Titan OS strengthens hand as emerging European TVOS player

StreamTV Insider

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Titan OS, European developer of a smart TV operating system and advertising solution, has expanded its free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) content offer in partnership with Banijay Rights, the global distribution arm of content company Banijay Entertainment.

The deal will see single-series IP FAST channels for Banijay properties including Deal or No Deal, Fear Factor, The Biggest Loser, Hardcore Pawn, MythBusters, Pointless, and Mr Bean join the lineup available to owners of a TV set running the Titan OS.

It’s the latest step as Titan OS aims to strengthen its hand as an emerging player in the burgeoning TV OS battle.  A newcomer to the TVOS scene, Titan OS hit the ground running at the beginning of the year with a deal to supply its operating system to TP Vision, which began rolling out the OS on Philips and AOC-branded  TVs in Europe and Latin America.

The Barcelona-based company also launched with a partnership with UK and Nordic consumer electronics retailer Currys, which involves a retail media collaboration and will see the Titan OS rolled out on Currys own brand JVC TVs.

Its FAST channel lineup at launch included Euronews, Bloomberg TV, Red Bull TV, CHILI, FUNKE Digital, Blue Ant Media, Insight TV, and Love TV Channels. It has since signed with French pay-TV giant CANAL+ Group to have apps including Canal+, Skylink, Direct One, Focus Sat, TV Vlaanderen, and Télésat pre-installed on the Titan OS home screen across 10 European countries (France, Belgium, Netherlands, Poland, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania). 

Last month it tied with A+E Networks EMEA to launch five FAST channels in the UK and Ireland including Inside Crime, Mystery TV and History Hunters.

By presenting FAST and broadcast channels together, the company intends to improve the viewer search experience, explained Lucas Llop, the firm’s VP Advertising. “The easier content discovery is, the more effective monetization options there are for content providers and manufacturers, and the better cut-through opportunities there are for advertisers,” he stated.

As for the new Banijay Rights deal, Titan said it not only marks an expansion of the content offering but reinforces the popularity of single IP channels and its programming strategy to keep viewers engaged.

“As the FAST market grows, streamlining our channel line-up will be key,” said Judith Diaz, content partnerships director at Titan OS, in the announcement. “As more premium content is released, channels dedicated to a single format or show will allow viewers to lean back and enjoy their favourite content for as long as they like. This will create a more engaging experience for viewers and drive greater profitability for content owners”.

Founded by CEO Jacinto Roca and COO Tim Edwards – both former executives of FAST platform Rakuten TV where Roca was CEO - Titan OS is targeting the 40% of the global TV market that lacks its own operating system (GFK Data 2022, quoted by the company in its launch release).

As TVREV analyst Alan Wolk has pointed out, this may mean little in the US where less of the market is up for grabs, as several players have already claimed share including tech giants like Amazon and Google, home electronics majors Samsung and LG, and sizable presences for Roku and Vizio.

“But that battle for control of the TV operating system is indeed heating up elsewhere and billions of dollars are at stake,” wrote Wolk. “There won’t be a single victor… Rather, there will be gradations of market share, with each half a percentage point being worth millions.”

With the field dominated by Google and major electronics and smart TV OEMs like Samsung, Titan OS is an independent operating system where its rivals include ZEASN and Xperi’s TiVo.

In Wolk’s analysis, these so-called indies “have been growing in appeal as they offer many unique advantages, especially to local TV manufacturers who are looking for options that don’t involve casting their lot with global behemoths.”

He pointed out the importance of Titan’s European base, which also counts offices in Amsterdam, and expertise in the local European market as an advantage.

“There are 27 local markets and 27 different languages in Europe, and just as many local rules and regulations,” wrote Wolk. “Having people on the ground who know the ins and outs of these markets makes it easier for advertisers to execute on a pan-European strategy and for Titan to take on bigger players.”

Titan OS also entered the Latin American market via the contract to supply operating systems for Philips and AOC TVs and hopes to license its tech to other OEMs that do not have their own OS.

Smart TV makers have more recently sought to leverage their TV OS interfaces and increasing influence as the TV viewing entry point to create new advertising revenue streams that go beyond device hardware sales. That includes through embedded FAST services and home screen integrations, among others. And Titan OS is promising OEMs a way to get in on the action.

“The main difference between us and global OS players is that we will share the business with the TV brand,” Roca told DTVE. “This gives them the chance to generate their own revenue stream over and beyond their hardware margin. Our other main difference is that we are European-focused.”

CTV ad marketplace

The company debuted its connected TV marketplace, Titan Ads, during the Cannes Advertising Festival in June touting exclusive first party data from more than 4 million monthly active users and the ability to extend campaigns to over 30 million streaming households across Europe.

“The Titan Ads team have demonstrated a strong understanding of the local CTV market, combined with an advanced technology and data stack to help drive incremental revenue for our FAST business,” testified Gareth Vaughan Jones, head of Advertising Sales at Virgin Media in the UK where Titan Ads is a sales partner.

A partnership with OneTrust, announced in February, placed user privacy at the core of its personalized content recommendations and targeted advertising. OneTrust's CMP (custom-built consent management platform) helps Titan OS safeguard user privacy and enable compliance with privacy regulations and industry frameworks, notably GDPR across Europe.

“How users watch TV is changing. TV viewership is fragmenting into many different streaming applications, making it more difficult for advertisers to reach them. The homepage of the connected TV is the one place that all users have to pass through, meaning our homepage ad format provides maximum reach for advertisers,” said Edwards in the Titan Ads release.

Building on the retail data partnerships, Titan Ads is said to help advertisers drive direct action with shoppable ad formats that allow users to purchase products shown on the screen by scanning a QR code on their mobile device.

“Combining our first-part retail data with Titan’s CTV formats helps to deliver more relevant advertising experiences as part of our Currys Connected Media network. It’s an exciting, innovative opportunity to engage consumers,” said Andy Barratt, head of Retail Media at Currys, in the release.

It has also struck deals with sales houses in European territories such as Germany (Goldbach), UK (Media16), Spain (EXTE), France (Stamp), the Nordics, Belgium, the Netherlands (ShowHeroes), Italy and other international markets (RTL AdAlliance) to extend its reach.

In Wolk’s view, “The fact that a TV OS not tied to an OEM has an ad offering at all may seem surprising, but the ability to collect and use data is a feature of all independent TV operating systems—they collect the data. In a privacy compliant manner, via the OEMs that deploy them.

“That reach extension is key to the success of all of the Indies. By striking deals with a range of streaming TV providers, they are able to offer a more robust product that lets advertisers hit hard-to-reach consumers across multiple outlets.”