Two senators on July 13 called for an investigation into the privacy policies of smart-TV manufacturers after a report by The New York Times detailed the wide-ranging and unchecked capabilities of Samba TV, a San Francisco, Calif.-based software company. That the story has caught the attention of prominent lawmakers suggests that the tides are continuing to turn on the way consumers think about their personal data, and therefore, marketers will need to take note.
Democratic senators Edward Markey, of Massachusetts, and Richard Blumenthal, of Connecticut, wrote a joint letter to Joseph Simons, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, outlining their concern for unsuspecting consumers who may not be aware of the extent to which their viewing habits are being monitored.
“Televisions have entered a new era, but that does not mean that users’ sensitive information no longer deserves protection,” wrote Markey and Blumenthal.
Samba TV CEO and co-founder Ashwin Navin wrote in a July 18 blog post that the company “has made, and will continue to make, innovations and improvements to our products based upon the guidance we received from customers and policymakers alike, and we will use them to keep leading our industry.”
The opt-ins reportedly work like this on Samba TV, per The New York Times: Smart TV users agree to turn on the software, which then allows the company to monitor their viewing habits on a “nearly second-by-second basis.” Samba then can use the data to re-direct ads to other devices in that household.
That personal data is a social and political buzzword is somewhat old news for ad tech vendors. The challenge going forward in the post-Cambridge Analytica world will be how to get the ship back on course — regaining consumer trust and getting on with enhancing CX by way of personal data.
Inscape, an ACR company owned by Vizio, beat the senators’ call to action, posting a blog about the latest dust-up on July 11 that took a firm stance on the transparency of opt-in data campaigns like the ones reportedly used by Samba TV. (In 2017, Vizio settled claims totaling $2.2 million made by the FTC and the state of New Jersey that alleged the company was collecting and selling viewing data from millions of smart TVs without owners’ consent, which could explain the race to take a stance on the issue.)
“Very simply, viewing data should not be marketed to ad agencies, data brokers, or publishers as ‘opt-in’ data, unless the consumers received adequate, inescapable, relevant notice prior to activating ACR technology on their units,” per Inscape’s blog.
A veteran media analyst, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the Samba TV controversy demonstrates that brands need to choose who they work with smartly — for example, by making sure vendors are compliant with personal identifying information (PII) regulations.
With an emerging platform such as Smart TV, he said, taking steps to vet vendors is crucial. And while personal data protection is a hot topic, he said, ad re-targeting via viewing-data tracking likely won’t be threatened by any bad publicity from the Samba TV debacle.
“Because of the granularity and precision, and glass-level data that ACR provides the television industry, it ain’t going anywhere,” the media analyst said. “There’s nothing more accurate.”
In fact, he said, now the pressure is on other vendors to dazzle potential customers.
“If anything, when you’ve got a bad actor with big market share, I think everyone’s licking their chops … Now it opens up the market for these other players to kind of get more business,” he said.
iSpot.tv CEO Sean Muller echoed the crucial need for brands to vet the vendors they choose to work with.
“Brands are transforming TV advertising strategies by connecting TV ads to business outcomes,” Muller said. “That unprecedented capability is a massive step forward for the industry. Brands and agencies need to be careful not to mistake a small company with a math equation or a retargeting company for one that does measurement and attribution of TV advertising at scale.”
Additionally, Frank Sinton, founder of Beachfront Media, acknowledged that CTV advertising was “really starting to catch fire.”
“First, audience-based buying is taking hold,” Sinton said. “Brands can now target the TV like they have the web. Second, the big TV screen is premium inventory even in CTV environments, because viewers are much more likely to experience (and view through) an ad. Also, brands are starting to look for video advertising solutions because linear audiences are in decline.”
