Swisscom Drives NPS Increase With Premium Ad-Skipping Feature

The Challenge

Regulatory changes that came into force in Switzerland in 2022 restricted the ability of TV customers to skip adverts when watching replays of certain TV channels. At the same time, the regulations paved the way for a premium tarrif for customers who wanted an ad-free experience.

To take advantage of this opportunity and maintain its reputation for UX excellence, Swisscom needed to accurately pinpoint the start and end of ad breaks in all of its most popular TV channels, including those that do not offer ad break signalling via SCTE-35 markers.

The Media Distillery Solution

At first, Swisscom attempted to support this functionality themselves. “We developed an in-house solution for commercial detection, which yielded fairly good results on a few channels,” says Philipp Wuethrich, Head of TV and Smart Products Backend Software Development at Swisscom. “However, we soon recognized the complexities in building up and maintaining an AI model with adequate generalisation capacity for all the different channels out there. Recognizing these challenges, we really wanted to focus our internal resources on other areas where we can generate even more revenue or customer satisfaction and leave this task up to the specialists, in this case Media Distillery.”

Swisscom deployed Ad Break Distillery and EPG Distillery to analyse the broadcast streams of its 50 most-watched blue TV channels in real-time. Viewers who have paid for the Replay Comfort solution are now prompted to click a “Skip Commercial” button at the start of each ad-break.

The implementation required close collaboration between Swisscom's TV and Smart Products Backend Software Development team and Media Distillery's technical experts to fine-tune the AI and achieve the required level of accuracy.

Ad Break Distillery

Ad Break Distillery is designed to detect advertisement breaks in broadcast video automatically. Unlike other solutions that rely on fingerprint technology and prior knowledge of individual ads, Ad Break Distillery works without pre-existing ad data, making it effective for previously unseen ads. This solution allows Swisscom to provide a consistent ad-free experience across its Replay TV channel lineup.

EPG Correction Distillery

EPG Correction Distillery enhances the accuracy of electronic program guide (EPG) information. Linear broadcasts often do not align perfectly with the EPG schedule, leading to issues such as the end of a program being cut off or viewers having to fast-forward through the end of the preceding show. By ensuring accurate EPG information, Swisscom can offer a seamless viewing experience for all catch-up and replay TV, even where customers haven’t opted for the ad-skipping upgrade.

Results

1. Enhanced Customer Experience

"We want to ensure that if a customer pays us for an ad-free product, they’re getting that seamless experience, across all their favourite channels. Media Distillery is enabling us to do this," said Wuethrich.

Swisscom's Replay Comfort ad-free product has resonated strongly with viewers who prefer uninterrupted content. The ability to skip ads seamlessly has led to higher customer satisfaction and engagement. Wuethrich noted, "We see that the conversion level, in other words, using the markers to skip advertisements, is extremely high for Replay Comfort users; once they take up the package, they rely on it heavily."

2. Increased Net Promoter Score (NPS)

The implementation of these AI-powered solutions has directly contributed to a significant increase in NPS among Replay Comfort subscribers.

"What we have seen…is that customers’ Net Promoter Score (NPS) for the ad-free product is significantly higher than for other products,” Wuethrich confirmed. “That's important for us and that's what binds the customer to our platform. With Media Distillery’s Ad Break Distillery, we can be confident that this much-appreciated seamless ad-free experience can be enjoyed by more customers."