Listen to this articleWilliam Gorfein founded PeerLogix, Inc. (OTCQB: LOGX) in 2013 in order to provide greater quantitative insights into the burgeoning world of OTT/streaming content. Combining his experience as a lead solutions engineer and his connections in the entertainment industry, Will built the underlying technology that became PeerLogix’s patented platform for observing, cataloging and packaging real-time viewership data across the span of long-tail OTT distribution networks. The data collected by this platform is used by advertisers, agencies, DMPs and DSPs to created highly unique audience targeting segments across the programmatic media ecosystem. Will is leading the company’s efforts to educated the industry on OTT data’s value beyond media buying; including informing content development, product placement and investment strategies.
Q: What is OTT Data?
A: Over-the-top (OTT) TV – or Connected TV (CTV) as it is also known – is a reference to content ‘streamed’ and consumed via internet connection rather than through standard cable subscription or broadcast television platforms. With the rapid advancements in technology (‘Smart’ TVs, laptops, tablets and smartphones) and the increased adoption of ‘mobile’ lifestyles, growing numbers of viewers are abandoning scheduled TV viewing – watched in their living rooms — and opting to tune-in wherever they may be, and whenever it is most convenient.
OTT data is the information associated with viewing habits of those households that stream any kind of content across any kind of device.
Q: Why is OTT data valuable?
A: Having access to real-time viewership data is the holy grail for advertisers, yet is not something currently available to a linear TV industry, traditionally reliant on weekly paneling results.
Because OTT viewership is natively digital, it can be observed and collected in much the same way as any other online activity. This data can then be combined with any number of additional data sets and can be used to target viewers across the programmatic media landscape, targeting unique OTT audience segments based on preference categories classified against viewing habit metrics that include title, genre, studio, network and actor/actress.
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Q: What are some factors to consider in choosing an OTT Data provider?
A: Granularity – While some OTT data providers are only able to offer data set classifications by genre of content consumed, those with better tech platforms should be able to offer data granularity down to studio/network and actor/actress levels.
Deterministic vs probabilistic data – ‘Deterministic’ OTT data sets are those where 100% of the targetable members of a collected audience segment have actually streamed and viewed the content being associated with the set. Less valuable are those ‘probabilistic’ sets, created from a mix of actual viewers and those thought to share similar characteristics to those have actually viewed targeted content.
Amplified vs non-amplified – Highest quality data sets are ‘non-amplified,’ those that can deliver actual viewers at scale – usually from observation from directly within the content stream. Providers that collect data from software insertion in OTT boxes/devices usually cannot achieve necessary scale, and will ‘amplify’ their audience segments with ‘look-a-like’ members.
Q: What are some uses for OTT Data outside of traditional media buying?
A: Product placement – The US marketplace for product placement is poised to break $10 billion for the first time in 2018, up from $8.78 billion in 2017, according to media industry economist PQ Media. OTT video is the fastest growing segment for product placement, including original programming on Netflix and Amazon Prime – with neither platform supporting conventional advertising. In an increasingly fragmented video content landscape, where comprehensive viewership data is critically important in the negotiation of distribution rights and product placement opportunities, PeerLogix is leveraging its unique access to data collected from over 170 million OTT/streaming households to establish itself as a leader in this emerging space.
Data Licensing/Content Procurement Analysis – By way of example, we recently partnered with a leading OTT television network that is using PeerLogix’s four-year historical viewership library to analyze movie and programming demand trends around the world. They are able to conduct proprietary analyses of our data sets in order to inform their own content procurement and buying decisions. The real-time and historical data we provide has become critical to their profitability and it enables them to generate a better return on content investment.
Investment Industry Analysis – Increasingly, buy-side investment firms (quantitative funds, discretionary hedge funds and private equity funds) are seeking expert advice regarding how to integrate ‘alternative data’ into their investment process. In the world of alternative data, few categories are as sought after as media consumption habits, like scalable access to raw OTT viewership data that can provide deep insights into potential investments across the entertainment industry.
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Q: What are PeerLogix’s plans for expansion/growth in the near term?
A: We are excited to be creating partnerships that combine our unique OTT viewership data with other powerful targeting segments, ultimately creating even deeper levels of audience identification.
For example, we recently announced a partnership with real-world location intelligence company Gravy Analytics, designed to allow marketers to target consumers across channels based on a union of OTT preferences and geo-location patterns. An auto manufacturer, for example, might use a segment like ‘Automobile Buyers That Stream OTT’ to reach cord-cutters who have recently been observed at auto dealerships – a strong indicator that they are in-market for a new car – with ads promoting their new 2019 vehicle lineup whose brand is associated with specific programming genres.
We are also proud to have announced a partnership with FourthWall Media®, the largest independent source of cable set-top box viewing and analytics data. Through this partnership, we have created powerful new data assets that combine both streaming and linear TV viewing at the household level – a move that further illustrates our belief in the growing effort to support a eunification of a fragmented TV Viewership audience.
We really are open and flexible to customizing our comprehensive OTT viewership data in ways that benefit any player trying to make sense of the evolving OTT/streaming ecosystem.
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