Amagi’s new Zero Slate innovation adjusts the length of ad breaks for streamed linear TV on a per-viewer basis depending on how many ads are being targeted at them. If there are four 30-second ads available for Mary in ad break No.1, she would see a fully filled two-minute break. But if there are only two advertisers targeting George (each with a 30-second ad), his first ad break can be reduced to one-minute, avoiding the need for fillers and especially slates. Ad break No.2 would also adjust per-person, with George seeing another break that is shortened to one-minute, perhaps.
On a linear schedule within an EPG, everyone must reach the half-hour or one-hour mark at the same place in the programme timeline, of course, So in the example above, George would have seen two minutes less content than Mary. He could be shown a trailer for a new drama or movie at the end of the programme, to make up this time, for example.
Data from Amagi ANALYTICS indicates that slates, which are used to fill the unsold portion of ad pods, may increase viewer churn by as much as 15% on FAST channels, so Zero Slate is a way to maintain the quality of the ad viewing experience. Zero Slate is already at work on VIZIO’s owned and operated FAST channels on its WatchFree+ service (announced in June). A 20% lift in viewership is reported on the VIZIO FAST channels concerned.
