Michigan Capital Network

Prime Video Signs Multiyear Deal for Duke Basketball

Prime Video reached a multiyear agreement with Duke University to carry exclusive Prime Video coverage of three Duke men’s basketball neutral-site nonconference games per season beginning in fall 2026. The inaugural package opens Nov. 25, 2026 (Duke vs. UConn in Las Vegas), continues Dec. 21, 2026 (Duke vs. Michigan at Madison Square Garden), and concludes Feb. 20, 2027 (Duke vs. Gonzaga in Detroit); all three games will be produced by Prime Video. The deal is described as Prime Video’s first college sports relationship and sits alongside existing ACC media arrangements that keep most Duke games under ESPN’s long-term rights. The move expands Prime Video’s live-sports slate — which already includes long-term NBA/WNBA rights, Masters coverage, NASCAR Cup Series races, and select NFL games — and creates new national CTV inventory for the streaming service.

Australia Accelerates Programmatic TV

Australia’s TV market is an early adopter of programmatic TV, with MCN pioneering rudimentary programmatic for linear TV as far back as 2014. Today Nine, Australia’s second-largest TV network, sees programmatic accounting for the majority of digital revenue, aside from major events like the Australian Open where sponsorship IOs take precedence. In London, Nine’s Jordan King and PubMatic’s Nicole Scaglione discuss market dynamics, including perceived UK lag in programmatic adoption and the potential of FAST channels to unlock monetisation beyond single- SSP models. A key development is OzTAM’s VOZ measurement platform; VOZ Streaming will in 2024 fully integrate linear and BVOD measurement for content and ads. Australia’s Total TV market including BVOD was about $4.1 billion in the year to December 2022. The piece highlights a collaborative, data-driven ad tech ecosystem and suggests continued innovation in Australia and beyond, with UK VOZ Streaming anticipated sooner than later.

Broadcasters Must Digitise Ad Buying

As audiences shift from linear TV to on‑demand video, advertisers must reallocate budgets to maximise reach while broadcasters offset declining linear ad revenue with digital spends. Moritz Wuttke of IPONWEB advocates CPM‑based buying and audience targeting to monetise premium inventory across TV and digital video. The IAB Video Advertising Spend Report 2019 projects digital video budgets to grow 25% in 2019, with YouTube and Facebook dominating early digital buys. The piece urges a unified, cross‑platform approach (TV + digital) and a common currency across media, noting NBC Universal’s move to CPMs over traditional GRPs. It highlights Foxtel’s MCN platform aggregating its 70+ channels with local audience segments overlayed onto inventory, enabling new digital formats. NCC’s aggregated view of nearly 40 million households demonstrates how audience data can support cross‑distributor planning and buying. The article frames this as a broader industry shift toward simpler, self‑serve tools and closer integration of TV and digital buying.