05/06/21: Cynopsis Special Report: Katz Media Group Launches Live Streaming Marketplace

 

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM KATZ MEDIA GROUP
 


Cynopsis Medias First Morning Read

 

Thursday May 6, 2021

Katz Media Group Adds to its Portfolio of Solutions for Advertisers with the Launch of Katz Live: The First-Ever LIVE Streaming Marketplace

Cathy Applefeld Olson

As the media business evolves, brands need a representation firm that understands their history as much as their future. As the largest media representation company in the country — representing more than 3,000 radio stations and over 700 TV stations as well as hundreds of digital assets — Katz Media Group has been synonymous with leadership in the media industry and delivering dynamic advertising solutions and insights for brands and agencies.

To add to its portfolio, the Katz Digital Video division offers three exclusive marketplaces — Katz OTT, Katz News Network (KNN) and the newest addition Katz Live.

“Katz is exceptional at helping brands grow, reach and engage with consumers in unique, meaningful ways — and we saw an opportunity to do that within live events,” says Mark Gray, CEO of Katz Media Group. “Adding Katz Live to our ecosystem of audio, TV and digital offerings further establishes Katz as a one-stop-shop for advertisers and agencies to reach diverse audiences with unparalleled scale.”

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM KATZ MEDIA GROUP
Katz Live is the first-ever live streaming marketplace with exclusive digital feeds of music, sports, esports and entertainment.

“Katz Live enables advertisers to integrate seamlessly into live events across sports, esports and entertainment events distributed into OTT environments—giving advertisers access to an edge-of-your-seat viewing experience in the streaming world,” says Doug Pfaff, EVP of Katz Digital Video.

Victoria Toth, VP of Katz Digital Video, says activating a live offering was a natural iteration. “Katz developed the platform to ensure superior execution and results, allowing advertisers to target audiences when and where they consume media not only in live entertainment and major sporting events but also across esport events with sponsorship opportunities.”

The “live” component is an increasingly salient piece of the media landscape “as behaviors change, cable subscriptions decline, media rights change control and in-person attendance was interrupted,” says Scott Young, co-founder/CPO of Transmit Live, which creates monetization strategies for streaming video distribution. “We partnered with Katz because of their long history and expertise in broadcast advertising and are excited to continue working together to bring brands unique solutions on both a local and national level.”

While the initial focus of the Katz Live platform was to be on live sports and entertainment events such as Comic Con, award shows, concerts and festivals — the pandemic had other plans.

“When live events went on pause, we quickly pivoted to include the gaming and esports space that proved to be very successful digital activations for our partners,” Pfaff says. “We had an NBA 2K [virtual] tournament and various Fortnite, Mindcraft and tournament-style events that were extremely popular, and when live events began returning, Katz brought back live sports partnerships as well.”

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM KATZ MEDIA GROUP

A Word From Katz Clients

As live events and businesses continue to ramp back up, Katz Live now has a robust, double-sided offering for advertisers and agencies.

With a strong foothold in the virtual experience and esports sectors, the company has unique expertise in navigating this growing vertical.

“As the video space grows more fragmented, it’s imperative to find ways to access consumers where they are consuming media,” says Rachael Wolfson,
supervisor of local investments at Havas Media. “With the ability to target live sports, Katz Live allows us to tap into viewers when they are engaged and tuned in. Katz Live is a great partner in the streaming video space.”

“Katz and their Katz Live offering have been a great fit for client needs,” notes a supervisor of local investment, digital, at Dentsu. “In a cluttered OTT/CTV marketplace, it is hard finding live sports on a local level without the fear of frequency/duplication issues, and Katz Live has been a great solution here.”

Michelle Byrne, regional manager, Team Ford at Mindshare, calls the experience working with the Katz team across their live platform “effortless efficiency and exceptional stewardship of the business.”

A CYNOPSIS MESSAGE FROM KATZ MEDIA GROUP

A Network of Networks

The addition of Katz Live to the company’s advertising suite brings another way the company delivers custom solutions for brands across the entirety of the media landscape and across the country. At its core, Katz Media Group offers local relevance at scale, whether a brand wants to amplify one message that sounds local in multiple markets or multiple unique messages.

“What we’ve created is the ease of execution and efficacy to reach those eyeballs. We’re completely flexible. We can deliver on a national or regional level. If a brand wants to break copy—advertise snow blowers up north and steel-belted radial tires in the west— Katz can accommodate whatever an advertiser needs through one point of contact. It’s extremely efficient and very effective,” Pfaff says.

The live platform joins Katz OTT, which aggregates impressions in a unified ecosystem reaching viewers at scale down to the ZIP code as well as the Katz News Network, a one-stop solution covering more than 400 local stations across 180 DMAs with a single-entry point.

“Katz has all of that in one place. All we needed to do was roll it up and make it a network offering, build out the dashboard to aggregate the rates and communicate with the stations, to create this one super-unit, one network spot,” he says.

As its book of business swells across KNN, OTT and LIVE, the Katz Digital Video team is also growing— with offices in all major markets, including NYC, LA, Dallas, Chicago and Atlanta.

And, notes Pfaff, “We’re not done building yet. We will continue to evolve and grow along with the media landscape to add the Katz portfolio of media opportunities. We are excited to continue to provide solutions and offer our agency partners new ways to integrate their brands into content.”

Cynopsis Team

Lynn Leahey
Editorial Director
@Lynn_Leahey
Kerry Smith
Division President
Access Intelligence

Roberta Caploe
Publisher
@robertacaploe

Cynopsis Ad Sales
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