Paramount has announced it will road-test shoppable television in Australia next year for the first time, allowing viewers to use their remotes to buy products they see on screen while watching films and shows.
Paramount announced on Tuesday it would test the Shoppable TV technology, created with artificial intelligence company Kerv, on viewers of the coming season of Australian Survivor when it starts on 10 Play in early 2024. The technology will then be released globally on its streaming service Paramount+ if the pilot succeeds in Australia.
It is a world first for the media conglomerate, and the first time such technology will be tested on the Australian market.
When Australian Survivor airs, viewers will be able to pause the show and use their TV remote to browse Survivor merchandise sold by Paramount. Users will be able to select a product using their remote, read more information on their screen and scan a QR code to buy the product.
Viewers will also be able to buy other products if advertisers get on board, with Paramount now inviting them to sign up for the pilot.
Guardian Australia understands the products advertised will be required to be relevant and contextual to what is shown on screen, whether it is a film, show or advert. However, they will not have to be the exact same product – for example, if a viewer sees a fridge while watching a cooking show, they could be taken to a fridge made by a different company.
Shoppable television has previously been tried in other countries, with NBCUniversal testing the technology in 2019, then a first for a national broadcaster in the US. In the UK, broadcaster ITV tested shoppable television on Love Island in 2021, but the technology only worked on LG televisions.
Earlier this year, Kerv and NBCUniversal announced Must ShopTV, which will allow viewers of shows and films on NBCUniversal’s streaming arm Peacock to buy products they see, such as cooking equipment used in reality cooking show Top Chef.
Rod Prosser, the chief sales officer at Paramount Australia, said the technology “deepens audience connection and engagement with content, simplifies the customer journey and bridges the gap between content discovery and purchase”.
Tuesday’s announcement coincided with Paramount revealing its 2024 slate of programming across its streaming arm Paramount+ and broadcaster Network Ten, which it owns. New shows included an Australian version of Top Gear, presented by Jonathan LaPaglia; a reboot of the gameshow Deal or No Deal hosted by Grant Denyer; and a new version of Wheel of Fortune that will be hosted by the UK-based chatshow host Graham Norton and shot in the UK, with expat Australians as contestants.
Steve Irwin’s son Robert was announced as the new co-host of I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here! alongside Julia Morris, and will also appearing in a new reality show with the rest of his family, in the vein of his late father’s shows about Australian wildlife.
