Artificial intelligence (AI) is not a new concept in the tech sector, but its use in Connected TV is still nascent. For consumers, advertisers, content publishers, and even TV manufacturers, the future of television lies in artificial intelligence and machine learning (ML) innovation. 

This week, Samba TV furthered its commitment to driving the industry into the future with its acquisition of Disruptel, a pioneering startup that creates AI-based products powered by computer vision, natural language processing, and voice technologies. The acquisition expands Samba TV’s Samba AI offerings, a suite of advanced investments in AI and ML technologies to unlock new capabilities in the Connected TV market. 

Why this matters:

Next-gen content recognition. Integrating Disruptel’s capabilities within Samba TV’s existing Samba AI technology infrastructure will help enable the next generation of cutting-edge content recognition technology. By leveraging Disruptel’s ML technology, on-screen content can be analyzed in real time to identify people, brands, and products that appear. 

Product placement pays off. This ML-powered video analysis goes beyond just the program or ad appearing on the TV, it can understand product placement, logo appearances, and integrated advertising which has the potential to provide advertisers deeper insight into the value of their investments across platforms.

Immersive Viewing Experience. Disruptel’s Smart Screen product, integrated into Samba AI, allows television manufacturers the ability to offer a “smart pause” functionality. This “smart pause” displays supplemental information about on-screen actors and actresses as well as non-intrusive pause ad units that are embedded within the additional information. 

Monetization. Samba AI will help drive expanded monetization capabilities for both television manufacturers and publishers. The promise of AI enables a wealth of opportunities for players in the Connected TV ecosystem to offer better ad and content experiences. 

What the experts are saying:

“Artificial intelligence and machine learning are transforming nearly every aspect of our lives today and we are excited about its growing relevance in television. This acquisition brings us closer to the living room viewing experience we have all been dreaming about; where consumers are empowered to go deeper into the content they are viewing, advertisers will gain greater insights into the value of their sponsorships, and TV manufacturers will capture new opportunities to differentiate their incredible products.” - Samba TV CEO and Co-founder Ashwin Navin

“AI is the future of Connected TV and Samba TV shares our vision for what that will look like. With more TV data, in more countries, and from more TV brands than any other company in the world, Samba AI is the perfect home for our machine learning expertise so that we can be in a position to lead the industry in AI.” - Disruptel CEO Alex Quinn.

What’s next:

Samba AI made a splash in 2021 with AI-powered picture quality optimization, Picture Perfect, at CES. Samba TV plans to unveil new Samba AI-driven experiences for TV manufacturers in January 2022 at CES. Later in 2023, Samba AI technology is expected to be deployed to support advanced content recommendations, in-stream brand experiences, and new innovative interactivity.