Vudu expands into ad-supported video service (AVOD), offering free HD movie and TV shows to its millions of customers
SANTA CLARA, Calif. – Ooyala, a Telstra subsidiary and a leading global innovator in premium video publishing, production workflows, analytics and monetization now powers the new advertising (AVOD) service, Vudu Movies on Us, from Vudu, Walmart’s subscription-free, premium video streaming service. For the first time ever, advertisers are now able to access Vudu’s millions of highly-engaged customers, reaching millions of streams every month across thousands of titles on nearly every connected device on the market.
Ooyala is the exclusive technology provider for Vudu’s entire free-ad-supported service and is also representing the advertising inventory, helping them expand the business beyond the current leading transactional-based (TVOD) service. Vudu is putting more control into the hands of its customers; allowing them to choose how they prefer to access a premium library of content, either through direct transactions, or now for free through its ad-supported offering, Vudu Movies on Us.
Vudu uses Ooyala Pulse, Ooyala’s holistic advertising platform, to manage every campaign running across its ad-supported service in real-time. With forecasting capabilities that come out-of-the-box with Ooyala Pulse, Vudu can see if campaigns are on track to reach their goals and impression commitments. If not, Vudu is able to adjust and optimize campaigns on the fly to ensure all campaigns are successful.
“We’re excited to launch with Ooyala into the ad market,” said Vudu Vice President of Product, Scott Blanksteen. “Ooyala has quickly become an extension of our day-to-day team and ad operations; helping us connect with the right buyers, ensuring value is added on both sides of the equation, and that the process is seamless as we enter a brand new market.”
For advertisers, Vudu Movies on Us is highly unique as a majority of Vudu viewers watch content on in-living room devices, where content is displayed full screen and ads are 100 percent viewable every time. Vudu offers enormous reach across a wide set of demographics that continually grows as Walmart promotes Vudu to its 140 million store and online shoppers every week. Vudu Movies on Us is also available on an expansive list of devices due to Walmart’s tight partnerships with the largest device manufacturers today. It is directly integrated into most Smart TVs, Blu-ray players, gaming consoles, connected-TV devices, mobile, desktop andmore.
“As new ad-supported offerings emerge in streaming TV, publishers are immediately faced with the challenge of building their audiences in an app-based environment that lacks unified search capabilities and a user-friendly means for content discovery,” said Seth Walters, Senior Partner of Connected Television at Modi Media, the advanced-TV arm of GroupM. “Advertisers are faced with significant fragmentation when trying to reach audiences at scale. Vudu Movies on Us presents an opportunity to place our clients’ messaging within an app that already has an established audience.”
“Vudu is at the vanguard of giving its viewers the choice of how to access, pay for and watch premium content.” Said Ooyala General Manager of Advertising Platforms, Scott Braley. “Developing such a hybrid approach represents a significant opportunity for Vudu, its viewers and advertisers alike as it unlocks a whole new premium channel with great content in a great environment. We look forward to developing this new business together with Vudu, applying our team and technology to expand their audience and business opportunity.”
The service is now available and is accessible through Vudu’s existing presence on the web, mobile or apps on all supported devices. Advertisers may reach out tovudusales@ooyala.com to inquire about opportunities with Vudu Movies on Us.
More Information:
To learn more about Ooyala’s solutions for the biggest challenges in video today, including media logistics for video production, its video suite for OTT delivery and analytics, as well as its ad-tech platforms, visit Ooyala.com. Also, for further industry trends please visit Videomind and follow us @Videomind and @Ooyala.
About Vudu:
Vudu delivers the latest movies and TV to almost every web-enabled device, across every major platform. With over 100,000 titles that can be watched on hundreds of millions of devices, Vudu is one of the fastest-growing video on-demand services. Founded in 2004 and acquired by Walmart in 2010, Vudu provides a premium entertainment experience with the latest in digital video and entertainment technology, including 4K Ultra High Definition, Dolby Vision HDR, and Dolby Atmos Cinema Sound. For more information, visit www.vudu.com/advertising
About Ooyala:
Ooyala delivers content that connects. A US-based subsidiary of global telecommunications and IT services company Telstra, Ooyala’s comprehensive suite of offerings includes one of the world’s largest premium video platforms, a leading ad server and programmatic platform as well as a media logistics solution to improve video production workflows. Built with superior analytics capabilities for advanced business intelligence and a strong commitment to customers’ success, Ooyala’s comprehensive video solutions help large-scale broadcasters, operators, media companies, enterprises and brands build more engaged and more profitable audiences, and monetize video and TV with personalized, interactive experiences across any screen.
Vudu, NBCUniversal, Star India, Sky Sports (U.K.), ITV Studios (U.K.), RTL Group (Germany), M6 (France), TV4 (Sweden), Mediaset (Spain), America Television (Peru), and Media Prima (Malaysia): these are just a few of the hundreds of broadcasters and media companies who choose Ooyala.
Headquartered in Silicon Valley, Ooyala has offices in Chennai, Cologne, Dallas, Guadalajara, London, Madrid, New York, Paris, Singapore, Stockholm, Sydney, Tokyo, and sales operations in many other countries across the globe. For more information, visit www.ooyala.com.
