Tastemade Announces New Home Vertical and Deal with iSpot

In its first-ever NewFronts presentation, the digital video company Tastemade announced Thursday afternoon the launch of its fourth network, Tastemade Home—a new partnership with measurement company iSpot and a slate of 27 new original series. The media company has specialized in producing video content for digital and social platforms since its launch in 2012, giving it a headstart in the scramble for dominance in the increasingly crowded space of connected television. In 2021, its streaming revenue grew 70% year over year, according to Jeff Imberman, head of global sales and brand partnerships. With the Interactive Advertising Bureau projecting a 39% increase in ad spend to connected television this year, publishers and marketers alike are racing to establish a presence in the growing sector. In light of the land rush, Tastemade plans to use its decade of experience in digital video as a key source of differentiation from its competitors, Imberman told Adweek. “We have always been a video-first company focused on creating dynamic content in the lifestyle sector,” Imberman said. “As experts in the space, we think we are uniquely situated to tell these stories to the new audiences coming to the CTV world.” The three marquee announcements from Tastemade––the launch of Tastemade Home, its partnership with iSpot and its expanded content portfolio––aim to solidify the company as a key player in the food, travel and home video space. Its deal with iSpot, which has not been previously reported, will help the media company solve the attribution challenges inherent in CTV. The debut of Tastemade Home Tastemade currently has three networks: Tastemade, Tastemade Travel and Tastemade Español, all of which feature 24/7 programming and are available on major streaming platforms. With the launch of Tastemade Home, coming this summer, the company aims to expand into the lucrative space of interior design and home improvement. In tandem with the launch, Tastemade Home will premiere a new series, Weekend Refresh, based on a social series of the same name. Across its channels and social platforms, Tastemade claims to reach 300 million monthly viewers, totaling 700 million minutes watched monthly. While streaming is the fastest-growing segment of the Tastemade business, the majority of its viewership still comes from social media and social video, Imberman said. Partnership with iSpot Streaming video continues to see increasing adoption, but measurement and attribution challenges have hindered its growth. To solve that issue, digital media companies throughout the NewFronts have paired their content debuts with partnership announcements––Condé Nast announced such an arrangement on Tuesday, with Moat. Tastemade offered a similar declaration in its presentation, announcing that the company would work with iSpot to measure the reach of its content and bring attribution to its marketing partners. iSpot, which poached the business of NBCUniversal from Nielsen in March, also received a $325 million investment from Goldman Sachs at the end of April. The measurement company is one of a number of vendors vying to replace the measurement firms of the analog age, including Nielsen, by bringing more sophisticated technology to CTV and social media measurement. Expanding the Tastemade content portfolio Across its current three networks and its app, Tastemade offers more than 1,000 hours of original content—and it announced 27 new series that will debut this year. The new slate, a mix of 14 U.S. and 13 international programs, will account for 200 hours of new content. The programming includes shows like Big Appetite and Best Thing I Never Ate—and Tastemade will also launch its first themed weeks, with Grill Week in June and Pizza Week in September. Connected TV Ad Spend Expected to Hit $21.2 Billion This Year, Up 39% From 2021 The media company also has more than 50 episodes of returning shows slated for 2022, including the series All Up in My Grill and Beyond the Block, a series created in partnership with Realtor.com. “With Beyond the Block, we have helped a brand create a show that specifically aligns with their ethos of helping consumers on their home-buying journey,” Imberman said. “It is a perfect example of the kinds of things that we are excited to do more of in the space.”

NewFronts

Tastemade Announces a Fourth Network—Home—and a Partnership With iSpot

The digital video native is launching 27 new series in 2022

Mark Stenberg

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Mark Stenberg