Paramount Australia pitched the first TV upfront of the season on Monday, unveiling plans to come to market with a unified trading platform in early 2025, amongst other key announcements.

The new tech, dubbed Paramount Connect, will sit internally within the Paramount sales team, bringing together a single audience view across BVOD, SVOD, AVOD, FAST channels and linear - with the linear set to join the CTV line up in the second half of 2025.

Paramount Connect, claimed as the first of its kind in the Australia market, will land between January and February, on the heels of the new unified VOZ trading system. It aims to enable marketers to target and deliver audiences across every platform and program within Paramount's content ecosystem.

Phase 1 of Paramount Connect will unify broadcast video on demand (BVOD) platform 10 Play, streaming platform Paramount+, and over 60 free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channels on Pluto TV. The second phase, planned for the latter half of 2025, will incorporate linear TV into the mix.

President International Markets Ad Sales for Paramount, Lee Sears, said the eagerly anticipated technology had been carefully crafted to understand audience behaviour and meet marketers' needs by incorporating feedback from international advertising partners and fine-tuning the offering via global technology expertise.

"Paramount Connect will break through the silos of linear and digital, bringing together a complete and transparent picture of audience behaviour, offering advertisers unique opportunities across Paramount that delivers results for brands.

"Converged trading with Paramount Connect responds to the evolution of viewing. We know the choice between linear and BVOD is not a zero-sum game but is far more nuanced, affected by genre and format, shaped by sporting moments, and influenced by credible news and major events.

"Paramount Connect can navigate and tap into these opportunities and audience preferences, delivering platform agnostic viewer insights to drive business outcomes.

"Advertisers will be able to reach and engage audiences across all platforms, delivering scale and impact like never before, with the ability to prove the value of their investment."

Chief Sales Officer for Paramount Australia, Rod Prosser, said convergence was the driving force behind their future-focussed vision, sales team and strategy.

"Our ambition is clear. One team structured for success. One blended CPM. One way into more than 16 million Australians watching our channels and platforms but endless ways to execute business results.

"Paramount Connect will give the advertising market frictionless, flexible, targeted and simple converged trading in a unified digital ecosystem with a single customer view that will deliver results in the only Total TV offering in Australia."

Paramount Brand Studio will continue to support the sales team in creating campaigns and products. With the introduction of contextual Connected TV (CTV) advertising opportunities, sophisticated data partnerships, targeted audience profiles, and data-informed advertising solutions and tools, Paramount Australia is expanding its advertising opportunities.

Also announced at this year's upfront was the expansion of Paramount's shoppable CTV offering. Following a successful proof-of-concept pilot for Shoppable TV earlier this year, the network is partnering with KERV to introduce contextual advertising offerings 'Pause to Shop' and 'Own the Moment'.

'Pause to Shop' allows advertisers to convert relevant content moments with specific on-screen brand exposure, or even similar products or services, into immediate consumer engagement.

Digital Advertising Director for Paramount Australia, Diane Ho, said: "Pause to Shop represents a significant leap forward in how we drive value for our advertising partners.

"By integrating seamless product discovery into our premium content, we're transforming the way brands connect with their audiences, turning engagement into sales-actions."

'Own the Moment' is a more premium offering, allowing advertisers to claim and enhance key contextual moments within Paramount's popular programs by pulling in-program moments into the first ad-in break, accompanied by a shoppable brand opportunity that dynamically matches the in-show moments to the advertiser's products or services.

Paramount Australia's partnership with Innovid is also expanding to include social and vertical video solutions, giving advertisers without a brand TVC the ability to repurpose existing social media and vertical video creative assets for CTV.

"Our deepened partnership with KERV and Innovid marks an exciting evolution in our advertising strategy," said Digital Advertising Strategy and Product Director for Paramount Australia, Shani Kugenthiran.

"By leveraging cutting-edge contextual and interactive solutions, we're providing advertisers with unparalleled opportunities to engage audiences in meaningful and impactful ways that drive real business outcomes."

The company has also expanded its data proposition with strategic partnerships with Circana, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, and a global payment provider. Paramount's first-party data points have been harnessed to curate 80 premium, off-the-shelf audiences called 'Paramount Personas'. The personas will be enriched with insights from the new data partners, as well as existing partners smrtr, Coles 360 and Samba TV.

"Our expanded suite of contextual and data-driven solutions empowers advertisers to connect with audiences more meaningfully and effectively," said Ho.

"By leveraging advanced tools and strategic partnerships, we're enabling brands to turn engagement into tangible business outcomes, driving both impact and innovation."