LONDON — Across Europe, many gatekeepers are increasingly concerned that the rise of powerful US, English-language content distributors may pose a long-term threat to the richness and individuality of local-language culture.
The risk is not just cultural but economic. But one Belgian operator hopes highly targeted TV ads can help it ward off a new wave of globalization.
“If we want to remain relevant … we need to be able to keep advertising money in Belgium, so they can invest in that content,” says consumer strategy director Jim Casteele of Proximus, a quad-play operator in Belgium.
“You have to bring the capabilities online available to Google to your own ecosystem as well – otherwise, advertisers will go to platforms where they can target better.”
Proximus launched a multi-platform catch-up TV service a couple of years ago, and is currently in technical pilots with RTL to test programmatic ad sales. Casteele wants to ensure Belgian businesses can buy ads with the kind of sophistication they can online, in arenas mostly controlled by US digital giants.
“We want to bring those capabilities to both advertisers and broadcasters, so we can have a healthy content ecosystem in Belgium,” he adds. “Smart advertising can help keep a health ecosystem.”
This video was produced in London as part of our Addressable & Advanced TV Summit hosted by Sky Media and presented by FreeWheel and Invidi. Please visit this page for additional segments from the event.
