Paramount’s sales chief Rod Prosser believes the network is building a smarter, faster (potentially harder and better, per Daft Punk) future for TV as he explained to B&T ahead of its upfront-like event in the Gold Coast last week.
Alongside the news that Big Brother would be returning to 10 and Dreamworld, Paramount had a blitz of announcements on the more business-y side of show business.
In fact, the network declared its partnerships amount to no less than “the future of media”. To find out what this future entails, we checked in with Tamara Simoneau, vice president, content, Paramount ANZ, as well as Prosser, and their crystal balls.
Contextual Advertising Is Entering The Big Brother House
After piloting Pause to Shop during Survivor and MasterChef Australia, Paramount is taking contextual advertising to the next level with a full Contextual Ad Suite powered by KERV.ai, debuting in Big Brother‘s new season.
The AI-driven platform analyses scenes in real time, detecting context cues, such as when a contestant mentions being hungry or thirsty, to serve relevant brand messages in the next ad break.
“It’s immersive, but not intrusive. We call it ‘owning the moment’ — the ad experience matches what’s happening in the show, without interrupting it,” Prosser said.
“If someone is celebrating or talking about chocolate or even about being hungry, the AI engine will pick that up. Within the ad pod or the next format, we can deliver ads in relevant, contextual moments so they can own the moment. Viewers can go deeper into the product and the brand. Most brands will be able to activate and add units around it. It’s a really exciting product that we’re going to launch,” Prosser said.
Prosser stressed that it will never interrupt the show. When audiences pause or roll into the next ad break, the ad will be placed there and be integrated seamlessly.
“It’s an intuitive, but not intrusive experience,” Simoneau added.
“By combining advanced technology with the power of content, we deliver meaningful, measurable connections between brands and audiences. We’re proud to be setting the pace globally in contextual advertising on Connected TV,” Prosser added.
Paramount Connect
Originally launched earlier this year, Paramount Connect was designed as a unified ad trading system powered by FreeWheel. This latest iteration expands on that vision, giving advertisers a more modular and converged way to buy across streaming and linear. It offers advertisers simplified entry to unified 10 and Paramount+ audiences and advertising inventory.
“We’re effectively calling it Connect 2.0. We know that TV in the past has been a little bit onerous in terms of buying, so this really reduces the transactional time, and takes the friction out,” Prosser said.
Connect gives buyers optionality and the kind of seamless transaction experience you’d expect from digital platforms, but with the scale and impact of premium video, Prosser and Simoneau explained.
“Whilst we have launched Connect, throughout the year we realised that you need a couple of ways in, and that not one-size-fits-all, so we’ve created two solutions for our platforms and inventory,” Prosser said.
Prosser split the updated Connect into two main modules: Connect Streaming, a dedicated ecosystem for Paramount+ and Pluto TV, bundling streaming assets with tailored targeting through Connect Content (for genre or program-based buys) and Connect Audiences; and Connect Total Video, a converged platform bringing together 10’s linear channels, BVOD and digital inventory under one planning and trading system.
“Connect Total Video will allow advertisers to get a single proposal across all platforms, one transaction, and unified reporting. It’s about matching the ease and precision of digital ad tech with the power of television. We’re effectively standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the global tech players,” Prosser said.
The full tech stack is in testing and being discussed with partners, with a market rollout expected in Q2 next year.
“For advertisers, the sky’s the limit when it comes to reaching audiences across our premium streaming ecosystem. We’re connecting clients to content and audiences in a frictionless way, with even more powerful advertising solutions on the roadmap ahead,” Prosser added.
Measuring Attention: Adelaide Partnership
Paramount announced a new partnership with Adelaide, introducing attention-based metrics for its streaming assets. The move will allow advertisers to measure recall, engagement, and ROI more accurately across Connected TV by applying Adelaide’s AU attention score, a widely adopted attention measure.
“Adelaide goes beyond traditional metrics for us to understand the impact of an ad and how viewers are engaging with that ad and the recall. It links viewer attention directly back to brand and business outcomes. It’s a really useful set of data. We now have robust, market-tested data to prove ROI,” Prosser said.
“Attention is the currency that matters. Advertisers are demanding proof that premium environments deliver premium results. We’ve always known our audiences are highly engaged – Adelaide’s measurement expertise validates that connection between investment and tangible brand and business outcomes with unprecedented precision,” Prosser added.
The collaboration fills a gap in streaming measurement, enabling advertisers to leverage insights to inform future campaign planning. It also supports comparative analysis across content types, formats, and contextual relevance, empowering smarter, data-driven decisions.
CTV Sales Agreement With LG Ad Solutions
Paramount ANZ has expanded its digital portfolio with exclusive rights to LG channels’ Australian advertising inventory. It marks an extension of their partnership, which recently included the integration of Paramount’s linear broadcast feeds into LG’s IP-based channel platform.
Paramount ANZ will integrate LG’s CTV inventory, which offers over 130 free streaming channels. Paramount will sell all LG Channels and third-party inventory within the LG Channels platform, marking an expansion of its connected TV (CTV) advertising capabilities in the Australian market.
“It gives us extra scale, much greater reach, and also gives us access to the ARC data. Our partnership with Samba, and now with LG, attention measurement data, and OzTam numbers allows us to pool all those datasets together to give us a clear picture of how we’re performing and driving ROI. We intend to demonstrate and prove that the investment for advertisers is working across our platforms,” Prosser said.
LG Ad Solutions’ first-party data is powered by Automatic Content Recognition technology and informs viewership behaviours across linear TV and OTT on LG Smart TVs.
This unified approach will enable advertisers to access premium, data-driven CTV advertising opportunities through a single, streamlined sales channel. LG Ad Solutions will continue to bring to market all of LG’s digital CTV inventory, including Home Screen advertising units and their data solutions.
“This partnership is a major step forward in our digital growth strategy. By combining LG’s high-quality CTV inventory with our existing digital platforms, we’re creating a more powerful and scalable offering for advertisers looking to reach Australian audiences in premium, brand-safe environments,” Prosser said.
“We’re proud to deepen our relationship with LG, a trusted global innovator whose platform continues to redefine the connected TV experience. I also want to acknowledge our exceptional Paramount ANZ Sales team, whose expertise and drive continue to elevate our digital capabilities and deliver outstanding results for our partners,” he added.
LG Ad Solutions, the advertising division of LG Electronics, launched its local team in Australia earlier this year and has seen growth across LG Channels and Connected TV Home Screen products – driven by premium households, exclusive inventory, and deterministic viewership data.
