Linius Signs Deal With Sky Italia For Personalized TV Trial

Italian football fans are set for an enhanced viewer experience following a deal between Linius Technologies and Italy’s largest pay TV broadcaster, Sky Italia, to deliver a personalized TV trial for selected subscribers.

Under the agreement, Sky Italia will use Linius’ services to develop personalized channels for testing within its subscriber base. It’s expected to particularly focus on Serie A content to begin, with Serie A attracting more than 260 million viewers over a season.

“Italian football fans are among the most passionate sports supporters in the world and we’re confident they will embrace our technology to give them an even better fan experience,” said Linius CEO Chris Richardson.

“With Serie A and the EPL set to resume this month after a forced hiatus due to COVID-19, the development of personalized TV by Sky Italia will be a welcome boost for sports fans.”

The agreement with Sky Italia will enable it to develop a closed trial to test user engagement and reaction to personalized TV. It will also facilitate commercial modelling and provide insights into future product design.

“Consumers are increasingly wanting a viewing experience specifically tailored to them,” Richardson added. “Using Linius Technologies’ services, Sky Italia subscribers will have access to hyper-personalized videos that will change the way they consume sports and other content.”

Research by Quantum Market Research on Sky UK subscribers found high demand for tailoring TV subscriptions, with 96% of respondents saying they were likely to use personalized channels.

The research also found subscribers considered personalized TV great value and are willing to pay an average £14.30 on top of their existing subscription fee.

And among those unlikely to renew their pay TV subscription, 77% said the addition of personalized channels increased their likelihood to stick with the service.

The deal with Sky Italia is a one-off trial that includes a personalized channel proof of concept, video virtualization, enrichment, and trial support.

Given current global uncertainty, trial dates are yet to be finalized.