NAB 2024: Harmonic Introduces In-Stream Advertising for Live Sports Streaming
Harmonic announces an advancement in live sports streaming monetization with the introduction of in-stream advertising with new split-screen ad formats on its VOS360 Ad SaaS. This feature creates a new premium inventory for live sports streaming, enabling advertisers to reach viewers without disrupting the viewing experience while simultaneously empowering publishers to optimize monetization strategies for their sports content.
“Given the ever-increasing costs associated with sports rights acquisition, there is a pressing demand for innovative monetization approaches,” says Gil Rudge, senior vice president, video products and solutions at Harmonic. “Harmonic has been leading the targeted ad frontier with its VOS360 Ad SaaS, and now we’re excited to introduce in-stream ads to boost monetization while preserving seamless fan engagement.”
VOS360 Ad offers in-stream advertising through server-side insertion of new addressable ad formats such as double-box and dynamic L-bars. These split-screen ads can be strategically placed at high- and low-action moments of the games, either through manual operation or by automated triggering from external data feeds. This dynamic integration of split-screen inventory within live programming not only amplifies brand awareness but also maximizes monetization opportunities for live sports streaming.
With a strong focus on quality and user experience, VOS360 Ad delivers in-stream ads with lower latency compared to other solutions. The new split-screen ad formats are fully compatible with the programmatic advertising ecosystem, including traditional ad servers for impression-based selling.
Harmonic’s VOS360 Ad SaaS is a cloud-native, stand-alone server-side ad insertion solution, enabling personalized ad delivery to millions of concurrent viewers. With an expanding ad tech partner ecosystem, VOS360 Ad simplifies monetization for service providers by leveraging the strengths of companies such as Google Ad Manager, Mirriad and Equativ alongside new partners Bitmovin and RYFF.