Verizon Media hosted its 2019 NewFronts presentation for advertisers on Tuesday that leaned heavily on original content, Yahoo platforms and emerging technology, especially AR/VR and 5G.
Verizon is taking full advantage of its 2017 $4.48 billion Yahoo acquisition with a new slate of programming across several platforms.
“We’re more focused than ever on transforming powerful intentions into real connections, performance and quality through data insights and content, deepening the connection between brands and consumers,” said K. Guru Gowrappan, Verizon Media CEO.
Stories, Shopping And Sound Bytes
Yahoo Play currently has over 20 original series on its platform and over 10 series in development including Room of Doom and Beat the Street: Los Angeles.
A new 5G-enabled series called Hypezilla is coming to the Yahoo Play app that features weekly products and consumer technology. Augmented reality integration allows users to preview featured items and make purchases inside the app. Hypezilla will be produced by Verizon Media’s RYOT 5G Studio in Los Angeles, the first 5G-enabled content studio in Hollywood.
Yahoo Finance will debut a new series called My Three Cents, on which host Jen Rogers will interview influencers, athletes and celebrities about money. This summer, Yahoo Finance will launch three new podcasts—Ballots and Dollars, The Art of the Exit and Illegal Tender.
Verizon Media expanded its DSP audio inventory through a global integration with private audio marketplace AdsWizz. The platform draws audio inventory from Pandora, iHeartRadio and other publishers. This integration is an extension of Verizon Media’s programmatic audio inventory that launched in 2018, which allows users to buy, manage, and measure audio inventory alongside display, video and native programmatic campaigns.
Actress and activist Julianne Moore presented advertisers with a documentary called 5B, which tells the story of the first AIDS/HIV care unit in the US. Verizon Media will distribute and support the film’s world premiere, citing investment in “prolific storytelling that impacts communities around the world.”
Fantasy Football And ‘Experiential Reality’
New York Jets quarterback Sam Darnold and Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football expert Liz Loza took the stage to announce that for the first time, Yahoo Sports is extending NFL streaming rights to the Yahoo Fantasy Football app.
Mobile and tablet users will be able to watch all local and primetime 2019-2020 season games free and unauthenticated in the Yahoo Fantasy Football app, the Yahoo Sports app and other Verizon and NFL media properties.
For journalists, Verizon introduced a new Yahoo News XR Partner program that grants access to the RYOT 5G studio and the company’s 5G Labs. The company has already partnered with USA Today, Reuters, The Associated Press, TIME and NowThis to produce interactive news content for viewers.
“Through the Yahoo News XR Partner Program, we want to accelerate the development of extended reality content from our trusted news partners and offer our audiences the best-in-class next-generation journalism,” said Alex Wallace, general manager of news, entertainment and studios at Verizon Media.
Partners will also be given access to “new forms” of XR media inventory for advertisers, some of which were demonstrated at Cannes Lions 2018. The company also recently announced programmatic VR offerings and mobile AR ads.
