NBCUniversal used its One Industry Update livestream to emphasize that improving the viewer and advertiser experience remains a top priority. Laura Molen, President, Advertising Sales and Partnerships, said “this moment has only accelerated our efforts to make the ad experience more engaging for consumers and more effective for advertisers.” She continued, “I know we talk a lot about commercial time - and we’re still committed to bring that number way down.”

Reducing ad loads has become an imperative at NBCUniversal and other broadcast and cable networks as both viewers’ and advertisers’ expectations have changed due to inexpensive, ad-free SVOD services and binge-viewing. Viewers are less tolerant of commercial interruptions and also expect ads to be more relevant. Advertisers in turn have sought improved targeting and effectiveness. NBCUniversal has the most viewer-friendly ad-supported streaming service in Peacock, which is committed to 5 minutes or less of ads per 1 hour of viewing.

The company also said its scaling up it AdSmart Data Sync which unites client data with NBCU’s audience insights. It’s also testing in-flight campaign optimization. NBCU said it is launching a new capability called Product Synch that uses AdSmart audience data to recommend a variety of ways to highlight an advertiser’s product, from custom content to product placement. NBCU also said this year it will be launching a premium, cross-publisher audience network for greater reach on Apple, Twitter and YouTube.

NBCU also announced with sister company Sky, that all linear and digital advertising will be available through One Platform. The company said that the joint audience of the properties exceeds 500 million viewers per month, spanning 160 countries. New leaders overseeing the joint solution will be announced soon.

It’s also targeting the creative community with a new virtual Creativity Summit this summer, which will feature new content and commercial innovations.

For a full recap of everything NBCU announced during the One Industry update, see the press release.