Samba TV, the TV audience measurement firm funded by Liberty Global, among others, has acquired Semasio, a contextual ad targeting vendor, for an undisclosed fee. The strategy is to beef up Samba’s privacy-first targeting capabilities, particularly across connected TV platforms, building up to a broader vision for AI-generated data and insights. Where Samba TV has always stood out, in the years since its founding in 2008, is its vast presence in smart TVs to capture viewer engagement data. However, as the demand for data-driven insights grows, so does competition. Rivals like Vizio’s Inscape and newer entrants equipped with AI-driven analytics are vying for a similar space. Meanwhile, incumbents in the connected TV ad market, like Roku and Amazon, wield significant…