AI-powered audience prediction – enabling Seven’s 7Plus digital channel to judge how long to make ad breaks – was a key element of the broadcaster’s SXSW Sydney upfronts pitch yesterday.

A new partnership with US-based Databricks enables the use of AI to drive contextual, relevant advertising experiences for its audiences.

A personalisation engine built with Amazon Web Services is already delivering highly customised recommendations and enhanced content discovery to 7plus viewers.

Seven West Media chief digital officer Gereurd Roberts said the Databricks partnership will take the AI implementation “beyond the user experience to include the advertiser experience”.

A first phase with Databricks enables the Australian broadcaster to predict what the audience on 7plus will be over the next seven days, to a level of accuracy of more than 91 per cent. “Through this work, we can tell you today what the next week of audience on 7plus will look like, all the way down to a show level,” he said.

A second phase currently underway, enables Seven to break an audience down by segment and demographic, while Phase Three will use AI to identify acceptance of ad load by audience segments and allow the size of ad breaks to be decided as a result.

Seven is also extending its Streamer community sports broadcasting platform, with a launch into east coast markets, and expansion of the format in WA, where it has been the subject of a partnership with SWM’s West Australian Newspapers.

WA viewers will have an option to cherry-pick the games and matches they want to watch, accessing them free of charge on the 7plus streaming service, described as a “massive change” by chief executive James Warburton.

Live streaming on 7plus grew 40 per cent last year to 13.5 million registered users, with VOD viewing increasing 15 per cent.

In WA, Streamer showcases “everything from amateur karate to State tennis and grassroots footy”, allowing clubs and players to create profiles, “and do everything from fundraising to sharing their highlight clips from games on social media”. Sporting organisations can also control and house their own content on the site.

WAN editor-in-chief Anthony De Ceglie says they plan to make Streamer the most popular one-stop shop for live streaming community sport and events in Australia. “It’s a true social media disrupter that is technologically far superior to any other sites live-streaming grassroots sports and, importantly, it hands over power to sporting organisations and players,” he said.

Seven has also announced that AFL and cricket will debut “in full” on 7Plus, next year, starting with the Brownlow Medal and the AFL Grand Final in 2024, followed by the AFLW – which is already running on 7plus – then the full 2025 season. Seven’s digital rights to cricket start in October 2024.

Warburton described the deal as “the biggest game changer in the history of Australian streaming”.

Pictured: Seven’s SXSW Sydney launch opens with an acknowledgement of country