SANTA BARBARA — Viewers are lapping up ad-free, subscription TV over VOD and will no longer tolerate lengthy ad breaks.
That is the worry expressed by a US ad agency leader, issuing a call-to-arms for TV networks to change.
In this video interview with Beet.TV, Chief Investment Officer, North America, of Omnicom Media Group, worries that her advertiser brands will miss out on vital ad space and consumer engagement if the right content experience cannot be presented.
“No-one is going to sit through 22 minutes of commercials going forward,” Sullivan says.
“I know that’s a really tough pill to swallow for the broadcasters specifically and the big cable companies – but it’s over. We have to move towards different metrics and we have to realize that we’re just going to watch declining assets decline much faster off that cliff if we don’t get up and get moving in terms of what the consumer is screaming about – otherwise we’re going to lose them all.
“If all the streaming services do not provide advertising as an opportunity… (that) would be bad for all of us.”
According to Nielsen in April, broadcast C3 ratings in the first quarter fell 17 percent compared to the year-ago period.
That is taking place as paid, ad-free streaming services hit new heights, and as more of them launch, with Disney+, Apple TV+ and Peacock around the corner.
Sullivan worries about what that means for advertising, and for what consumers want.
“They want actual advertising that fits to them, that is talking to them, that is meaningful, that’s not an interruption, but it actually enhances the experience that they’re having with that content at that moment,” she says.
This video is from a series leading up to, and covering, the Xandr Relevance Conference in Santa Barbara. This Beet.TV series is sponsored by Xandr. Please visit this page to find more videos from the series.
