• by Alex Weprin , Staff Writer, March 27, 2018

TiVo, the technology company behind the DVR and home entertainment system, and Tru Optik, the OTT-focused data management and audience intelligence platform, have inked a deal making TiVo’s linear TV viewership data -- which includes more than two million households -- available on Tru Optik’s OTT Marketing Cloud platform.

Leveraging TiVo’s data means that marketers will be able to connect linear TV viewing to on-demand and OTT/connected TV viewership.

“Successfully bridging the gap between OTT/CTV and linear TV gives the media ecosystem -- including marketers, agencies & platforms -- a holistic understanding of how viewers are consuming both content & advertising,” John Whitmore, head of data and strategy at TiVo, tells Video Insider.

“This elevates the opportunities for targeted advertising and cross-channel analytics, and gives content providers a real 360 view of their consumer's behavior -- especially because the partnership is based on this cross-channel, deterministic & transparent data," Whitmore adds.

Tru Optik users will be able to create custom segments based on TV viewership, allowing for them to retarget those consumers on CTV/OTT. For example, a local car dealer could target consumers on digital that saw a national car ad on linear TV.

“Most TV viewing homes in America are now cord-shavers, meaning they consume both traditional linear TV, well as connected TV,” Andre Swanston, CEO of Tru Optik, tells Video Insider. “So being able to retarget households on CTV that watched your content or competitive content on linear can be a powerful tool.  Also, reaching homes on CTV that were exposed to your ads on linear or a competitor’s ads, allows for reinforcing your brand message or countering a competitor’s message across the largest, most influential screen in the household.”