Cineverse Launches Matchpoint Creative Labs to Scale Motion‑First CTV/FAST Creative, Aiming $4.5M

LOS ANGELES, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Cineverse is launching Matchpoint Creative Labs (MCL), an in‑house agency designed to produce motion‑first creative for connected TV (CTV), free ad‑supported streaming television (FAST) channels and other streaming services, the company says. Operating within the Cineverse Technology Group, MCL combines creative direction, design and production with technology‑enabled workflows to scale campaigns more cost‑effectively. Cineverse presents the unit as a response to a persistent shortfall in on‑air promotions resources among many FAST channel operators that lack the legacy broadcast and cable infrastructure for branding and promotional production.

Matchpoint is producing video ads that feel native to CTV and motion‑first assets for on‑air promotional spots, channel IDs, branding packages and visual assets for channel stunts, deploying services across Cineverse’s owned and operated streaming properties and offering them to third‑party brands and streaming services. The unit emphasizes scalable, tech‑driven production pipelines and measurable creative performance to shorten turnaround times, tighten brand consistency across multiple FAST channels and support international expansion. Cineverse also underlines Matchpoint’s ability to localize assets at scale for varied audience segments, a capability it says is critical as channels and advertisers tailor creative to regional viewers.

Cineverse expects MCL to generate more than $4.5 million in high‑margin revenue in its first year, driven by demand from new and existing customers and by offering premium creative services to Matchpoint’s SaaS clients. The company positions MCL as both a strategic partner and operational engine to capture accelerating CTV demand, monetize ad‑supported inventory more effectively and drive profitability across its streaming ecosystem and partner channels.

Industry momentum underpins the move. Analysts and surveys point to a rapid shift in advertising budgets toward CTV: MNTN forecasts CTV ad spend topping linear TV by 2028 at nearly $46 billion, while Nielsen reports 66% of marketers intend to raise OTT/CTV spend in 2025 versus 44% in 2024. Cineverse frames Matchpoint as an operational response to those shifts, supplying creative capacity that many FAST operators currently lack.

By integrating creative production with Matchpoint’s software clients and offering services externally, Cineverse is pushing a hybrid product‑service model that aims to both improve ad performance metrics through motion‑first assets and create a recurring revenue stream tied to the growth of ad‑supported streaming.