YouTube TV Nabs Its First Technical Emmy Win For ‘Views’ Feature

YouTube TV just won its first Technical Emmy award for its “Views” suite of features, which lets users access sports highlights, key plays, player stats and game scores. TechCrunch reports: At the 74th annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards last night, YouTube TV was declared the winner for the category “AI-ML Curation of Sports Highlights.” The tech company also announced today that Key Plays reached a notable milestone — the feature was used in over 10 million watch sessions on the platform. Last year, viewers used key plays the most during the World Cup, regular season NFL games and Premier League matches.

The Key Plays view tracks important plays in a game. Users can tap on the plays to rewatch when it occurs in the game. This is helpful for users that missed a live game and want to catch up on key moments. When YouTube TV launched Views in 2018, it was only available for baseball, basketball, football and hockey. Soccer and golf were added later on. The suite of features was also initially limited to phones and tablets. Today, the feature is available within the YouTube TV app across smart TVs and mobile devices.

In addition to Stats, Key Plays and Scores View, there’s also Fantasy Football View, which is a mobile-only feature and lets users link their existing fantasy football account. That way, when a user is watching NFL games on YouTube TV, the feature allows them to see how their team is performing in real time. Plus, there’s a “Jump to” function for users to quickly access a segment they want to view, which is especially handy for tennis fans and for users watching the Olympics. “Views came out of a team brainstorm about five years ago and launched about a year after YouTube TV,” said Kathryn Cochrane, YouTube TV’s group project manager, in a company blog post. “A lot of our viewers are devoted sports fans, and we found that when they watch sports, they aren’t just looking at what’s on the big screen. They were also actively on their phones, finding more details such as stats for their fantasy football league, updates from other games, and more, all to enhance what they were already watching.”

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Some Ads Play on Streaming Services Even When the TV Is Off, Study Finds

Many commercials continue to play on ad-supported streaming services after viewers turn off their television, new research shows, a problem that is causing an estimated waste of more than $1 billion a year for brands. From a report: The findings come as an ever-growing share of ad dollars is shifting from traditional TV to streaming platforms, a trend that is likely to accelerate now that industry giants Netflix and Walt Disney’s Disney+ have embraced the idea of offering an ad-supported version of their services. Some 17% of ads shown on televisions connected through a streaming device — including streaming boxes, dongles, sticks and gaming consoles — are playing while the TV is off, according to a study by WPP’s ad-buying giant GroupM and ad-measurement firm iSpot.tv.

That is because when a TV set is turned off, it doesn’t always send a signal to the streaming device connected to the TV through its HDMI port, GroupM said. As a result, the streaming device will continue playing the show and its ads unless users had exited or paused the streaming app they were watching before turning off their TV. Due to the nature of the problem, using a smart TV — on which streaming apps are loaded — makes it far less likely that ads would be shown while the TV is off, since in this instance the television and streaming device are just a single piece of hardware. GroupM said it found “virtually no incidence” of the issue on smart TV apps. The study, which included smart TVs and some hooked up with a streaming device, found that on average, between 8% and 10% of all streaming ads were shown while the TV was off.

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NCTC Could Drop ‘Cable’ As Industry Group Eyes Name Change

Industry trade group the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) could be dropping the “cable” moniker as it eyes a potential name change. Fierce Video reports: A trademark application filed by NCTC on May 17 shows one proposal for a new name: National Content & Technology Cooperative. An NCTC spokesperson confirmed to Fierce that the organization will be changing its name, but said it is considering a large number of options and hasn’t yet settled on a final decision. The spokesperson noted it’s taking time to register potential names, but some of the other choices on the table include simply “NCTC,” “NCTC Online” or even sticking with its current brand of the National Cable Television Cooperative. […] According to the application, it appears NCTC is also considering losing the image of a coaxial cable that’s currently featured in its logo.

So why the potential shift away from cable? One factor could be that the industry has clearly changed since NCTC formed in 1984, with cable operators in recent years deemphasizing traditional video offerings. The “Cable Television” part of the group’s name is becoming less accurate over time, said Brett Sappington, VP of Interpret. “Broadband, not television, is the cash cow for the cable industry,” he told Fierce Video. “Many of the organization’s members are actually moving away from offering their own video service and are, instead, focusing on broadband bundled with streaming services.” […] Along with industry changes come some shifts in perception as well. “Cable TV doesn’t necessarily have a positive connotation today,” Sappington noted. “In fact, many online TV services such as Sling TV or FuboTV emphasize why consumers should ‘drop cable’ and go with their services instead,” he continued.

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