By Andrew Brain
Director Data and Growth, Seven West Media
Most media companies are drowning in data. Either they can’t access it, or they lack the tools and governance to use it effectively due to legacy technology issues.
Seven was in a similar position. We were sitting on billions of viewer interactions locked away in data warehouses, unable to access real-time insights that could drive smarter, faster decisions.
During 2024-25, Seven’s 7plus platform grew its average daily active users by just over 30%, compared to 20% growth in the broader Australian streaming market.
Our above-the-line and below-the-line marketing efforts have been supercharged by machine learning, boosting click-through rates by 40% and halving paid campaign cost-per-clicks.
This isn’t just efficiency, it’s a preview of the next era of the fight for streaming audience attention.
Partnering with Databricks, we built the Seven AI Factory, not for flashy demos or novelty chatbots, but to solve three critical problems.
Predicting audience behaviour with precision: We now forecast content viewing patterns four weeks out with 94% accuracy. This transforms how we schedule content, reducing reliance on gut feel and deliver commercial outcomes with greater certainty.
Re-engaging dormant viewers (the smart way): Instead of blanketing lapsed users with generic “come back” emails, we built targeting algorithms to identify which users to pursue and how often to nudge them back into an active state. This has resulted in a 13% reactivation rate and a clear uplift in incremental ad revenue.
Democratising data across the business: With Databricks’ AI/BI Genie, we created a natural language query tool that lets anyone, from sales to marketing to executives, ask complex data questions and get instant answers. In its first month, Genie handled more than 400 business questions and reduced our analytics backlog by 35%.
Many media owners remain trapped by legacy infrastructure, focused on cost control and asset “sweating”. This leads to siloed data, delayed insights and decisions based on yesterday’s information.
In today’s on-demand world, it’s no longer enough to explain what happened yesterday; we need to provide immediate answers to what just happened, driving data-driven proof points on what will happen next.
The expectations are higher than ever: viewers demand personalised recommendations, while advertisers insist on smarter targeting. If media companies can’t deliver on both fronts, they risk losing ground, no matter how strong their content may be.
This isn’t about a specific tech stack. It’s about a fundamental shift in how media companies operate in a data-rich world.
Seven’s AI Factory is not a project; it’s an operating model. It brings together data, models, governance and business applications into a unified framework.
Yes, AI will bring automation and eliminate repetitive tasks, but it’s not something to fear. Think of what happened when programmatic transformed the way we bought and sold digital inventory. The same will happen here and the opportunity is massive.
For example, we’re now building AI systems using Databricks’ Mosaic AI to make premium video advertising accessible to local businesses with $1,000 budgets. Imagine SMEs running targeted campaigns on 7plus in the same way they do on social platforms. This could reshape how local area marketing works and brings new revenue to our business.
The 30% growth in active users on 7plus didn’t come from some black box dataset; we used OZTAM VPM data and modelled it relentlessly on what we know will shift the dial in terms of audience engagement triggers. We fixed inefficiencies and invested in infrastructure that makes every content and marketing decision smarter.
When we predict what’s going to happen, with high confidence, we can plan better, sell better and deliver better. We’re not just filling ad impressions; we’re delivering audience scale across all seven days of the week, so ad campaigns seamlessly hit their reach and frequency goals without under-delivery hassles.
We now treat intelligence like core infrastructure. The AI Factory isn’t just about tech.
It’s about unlocking growth, making better decisions, and reaching more Australians, with every team and every person at Seven playing an active role.
The future of streaming media isn’t just about content. It’s how smartly you run the business behind it with data and AI driven decisions at the forefront.