Viamedia made a deal to become the exclusive programmatic ad sales rep firm for the streaming news service News of the World, also known as NOW TV.

As part of the arrangement, Viamedia will improve inventory management and revenue generation for News of the World, while providing improved targeting capabilities and broader reach to News of the World’s advertisers, the companies said.

“Securing exclusive programmatic ad rights for News of the World represents a significant step forward for Viamedia in the streaming media landscape,” Viamedia CEO David Solomon said.

Viamedia, which has mainly worked with cable operators last month announced it was selling programmatic ads for Willow by Cricbuzz, which streams cricket matches.

“Our extensive expertise in ad sales propels us to the forefront of digital advertising innovation, ensuring unmatched success for our partners,” Solomon said. “By leveraging programmatic technology, we are enhancing the accuracy and reach of advertising campaigns and unlocking new revenue opportunities, driving industry-wide innovation and expanding our influence in the programmatic streaming sector.”

NOW TV is a streaming TV service launched by Comcast’s Sky TV.

Comcast announced Monday the release of Now TV Latino, a Spanish-language version of the “Now”-branded skinny bundle it launched a year ago.

The $10-a-month offering includes more than 25 live streaming channels, and comes bundled with a Peacock subscription.

Also read: Comcast Introduces $20-a-Month Now TV For Its Broadband-Only Customers, Delivering Peacock, Live Pay TV Channels and FASTs

“As we continue our focus on providing unique experiences, differentiated products and bring value to Hispanic consumers, [the platform] provides great Spanish-language and English-language content at an affordable price,” said José Velez Silva, VP of multicultural strategy, operations and community engagement at Comcast, in a statement.

The cable company said that Now TV Latino will feature movies, novelas, sports and live news across both paid streaming and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) formats.

Channels in the bundle include Estrella News, Caracol Televisión, CentroAméricaTV, WAPA America and various Telemundo FAST channels like Noticias Telemundo Ahora, Telemundo Noticias Florida, Telemundo Noticias Texas, Telemundo Noticias California and more.

The new package is built on technology developed for Sky’s Now TV platform, which launched in May within the Xfinity Stream app as a $20 monthly streaming product.

Also Read: Fubo Launches on Xumo and Xfinity Flex Streaming Devices

The service, available only to Xfinity’s broadband customers, can be purchased standalone or as an add-on to Xfinity’s other streaming offerings.

In addition, the streaming service can also be bundled with Comcast’s cable service, or the recently released streaming bundle that combines Peacock with Netflix and Apple TV Plus for $15 a month.

“We’ve been bundling video successfully and creatively for 60 years,” Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts said in May of the aforementioned bundle. “This is the latest iteration of that.“

Comcast’s plan to keep its pay TV business alive with a variety of streaming bundles is a likely response to the nosedive that’s plagued cable operators for years, causing the telecommunications giant to lose nearly 500,000 cable customers in the first quarter.

Comcast customers who purchase the bundle can also order a Xumo Stream Box, powered by Comcast and Charter’s joint set-top OS, for no additional cost.

Comcast continues to iterate its post-linear video strategy, introducing on Tuesday a new $20-a-month streaming service for its broadband-only customers called Now TV that will deliver Peacock Premium, more than 40 live pay TV channels from A&E, AMC, Hallmark and Warner Bros. Discovery, and over 20 FAST channels from NBC, Sky and Xumo Play.

The new offering will exist within the Xfinity Stream app, which not only runs on the Xfinity Flex connected TV device Comcast hands out for free to its broadband-only customers, but also on Amazon Fire TV, iOS- and Android-powered devices, and via casting through Apple AirPlay and Google Chromecast. 

Notably, Comcast didn’t mention compatibility with the Xumo Stream box, connected TV hardware that is part of its Xumo JV with Charter Communications. Comcast said it said it would start handing out these devices, which are the next-generation iteration of Flex, to its broadband customers later this year.

Comcast already uses the “Now TV” brand for a streaming service available in Europe on its Sky pay TV service, and the platform uses the cable giant's common global technology backbone. 

The introduction of the U.S. service comes as Comcast prepares to stop offering its $4.99 Peacock Premium SVOD (the one partially supported by commercials) free to its Xfinity Internet customers. That will happen on June 26. 

In addition to the baseline Peacock service, Now TV will deliver more than 40 popular entertainment-themed channels, including A&E, Afro, AMC, Animal Planet, BBC America, BBC News, Comedy.TV, Cooking, Crime + Investigation, Discovery, Discovery Life, Food Network, FYI, Great American Family, Great American Living, Get TV, Game Show Network, Hallmark Channel, Hallmark Drama, Hallmark Movies & Mysteries, HGTV, The History Channel, Investigation Discovery, IFC, Justice Central, Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, Magnolia Network, Military History, MotorTrend Network, OWN, Pursuit, Recipe.TV, Science Channel, Sony Movies, Sundance TV, TLC, Travel Channel, Vice, WE tv and The Weather Channel. 

Free ad-supported streaming channels integrated into the Now TV app include NBC News Now, Sky News and a bunch of genre-based channels from Xumo Play.

To be clear, beyond the $5 a month it costs for Peacock Premium, users are primarily paying around $15 a month for a virtual MVPD with 40 plus cable channels. Compare the aforementioned channels list to the $25-a-month Philo and its 70 plus entertainment channels. 

Now TV customers can use three concurrent streams per household and have access to a cloud DVR with 20 hours of HD storage. 

“With content and connectivity at the core of our company, we are uniquely positioned to build and deliver streaming entertainment offerings unlike anything else out there today,” Dave Watson, president and CEO of Comcast Cable, said in a statement. “Now TV is a great example of how our company brings together its collective video experiences, innovative technology, and superior broadband service to deliver some of the best entertainment into one affordable streaming bundle.”

Comcast lost a record 614,000 linear cable TV customers in the first quarter and only has a little over 15.5 million remaining linear video subscribers. 

Meanwhile, the cable operator is trying to rekindle growth for what is now its core business, residential high-speed internet. Many of the telecos Comcast competes with for wireline broadband customers offer discounted access to third-party vMVPDs, including Philo and YouTube TV. Comcast just has the wherewithal to build its own service. 

In addition to its broadband strategies, Comcast also has ambitions to become a player on the global OS stage via the Xumo joint venture with Charter. 

As it ramps up its development of streaming technology, Comcast will reportedly focus its plans on the Roku ecosystem and completely leave Apple TV out of its plans.

That is according to Apple enthusiasts news site BESTAppleTV, which claims Comcast informed Apple execs of this decision in a December meeting.

Reached for comment by MCN, a Comcast rep would only say. “At this time, we have not reached terms with Apple to bring our Xfinity Stream app to Apple TV devices."

However, a source with knowledge of the company's dealings said the report "conflates" an appearance of prejudice towards Apple, when in fact, Comcast has a relationship with the technology company. Notably, Comcast has a version of the Xfinity TV app for Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones and iPads. 

Also notable: For several years, Comcast has been developing a version of the Xfinity TV app for Roku that allows Xfinity TV subscribers to use their Comcast cable TV subscription outside the environment of the proprietary set-top box.

Its acquisition of Sky in hand, Comcast is now using the U.K. satellite TV operator’s Now TV technology blueprint to develop a direct-to-consumer streaming platform for both North America and Europe.

During Comcast’s fourth quarter earnings call, Steve Burke, CEO of the company’s NBCUniversal division, discussed loose plans to deploy Comcast-branded Roku devices to Comcast and Sky subscribers.

“Comcast is focused on the Now TV solution as the future of its streaming infrastructure and Apple has been told this,” BESTAppleTV quoted one source, which it described as being close to Comcast. “Apple has also been informed Comcast will concentrate its efforts on this platform, not on adding other third-party devices to the product mix with separate apps.”

Related: Charter to Pitch Apple TV 4K Box to Subs

Among streaming platforms, Roku’s is the most widely distributed in the U.S., with the company reporting 27 million active accounts earlier this month.

“This really is a no-brainer,” the BESTAppleTV source added. “It especially makes sense as Sky has a completely ready software and hardware solution for Roku that can be easily modified for mass distribution on every cable system in the country.”

The report of Comcast freezing out Apple comes after No. 2 U.S. cable operator Charter Communications announced extensive collaboration with Apple. This includes the deployment of 4K Apple TV devices to customers.

For Comcast, the “zero sign-on” capabilities of the tvOS operating system found on Apple TV devices is probably an issue. This feature automatically authenticates channels based on what broadband service it detects in the home—in other words, it basically assumes there’s a double-play or triple-play service bundle being subscribed to. 

Anointment by the No. 1 cable operator in America would mark an important victory for Roku, a now-publicly traded upstart which is competing with Apple and Amazon to be the baseline technology consumers use to access OTT content. 

Last month, Roku was dealt a blow when Apple announced that it would open its iTunes Store to smart TVs made by Samsung and other leading suppliers.