Even as more companies are collecting vast amounts of data about audiences and users, the potential of big data in transforming the TV industry remains untapped, according to a GfK report that explores the benefits of big data for broadcast, and the future it has for the TV industry.
“The potential offered by big data is immense,” said Niko Waesche, global lead of media and entertainment industry at GfK. “Currently, everybody is engaged in data experimentation and there is a lot to fight for.”
In its report, GfK noted that a diverse and increasingly demanding TV audience has forced operators to move away from asset-based data to more powerful behavioral analysis to better understand and respond to the needs of content curators and advertisers.
It said: “Behavioral data unlocks new insights by capturing the who, what and when of the viewer, and places it in context alongside more traditional asset based data such as plays and subscribers.”
Tom Weiss, CEO of Genius Digital, a partner company of GfK, added: “Capturing and acting on behavioral data requires different capabilities and analytics from a purely asset-based approach. Broadcasters and cable providers should assess their capabilities now if they seek to remain competitive.”
The research firm interviewed key decision makers and executives from 14 media groups that serve over 70 million subscribers and deliver content that reaches nearly a billion people daily.