How VIZIO Is Using Data To Help Figure Out The Programming Puzzle On Its FAST
The latest in a series of Innovator Spotlights from our Special Report, FASTs Are The New Cable
“We have transformed from a hardware company to an integrated hardware and software entertainment company. By owning the hardware and distribution of entertainment as well as the data that flows through it allows us to really focus on the consumer experience the second VIZIO products are turned on,” observes Katherine Pond, Group Vice President, Platform Content and Partnerships at VIZIO. “I think the genesis of WatchFree+ was really a result of us looking at what consumers wanted, and then figuring out a way that we could fill that need. WatchFree+ also gives us the opportunity to be able to serve ad supported entertainment that will meet the needs of our content, brand and agency advertiser partners.”
ALAN WOLK (AW): The initial impression was that the various FASTs were interchangeable. What sets WatchFree+ apart from other FASTs?
KATHERINE POND (KP): I’d say our number one difference is that the way that we use our data allows us to bring in content that we know consumers are really interested in.
But number two, once you get consumers into the app, is our focus on user experience, it's about making sure that users can easily find what they're looking for. While the usual statement is that content is king, when it comes to interface, context is really the king. That’s why we’ve made it a priority to present our content in a way that makes sure consumers can find what they want when they’re ready for it. In practical terms, that means we’ve got 13 different genres available in WatchFree+ along with a way for consumers to favorite their top channels so that they show up first.
AW: What is your content strategy—how do you decide which shows to acquire?
KP: This is probably one of my favorite things to talk about. I could geek out on this for a while. And the reason I say “geek out” is because we absolutely make use of a wide array of data. But when we look at what the overall strategy is for content acquisition, I would say there are two components to our WatchFree+ service. Right now, we have over 250 free streaming channels. We also have an on demand portion of our service, which includes over 5,000 titles. So if I look at our on demand library today, we have a really good mix of content that has recognizable names and faces from star studded movies that are part of our deals with major studios and indies.
Overall that means we really can provide consumers with the depth and breadth they are looking for. So that when they are on that Saturday binge, they’ll be able to find something they want to watch.
Now on the linear side, we can look at the data to see how much users are engaging and how many minutes they're spending per channel on average within each of the genres. That is one of the driving factors in our decisions about how we go out and acquire content. We know what content is being watched on linear TV through our ACR data. So we can bring that in as a factor too.
We also have a list of over 20 other criteria that we look at when we are evaluating a linear channel. Then we blend that together with how existing channels are performing on the platform—there's a lot of art and a lot of science that goes into our decision-making process.
AW: Let’s drill down deeper into that. What criteria do you use when deciding how to curate the channels you stand up yourself?
KP: The channels we curate ourselves are a result of looking at where consumers are showing the most interest and filling in the gaps. Curated channels also offer us an opportunity to present ourselves to brands and sponsors. and to create something they feel is a good fit for their brands. Part of that process is looking at the data and making an evaluation about what consumers want to see, and then seeing which shows and genres perform well. That goes way beyond just acquiring the content, but also how we’re scheduling the programming. Successful channels can have a real mix of content types too. Take our “Fork and Flight” channel, for instance, which is about food and travel. That channel has both movies and TV series and they all work well together to give the consumer the sort of experience they want.
AW: What is the value, to a rights holder, of letting VIZIO stand up a linear channel for them on WatchFree+ versus just standing up their own app?
KP: I think there's value, especially in the VIZIO ecosystem, of having both an app and a FAST channel for many of our content partners. The way I tell our partners to think about this is to think about the best way to grow your audience. So if someone is searching for something to watch on the VIZIO SmartCast platform, they may not land on your content because they don’t know your brand, at the surface level from all the other apps on the platform. That's just the reality of a crowded space today. What a FAST channel allows you to do is to really build an audience.
Something unique to the VIZIO platform is that we're really pushing our WatchFree+ application, it is front and center from the minute you turn on the TV. That gives you a prime opportunity to really engage with a consumer in that FAST environment, build that audience, and then potentially have them come directly into your application in the future. It's a great marketing tool. Another huge advantage for our content partners is that our WatchFree+ ad sales team is the best in the business. So content partners have a real ability to monetize their content, which can really help them grow.
The relationship doesn’t stop there either. We have a partnership management team that works with every single one of these FAST channels to grow and build their audience. We're looking at the data, we're telling them what's working, we're working with them to figure out what we can surface on our home screen to bring even more of their content to the forefront because we know that on streaming, discoverability is the name of the game.
Don’t forget too, that as an OEM we have access to all kinds of data, and we use that data as we work with our partners to really help them continue to improve. Those are things that you get from VIZIO that you don't necessarily find when you're just working with a third party application.
