Hulu Cautiously Eyes Blockchain

Unlike its streaming service rivals Netflix and Amazon Video, Hulu has to worry about the advertising experience.

As Hulu has grown its subscriber base and moved to a multi-tier pricing model with different plans for live streaming and premium experiences, the streaming platform is at present serving more ads in different means. The company is thinking about potential ways to improve brand trust and transparency across the media supply chain, and one of the technologies it's exploring is blockchain.

PCMag sat downwards with Adam Moser, Head of Ad Tech and Platform Operations at Hulu, at the CDX Blockchain Brand Innovation Summit at Columbia Academy, where he appeared on a console discussing what blockchain means for the advertising industry every bit a whole. Moser stressed that Hulu isn't currently applying blockchain, but keeping a shut eye on what it could hateful for the ad industry.

The conversation ranged from smart contracts and data transparency to the challenges of scaling blockchain tech to the whole ecosystem of over-the-top (OTT) streaming devices, from TVs in a living room to tablets in your hand.

"Blockchain is interesting to use considering trust, transparency, all of those things matter to marketers. They're critical from our standpoint not but as Hulu as a brand, simply also Hulu as a media publisher," said Moser. "So when we meet with companies that are talking about blockchain solutions, I think the promise of what they can bring to the landscape, specifically regarding transparency and the power to exist able to track transactional details in an open up and decentralized way, is something we're in support of for the industry."

For Hulu, applying blockchain is peculiarly complex because of all the OTT devices Hulu supports. Because blockchain applied science is largely withal in the proof-of-concept stage outside of enterprise use cases, the streaming company is hesitant to put all its eggs in one handbasket.

"Every time we talk to these companies and they ask if we want to run a test, we accept a wait-and-run across approach. We want to test-drive the auto when it's been built, not every bit it'due south beingness built," he said. "The way nosotros integrate our service onto gaming platforms, smart TVs, etc., it requires a different approach. If a solution comes to us and says it may work on Xbox and Playstation but not on Roku or Apple TV, information technology doesn't work for Hulu."

That said, Moser believes blockchain is a great technical solution that has the promise of solving a lot of problems around brand prophylactic and marketing budgets. Moser contributed to a white paper published past the Interactive Advertizing Agency (IAB) called "Blockchain for Video Advertisement," which explores how blockchain and smart contracts could be applied to digital video and OTT advert.

For Hulu, the biggest potential for blockchain right now is effectually using smart contracts to streamline terms and weather across multiple media buys for advertisers. There needs to exist standardization between how the buy side and sell side of the video advertising market would use it, he said.

"Blockchain [shows] a decentralized and open up manner that marketers tin can understand how their inventory is existence bought and how they're being charged," he said.

Right at present, Hulu is but looking at ways blockchain could give its advertisement and marketing network more transparency. It'south the hope of an immutable ledger recording exactly what advertisers are being charged for, what fees are attributed to, and knowing that data marketers are purchasing matches the target audition they're interested in.

Ultimately, at that place's a lot of hype correct now for a however-nascent industry and technology.

"Everyone is talking about how blockchain is going to solve for smart contracts, for transparency, for streamlining information targeting...those are three very different avenues. I think this is a potential path forrard to solve challenges inside our industry, merely we have to determine which claiming we desire to solve for," Moser said.

"It feels similar we're in a crawl, walk, run blazon of arroyo with blockchain. If you utilize that metaphor, right now we're at the phase where you're simply figuring out how to wiggle your toes."

About Rob Marvin

Rob Marvin is PCMag's Acquaintance Features Editor. He writes features, news, and tendency stories on all manner of emerging technologies. Beats include: startups, business organisation and venture capital letter, blockchain and cryptocurrencies, AI, augmented and virtual reality, IoT and automation, legal cannabis tech, social media, streaming, security, mobile commerce, M&A, and amusement. Rob was previously Assistant Editor and Acquaintance Editor in PCMag's Concern department. Prior to that, he served as an editor at SD Times. He graduated from Syracuse Academy'south S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. Yous can also find his business and tech coverage on Entrepreneur and Fox Business. Rob is also an unabashed nerd who does occasional amusement writing for …

Source: https://sea.pcmag.com/hulu/21116/hulu-cautiously-eyes-blockchain

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