Adventr.tv unveils new GenAI-powered interactive streaming service

As streaming platforms search for ways to deepen engagement and differentiate content, interactivity is getting another serious look — this time with help from AI.

Adventr, the AI-first software company with roots in interactive advertising, is launching Adventr.tv, a voice-controlled streaming platform for games, shows and movies with real-time user input. The company is betting that generative AI can unlock a new wave of viewer-created content and make interactive storytelling more scalable than ever.

“This is the future of entertainment,” Adventr’s CEO, Devo Harris, tells The Current. “[Interactivity] engages viewers longer, and the ad inventory sold within those experiences is at a premium.”

While interactive content has become more common in ads (and gamified ads), interactive shows and movies have not taken off at the same rate. Netflix’s Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, released in 2018, remains one of the few high-profile experiments to break through.

Adventr hopes to change that with a hybrid model. The platform will feature a mix of professional content from developers, streamers and studios, such as Wales Interactive and Aviary Films, alongside AI-generated games and shows that users can create themselves. This works across desktop, mobile and TVs, including Amazon Fire TV and Google TV, with Roku and Samsung TVs support coming soon.

Harris says the company is currently in talks with major media companies to license its content — a move he believes would lead to “massive global distribution,” by enabling existing streamers to embed Adventr’s interactive content within their own services.

“The real game-changing opportunity is democratizing access,” Harris says. That includes marketers. Brands are already collaborating with Adventr ahead of next year’s World Cup and Winter Olympics on interactive elements, whether they be ads, content or games.

While Adventr.tv is launching without ads, the company has years of experience in the space. It’s worked with brands like Lavazza, NBCUniversal, Wayfair, Macy’s and H&M for years on personalized, interactive ads.

A campaign with Marc Jacobs saw 41% click through rate, according to Adventr, created by recrafting footage from old ads to make them look new. The cable channel Sundance TV also had success, with Adventr reporting 34% higher purchase intent from pre-roll ads.

Interactive content has long drawn a niche but passionate creative community. Filmmaker Paul Raschid (who made The Gallery and Hello Stranger) says distribution has been the biggest hurdle.

“Having worked in the interactive space for many years, getting such projects in front of a broad audience has been the biggest obstacle,” Raschid says. “Now, to have my work instantly accessible on TVs and phones, is a huge milestone moment and step forward for the entire format.”

While the newly consumer-facing TV product is the new showcase, Harris sees it as the gateway to Adventr’s technology, so it can be sold to agencies and publishers. Harris envisions the company similarly to Adobe as the essential creative software for both enterprise clients and hobbyists.

Interactive ads are coming into their own

Interactive ads’ next leap will likely come later this year, as Netflix plans to integrate interactive ads in the second half of the year. At Cannes, Disney announced it will bring shoppable ads to its streaming services.

Samsung, LG Ads, Vizio and Tubi made interactive ads a major part of their NewFronts offerings this year, with Samsung launching interactive ad units called GameBreaks to the U.K., the U.S. and Canada.

LG Ad Solutions Chief Marketing Officer Tony Marlow said during the NewFronts that TV is “becoming the launch pad to proactive, lean-forward experiences.”

Harris believes we’re two years away from viewers being able to create personalized shows specially tailored for themselves through Adventr’s AI capabilities.

That’s the kind of storytelling Adventr aims to make possible.