Australian pay-TV operator Foxtel has renewed its agreement to license TiVo’s search and recommendation technology services.

In 2016, Foxtel made the decision to shelf its Q3 set-top box platform, moving to a solution combining Arris hardware and TiVo software. In July of 2017, Foxtel, which is jointly owned by News Corp. and Telstra, renewed its intellectual property agreement with TiVo.

“Foxtel’s continued investment and trust in TiVo’s personalized discovery capabilities demonstrates our innovation leadership and differentiation in such a competitive landscape,” said Samuel Sweet, senior VP of sales EMEA and APAC, for TiVo, in a statement.

Added Michael Ivanchenko, Foxtel’s director of Product Design & Development: “Foxtel has a legacy of driving innovation across the Australian television landscape TiVo’s solutions are a strong contributor in helping us to stay at the forefront of bringing the latest entertainment services to our viewers.”

Adding an enhanced content discovery feature for smartphones, Netflix has begun to introduce a mobile preview capability on mobile devices that follows a similar feature that Netflix already offers on TV-connected platforms.  

RELATED: Netflix Adds 7.41M Streaming Subs in Q1 

The new feature for mobile -- launching today on iOS, with Android on deck -- delivers 30-second trailer-like previews of shows and movies in the vertical screen format.  

Those previews are presented like a slideshow, allowing users to tap play or add a title to their playlists, or swipe or tap the screen to advance to the next preview.  

“One of the best ways to know if you’ll like a new series or movie is to watch a quick trailer,” Cameron Johnson, Netflix’s director of product innovation, noted in this blog post. Mobile previews present members with a fun, simple, and easy way to learn about all the new content on Netflix -- and find something great to watch even faster.” 

Netflix brought video previews to its TV experience last year, and found that it helps subscribers discover and zero-in on content quickly and results in less browsing.  

Truly conversational devices are becoming more and more prevalent in our daily lives. Through smart home devices such as Amazon Echo or Google Home, interactive “assistants” allow consumers to activate shortcuts to save time and help automate routine tasks — all using the sound of their own voice.

This sea change in home automation is starting to take place in the living room as well. No longer the domain of just adjusting the thermostat or turning on music, people are using their voice to search for — and discover — content on TV. The industry is seeing not only an increase in the number of households that use voice to discover content, but also the complexity of that discovery. The prevalence of home assistants is teaching people not only that they can speak to a device, but how to speak naturally with that device.

Act Naturally
A transformation from robotic dictation to natural conversation is underway and will play out over the coming months and years. What started out as simple searches for titles (“Find me Game of Thrones”) or channels ( “Tune to HBO”) has now broadened to much subtler, and more complex, searches such as “What’s on TV?” or “Find me some good comedy movies,” followed by “only the ones rated five stars.” A voice-supported interface that isn’t smart enough to handle these complex searches, or maintain context for follow-up questions, is like the first iteration of Siri: a fun toy, but for many of us, it’s not providing an overly valuable experience to improve our day-to-day lives.

The implications of this shift are significant. A voice interface is a like a wormhole through a user interface. Instead of navigating through endless menu paths that only very few viewers succeed at mastering, a cluttered screen can be replaced by a clean and intuitive user interface that allows voice interaction. The challenge then becomes not only to provide a set of results for a given search, but also to interpret the intent of the viewer, and act upon that intent in a meaningful way so that only the most salient results are seen, personalized to the viewer's interests.

Adding the extra dimension of personalization to voice functionality not only offers viewers the most cutting-edge user experience, but also a more accurate, high-quality set of results. The data is available to marketers, thus it’s important to deliver the right promotion at the right time to the right viewer.

Talk, Then Target
For example, when a viewer expresses a very well-defined intent, like “Find me my game,” the system knows to tune to the New York Yankees based on previous viewing habits, but also provides the opportunity to deliver targeted marketing and upsell paid content such as MLB Extra Innings. For networks and studios, the opportunity to deliver a target promotion is priceless. If a viewer asks, “Find me a comedy movie” and a broadcast network or studio has a new satirical comedy, that program can be promoted to only the viewers who have previously enjoyed such shows.

The ability to dynamically generate valuable screen real estate, as opposed to hard-coded areas of the screen, will deliver a much greater monetization opportunity. Combining this with the ability to target certain portions of a viewing audience enables not only the right content at a time that is “in the moment,” but also delivers it to the right viewer. Tracking the performance of these efforts will also allow marketers to continuously optimize not only the content, but also the ad message.

The living room is on a journey of transformation. Gone are the days of endless sifting through channels, or debating over which content is best. Voice functionality provides not only the ability to provide a clean, simple and easy-to-use interface, but also the next generation of monetization platforms.

Jon Heim is director of product management, conversation services, and Chris Ambrozic is senior director of analytics and product at TiVo.

Looking to broaden participation from OTT providers as it nears the launch of its new “TV” app, Apple plans to reduce the revenue it takes from subscription video apps from 30% to 15%, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the decision.

RELATED: Apple Unveils ‘TV’ App

The cost reduction could help Apple expand the number of video OTTs that are part of a new TV app for the Apple TV, iPhone and iPad that will launch later this year. The aim is to provide integrated, unified access to TV shows and movies that are offered on a multitude of individual  video apps.

While unity is being sought, the aim will likely be falling short early on, as key OTTs such as Netflix and Amazon aren’t yet in the mix. It will also be key for Apple to bring as many TV Everywhere apps from both programmers and MVPDs to its new offering.

Bloomberg said the expanded offering of a reduced price, already offered to some video partners, is a “move to appease partners whose movies and TV shows are vital to the technology giant’s video strategy.”

It also comes as Apple looks to smooth out its occasionally contentious relationship with the pay TV industry. Apple’s brash negotiation style did not sit well with some broadcasters and other programmers when Apple was trying to build its own pay TV service, according to The Wall Street Journal. The recent addition of former Time Warner Cable exec Peter Stern to the Apple fold, with a focus on subscription services, may help out in that area.

Apple is also looking to drum up more MVPD support for its new single sign-on initiative for Apple TV.

RELATED: Few MVPDs Part of Apple’s Single Sign-On Mix

Comcast has rolled another batch of upgrades and enhancements for its cloud-based X1 platform, including two centered on search and discovery.

Following the debut of Kids Zone, a features that presents content that is rated and reviewed by Common Sense Media for age-appropriateness, Comcast has enhanced it with integrated search. That will let kids “search safely and independently within Kids Zone for their favorite TV series, movies and channels” using the remote, Peter Nush, vice president, product management at Comcast Cable, explained in this blog post.

X1 has also added Spanish to the voice control feature of a new remote that’s now in about 1.5 million Comcast subscriber homes. Comcast, which is distributing about 70,000 new voice remotes a week, said the device now works with commands in Spanish, noting that the feature still carries the beta label.

Comcast has also introduced an enhanced music video search function, while the Comcast Labs unit is kicking the tires on a new playlist editing tool that lets customers rename and reorder their selections.

Comcast has deployed X1 across its footprint, and about 25% of its video sub base is now on the platform. The MSO recently ratcheted up deployment to 40,000 X1 boxes per day, up from a previous level of 25,000. 

Synacor said it has struck an expanded multiyear deal with Windstream that includes the development of a next-gen customer portal and a search and discovery metadata platform for the telco’s multiscreen TV service. 

Financial terms were not disclosed, but the coming Web portal, for Windstream’s residential high-speed Internet customers, will feature a new UI and a more intuitive search and discovery platform, they said. 

“Windstream is in the business of connecting communities, and today’s digital experiences facilitate building both personal and business relationships,” Sarah Day, interim-president of consumer and small business for Windstream, which recently raised its video game by launching an IPTV service in Lincoln, Neb., that tangles with incumbent cable operator Time Warner Cable. “We’re excited to offer our customers a richer online experience powered by Synacor’s innovative solutions, accessing their latest portal technology, and enabling our customers to search, discover and view their favorite content from any device of their choosing.”

“Windstream’s expansion of our longstanding relationship is an endorsement of our newest products and the compelling experiences we help deliver to Windstream subscribers,” added Synacor CEO Himesh Bhise. 

Synacor also announced that Horry Telephone Cooperative (HTC) has picked the vendor email provider, and the launch of a native mobile iOS app for short-form video, news and links to operator customer-care features. The new app is a companion to the company’s white-label portal platform. 

The company also announced the addition of two execs -- Mike Primiani, as head of portal products, and Hardys Eggum, who will head up Synacor’s IT and technical operations.  Primiani most recently served as SVP of consumer products at Mindspark Interactive Network, a subsidiary of IAC, leading up tis advertising, gaming and shopping businesses.  Hardys was VP of media technology architecture at HBO, and is also late of Motorola.

Synacor made the string of announcements in concert with its latest financial results. The company, which specializes in customized Web portals and TV Everywhere authentication systems, posted Q2 revenues of $24.7 million, up 2% from the year-ago quarter. Search and ad revenue rose 3% to $19 million, ad revenue jumped 57% to $11.7 million, while subscriber based revenue was flat, at $5.7 million. 

Synacor also posted a net loss of $1.1 million (4 cents per share0, narrowed from a loss of $1.9 million (7 cents per share) in the year-ago quarter. It ended the quarter with $27.1 million in cash and cash equivalents, up from $26.8 million. 

It’s expecting Q3 revenues of $23.0 million to $24.0 million, and full-year 2015 revenues of $97.0 million to $102.0 million.