M+E Connections

As live over-the-top (OTT) and TV Everywhere services continue to grow, it’s important for media and entertainment companies to understand insights and intelligence to stay competitive in today’s data-driven world, according to Phil Green, NeuLion VP of business development.

“Personalization matters” and being able to leverage that personalization so you can “attract and keep your OTT viewers,” as well as increase revenue and grow one’s brand, has become crucial, he told a media conference in New York May 17.

Personalization matters so much now because “it’s a fragmented marketplace and consumers are more connected than ever before,” he said, citing data that showed 213.3 million adults are online now “just in the U.S. alone.” Of those U.S. adults, 70% are using smartphones, and they’re using an average of 4.3 connected devices in all. “You’re talking about nearly 1 billion devices that are out there,” with a huge number of apps on each one of those devices, he said, adding that finding a way to connect with viewers across all those devices can be hard.

Content owners must figure out which technology and implementation investments are the highest priority for their Web and mobile initiatives, he said, pointing to polling data that showed “the top two [investments], by far,” are redesigning the user experience and delivering personalized experiences. Trailing those two initiatives were customer self-service capabilities, integration with back-end systems, mobile-enabling websites, business practitioner tools and creating agile teams for development.

The same companies that responded to that poll said overwhelmingly that the part of the customer experience they were working to personalize the most was content on their websites (at 75% of respondents), he said. That was followed by promotions and product offers (55%), product recommendations (49%), reminders and alerts (44%), content on the mobile app experience (32%) and screen layout (28%).

Green pointed to Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) as an example of one NeuLion customer that’s investing in personalization initiatives. UFC used various methods to personalize the experience when using its UFC Fight Pass subscription and pay-per-view service, he said, noting that users can opt to follow their favorite fighters and types of fights, and get alerts when new content, including behind-the-scenes exclusives, becomes available. Another NeuLion customer that “uses a lot of personalization” is the Big Ten Network (BTN), he said.

NeuLion recently unveiled ACE Analytics, a new component of the NeuLion Digital Platform. The company touted NeuLion ACE Analytics at the 2017 NAB Show, saying the new technology service  leverages OTT real-time consumer watch data, user data and support data, all generated by the NeuLion Digital Platform, as content is delivered to connected devices.

NeuLion ACE Analytics allows data to be collected, segmented and made actionable, all in one place, “maximizing retention and revenue,” according to the company. It helps customers who use it get an increased conversion rate, make higher profits, increase viewer loyalty and retention, improve the user experience, increase lifetime value, deliver product faster, and reduce churn and confusion, Green said May 17.