinkedIn Enlists DoubleVerify for Audience Network

DoubleVerify said it will be evaluating the LinkedIn Audience Network for invalid traffic, brand suitability and intended geography.

The move will help business-to-business marketers looking to reach people who have signed up for LinkedIn. The LinkedIn Audience Network helps those advertisers reach those members via third-party publishers.

“With this announcement, DV is bringing global media quality measurement to the LinkedIn Audience Network, delivering the independent verification advertisers need to maximize performance and make more informed investment decisions across this important channel,” said Steve Woolway, executive VP of business development at DoubleVerify.

DoubleVerify provides both post-bid measurement and pre-bid avoidance controls to prevent wasted ad spending.

LinkedIn previously announced it was working with DoubleVerify to measure its CTV Ads product.

“Providing advertisers with greater transparency and confidence is central to how we continue to evolve the LinkedIn Audience Network,” said Lee Womer, VP of product & business development at LinkedIn. “By working with companies like DoubleVerify, we’re enabling advertisers to better understand media quality and performance across LAN, helping them make more informed decisions and drive stronger results.”

FETV Picks VideoAmp

Family Entertainment Television said it selected VideoAmp as its first advanced currency provider for its family-friendly networks FETV and Family Movie Classics.

"FETV has built an incredibly strong portfolio of networks with highly engaged audiences,” said VideoAmp Chief Revenue Officer Bryan Goski. “By adopting VideoAmp's measurement and currency capabilities and extending into outcomes, they are bringing greater precision, flexibility, and transparency to buyers and setting a new standard for how independent broadcasters can transact and perform in today's market."

FETV and FMC will use VideoAmp data for ad sales, including cross-platform audience analysis, currency guaranties, full-funnel outcome measurement and content analytics.

“We believe the future of television advertising will be increasingly driven by data, flexibility, and measurable outcomes,” said Adam Sumrall, executive VP of FETV and FMC.

“Partnering with VideoAmp marks an important step forward for us as we continue to enhance our advertising capabilities and expand opportunities for agencies and brands to reach our loyal, family-friendly audience.”