MediaRadar, the advertising intelligence company, said it made a deal with PlayOn to use PlayOn’s video recording platform to improve MediaRadar’s streaming media analytics.

The deal marks the first time PlayOn has let its platform be used for a business-to-business application.

“MediaRadar is always seeking new, better, and increasingly granular methods of collecting and analyzing OTT Media advertising data to improve the valuable insights we provide to our clients,” MediaRadar CEO Todd Krizelman said. “Our partnership with PlayOn adds another data source to strengthen our OTT insights portfolio and increase the accuracy and value of our analytics.”

MediaRadar tracks which brands are advertising on streaming services, including Hulu, HBO Max, Paramount Plus, Netflix, Disney Plus, Peacock and Pluto TV, and how much they’re spending.

Consumer use PlayOn to watch recordings of streaming video on their PC, mobile devices or connected TV. PlayOn is using its large panel of viewers in the U.S. to record video and tag the start and end times of advertising commercial breaks. 

“We are excited to announce MediaRadar as PlayOn’s first commercial partner to benefit from the opening of our cloud-based streaming video capture platform to third parties,“ PlayOn CEO Jeff Lawrence said. “We think the opportunities for analytics companies to leverage the platform are vast, and we are excited to see the commercial applications that arise from it. MediaRadar is the perfect launch partner for PlayOn‘s new commercial line of business.”

PlayOn sees more ways its platform can be used, including audio fingerprinting for automatic content recognition, artificial intelligence-based visual analysis, scene detection and metadata generation.

MediaMall Technologies said it has added support for DirecTV Now on PlayOn Desktop, a workaround app for PCs that enables those OTT TV subs to view the service on more platforms and record and playback shows.

DirecTV Now, AT&T's OTT TV service launched late last year, had introduced apps or extended official support for platforms that include Web browsers, Amazon Fire TV players and sticks, Apple TV boxes (4th generation), Android and iOS mobile devices, the Chromecast streaming adapter (currently only for Android) and Chromecast-enabled TVs. 

PlayOn Desktop, MediaMall said, will also enable DirecTV Now subs to view the service on other platforms, including Roku players as well as Xbox, PlayStation and Wii consoles. DirecTV Now has a cloud DVR on its feature roadmap, but PlayOn Desktop also features DVR capabilities.

PlayOn’s app turns PCs into a streaming media center, allowing users to “cast” content to other devices for display on TVs.

The app is free to download, but the recording and media casting capabilities costs $7.99 per month, $29.99 per year, or $69.99 for a lifetime subscription.

Claiming it is bringing more than 100 channels alongside DVR capabilities to the Google Chromecast, MediaMall Technologies said its PlayOn and PlayLater PC-to-TV media server software has integrated support for the popular $35 streaming adapter.

MediaMall, which announced plans to support the Chromecast last fall, said this week’s launch of the updated software will enable the adapter to play content from networks such as CBS, NBC, ABC, Comedy Central as well as Hulu, and to tie it together with a “uniform guide-like interface” – something the Chromecast does not inherently offer.

The company said its PlayLater product provides Chromecast users with DVR capability to record videos for casting later when they are no longer available online.

MediaMall’s technology set-up essentially expands the amount of content that can be delivered to the Chromecast prior to formal optimizations.

Following the recent addition of MLB.TV, the Chromecast supports Rdio, VUDU, Photowall, Crackle, Netflix, HBO GO, Hulu Plus, Pandora, YouTube, Google Play TV & Movies, Google Play Music, Vevo, Red Bull.TV, Songza, Plex, PostTV, Viki, and RealPlayer Cloud. Users can also cast a Chrome browser tab from their PCs or laptops to the TV. Aereo, which is in the middle of its Supreme Court battle with U.S. broadcasters, expects to be “Google Cast Ready” on May 29.

But users looking to do more on the Chromecast via MediaMall will need to buy its PlayOn PC-to-TV software, which goes for $29.99 per year or $59.99 for a lifetime subscription, load it on their PCs, and get the PlayOn mobile casting app. The PlayLater piece sells for $19.99 per year, $39.99 for a one-time lifetime subscription. Consumers can also buy a lifetime PlayOn/PlayLater combo subscription for $69.99.

“Chromecast is a great, inexpensive device for cord cutters but is somewhat limited in its content and casting capabilities,” said Jeff Lawrence, CEO, MediaMall Technologies, in a statement. “PlayOn gives Chromecast users a universal interface for TV-watching and vastly expands the list of available channels, and with very little fuss, it also brings a full-screen cross-browser web casting experience that users can’t get with the Chromecast alone.”

MediaMall said its PlayOn Browser extension also works with Roku devices, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.