Vizio on Wednesday debuted a new content discovery feature tied to its WatchFree+ service and smart TV interface, with NBCUniversal’s Peacock signed on as its first content partner.

The new feature, called Content Connections, means users can move directly from Vizio’s free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) WatchFree+ environment to popular subscription services.

Vizio’s WatchFree+ is one FAST service that’s regularly producing seasonal content. In April, WatchFree+ rolled out its Spring Showcase featuring curated content like home improvement, reality shows and documentaries. The Spring Showcase followed Vizio’s Fall Fest, which launched last October as WatchFree+’s first programming event.

Vizio also doesn’t keep its ACR data to itself, licensing it to others, such as partners like iSpot, to help build out currency-grade data sets. And Pond thinks it’s a philosophy that sets Vizio apart from others in the industry in its relation to ACR data, saying “the only way you can push the industry forward is by making the data available to the people that need it to do their jobs.”

While iSpot is an initial partner the group plans to expand to additional measurement partners – to try and quantify, are advertisers spending the right amount of money, or allocating the right mix to these types of publishers. Right now he equated the group’s effort to being “at the one-yard line, with 99 to go.”

In an interview with Fierce Video, Katherine Pond, Group VP of Platform Content, Partnerships and Programs at Vizio, explained how with that data it’s been able to look at linear to find shows that are really resonating with Vizio customers. It then works with network and studio partners to take some of that programming and bring it to the company’s own WatchFree+ service.

Vizio currently has no plans to launch its line of Internet-connected TV sets overseas, and is instead focusing on growing its connected TV platform in the United States, a company official confirmed this week.

A white paper, commissioned by IRIS.TV and written by TVREV’s Alan Wolk and Jason Damata, laid out how there isn’t uniformity in the metadata around programming on CTV, which each programmer maintaining their own taxonomy.

Vizio followed an increasingly familiar trend in the first quarter, as lower device demand resulted in a steep 40% year over year decline for hardware revenue, while as the smart TV maker enjoyed 24% revenue growth for its expanding ad business – boosted by increased usage on its streaming platform. Vizio shipped 900,000 TV sets in the period, a 32% drop.

Inscape may be well-known for its automatic content recognition technology (that underpins the current Commercial Feed product), which is considered “glass-level” tech and can detect ads and content on the screen across sources.

YouTube’s Non-Skippable Ads. Further proof that they really are trying to be “TV”. (They’ve also tapped iSpot to do their measurement. Just like a real TV network.)

Following a partnership announcement last year, vendor iSpot on Tuesday disclosed wrapping up a key integration with Google’s YouTube and YouTube TV to help measure the platforms’ reach against the broader TV landscape.

A FAST like Samsung Plus, for example, might have over 250 channels in the U.S., but making consumers aware or connecting them to that content isn’t always a simple task.“We see from how many channels people watch on Samsung, on Roku, on LG, on Vizio…it’s very little,” Gutman noted. “Most people don’t even know how much access they have to content.”

Using iSpot’s cross-platform tool, FuboTV said it’s now able to quantify the number of ad impressions delivered to incremental households that aren’t reachable on linear television. iSpot also provides person-level audience estimates to account for co-viewing, or viewing happening when there’s more than one person watching in a home.

Amazon and Vizio also held NewFronts presentations this week. Vizio is upgrading its home screen to boost brand awareness, while Amazon is launching audience-based creatives for NFL Thursday Night Football and introducing Fire TV Channels.

Branded content is one avenue for Vizio to generate marketing dollars while also serving up targeted content. Vizio’s Platform Plus and free ad-supported streaming TV service WatchFree+ have been helping to boost the company’s business as advertisers look to new formats to reach viewers.

A major part of the $491 million that Sanofi and Regeneron spent last year came from direct-to-consumer TV ads, with data out from real-time trackers at iSpot.TV showing the pharma pair spent $305.9 million on all TV drug spots in 2022, up from $287.6 million the year before.

At its NewFronts presentation, Vizio offered a glimpse of a redesigned interface that will be rolled out to consumers over the next few months. The updated UI not only aims to streamline the user experience but also allows brands to create more immersive ads on Vizio.

Branded content is one avenue for Vizio to generate marketing dollars while also serving up targeted content. Vizio’s Platform Plus and free ad-supported streaming TV service WatchFree+ have been helping to boost the company’s business as advertisers look to new formats to reach viewers.

Vizio has unleashed fresh seasonal content for its free ad-supported streaming service WatchFree+, launching on Friday Spring Showcase, a curated collection of programming.