By Les Carter, BlackArrow
With consumers devouring video on more devices, service providers are looking at new technologies to help them monetize video viewed on any screen. To support the needs of programmers, local ad sales teams and the advertising community, service providers are deploying dynamic ad insertion (DAI) capabilities across their viewing platforms.
Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) got out of the gates earlier this year by deploying BlackArrow’s IP VOD solution, which gave them the ability to dynamically insert commercials into multiscreen, on-demand programming. Using the same system that powers DAI for linear over IP and QAM VOD, Time Warner Cable was able to start monetizing advertising opportunities on IP-enabled devices in less than four months – first with delivery to iOS/Android tablets and smartphones, and then to other IP-enabled devices such as Samsung smart TVs, Xbox 360 consoles and Roku players.
To support the range of IP devices in the video landscape in addition to the existing traditional platforms, service providers need to streamline operations and simplify workflows by using a centralized advertising control plane.
How it works
In most cases, DAI solutions for IP VOD can utilize components used for traditional VOD and linear video over IP. This provides operational efficiency and simplicity for service providers, who can leverage existing advertising workflows and the centralized management across all viewing platforms.
Here’s how DAI on IP VOD works. Program metadata, including break point timings, is ingested into a content information system (CIS) for use in on-demand platforms. Break point timings provide the superset of all possible insertion points within the VOD asset. If the VOD asset hasn’t been prepared for ad insertion, a transcoder may query a system such a CIS in order to obtain the list of all break points so that clean splice boundaries can be made for smooth transitions in and out of dynamically inserted ad content. A packager is responsible for converting the VOD asset from the format provided by the programmer (e.g., a contiguous M2TS or H.264 file) into protocol-specific formats (e.g., fragmented HLS files). Both the transcoder and packager can perform these tasks using CableLabs ESAM, a mature and production-deployed standard designed to support ABR stream conditioning and packaging.
When an IP-enabled device makes a request to the service provider to view a program, it is often via a proxy (often known as a manifest manipulator), which is tasked with the actual splice activity on IP platforms. The proxy calls the ad control plane that utilizes the placement opportunity information service (POIS) to determine the ad payload in real time based on business rules, such as inventory splits between an operator and a programmer, the targeting rights of both parties, and the definition of the advertising block.
From there, the ad control plane determines ownership of each individual advertising opportunity, which could be the operator or programmer based on allocation agreements. The ad control plane may utilize a subscriber information system (SIS) in order to decorate the request with audience metadata such as demographic, geographic or service level information. Evaluating the active campaigns is a role that falls to the ad decision server (ADS). The advertising control plane takes this information and builds a playlist that will be used to determine when in a program each ad is to be inserted. This playlist is provided to the proxy for execution, and measurement statistics are generated by the video delivery plane. The last step is then collecting the measurement information to enable such features such as campaign goal terminations, pacing, metering and reporting.
Why it matters
The promise of any content, on any device, at any time is coming to fruition. According to a recent report by Adobe Systems (NASDAQ:ADBE), pay TV subscribers viewing multiscreen video content nearly tripled from 4.4% in the first quarter of 2013 to 12.5% in the fourth quarter of last year. The report also indicated that more than 13 million viewers authenticated themselves to watch multiscreen programming at least once every quarter in 2014, up from 6 million in 2013. Programmers are also investing in multiscreen by providing earlier release windows and content for time-shifted consumption.
Service providers are deploying cross-platform solutions to support their programming partners’ monetization strategies and provide tools such as DAI on all viewing platforms. Continuing to be the source of all premium video content is a key to service providers' remaining competitive in an ever-changing TV landscape.
Les Carter is the VP and chief architect for BlackArrow. Reach him at [email protected].