Disney Doesn’t Want to be Left Behind in AI

Disney believes that AI can keep you watching during commercial breaks. 

The entertainment company filed a patent application for “artificially intelligent ad-break prediction.” As the title suggests, Disney’s tech uses AI to help place ads based on the content itself. 

“Ads can be a double-edged sword for media content distributors and consumers alike,” Disney said in the filing. “Too many, or poorly placed ads can be significantly off-putting to the content consumption experience, thereby potentially driving existing subscribers away.” 

Disney’s tech uses several machine learning models to analyze a piece of content and determine if it’s “ad-slugged” – that is, does it contain pre-existing segments where ads can be placed, or is it “seamless” and therefore lacks those pre-defined slots. 

The system locates black video frames, typically used for breaks and transitions within content. For ad slugged content, the system picks out both black video frames and silent frames, or those without audio. For seamless content, it evaluates for “blackness transitions” between frames, as well as audio continuity to place an ad with as little interruption as possible. 

In both scenarios, a “probability score” is calculated that predicts whether or not a certain spot is a good fit for an ad break. This tech allows Disney to automate the ad placement process in streaming without turning off users.

If this invention feels familiar, it’s because it is: Roku filed a similar patent application that uses reinforcement learning to place ads based on a “user state,” such as the content they’re currently watching and their tenure on the platform, as well as tech that places ads based on “scene emotion.” 

These filings suggest that AI may be a growing part of entertainment firms’ ad strategies as the tech continues its exponential growth. This tech could provide better return on investment for advertisers as many streamers continue to navigate their ad strategies amid an increasingly crowded ad-supported streaming market.

Tech like this makes sense as Disney seeks to entrench AI throughout its core businesses. Earlier this month, the company created a strategic group to responsibly manage how the company approaches emerging tech, such as AI and mixed reality. The unit, called the Office of Technology Enablement, will be run by former Walt Disney Studios CTO Jamie Voris.

While this new unit will focus on responsible AI and tech adoption, figuring out where and when to use these models will require some delicacy. Though implementations like the one this patent lays out likely won’t ruffle many feathers, Hollywood’s excitement over AI has continued to cause friction between studios and unions over the past year.