[June 18] Just point your smartphone, and 'viewing' becomes 'buying.' A savior for TV advertising that could rescue local stations! And more
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▶ Just point your smartphone, and 'viewing' becomes 'buying.' A savior for TV advertising that could rescue local stations!
IRCODE, a US-based company specializing in AI-driven image recognition technology, has announced that it has received a strategic investment from major local broadcaster Sinclair.
The two companies plan to roll out 'IRCODE Lens' at broadcast stations in Salt Lake City and Austin starting in July, with plans to expand to further markets within the year.
This system allows viewers to open a broadcaster's app and point their smartphone at the TV screen to directly access, purchase, apply for, or vote on the products or information being shown.
Conceptually, it is similar to Google Lens or an 'image-based Shazam' (an app that identifies songs when it hears them), instantly identifying the contents of the screen frame-by-frame without the need for QR codes.
Because the video itself becomes the 'code,' the ability to make content interactive without changing the design of programs or advertisements significantly lowers the barrier to entry for broadcast operations.
Including outdoor advertising and printed materials, this technology is already in operation in 52 countries.
The primary goal is to tackle the 'unmeasurable effectiveness' problem of TV advertising head-on.
For years, TV advertising could only measure 'who watched,' while whether the viewer actually bought the product afterward remained a mystery.
IRCODE Lens connects the dots from 'viewing' to 'buying,' aiming to bring TV advertising onto the same playing field as digital advertising—namely, the world of performance-based rewards and precise effectiveness measurement.
Its design philosophy is also distinctive.
While 'Lens' products from Google or Amazon are convenient, the data is siphoned off to the platform side.
IRCODE adopts a white-label approach (a method of providing services under the client's own brand), promoting a model where viewer data, relationships with advertisers, and revenue all remain with the broadcaster—in other words, acting strictly as behind-the-scenes infrastructure.
As privacy regulations tighten globally, the significance of broadcasters being able to hold onto their own customer data assets is substantial.
And the area seen as the main target is sports and live events.
The press release explicitly mentions deployment in sports assets, and the compatibility between live viewing and commerce—such as real-time voting during a game or immediate purchase of player merchandise—is extremely high.
This is likely to become the core of their revenue.
[Dinko's Take] What is noteworthy is that the entity behind this is not a major streaming service or a national network, but a giant among local stations that bundles 177 stations across the US.
Their weapons are 'local trust and reach.'
They are combining this with interactive technology and proprietary data ownership.
At KSL station in Salt Lake City, which introduced it early, a usage pattern has taken hold where viewers can receive discounts at local restaurants simply by having the news anchor add a quick comment like 'Try scanning with the app,' leading to a surge in scans.
In-program voting and coupon distribution are completed just by pointing at the screen.
For local stations in Japan, where stagnant advertising revenue is a challenge, this is not a distant event.
Whether they can transform their existing assets—broadcast waves and local foundations—into 'measurable advertising' will determine their future success.
I believe Japanese local stations should also place investments in such interactive and data-driven technologies at the center of their growth strategies and act proactively now.
▶ Netflix's 'Decade of Asia': Dominating the majority of the global Top 10
Netflix has announced the 10th anniversary of its commitment to Asia-Pacific (APAC) content.
Ten years ago, the question was 'Can works from Asia reach the world?', but today, APAC works account for more than half of Netflix's weekly global Top 10 (non-English works).
The rapid growth from about 30% in 2021 to over half in just a few years is backed by the accumulation of continuous production investment in each country and the establishment of collaborative systems with local creators.
Since Netflix became available in over 190 countries in 2016, it has upheld the policy that 'to be truly global, one must be deeply local,' building a mechanism to deliver works rooted in specific cultures to the world by partnering with creators who understand the local culture, language, and location.
The scale of investment has also expanded over the past decade.
Since 2020, it has collaborated with over 300 production companies in APAC, and between 2016 and 2025, filming has taken place in over 650 locations within the region.
Each work is shaped by local talent, companies, and regional communities, leading to the cultivation of production ecosystems and job creation.
This accumulation of steady local investment is clearly reflected in viewing data.
Since 2019, viewing time for APAC content has increased fourfold.
The growth in viewership is directly linked to Netflix's decisions on which countries and genres to invest in moving forward, becoming a factor that drives production strategy itself.
By genre, Japanese anime shows an overwhelming presence, being watched by more than half of global members.
Furthermore, films from Thailand and Indonesia have reached number one globally, and Chinese-language works are gaining momentum, with works from Southeast Asia and the Sinosphere appearing on the world stage one after another.
Indian films have been on the global Top 10 list every week since the beginning of 2024.
Netflix stated, 'While we did not create the stories of this region, we are honored to play a role in amplifying them on a global scale,' and expressed the outlook that the next decade will be an era where APAC creators shape global stories.
【Dinko's comment】
Netflix's numbers are thrilling, but they also confront Japan with a reality that is hard to celebrate wholeheartedly.
Even though works from Asia have become the global standard, the 'exit' is ultimately held by the platformer, and we do not have control over whether they are distributed or how they are priced.
What I want to focus on here is the 'Action Plan for Strengthening Live-Action Content Development Capability' formulated by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in April 2026.
It lists matching support for international co-productions, a human resource development fund on a scale of 1,000 people per year, and support for overseas production by local stations, setting a goal of 250 billion yen in overseas exports and a 20% overseas sales ratio by 2033.
However, these are all supports for 'the power to create' and 'the cost to deliver,' and it is not a story of the government holding the exit itself, which is the distribution platform.
While considerations for debt finance and completion guarantees have begun, the vital distribution network remains dependent on overseas companies.
If there is a determination to open up rich local characteristics to the world, can we go beyond just backing individual works with subsidies and step into creating domestic exits—
Isn't that what will really be questioned in the next 10 years?
▶ NEP commercializes software integration platform 'NEP Platform'; an end to the era of dedicated equipment only
The NEP Group has begun commercial provision of the 'NEP Platform,' a software orchestration (a mechanism that centrally integrates and controls multiple pieces of equipment and systems) system that manages media infrastructure and hybrid production workflows in an integrated manner.
The biggest feature is the ability to integrate and operate production applications from companies such as Sony, Panasonic, Sony's Hawk-Eye, Bridge Technologies, Calrec, Grass Valley, and Lawo on a single, secure screen.
It covers everything from video and audio mixing, replays, and infrastructure management to multiviewing and measurement, and also incorporates Bridge Technologies' VB440 probe (measurement software that monitors and analyzes video and audio signal quality in real time).
It is already in operation at NEP facilities around the world, including the new 'software-first' type of outside broadcast vans deployed in Australia and Norway.
The technical core lies in the fact that this orchestration layer sits on top of 'TFC (Total Facility Control),' which NEP developed in-house and has refined as a management foundation for ST 2110 (a set of SMPTE standards for transmitting video and audio over IP networks).
Previously, dedicated hardware was built for each function, but the NEP Platform has moved away from that, shifting to a design where each company's broadcast software runs as an app on COTS (commercial off-the-shelf) compute.
For example, by using Manifold's FPGA (semiconductors that accelerate processing at the circuit level) acceleration technology, broadcast-grade processing such as multiviewers, UDX conversion, and graphics insertion can be provided with a delay of less than a single video frame, and with broadcast-quality performance where processing timing is always stable.
After deployment, each app appears as a 'virtual device' within the TFC orchestration layer, allowing operators to configure setups in minutes with the push of a button and release them instantly when no longer needed.
In terms of security, it features continuous vulnerability scanning, robust ID and access control, encryption, and constant monitoring, with a mechanism to verify app versions and configurations during each deployment.
Furthermore, because it automatically allocates only the necessary processing power according to the scale of the production at any given time, it reduces the effort of transporting unused equipment to the site and eliminates wasteful power consumption.
As a result, it is said to contribute to the goal of reducing environmental impact.
Future plans include adding more apps, and NEP's engineering team will support customers who wish to introduce it to their own facilities.
An NEP executive stated, 'The future of live production will not be decided by hardware or software alone, but by how effectively the two are integrated,' and positioned this platform as the answer.
[Dinko's Comment]
What is noteworthy is that this new software-centric outside broadcast van was first deployed in Australia and Norway.
NEP's TFC foundation is already in operation at the Super Bowl, large-scale sports events in Paris, and even this year's Eurovision, making it a technology that has been forged in top-tier live environments rather than just a theoretical concept.
On the other hand, Japan is a concern.
NEP places Australia, New Zealand, and Japan under a single jurisdiction, and while it is geographically within range, it is unknown whether this major wave will reach domestic production sites, where reliance on hardware and proprietary standards remains deep-rooted.
Precisely because its track record is proven, it can be said that the barrier to adoption is not technology, but the production site itself.
The long-ingrained habit of 'preparing dedicated equipment for every function,' long-term business relationships with manufacturers, and the caution of 'wanting to use tried-and-tested equipment' because live broadcasts do not allow for failure—
Overcoming these business customs and on-site sensibilities is the real challenge for Japan.
▶ The Big 4 streaming services clash in Asia, with 'Japanese live-action' as the protagonist
At the Asia-Pacific media conference 'APOS 2026' (held in Bali), executives from Netflix, Prime Video, Disney, and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) gathered and agreed that IP (intellectual property) originating in Asia and local production are the core of their global strategies.
In particular, all companies spoke in unison about the global potential of Japanese live-action works.
Until now, Japan's presence has been centered on anime, but with the success of Netflix's 'The Landscaper' reaching the top 10 in 15 countries and regions, moves are accelerating to replicate the global hit of non-English live-action, as demonstrated by Korea's 'Squid Game,' in Japan as well.
On the other hand, it is pointed out that the concentration of abundant funds, unconstrained by the production committee system, in the hands of top creators may lead to a polarization of the industry, such as the brain drain of talent and the decline in the status of small and medium-sized production companies.
Marking 10 years since its entry into Japan, Prime Video has moved beyond being 'just a streaming service' to announce its evolution into an 'entertainment hub' that bundles content, distribution, and convenience into one.
Backed by partnerships with over 600 companies worldwide, it has expanded its reach in the Japanese market—where subscriptions were not yet deeply rooted—from dramas and movies to sports and anime, with live boxing broadcasts growing to 15 events since starting in 2022.
The competition to lock in users beyond the scope of a single service is likely to intensify further.
Disney, which had been lagging in sports streaming, is planning a comeback by launching ESPN, one of the world's largest sports media outlets, in 53 countries and regions across the APAC region, including Japan.
Disney+ subscribers will be able to watch at no additional cost, and starting from the 2026-27 season, coverage of U.S. sports such as the NBA and NHL is also planned to expand.
Furthermore, in Japan, deepening partnerships are underway, such as the initiative starting in May 2026 where Disney+ and Hulu will mutually distribute exclusive titles for six months.
WBD emphasized, using 'Harry Potter' as an example, that 'a strong fan community creates value across diverse platforms,' and took note of the significant purchasing power (the economic effect of fandom) generated by enthusiastic fan bases in markets including Japan.
In Japan, they are taking a unique approach by deploying 'Max' within U-NEXT rather than using their own standalone app.
While models centered on reusing existing IP and fandom are becoming mainstream, each company also mentioned the possibility that vertical content could change future viewing habits.
[Dinko's Comment]
I feel a shift in the era in the fact that Mr. Kim of Netflix calls himself a 'portfolio manager.'
The idea of optimally allocating funds to Japan, South Korea, and India is fundamentally different from the production systems of TV stations that have historically been self-contained within their own networks.
However, Japan's key stations are not just sitting idly by.
TBS is partnering with Netflix and Disney through its subsidiary THE SEVEN, Fuji TV is distributing works globally with Netflix, and Nippon TV has been contracted to produce WBC broadcasts; each station has already taken steps to collaborate with platforms.
However, there is a difficulty here.
Many major global streaming services prefer a model where they cover the full production cost in exchange for buying out the IP (rights to the work).
Even if a work becomes a global hit, it is difficult for the production side to retain additional revenue, and in neighboring South Korea, this structure is viewed as a problem of 'becoming a subcontractor for Netflix,' to the point where there are ironically even proposals to use the Japanese production committee system as a model.
In front of platforms that hold all the rights, TV stations could end up in the same position as production companies: 'the side receiving orders.'
What are they giving up in exchange for financial power? It can be said that we have entered a phase where the strategic vision of each station will be tested more than ever before.