Transmit widens the streaming landscape with its picture-in-picture ad platform

A sample Transmit.Live ad during a pro tennis match (Source: Transmit Live via WSJ)

If you watch live sports, you know that ads of all shapes and sizes find their way onto the screen during the less-than-exciting parts of a contest.

Depending on the platform, these ad formats have come to be known as picture-in-picture, picture-by-picture, or — our personal favorite — double-box.

Recently, startup Transmit.Live raised $7m to bring these ads to live streaming video.

The company wants to capture early market share

Transmit offers media management and analytics services and can generate ad inventory during unplanned live breaks. It inked deals with ViacomCBS and the NHL, along with alternative broadcasters like FloSports and Esports platform Super League Gaming.

Impressively, Transmit has quadrupled revenue annually since 2018 and is on track to bring in $40m in 2021.

It’s not alone. Amazon’s Twitch and networks like Fox Sports already offer the picture-in-picture format, seen during creator streams and NFL, MLB, and NASCAR broadcasts.

Still, live-streamed TV is on a hot streak…

… and the space will likely see massive growth in the coming years:

• eMarketer expects 154.4m live-video viewers in 2021, up from an estimate of 126.7m in 2019
• Ad spending on smart TVs could hit $18.3B by 2024, up from $8.1B in 2020

The ads work, too. Transmit notes that after viewing picture-in-picture ads, 94% of viewers recall featured brands, and 74% recall specific messaging.

Unfortunately for consumers, this likely means one thing: more ads.