IRIS.TV Partners with Amagi to Provide Seamless Onboarding of Video Data for Contextual Targeting Across CTV

The new agreement will activate all video inventory from participating publishers on Amagi platform for distribution, unlocking premium CTV content on a global scale

IRIS.TV, the leading video data platform, and Amagi, a global leader in cloud-based SaaS technology for broadcast and connected TV, today announced that they have entered into a partnership to enable contextual targeting on ad inventory of premium CTV content from participating content brands on Amagi platform.  

The new partnership will provide broadcasters and streaming video providers with seamless onboarding of their video data, so it can be activated for contextual targeting across connected devices and smart TVs. As a result, the partnership will immediately provide advertising buyers with access to contextually aligned premium programming at scale from participating content brands on Amagi platform that would otherwise be unavailable due to technical limitations. 

According to data recently released by eMarketer, digital ad spending in the United States will reach $191 billion in 2021, representing a 25% increase year-over-year. IRIS.TV and Amagi together make it possible to optimize performance and monetization of one of the fastest growing sectors of that marketplace--Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (“FAST”). IRIS.TV enables video-level contextual targeting and brand-safety analysis across content providers and platforms, while Amagi’s media SaaS solutions allow content brands to launch, distribute and monetize their live linear and on-demand content quickly and easily. Amagi supports more than 500 content brands, 800+ playout chains, and over 2000 channel deliveries. It offers the widest FAST distribution network, with over 50 platform partnerships globally. It also manages nearly 25 billion ad opportunities per year through its server-side ad insertion platform. 

Before IRIS.TV, contextual and brand-safety data for videos was only available by analyzing the text on a webpage and was an impossibility for CTV. Now, for the first time, marketers can “think inside the video” with the transparency to confidently buy CTV and premium video inventory based on video-level contextual and brand-safety analysis and according to the specific topical nature of every video. Ad inventory from participating content brands on Amagi platform can now be IRIS-enabled™, providing buyers with the ability to reach contextually aligned video programming targeted by IRIS.TV’s data partners - including Oracle Advertising, GumGum, Comscore, Silverbullet 4D, Kerv Interactive, Zefr, Advanced Contextual and more.  

“As the rapid acceleration of viewership for CTV and digital video continues, there has not been enough access to high-quality CTV inventory, especially as demand for contextual targeting increases,” said Field Garthwaite, co-founder and CEO of IRIS.TV. “Due to limited developer resources for custom platform integrations, content providers are often unable to access the tools necessary to effectively activate contextual targeting, importantly, at the video level. This partnership between Amagi and IRIS.TV addresses a crucial need for ad buyers, activating an enormous amount of FAST inventory at scale and applying our contextual targeting and brand safety tools to a trove of new premium inventory.” 

“Our goal is to allow content brands to maximize the value of their ad inventory. Video-level data is essential to both meet the growing demands of CTV ad buyers and unlock that value for our publisher partners,” said Srinivasan KA, Co-founder, Amagi. “Our new partnership with IRIS.TV enables content brands to leverage contextual targeting to realize the full value of their assets.” 

“I’m excited to have IRIS.TV as a part of our partner ecosystem,” said Sudhir Shabad, Vice President, WW Alliances & Partnerships, Amagi. “As we move the needle from 'Good to Great', this partnership marks a paradigm shift in how content providers and ad buyers collaborate, adding value to the overall ecosystem."  

"As OTT/CTV continues to grow, we believe that contextual targeting will help publishers create meaningful advertising experiences and connections with our growing audience, and in turn build a more impactful connection with the Tastemade consumer for our brand partners," said Douglas Paul, Ad Ops Director, Tastemade. "We are delighted to be working with IRIS.TV, which is at the forefront of this technology, as we embrace this new world and all the opportunities it provides." 

About IRIS.TV 

IRIS.TV is engineering the most open video data ecosystem in the world to power meaningful connections between brands and consumers. Our video data platform provides publishers, media brands and connected tv apps with secure onboarding and activation of their video data and marketers with video-level transparency. Since 2013, we’ve enabled our partners to build scalable solutions on top of our platform including video-level contextual and brand-safe ad targeting, third-party verification, personalized video recommendations, and measurement & analytics solutions. For more information, visit www.iris.tv 

About Amagi 

Amagi is a next-generation media technology company that provides cloud broadcast and targeted advertising solutions to broadcast TV and streaming TV platforms. Amagi enables content owners to launch, distribute and monetize live linear channels on Free-Ad-Supported TV and video services platforms. Amagi also offers 24x7 cloud managed services bringing simplicity, advanced automation, and transparency to the entire broadcast operations. Overall, Amagi supports 500+ content brands, 800+ playout chains and over 2000 channel deliveries on its platform in over 40 countries. Amagi has presence in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, London, Paris, Singapore, broadcast operations in New Delhi, and an innovation center in Bangalore.