Gracenote vs Looper Insights

Index Exchange CEO: Sell-Side Innovation, CTV Transparency, AI Agents

In an interview with ADZINE, Andrew Casale, CEO of Index Exchange, discusses the evolution of programmatic advertising. He argues that sell-side innovation, including modeling and containerization, is increasing complexity but also value. Buyers can now run their own models on the sell-side, democratizing decision-making. Casale addresses the black box concern, noting that while the internal logic of buyer models is opaque, the platform observes their actions. He highlights the shift towards modular infrastructure, with Index enabling data providers and DSPs to run modules on its cloud. Regarding CTV, Casale emphasizes the need for more transparency, noting that while genre data is increasingly available, show and episode data remain limited due to legal and distribution issues. He discusses the evolution of pod serving and the role of agentic advertising, distinguishing between workflow automation and impression-level decisioning, which remains the domain of mathematical models. Casale sees AI agents as useful for automating manual tasks but not as a revolution that will shift power from walled gardens.

• Andrew Casale, CEO of Index Exchange, discussed sell-side innovation, CTV transparency, and AI agents in an interview.
• Index Exchange processes around 20 million requests per second.
• Most of Index Exchange's CTV supply includes genre data; show and episode data are often kept for direct deals.

CTV Show-Level Data Glut Fails to Deliver Optimization Control

While CTV buyers increasingly demand show-level transparency, a new IAB report shows 43% lack confidence in inventory. Despite progress in show-level reporting, true program-level optimization remains elusive. Publishers and exchanges offer data, but limitations persist: incomplete bidstream signals, "unknown" titles, and lack of scaled optimization solutions. Privacy laws like VPPA, combined with household-level data, complicate sharing. Linear TV offers program-level control by design, while CTV faces a gap between reporting and active optimization. Buyers can receive post-campaign reports but can't programmatically target individual shows at scale, except via programmatic guaranteed deals. The industry is working toward compliant, scaled optimization, but meaningful progress is still needed.

• 43% of CTV buyers have little or no confidence in the inventory they buy (IAB).
• Major exchanges do not offer scaled show-level optimization as a standard product.
• One top-five streamer's SSP integration prevents pulling show-level reporting.

Gracenote expands AI product roadmap with sports MCP server, entertainment SLM and agents

The expansion comes as companies adopt general-purpose LLMs to improve viewer experiences, guide content decisions and streamline operations.

Operational AI ROI in Streaming: CTV Home Screen Digital Shelf Battle

A new report from Looper Insights highlights the shift from growth to operational efficiency in streaming, emphasizing the overlooked role of operational AI and the unverified CTV home-screen 'digital shelf' market. The report reveals that while consumer-facing AI garners attention, 83% of surveyed executives see operational AI as delivering tangible near-term results. It underscores the lack of third-party verification of promotional placements on CTV platforms, with 65% of executives believing platforms charge premium rates without proof, yet only 8% use verification. Looper Insights introduces Looper AI, a chat interface that provides instant Media Placement Value ($MPV) from proprietary data, addressing the trust gap. The report urges content owners to adopt independent measurement, shift AI investment to back-office operations, and bolster data infrastructure.

• Global subscription revenues surpassed $176 billion in 2025.
• 83% of surveyed senior executives say operational AI delivers tangible near-term results.
• 65% of streaming executives believe platforms charge premium placement rates without adequate proof, but only 8% use third-party verification.

Looper Insights launches AI chat to price CTV home-screen placements

Looper Insights has announced the launch of Looper AI, a conversational interface that allows studios, streamers, and their marketing, content, distribution, and partnership teams to query the company's CTV home-screen placement data in plain language. The AI-powered chat provides answers with source tables, enabling users to understand the value of their on-device placements, compare with competitors, and take data-backed numbers into platform negotiations. The tool addresses a market gap where 65% of streaming executives believe platforms charge premium rates without adequate proof, yet only 8% use third-party verification. Looper Insights also plans to offer public Model Context Protocol (MCP) access, allowing its data to be integrated into AI assistants like Claude, ChatGPT, and Copilot. This move positions Looper as a data source for AI-driven media planning and could increase pricing transparency in CTV advertising.

• Looper Insights launched Looper AI, a chat interface for natural language queries on CTV home-screen placement data.
• Only 8% of streaming executives use third-party verification for premium placement rates, while 65% believe platforms charge without adequate proof (State of Streaming survey).
• Looper plans to provide public Model Context Protocol (MCP) access for integration with AI assistants like Claude, ChatGPT, and Copilot.

Apple TV Bucks Unscripted Wave with Premium Scripted Focus

New research from Ampere Analysis reveals that Apple TV is the only major global streaming service to increase its proportion of scripted content in its US catalogue between Q2 2022 and Q2 2026. With unscripted content making up only 18% of its catalogue, Apple TV contrasts sharply with competitors like HBO Max, where unscripted hours approach 75%. Ampere's viewership data shows Apple's strategy works: Ted Lasso Season 4 drew 3.3 million unique US viewers in early September 2026, with other premium titles like Mayday and Silo also performing strongly. Looper Insights data indicates Apple's interface design, featuring portrait-oriented posters, directs 96.6% of Media Placement Value to Apple TV+ originals, reinforcing its premium positioning. Apple's approach is a deliberate trade, focusing on high-intent, culturally significant content rather than volume-driven engagement.

• Apple TV is the only major global streaming service to increase its proportion of scripted content in its US catalogue between Q2 2022 and Q2 2026.
• Apple TV has the lowest proportion of unscripted content among major US streamers, at 18% of its total catalogue.
• Ted Lasso Season 4 attracted 3.3 million unique US viewers in the first two weeks of September 2026.