Features
Media buyers wary of VOZ Streaming’s limitations
Media buyers let out a collective sigh of relief over the announcement of VOZ Streaming, a platform touted to become the "unified BVOD trading solution".
But after the initial rush, now they're not so sure.
They're concerned that if the ecosystem doesn't expand to include AVOD platforms, then the solution won't actually address the real screen-buying challenge.
Using VOZ Streaming’s single dataset, buyers will have the ability to “aggregate the scale of free-to-air BVOD services while managing reach and frequency,” promised OzTAM, the industry’s measurement body.
The initial participating platforms of VOZ Streaming are only 7Plus, 9Now and 10 Play – the BVOD plays of the free-to-air broadcasters.
Tom Macerola, head of investment at Zenith Media Sydney, said the solution is a step in the right direction for those who buy BVOD directly, but that’s not always how clients and agencies buy screens.
“The biggest challenge facing the VOZ Streaming product is how clients and agencies plan and buy video. It is rare that AV strategies are focused only on Linear TV and BVOD,” he told Mumbrella.
“DSPs [digital service providers] have always had an advantage over direct buys not only because of the ability to manage frequency across multiple suppliers but the ability to find new audiences across the entire AV ecosystem.”
Paige Wheaton, chief partnerships and investment officer at Initiative added that the alternative solutions to direct buys are not perfect either.
“It is disconnected to the linear broadcaster, inhibits leveraging the multifaceted screens ecosystem and realistic converged trading,” she said. “As an industry, we’ve spoken of the ongoing challenge of addressability for years and to trade in a truly converged market, this is fundamental.”
When will the real moment of TV unity come?
VOZ Streaming is still in its early days of development, with a number of BVOD platforms – including SBS On Demand, Foxtel Now and Foxtel GO – still outside of the tent.
When questioned yesterday, OzTAM said it’s hoping that more streamers will join VOZ Streaming following early trials.
Even then, buyers said the screen industry should still strive for further unification, potentially with the inclusion of AVOD services like Netflix, Binge, YouTube and soon Disney+. The real challenge appears to be whether the notoriously divided and competitive screen industry can work together
[click to enlarge]: an official guide to VOZ Streaming from OzTAM
“Of course there’s potential [for AVOD in VOZ Streaming], but it would require universal agreement from all parties involved, which up until this point has always been a stumbling block,” said Nunn Media’s head of digital and data, Lee Foster.
“The fact it’s taken a decade to arrive at this point since Seven, Nine and Ten’s first foray into catch-up TV and BVOD tells you that this isn’t something that can be agreed to overnight.”
Most immediately, Macerola said there is an opportunity for VOZ Streaming to offer an open audience measurement system across all video assets that take down the walled gardens. In the long term, he said it will be about consolidating more inventory.
“The greater the access to inventory, the stronger the offering as we will be able to find more unique audiences across the ecosystem delivering more effective campaigns,” he said.
“I think that AVOD will need to be explored to stay relevant in a market that continues to evolve and fragment.”
More money for TV?
With conversations around linear TV viewership erosion that led to wobbling market confidence in the medium, networks are quickly realising that the ad dollar fight is no longer just an internal competition, but also a race to win advertisers back from other mediums.
For example, in contrast to TV, out-of-home has managed to highlight its health to advertisers – not to mention the rapid development of its MOVE 2.0 measurement system, which will soon give more accountability to programmatic OOH inventory.
Wheaton and Macerola both said that, rather than growing TV’s share in the market mix, VOZ Streaming is probably more “defending” it.
“Having the flexibility to move investment from one asset that may be underperforming such as Linear TV into a stronger BVOD offering (VOZ Streaming – consolidated with all commercial network inventory) should mean stronger and more consistent delivery of campaigns,” Macerola said.
“While a unified broadcaster approach is a step in the right direction and we recognise the progress being made, if we continue to operate within a silo that neglects the broader VOD marketplace, we risk its relevancy being challenged as the market continues to diversify,” Wheaton said.
“To be honest, there’s no real new news here,” Lucy Formosa Morgan, managing director of Magna Australia said, as she pointed out that VOZ Streaming is what was previously known as the BVOD Project.
“With the network up-fronts kicking off from next week, it’s creating some fresh noise in the market about VOZ and the developments on the horizon.
“Does it mean that it’s ready? No.”
Darcy Song was a reporter at Mumbrella, covering media owners, adtech and social platforms. She left in October 2023.
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topics
InitiativeLee FosterLucy Formosa MorganMagna AustraliaNunn MediaPaige WheatonTom MacerolaVOZ StreamingZenith Media
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