Utiq and Visoon launch consent-based identifiers for TV advertising

Utiq has partnered with Visoon Video Impact to introduce a consent-driven identifier system for television advertising environments. The collaboration, announced on September 28, 2025, marks the first deployment of Utiq's consentpass technology in the TV ecosystem, spanning both Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) and Connected TV (CTV) platforms.

The partnership addresses technical challenges in addressable advertising across linear television, streaming services, and digital environments. Visoon, which markets TV and big-screen offerings from Axel Springer and Paramount, is integrating the consent pass infrastructure into its technical stack to enable cross-device identification across multiple viewing environments.

Technical infrastructure and identifier mechanics

The system operates on Utiq's consentpass, a privacy-first identifier built on active user consent and verified telecommunications signals. Utiq collaborates with European telecommunications providers to convert network data into secure, pseudonymous signals. This conversion occurs only after explicit consent has been obtained from users, creating what the company describes as a deterministic approach to addressability based on verified individuals rather than probabilistic models.

Norman Wagner, Managing Director DACH at Utiq, stated: "With this partnership, we are bringing Utiq's strengths to the big screen for the first time — and demonstrating that data protection-compliant addressability also works in the TV ecosystem."

The integration enables advertisers and agencies to access deterministic addressability, cross-platform measurability, and user engagement tracking across television and digital channels. For publishers and platforms, the system provides a framework for maintaining what Utiq terms "digital sovereignty" while allowing users to control their data through active consent mechanisms.

Implementation across TV environments

Visoon's integration of the consent pass spans its portfolio of HbbTV, CTV, and streaming services. The implementation creates cross-device and cross-environment identification capabilities, allowing measurement of incremental reach across different television formats and platforms. The system verifies incremental reach through a neutral partner while maintaining compliance with data protection regulations.

Michael Möller, CTO of Visoon Video Impact, explained: "We are creating a new digital TV offering in which incremental reach in the ATV and CTV segments is verified by a neutral partner in compliance with data protection regulations. With this scalable solution, we combine the best of both worlds: TV reach and digital targeting in CTV, thus guaranteeing optimised targeting of audiences in valuable contact classes – efficient, transparent, and future-proof."

The technical solution addresses fragmentation across streaming and CTV platforms, which has complicated consistent addressability for advertisers. Browser restrictions and the elimination of third-party cookies have intensified these challenges, creating demand for privacy-compliant solutions that deliver measurable outcomes across platforms.

Market context and industry implications

The advertising technology sector has undergone substantial changes as third-party cookies phase out and platform restrictions increase. Google announced on April 22, 2025, that it would maintain third-party cookies in Chrome after years of planning their deprecation, completing what industry observers called "its 180 degrees turn" on the Privacy Sandbox initiative.

The Privacy Sandbox shifted focus to user choice on July 22, 2024, when Google revealed it would no longer proceed with full cookie deprecation. Instead, the company introduced a user choice experience for third-party cookies. Testing of Privacy Sandbox APIs revealed significant challenges. The UK's Competition and Markets Authority found on June 16, 2025, that publisher revenue declined around 30% even with privacy-preserving alternatives enabled.

The television advertising environment presents distinct technical challenges compared to web-based advertising. HbbTV combines broadcast television with broadband internet connectivity, enabling interactive features and addressable advertising capabilities. CTV platforms, which deliver television content through internet-connected devices, have grown rapidly but operate across fragmented ecosystems with varying technical standards and measurement capabilities.

Telco-powered identifiers represent one approach to addressing these challenges. By leveraging telecommunications infrastructure, these systems can create identifiers based on network-level signals rather than browser-based cookies or device identifiers. The consent-driven model requires active user approval before data conversion and identifier creation.

Cross-platform measurement capabilities

The partnership enables measurement across multiple screens and environments. Advertisers can track campaign performance across linear television broadcasts, streaming services, and connected television platforms using a unified identifier system. This cross-platform measurement addresses a persistent challenge in media planning, where audiences increasingly consume content across multiple devices and platforms.

The system provides verified incremental reach, measuring audience segments that would not have been reached through a single channel or platform. Transparent measurement protocols allow advertisers to assess campaign effectiveness across different environments while maintaining compliance with European data protection regulations.

For media buyers and planners, the technology offers deterministic targeting capabilities on television screens. Rather than relying on probabilistic models that estimate audience characteristics, the system uses verified signals from telecommunications infrastructure to identify users who have provided consent for addressable advertising.

Privacy framework and regulatory compliance

The consent-driven architecture positions the system within European data protection frameworks. Users provide explicit consent before their network data is converted into advertising identifiers. The pseudonymous signals created through this process separate personal telecommunications data from advertising applications, creating technical barriers between raw network information and marketing uses.

Utiq's infrastructure works with telecommunications providers to implement this separation. The company converts network data into secure, pseudonymous signals only after obtaining user consent, creating what it describes as a privacy-first approach to addressability. This framework addresses regulatory requirements while enabling advertising functionality across television and digital channels.

The system's deployment in television environments extends privacy-compliant addressability beyond web-based advertising. Television platforms have traditionally operated with different technical standards and privacy frameworks than digital advertising channels, complicating efforts to create unified measurement and targeting capabilities.

Industry positioning and competitive landscape

The partnership positions both companies within the evolving television advertising technology market. Utiq, which operates across European telecommunications providers, extends its consent-based identifier technology from digital channels into television environments. Visoon gains access to deterministic identifier technology for its portfolio of television and streaming inventory from Axel Springer and Paramount.

Identity solutions have become increasingly important as the advertising industry adapts to privacy changes. Google announced on January 21, 2025, that Display & Video 360 would introduce Publisher Advertiser Identity Reconciliation (PAIR), a tool designed to connect advertiser and publisher first-party data without compromising user privacy. The announcement indicated PAIR had been adopted as an industry standard by the IAB Tech Lab, with over 20,000 publisher domains already integrated.

The television advertising market has seen growing interest in addressable advertising capabilities that combine the reach of broadcast television with the targeting precision of digital channels. Connected TV has experienced particular growth, with LG Ad Solutions announcing on July 15, 2025, a strategic integration with Viant Technology designed to accelerate addressable advertising capabilities across 45 million connected devices throughout the United States.

Technical deployment and scalability

The integration of Utiq's consentpass into Visoon's infrastructure involves technical implementation across HbbTV and CTV environments. HbbTV technology combines broadcast television signals with internet connectivity, enabling interactive features and data collection capabilities. CTV platforms operate through internet-connected devices, including smart TVs, streaming boxes, and gaming consoles.

The cross-platform nature of the deployment requires technical compatibility across different television standards and delivery mechanisms. Linear television broadcasts, streaming services, and connected television platforms operate with varying technical specifications, requiring adaptable implementation frameworks. The system must maintain identifier consistency while accounting for these technical differences.

Scalability considerations include the geographic reach of participating telecommunications providers, the adoption rate among users who encounter consent requests, and the coverage of Visoon's television and streaming inventory. The effectiveness of the system depends on achieving sufficient scale to provide meaningful audience segments for advertisers while maintaining the deterministic accuracy that distinguishes telco-powered identifiers from probabilistic approaches.

Implications for advertisers and publishers

For advertisers, the system provides deterministic cross-platform capabilities that extend from digital channels into television environments. Campaign planning can incorporate verified reach across streaming services, connected television platforms, and traditional broadcast television, with measurement protocols that track performance across these channels. The consent-driven framework addresses privacy requirements while enabling addressable advertising functionality.

Publishers and content providers gain access to addressable advertising capabilities that maintain data protection compliance. The system allows monetization of television and streaming inventory through targeted advertising while keeping users in control of their data through active consent mechanisms. Visoon describes the approach as combining television reach with digital targeting capabilities.

Media agencies can plan campaigns that span television and digital channels using consistent measurement frameworks. The cross-platform identifier enables frequency management across different screens, preventing over-exposure to the same audiences while identifying opportunities for incremental reach. Transparent measurement protocols provide visibility into campaign performance across environments.

Addressable TV market developments

The television advertising sector has experienced substantial technical development throughout 2025. Wunderkind launched programmatic CTV pause ads on July 16, 2025, featuring QR code integration and dedicated creative studio support. The announcement followed successful testing with Ulta Beauty that demonstrated 79% cost reduction per store visit and 54% above-benchmark conversion rates.

Smartclip integrated deterministic TV measurement platform BEE into its supply-side platform on April 8, 2025, providing the first deterministic TV measurement solution available within an SSP. The integration enables media owners to track performance metrics across linear television, connected TV, and addressable TV using a unified measurement approach.

ID5 announced on June 5, 2025, a partnership with streaming publisher Future Today to enhance addressability across 1.5 billion CTV ad impressions. The integration addresses specific technical challenges related to non-logged-in viewing environments, enabling precise audience targeting on free ad-supported streaming services.

European television advertising infrastructure

The Utiq-Visoon partnership occurs within a broader context of European television advertising infrastructure development. UK broadcasters Sky, Channel 4, and ITV announced on June 17, 2025, joint intent to launch a premium video advertising marketplace starting in 2026. The initiative aims to democratize television advertising access for small businesses through a user-friendly interface designed for SMEs and digital-native advertisers.

The connected television advertising market continues expanding across European markets. Industry projections tracked by PPC Land indicate CTV's share of media budgets is projected to double from 14% in 2023 to 28% in 2025, with 72% of marketers planning to increase programmatic advertising investment in 2025. This growth trajectory underscores the significance of enhanced addressability solutions for streaming platforms.

The partnership demonstrates how traditional television advertising infrastructure is adapting to privacy requirements and changing consumption patterns. As audiences shift from linear television to streaming platforms, measurement and targeting technologies must evolve to maintain advertising effectiveness while respecting user privacy and regulatory frameworks.

Timeline

• September 28, 2025: Utiq and Visoon announce partnership to launch consent-driven identifiers for HbbTV and CTV environments
• July 16, 2025: Wunderkind launches programmatic CTV pause ads with 79% cost reduction per store visit
• July 15, 2025: LG Ad Solutions integrates with Viant to advance addressability across 45 million connected devices
• June 17, 2025: UK broadcasters announce unified self-service TV advertising marketplace for 2026 launch
• June 16, 2025: CMA reveals testing results showing publisher revenue declined 30% with Privacy Sandbox
• June 5, 2025: ID5 partners with Future Today for CTV advertising addressability
• April 22, 2025: Google announces it will maintain third-party cookies in Chrome after years of deprecation planning
• April 8, 2025: Smartclip integrates deterministic TV measurement tool into its supply-side platform
• January 21, 2025: Google announces PAIR and AI tools for Display & Video 360
• July 22, 2024: Google shifts Privacy Sandbox strategy to user choice model

Summary

Who: Utiq, a provider of consent-based identifiers working with European telecommunications providers, partnered with Visoon Video Impact, which markets television and big-screen offerings from Axel Springer and Paramount.

What: The companies launched a telco-powered, consent-driven identifier system for television advertising environments, specifically targeting HbbTV and Connected TV platforms. The system enables cross-platform measurement and addressable advertising while requiring active user consent.

When: The partnership was announced on September 28, 2025, marking the first deployment of Utiq's consentpass technology in television ecosystems.

Where: The implementation spans Visoon's portfolio of HbbTV, CTV, and streaming services across European markets, leveraging Utiq's relationships with European telecommunications providers.

Why: The partnership addresses technical challenges in television advertising created by platform fragmentation, browser restrictions, and the elimination of third-party cookies, while maintaining compliance with European data protection regulations through consent-driven identifier creation.