Synamedia IBC to focus on AI-driven personalisation and operational simplicity
September 3, 2026 13.07 Europe/London By Julian Clover


Synamedia used its pre-IBC press briefing to outline its strategic direction under new CEO Tzvi Gerstl, positioning AI-powered personalisation and operational efficiency as the company’s two main priorities rather than unveiling major new products.

Speaking ahead of his first IBC as CEO, Gerstl said the video industry has shifted from being driven by technology transitions such as broadcast-to-IP and streaming to addressing business challenges including growth, monetisation and cost reduction. Gerstl was appointed following the divestiture of its Video Network business, leaving the company focused on streaming, advertising, security and audience monetisation technologies.

“The bigger challenge today is increasingly more a business challenge rather than a technology challenge,” he said. “How do operators return to growth or remain relevant? How do they compete for consumer attention? How do they monetise better, reduce cost and complexity in running their services?”

Gerstl argued operators increasingly need technology partners capable of delivering integrated solutions rather than individual products, with Synamedia reorganising its portfolio around customer outcomes such as monetisation and operational efficiency.

Much of the presentation focused on AI-enabled “hyper-personalisation”, with Synamedia arguing television platforms need to recognise individual viewers rather than treating the TV as a shared household device. Gerstl said future services should adapt recommendations according to who is watching, the device being used and the viewing context.

“We are moving from a world where consumers search for content to a world where content increasingly finds the consumer,” he said.

The company also continued to highlight its Go Shorts concept, first demonstrated earlier this year, which repurposes premium long-form content into vertically formatted short-form clips designed for mobile viewing. Synamedia said operators could use existing rights libraries to create personalised discovery experiences without rebuilding their video platforms.

Head of Innovation Avi Fruchter expanded on this vision, demonstrating how AI could identify key scenes, news segments and highlights suitable for short-form viewing while encouraging users to migrate from mobile viewing to premium services.

Fruchter also previewed a new “Proximity” capability, combining Synamedia’s Go, Iris and Senza technologies to personalise television experiences automatically when recognised users enter a room. The system could adjust recommendations for individuals or families and coordinate advertising across television and mobile devices.

“The TV understands who is watching and automatically adopts itself to the person that’s right now watching television,” Fruchter explained.

Elsewhere, Synamedia announced the global expansion of its Gravity device management platform beyond North America, adding video quality monitoring capabilities alongside its existing home networking functions. The company also said Senza Ignite, announced at NAB, has now been integrated with multiple set-top boxes and smart TVs, allowing operators to modernise user interfaces on existing deployed devices.

Questioned about what differentiates Synamedia’s “next chapter”, following the discontinuation of Cortex, Gerstl pointed to user experience innovation and operational efficiency rather than entirely new product categories.

“We have a number of significant opportunities… attracted by these two elements: our ability to drive efficiencies while bringing really attractive user experiences,” he said.

On AI, Gerstl cautioned against focusing on the technology itself, arguing success would come from solving real customer problems while keeping operating costs under control.

“AI doesn’t stand for AI. The real question is: what problem are you trying to solve?” he said. “We have been investing a lot… in utilising AI in a way that is extremely cost effective.”