The Trade Desk’s fledgling TVOS venture Ventura has a new partner in U.S. pay TV operator DirecTV.
On Wednesday the companies announced plans to develop a custom version of the Ventura TV OS for the U.S. market that integrates DirecTV’s streaming user experience and interface, including the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) service MyFree, as well as the operator’s ads platform. The custom TVOS version is designed to be used by third-party TV-makers or OEMs, retailers or hospitality partners.
Speaking to StreamTV Insider in an interview, Matthew Henick, SVP of Ventura at TTD, said that the partnership supports the ad tech company’s top-line mission for TVOS, where it sees an opportunity to improve how money flows through the CTV ecosystem and give OEMs and publishers a path to more meaningful and efficient revenue streams.
Building a TVOS version utilizing DirecTV’s UX, FAST and ads platform is also an example of Ventura’s strategy to build a customizable and flexible operating system that can fit bespoke needs of different potential client categories.
“Every OEM partner has a slightly different business, every retailer, every publisher, every content programming provider,” he noted. And with today’s partnership news, “we’ve customized an additional version of Ventura to help bring DirecTV’s programming and beloved user interface to a wider audience beyond just their existing subscriber base.”
On the one hand, it’s a growth opportunity for DirecTV, which he said is also looking to maintain and grow customer relationships - with the custom Ventura OS being built to support that. But it’s also in response to Ventura’s continuing conversations with OEMs and other distributors like retailers and hospitality groups.
In particular, Henick noted there are potential customers who “are looking for a fully packaged, turnkey solution that has programming built-in” – which will be doable via the DirecTV integration, alongside a commercial model, which in this case will be powered by DirecTV’s ads business. To be clear, Ventura will continue to customize additional TVOS versions for different partners.
Exactly when smart TVs running the Ventura OS with DirecTV’s UX integrated will be available remains to be seen. Henick said the companies are in conversations with OEMs and other distributors now but deferred rollout timelines to those partners, without naming names.
That said, with DirecTV – who is already a long-time partner of The Trade Desk DSP – he thinks the partnership “should grow their business and grow the business of OEMs and distributors who sign up.”
Integrated experience, expanding DirecTV’s reach
When it comes to partnering with DirecTV, Henick noted the company itself has evolved from a satellite-based TV operator to one that also provides a streaming pay TV user experience with its DirecTV service.
As such DirecTV’s built up a streaming user experience - including for its streaming app and owned-and-operated device hardware - that Ventura believes delivers on consumer needs for entertainment and TV content discovery.
The DirecTV UX is already built to support a mix of viewing models, integrating traditional live pay TV channels alongside SVOD and other streaming apps, as well as its MyFree FAST offering and personalized user interface.
In the custom version of Ventura, the MyFree FAST will be natively embedded as the free live guide option, Henick affirmed.
By connecting the existing DirecTV software to Ventura’s backend, he said the company can still achieve its main goals – namely, a more transparent and fair ad supply chain, and services and catalogs needed to make user discovery more content focused and ensure no conflict of interest, as well as fair competition for publishers.
For DirecTV, the custom OS provides the opportunity to expand reach across the U.S., as well as potential to upsell pay TV packages directly from the UI. In the announcement, TTD said the custom OS will feature an option to upgrade into DirecTV’s more recently debuted skinny genre pay TV packages, like MyEntertainment and MySports, among others.
“This strategic alliance with The Trade Desk will meaningfully expand access to DirecTV, while offering consumers even greater flexibility, choice and control,” said Vikash Sharma, Head of Product at DirecTV, in a statement. “OEMs gain a proven user experience that delivers a unified interface, combining live programming, popular streaming apps, and personalized advertising. This collaboration sets a precedent for the future of smart TVs as DirecTV and The Trade Desk work with OEMs to set a new standard for the consumer streaming experience.”
Shaking up the CTV ecosystem
The Trade Desk officially announced plans in November 2024 to launch its own OS platform and is working to make a name for itself in what’s already a competitive TVOS space.
In prior conversations with Henick, the SVP described how from TTD’s view as a major CTV DSP, many of those already playing in the TVOS space have misaligned incentives. The company doesn’t think as much CTV ad revenue is flowing back into OEM and publisher pockets as it could and sees room for more dollars to move more efficiently through the CTV ad supply chain.
Related to that view, Ventura’s entrance comes as the CTV space has seen device-makers like Roku and Vizio build up their own free ad-supported or FAST content propositions to drive advertising revenue as device margins shrink (and the latter now part of bigger retail ambitions after an acquisition by Walmart). Built-in free streaming services have also become part of the play for electronics giants like LG and Samsung, which also makes mobile phones and connected devices like refrigerators.
Ventura’s promises a different approach, where it pledges not to have a content play of its own and thinks it can offer a proposition that makes the revenue opportunity more attractive for OEMs and content owners and the advertising chain more transparent for brands.
That said, having a built-in free streaming offering has become somewhat of a given in the smart TV space and Ventura still sees that as an important element for consumers.
“Audiences clearly love free streaming media and we believe it is central to the audience experience on TV. We just don’t think we should own it,” Henick told StreamTV Insider during an interview earlier this year, reaffirming that Ventura has no plans for its own TVOS content service.
It previously announced vendor Anoki as a partner to integrate its AI-powered content discovery platform and FAST solution in Ventura-powered devices, in part to create more ways for OEMs to drive recurring revenue.
(Separately, for a spicy take from nScreenMedia’s Colin Dixon on Roku-powered devices becoming hostile territory for publishers, read here).
“Many existing OS providers have a conflict of interest by promoting the media they own, so the UX isn’t optimized for the audience. Given our commitment to objectivity, customers can expect more intuitive cross-platform media discovery, real personalization, OS-level subscription management, and a better ad experience whether it’s free, subscription, or transactional media,” Henick said in April about the Ventura OS broadly.
Then there are tech behemoths like Google and Amazon also competing in the TVOS space – each with their own content plays but where video and CTVs are just small portions of their respective conglomerates.
In terms of who might be interested in the custom DirecTV Ventura TVOS integration, Henick noted many smaller OEMs wrestle with handing off consumer relationships to big tech players and letting somebody else own that, as well as concerns around the type of support they get from tech partners. He thinks the partnership with DirecTV serves as an example of how Ventura can better serve unique needs of OEMs and other distributors, particularly those focused on TV-making and that want to more effectively participate in advertising revenue.
The goal with the custom DirecTV-integrated Ventura OS is “to pitch it externally to OEMs that potentially are looking for that all-in solution, commercially, technology and otherwise” including hospitality and retailers, Henick said this week. “Anyone who’s looking to not necessarily have to take on the programming and the advertising elements themselves.”
Ventura’s model also promises TTD will never own ad inventory as it would compromise the objectivity and trust with advertisers, OEMs and publishers that’s integral to its core TVOS mission – where instead ad revenue sharing would occur between the publisher, OEM and/or retailers.
“That objectivity will help us drive more distribution for Ventura with OEMs, allow our core TTD business to demonstrate even more value to advertisers, and maintain sustainable incentives between advertisers, publishers, OEMs, and audiences,” Henick said in an April interview.
Ventura does intend to participate in other CTV revenue streams like subscriptions and transactions “but at a lower take rate than industry norms,” per Henick.
“Ventura is about making the advertising ecosystem healthier and competitive, so it grows and thrives,” he added earlier this year. “And in that growth environment, we’re confident we’ll win our fair share.”
Building a ‘shape shifter’ OS
DirecTV isn’t likely to be Ventura’s last custom OS partner.
Asked this week if the company would be looking to replicate and find similarly situated partners, Henick remained open, saying as long as it’s scalable to be customizable – but also reiterated that every business and respective aims are different when it comes to the TVOS.
To that end, TTD is building Ventura to be a “shape shifter” for each potential use case of customer, he explained – be it an OEM that has a wider consumer electronics portfolio and wants to make a connected home infrastructure play, those squarely focused on TVs who want a more robust ads business, or retailers that want to extend loyalty programs, tech support and customer relationships into the living room.
In the case of DirecTV, Henick noted it’s an operator that also wants to retain and grow customer relationships, adding “I think you’ll see a lot of different versions [of Ventura OS] as we meet our partners where they are.”
“TV manufacturers deserve more choice in how they build their businesses. Publishers deserve to capture more of the value their incredible content creates. And advertisers need a more transparent and equitable ecosystem,” said Henick in a statement. “We look forward to working with DirecTV to develop this version of Ventura TV OS that unlocks new revenue, powers a fairer advertising ecosystem, and delights audiences with seamless access to the media they love.”
Article updated with quote from DirecTV.