Opinions

The way audiences consume content has evolved. At a bare minimum, we expect to be able to consume video on-demand, anywhere, on any device....

Connected TV enables brands to deliver ads to people that no longer watch linear TV, complementing their broadcast buys. Media planners can leverage context, targeting the audience alongside content where the message is most likely to resonate and so maximising the chances of attention. They could align their ad inventory with a new boxset drop, for example. This contextual targeting can be used to drive consumers to action, including on a secondary screen, with shoppable ads contributing to this interactivity. Brands cannot afford to miss out on a growing audience that prefers streaming over linear TV, and CTV is their solution.

Matthew Bailey, Principal Analyst, Media and Entertainment at Omdia, shares his key takeaways from IBC 2022. This was the show’s grand return to face-to-face networking and thought leadership, attracting 37,000 attendees from over 170 countries — united to explore the latest innovations and technology from over 1,000 exhibitors. Here is Matthew’s overview of the main discussions and what they tell us about the industry.

This article argues that many advertisers are yet to “get ahead of the curve” and redistribute advertising budget to reflect a decline in broadcast linear TV viewing, and that spending more on other channels, and notably YouTube, will yield a greater return on investment. It lists the attributes of YouTube, including its continued growth in popularity among 16-34s, content diversity and accuracy of targeting, and explains why connected TV plus YouTube is the perfect advertising partnership.

Data-led advertising enables creativity to align with accurate campaign targeting and measurement, and ultimately leads to a better ROI. And while data-led advertising has...

Improving content discovery with personalised recommendations reduces time-to-play and increases customer satisfaction. It can also help uncover the gems currently hidden in your content library. Increased engagement is crucial to subscriber retention or ad-funded revenue. But implementing personalisation is no small task. What strategies should streaming services be adopting to maximise their engagement?

Targeted advertising has become a must-have strategy for every Pay TV operator and broadcaster. This article reviews strategic steps that operators can take to effectively implement AI/ML techniques in addressable TV advertising and advises that one of the first steps should be to support ads based on geolocation, which is cited as a must-have segment for operators and one where AI is considered “a game-changer” due to its ability to drive accuracy and granularity. Usage-based segmentation should follow – using knowledge of who has already seen an ad to then target or exclude certain individuals, based on viewing history. Viewing data can even identify life changes such as retirement or maternity leave.

In a world where most users have Smart TVs, STBs, gaming consoles and mobile devices capable of playing streaming apps on their home entertainment set-ups, how can any provider become the go-to method for watching video? The answer is simple: by providing the best end-user experience. This means testing automation and proactive monitoring are essential tools for any operator working with Android TV. Content providers on Android TV should also be testing how their own app works and interacts with Google’s OS.

Live streaming consumption has grown dramatically over the past few years. As a consequence, broadcasters are increasingly looking for high-quality solutions to allow them to deliver live events effectively and safely. Gonzalo de la Vega, VP Strategic Products at Fastly, gives his opinion on how broadcasters can take their live streaming services to the next level, outlining the need to observe real-time performance metrics, eliminate single points of failure, enforce control (like authentication and rights management), pre-test and contingency plan.

Fears of ‘subscription saturation’ in the crowded streaming market, and price-conscious audiences cutting non-essentials in a cost-of-living crisis, creates the conditions for AVOD to flourish. It may even be an option to fund the BBC in future. In the rest of the streaming market, SVOD platforms will explore AVOD and AVOD platforms will explore SVOD, and the lines between the two will blur until few streaming providers, if any, offer a single monetisation model.