'Vizio Features' AVOD Service Debuts in 2021 With Original Content

Logistics delays Vizio is experiencing “in some of the biggest ports of the country” involve “a slowdown in being able to unload vessels and get products processed and out into the distribution hubs,” said Chief Financial Officer Adam Townsend on a Q1 call Tuesday, its first as a public company (see report, May 12 issue). The bottlenecks are “particularly” acute at ports in California, where “a lot of our product comes through” from China, he said. “We don’t think it’s that material over the course of a number of months.” Vizio’s 28% year-over-year growth in Q1 smart TV shipments to 1.5 million sets “doesn’t really reflect even what could have been possible if not for those delays,” said Townsend. “There’s demand in the marketplace, and it’s just a matter of getting our products into those stores and onto the shelves.”Logistics delays may create “maybe a little of a shift” in shipment volumes “out of Q1 and into either Q2 or into Q3 if it pushes out that far,” he said. “There’s only so much we can do to control the dynamics of the ports.” Debuting later this year will be an ad-supported VOD offering called “Vizio Features,” said Michael O’Donnell, chief revenue officer for Vizio's Platform+ ad monetization operations. Vizio Features will be a “sponsor-driven content programming opportunity” that gives advertisers more ways “to engage with our consumers inside the SmartCast experience, whether on the home screen or within the actual content,” he said. It will give consumers “access to original or exclusive programming," he said: It's “kind of a low-risk, low-capital-intensive way of providing more value for our advertisers, content partners and ultimately, more stickiness and loyalty.” Vizio will roll "that out over the next few quarters,” said O'Donnell. “Not ready yet to announce the specific partnerships, but we will soon.”