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Tag: ThinkAnalytics

  • Dish TV bets on ThinkAnalytics to supercharge Watcho’s AI discovery

    Dish TV bets on ThinkAnalytics to supercharge Watcho’s AI discovery

    LONDON:  Dish TV India has tapped ThinkAnalytics to power personalised recommendations and search across its Watcho streaming platform, a super-aggregator that bundles more than two dozen OTT services alongside live television.

    The deal gives Watcho access to ThinkAnalytics’ ThinkMediaAI suite, covering metadata enrichment, real-time viewer profiling, dynamic user interfaces, rail positioning, editorial curation, A/B testing and business intelligence. The system promises to surface both global hits and niche regional dramas with equal ease, in 12 languages, for millions of paying subscribers.

    Dish TV chief technology officer V K Gupta said the partnership delivers “the precision and scale to delight every subscriber,” adding that Watcho’s editorial teams will gain faster decision-making and the ability to experiment rapidly. “Our teams can innovate at speed, maximise audience engagement and unlock new value in today’s dynamic OTT landscape,” he said.

    ThinkAnalytics co-founder & CTO Peter Docherty called Watcho “a pioneer in super-aggregating streaming services,” noting that two-thirds of India’s population are millennials or younger. “Dish TV recognises the need to engage these viewers. With ThinkMediaAI, it can monetise that opportunity while delivering a superior viewing experience,” he said.

    The agreement underscores Watcho’s shift from a simple content aggregator to a full-fledged entertainment platform with curated, immersive experiences. As the library expands with more international and regional titles, the AI engine is expected to ensure high-quality recommendations even for hyper-local interests.

    Dish TV’s wider footprint is formidable: more than 587 channels and services, including 89 HD feeds, four international channels, 19 value-added services and 21 leading OTT apps. Its distribution network stretches across 9,500 towns via 2,334 distributors and about 158,000 dealers, supported by 24/7 call centres in 14 cities handling queries in 12 languages.

    For ThinkAnalytics, whose technology already powers discovery for global heavyweights, the tie-up offers a showcase in one of the world’s fastest-growing streaming markets, where competition for attention is as fierce as the appetite for content.

  • Zixi strengthens commercial leadership with key recruitments

    Zixi strengthens commercial leadership with key recruitments

    MUMBAI:  IP-based live video transport and observability software provider Zixi has bolstered its leadership team with the appointment of Josh Wiggins as chief commercial officer and Kris Alexander as vice president of product and industry marketing.

    These strategic hires come as Zixi continues to expand its market footprint and drive innovation in next-generation video contribution and distribution.

    Wiggins, a seasoned industry veteran with over 25 years of experience, has held senior roles at AWS, ThinkAnalytics, GrayMeta, and Deluxe. In his new position, he will oversee Zixi’s business development, sales strategy, and partnerships, helping customers and partners maximise operational efficiency and revenue potential through the company’s cutting-edge technology.

    Alexander, who has held key roles at AWS and Akamai Technologies, brings extensive expertise in product strategy and marketing. He will lead Zixi’s efforts in product positioning, customer education, and market messaging, helping media organisations adopt IP-based live video solutions.

    “Josh and Kris bring a wealth of experience and insight to Zixi,” said Zixi CEO Marc Aldrich. “Their leadership will be vital as we continue to deliver innovative solutions and help customers navigate the shifting landscape of live video distribution.”

    As media organisations increasingly transition to cloud-based content delivery and hybrid distribution models, Zixi’s Emmy-winning software enables ultra-low latency, reliable IP video transport, reducing costs while maintaining superior video quality.

    Wiggins commented, “Zixi is transforming IP-based live video transport. I look forward to driving growth and enabling our partners to unlock new opportunities.”

    Alexander added, “The media landscape is evolving rapidly, and Zixi is at the forefront of this change. I’m excited to help showcase how our customers are revolutionising their workflows using Zixi’s solutions.”

    Zixi will present its latest innovations at NAB Show 2025, demonstrating scalable, cost-effective live content distribution solutions.

  • ThinkAnalytics launches ThinkContextualAI high privacy ad solution

    ThinkAnalytics launches ThinkContextualAI high privacy ad solution

    MUMBAI: If you think about, privacy is becoming increasingly important online what with GDPR and all the regulations which apply.

    AI driven video discovery, viewer insights, targeted advertising solutions provider ThinkAnalytics thought about it. The company has launched ThinkContextualAI, a contextual advertising solution that raises the bar for privacy-first, audience-aligned advertising. The solution complements ThinkAnalytics’ broader ThinkAdvertising offerings which have been instrumental in redefining ad targeting across connected TV (CTV)  platforms.

    Combining its  two decades of expertise in viewer behavior and advanced AI technology, ThinkContextualAI leverages a proprietary ontology of more than 40,000 metadata tags, crafted to decode not only what content is about but why it resonates with individual viewers.

    With this insight, ThinkContextualAI allows CTV advertisers to engage with audiences without invasive tracking, ensuring that content signals like genre and sub-genre are mapped to a known ontology so that they can be leveraged consistently by supply side platforms (SSPs).
     
    As fragmentation increases, privacy regulations tighten and personal data access diminishes, advertisers face mounting challenges to engage with audiences. Traditional contextual advertising solutions often fall short, either lacking nuance or failing to capture the true mood and engagement factors of content. In addition, SSPs  are seeing up to 11 million similar but different titled genres and subgenres, meaning buyers can’t reliably buy content-based audiences.

    ThinkContextualAI meets this untapped need, enabling advertisers to target viewers with unmatched precision by moving beyond simple context to align ad placements with themes and emotions.
     
    “Our 40,000+ metadata tags represent not only the subjects of content but also why viewers connect with it,” says ThinkAnalytics CTO & founder Peter Docherty. “This unique capability allows advertisers to achieve a new level of relevance and resonance in ad placement, benefiting both viewer engagement and campaign performance. We worked closely in partnership with customers to ensure this solution meets advertisers’ needs across diverse markets in an evolving regulatory environment.”
     
    ThinkContextualAI empowers advertisers with advanced contextual targeting capabilities, including:

    * Premium Audience Segmentation: advertisers can reach high-value segments like luxury lifestyle and travel enthusiasts without using personal data.
    * Scalable Content Understanding: Scale across vast content libraries with consistent, high-quality categorisation, to enhance the impact of advertising campaigns.
    * Privacy-Safe Solutions: Deploy ad campaigns that are compliant with global privacy standards, helping advertisers maintain audience trust while maximising results.

    ThinkContextualAI offers measurable improvements in campaign effectiveness and user experience:

    * Improved Ad Recall: Drive higher ad recall through genuine content-ad alignment.
    * Increased Viewer Satisfaction: Maintain ad relevance, increasing viewer engagement.
    * Enhanced ROI: Maximize ROI with targeted, privacy-safe placements.
    * Reduced Ad Waste: Minimise irrelevant placements, ensuring efficient ad spend.

    With over 85 service providers serving approximately 475 million subscribers in 47 languages, and generating eight billion recommendations per day, ThinkAnalytics is amongst the largest independent content discovery platform. Its clients include Liberty Global, Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, DirecTV, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Bell Media, BritBox International, Crunchyroll, Astro, Intigral, MBC, OSN, Proximus, Rogers, Sky Mexico, Tata Play, TELUS, and Mediacorp.

  • OTTera & ThinkAnalytics partner to amplify personalisation and revenue

    OTTera & ThinkAnalytics partner to amplify personalisation and revenue

    Mumbai: OTTera, an end-to-end OTT and FAST channel solutions provider, has announced its strategic partnership with ThinkAnalytics, a global leader in advanced content discovery and viewer engagement solutions. Through this collaboration, OTTera will integrate ThinkAnalytics’ ThinkFAST AI scheduler and ThinkAdvertising into its software, empowering customers to unlock new levels of operational efficiency and revenue growth across FAST channels and OTT apps.

    By harnessing ThinkAnalytics’ cutting-edge AI technologies, OTTera will revolutionize content scheduling and advertising strategies, delivering unparalleled value to its customers. ThinkAnalytics’ ThinkFAST AI scheduler utilizes sophisticated algorithms to optimize content placement, ensuring that viewers receive the most relevant and engaging programming tailored to their preferences. ThinkFAST’s integration will personalize the viewing experience for OTTera’s users based on their demographics, preferences, and previous viewing behavior.

    Moreover, with ThinkAdvertising, OTTera will leverage audience intelligence and content understanding to deliver hyper-targeted advertisements, maximizing revenue opportunities for clients. By combining audience insights with personalized advertising strategies, OTTera will enhance the viewing experience while driving substantial revenue growth for content providers and advertisers alike.

    “Aligning ThinkAnalytics’ deep capabilities with OTTera’s strategic offerings across OTT and FAST yields a rich toolkit for publishers to maximize yield from their libraries, quickly scale out targeted FAST channels and end user experiences within applications and beyond, all with an eye towards discovery, engagement, monetization and retention,” said OTTera CTO Craig McEldowney.

    “I am delighted that ThinkAnalytics is forming this partnership with OTTera. The ThinkAnalytics product set integrated into OTTera’s applications will bring huge efficiencies and value to OTTera’s customers. Meeting at the NAB Show was the perfect opportunity to realize our synergies and agree terms to our collaboration,” said ThinkAnalytics CEO Marc Aldrich.

  • ThinkAnalytics launches ThinkFAST Solution at NAB Show 2024

    ThinkAnalytics launches ThinkFAST Solution at NAB Show 2024

    Mumbai: ThinkAnalytics, the world leader in Al-based TV content discovery, viewer data insights, and targeted advertising will be exhibiting at NAB Show 2024 with the latest product developments for cross-platform targeted/contextual advertising, content discovery, and viewer data insights. Demonstrations on the ThinkAnalytics booth in West Hall of the LVCC (booth W1313) and on the AWS booth (booth W1701) include ThinkFAST, a new innovative AI-powered content scheduling FAST channel solution for content rights holders to reduce time to curate content for channels, drive higher audience engagement and reduce churn.

    ThinkAnalytics will also be showcasing existing solutions to help content platforms, publishers and advertisers covering:

       Personalised content discovery: Helping content owners increase content engagement with deeper personalisation and recommendations reducing churn and driving higher audience value.

        Generative AI: Pioneering the next wave of innovation with ThinkAnalytics’ GenAI powered conversational voice and chatbot for content discovery and audience engagement.

       Targeted/Contextual Advertising: Transforming customer first-party data into real-time audience segments at scale with advanced addressability and household composition insights.

    Think360, ThinkAnalytics’ customer engagement platform, will be showcased throughout the West Hall on the ThinkAnalytics stand and the AWS stand. This solution has been integrated by the UK’s Channel 4, enabling content recommendations to be tailored to each user’s viewing tastes and preferences on and off platform. Channel 4 uses Think360’s insights to deliver relevant and personalized recommendations and increase streaming growth and subscriber loyalty.

    “As the industry looks for new ways to address challenges in growing its user base and reducing churn, we are accelerating innovation by working with some of the biggest brands to pioneer new ways of using GenAI that increase engagement with viewers, even unregistered users. We are excited to showcase our solutions for streaming platforms, content rights holders and broadcasters at NAB Show once again,” said ThinkAnalytics CEO Marc Aldrich. “Our unique products bring innovative solutions to reduce churn on streaming services, to build FAST channels from content libraries, and for the development of targeted TV advertising.”

    Marc Aldrich will be speaking at the Devoncroft Executive Summit co-located with NAB Show on Saturday, 13 April. He’ll be participating in the panel “The Technology Supplier C-Suite: Strategies for an Evolving Market” at 1:40 pm. Tickets for the Devoncroft Executive Summit are available for purchase through the NAB Show website through the “Conferences & Programs” section of the pass options.

    To book a meeting with ThinkAnalytics at NAB Show 2024, click here.

  • ThinkAnalytics brings in Sky veteran Tony Mooney

    ThinkAnalytics brings in Sky veteran Tony Mooney

    NEW DELHI: ThinkAnalytics has appointed Sky veteran and data and analytics expert Tony Mooney as SVP, advertising. Tony will head up the firm’s ThinkAdvertising business, helping pay-TV and OTT providers maximise their ad inventory across broadcast and streamed TV and generate new revenue streams from advertisers running hyper-targeted campaigns.

    Mooney has an unparalleled track record in the adtech and data and analytics space. From 2010-2017 he was MD, insight and decision science at Sky, where he developed its world-leading customer data and customer intelligence capabilities. Mooney and his 600-strong team supported the entire Sky business, from customer acquisition and retention through to product, content, and targeted and linear advertising. He also led the Sky IQ B2B business, providing advanced data capabilities for large advertisers. 

    On leaving Sky, Mooney set up DecisionBox to help multinational clients apply digital, analytics and decision science techniques to boost customer retention and acquisition, and grow revenues. Prior to this he held senior positions in data, analytics and CRM at Experian, Orange and Centrica.

    Mooney joins ThinkAnalytics at a time when demand for addressable advertising is set to leap from total worldwide revenues of $15.6 billion in 2019 to $85.5 billion by 2025, according to Rethink TV. 

    “I joined the ThinkAnalytics team because I have known the company and its leading technology  for many years and I can see the potential to help pay-TV and OTT providers of all sizes. Addressable advertising is about to go prime time as new solutions like ThinkAdvertising replicate the precision of hyper-targeted digital campaigns on TV screens, and offer an attractive alternative for advertisers concerned about the reputational and fraud risk in web campaigns,” ThinkAnalytics SVP – advertising Tony Mooney said.

    “Tony’s pioneering work at Sky makes him the ideal person to advance our addressable advertising ambitions and help service providers unlock their treasure trove of subscriber data. His understanding of the complex and piecemeal nature of the adtech ecosystem will be invaluable as customers embark on their addressable advertising journey,” ThinkAnalytics chairman Eddie Young said.

    ThinkAdvertising automatically generates consumer profiles at the individual viewer rather than household level. Its machine learning and AI extracts understanding using the behavioural and viewing data captured by the service provider that can be blended with third-party demographic data. Supported by ThinkAnalytics’ automated viewer personalisation and segmentation models, it avoids the need for service providers to rely solely on expensive and often out-of-date third-party consumer data or large internal data teams. Available as a standalone solution or as part of the ThinkAnalytics suite, the hyper-targeted solution is highly scalable, and can be easily integrated with adtech solutions.

    ThinkAdvertising helps video service providers offer compelling propositions to a broader set of advertisers – from new and existing hyper-local and regional advertisers through to big brands. For established TV advertisers such as car manufacturers, they can now run one integrated campaign to advertise multiple sub-brands using highly segmented dynamic ad insertion.

  • Market-leading ThinkAnalytics is the only content discovery vendor with capability to scale to over 100 million users in the cloud

    Market-leading ThinkAnalytics is the only content discovery vendor with capability to scale to over 100 million users in the cloud

    MUMBAI: ThinkAnalytics™ today announced that its cloud-based personalized content discovery platform is the first in the industry to scale to over 100 million monthly active users in the cloud.

    ThinkAnalytics’ customers rely on this ability to deal with massive scale to power personalized user experiences as they undergo rapid growth in both audience numbers and the number of hours each user spends viewing content.

    Four of the firm’s OTT customers – BBC, DAZN, Tata Sky and Viacom 18 – now have a combined user base that exceeds 100 million monthly active users. Plus Viacom18 has attracted more than 50 million monthly users to its Voot platform and is targeting 100 million by the end of March 2020.

    Using the Amazon Web Services cloud platform, ThinkAnalytics’ content discovery platform both auto-scales to meet peak demand and deliver a consistently high-quality personalized viewing experience that boosts engagement, and scales down during quieter periods to reduce costs.  Combining full redundancy in geographically distributed data centres and a self-healing capability that automatically replaces any failed instances, the ThinkAnalytics platform provides industry-leading performance, scalability and reliability.

    One global streaming customer recently scaled to run at over a million requests per minute without a glitch, with no manual intervention required. The ThinkAnalytics platform auto-scaled from the minimum configuration to peak demand, all fully automated.

    Peter Docherty, ThinkAnalytics CTO, said, “Scalability, which has always been at the heart of our technology, is critical as established brands look to scale their D2C services quickly across multiple markets, while established providers in countries such as India are breaking new barriers with ever growing numbers of active OTT users. For these providers, a cloud-based content discovery platform that can reliably auto-scale to support many millions of viewers is a priority, offering the peace of mind that comes with a reliable, high-quality experience – even at peak periods. With our platform, customers get the world-leading personalization capabilities they need to engage their audiences and showcase the breadth and depth of content available, combined with the tools and insight needed to attract and retain viewers. ”

    The ThinkAnalytics portfolio gives customers a holistic view of their business with full viewer lifecycle management, helping them to better address KPIs such as boosting loyalty, ARPU and customer experience, and developing new revenue streams.

    As well as personalized content discovery powered by AI and machine learning, solutions include: ThinkInsight, the TV industry’s first viewer and video insight platform; the ThinkEditorial campaign tool, and the ThinkComposer dynamic UX engine that provides the ability to personalise the viewer experience.

  • Tata Sky inks deal with ThinkAnalytics for personalised content recommendations

    Tata Sky inks deal with ThinkAnalytics for personalised content recommendations

    MUMBAI: Leading DTH brand Tata Sky has selected content recommendation Engine ThinkAnalytics to power its personalised content recommendations across connected devices. The yet-to-be-launched service will be available on Tata Sky’s applications across mobile and PC platforms to begin with.

    Tata Sky has partnered with ThinkAnalytics because of its proven skill to scale to millions of users along with its track record in helping Pay-TV and OTT operators to boost engagement and loyalty.

    The company believes that a personalised contextual recommendation will give users a new realm of experience.

    “ThinkAnalytics has a strong reputation as the market leader in personalized recommendations and we are confident that together we can get a better understanding of our customers’ behavior and build a superior, customized experience for them across our connected platforms,” Tata Sky chief commercial officer Pallavi Puri said.

    While content discovery is an issue for users across platforms, Tata Sky subscribers will find it easier to find content on the back of advanced AI and machine learning techniques. The content discovery platform is combined with ThinkMovies and ThinkTV semantic microgenre metadata to enhance the level of personalisation of the content recommendations.

     “Tata Sky is India’s leading content distribution platform and a brand that strongly believes in pushing the innovation boundaries to simplify and enhance the user journey. By offering personalised recommendations across connected devices, Tata Sky’s customers will find it really easy to discover relevant live and on-demand content to watch, boosting viewer engagement and increasing loyalty,” Think Analytics APAC senior VP Alan Dishington said.

    Also Read :

    Tata Sky offers Reliance DTH consumers migration deal, Dish TV too in play

    How Harit Nagpal plans to keep Tata Sky ahead

  • ThinkAnalytics focuses on India expansion, hires former TiVo & Zee exec Samir Narsiker

    MUMBAI: ThinkAnalytics, a developer of the world’s most-widely deployed TV search and recommendations engine, is strengthening its presence in India. Samir Narsiker has been appointed as the vice-president to head business development activities in India and neighbouring countries.

    ThinkAnalytics already has a global R&D team in Pune. Based out of Mumbai, Narsiker will report to Singapore-based senior VP – APAC region Alan Dishington.

    Narsiker is a seasoned industry professional with a proven track record. Prior to joining ThinkAnalytics, he was the director of business development at TiVo / Rovi. He has also held senior positions at Ericsson, Cisco, NDS, Dish TV and Zee TV Group.

    “We already have a substantial number of customers in India. With Narsiker spearheading our efforts locally, we are anticipating even stronger growth. In particular, he will be responsible for expanding Thinkanalytics Search and Recommendations platform and the leading ThinkInsight customer and video insight platform to local TV and video providers,” ThinkAnalytics founder and CTO Peter Docherty said.