Wurl launches server-side ad insertion for Connected TVs

Wurl Launches AdSpring™ for Connected TVs, Delivering New and Immediate Routes to Ad Revenue for Video Producers

PALO ALTO, Calif. — Wurl, the leading network for internet-based video distribution and ad monetization, today launched its AdSpring for Connected TVs solution. Developed to maximize advertising revenue, this cloud-based, turnkey server-side ad insertion (SSAI) solution allows video producers to insert mid-roll ads on linear and on demand (VOD) programming for distribution to any video service or device, including Connected TVs. With OTT ad spending projected to reach $40 billion by 2020, the Wurl Network is the only fully integrated solution for video producers on the market today that can quickly and cost effectively monetize content by filling ad inventory with targeted ads.

Viewing time is rapidly migrating to OTT services – especially Connected TV. According to Nielsen, ad-supported is the fastest growing OTT segment and Connected TV accounts for over 50 percent of OTT viewing time. In order to participate in this fast-growing segment, video producers need a simple and cost effective solution to provide targeted ad-insertion across their growing OTT distribution footprints.

“As TV viewing continues to migrate online, broadcasters, cable networks, and other video services must find ways to effectively monetize this growing segment of the market,” said Michael Goodman, Director, Television & Media, Strategy Analytics. “AdSpring provides them with a solution to do so.”

Wurl AdSpring is unique in two ways: it is offered as a turnkey service for video producers and it is priced on a pay-as-you-go model. Turnkey means no engineering required. Video producers use Wurl to schedule the location and duration of mid-roll ad breaks and Wurl takes care of the rest: ad markers trigger real-time targeted ad requests, personally targeted ads are “stitched” into the live video stream, and each ad is measured and reported. With Wurl’s pay-as-you-go pricing, there are no up-front costs. Producers pay only for the ads they insert. Since AdSpring is pre-integrated with many of the popular Connected TV platforms including Samsung TV Plus, Roku, Apple TV and many others, video producers’ time-to-revenue is typically just a few weeks.

“Our commitment to our video producer customers is to eliminate the distribution obstacles created by legacy technology and legacy pricing,” said Sean Doherty, CEO of Wurl. “AdSpring for Connected TVs is unique in that it is pre-integrated within our entire distribution and advertising ecosystem. It gives video producers a risk-free, success-based platform to expand their distribution broadly and quickly.”