Smart TV Viewer Analytics Company Samba Files for IPO

Samba TV is “transforming” smart TVs “into a platform for our customers,” including brands, agencies, content programmers, publishers and measurement and advertising vendors, “to build attentive, engaged audiences,” said the company in an S-1 registration statement Tuesday at the SEC for an initial public offering of common stock. Samba’s AI-driven “content identification software” is embedded in smart TVs sold by “leading OEM brands across the globe,” it said. “Through our software, we form direct relationships with millions of viewers, who provide us consent to collect their viewership data. Using the data we collect, as well as data we license, we provide customers with critical tools to optimize how they plan, buy and measure their advertising campaigns to reach their preferred audiences.” Traditional TV audiences "watched a limited selection of content available on a broadcaster’s linear programming schedule, which included advertisements seen by all viewers regardless of their interests," said the filing. "With the development of on-demand services, today’s viewers enjoy more video choices than ever as content consumption rapidly spreads across a growing set" of broadcast, over-the-top and streaming "platforms, formats and devices," it said. Samba generated revenue of $82.8 million in the nine months ended Sept. 30, up nearly 24% from the same 2020 period, said the S-1. August Capital Management is Samba’s largest institutional investor with 6.51 million shares, said the filing. Co-founder and CEO Ashwin Navin is its largest individual shareholder with 4.17 million shares. Samba has applied to list its common stock on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “SMBA.”