Someday soon, marketers may be able to pay NBCUniversal to have an AI-generated approximation of “Real Housewives” executive producer Andy Cohen name-drop their brand to hundreds of thousands of fans.
Cohen’s uncanny digital avatar is part of a new Bravo-focused mobile app experience that NBCU plans to launch within the Peacock mobile app this summer, the company announced on Friday.
Called “Your Bravoverse,” the new app feature will also include AI-edited and personalized playlists of vertical video clips from across the Bravo franchise of shows, with the goal of engaging one of NBCU’s largest and most dedicated fan bases.
All of the app’s AI-assisted output will be validated by human editors before going live, John Jelley, NBCU Media’s SVP of product and user experience for Peacock and global streaming, told press at a preview event at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City earlier in the week.
Within all that content, there will, of course, be advertising opportunities.
Peacock has already experimented plenty with AI-narrated streaming recaps, including using the voice of famous sportscaster Al Michaels for its Paris Olympics coverage in 2024.
And just as the AI version of Michaels was able to reference specific brands as part of various sponsorship deals, so, too, will the AI version of Cohen, said Jelley.
“As with all of our advertising, transparency is important, so any sponsored elements will be clearly identified to ensure fans understand when a brand is part of it,” Kristina Shepard, EVP of streaming, performance sales and partnerships at NBCU, later confirmed to AdExchanger.
Meanwhile, more traditional ad inventory is already available within the Peacock mobile app – not surprising, since the platform was built with advertising in mind, said NBCUniversal Media Group Chairman Matt Strauss.
However, these existing placements are designed to run before TV episodes and movies, meaning that they’re more like typical horizontal CTV ads than the vertical, interactive formats you see on TikTok and within other mobile-first channels.
Peacock first began integrating both mini-games and vertical video into its mobile app last January. This summer, NBCU will expand on that in a big way by rolling out a new dedicated vertical video section with live vertical sports highlights and new tie-in games related to franchises like “Jeopardy” and “Law and Order.”
Presumably, as NCBU brings more vertical content to Peacock, we’ll also start to see more vertical ads.
