SANTA BARBARA — If ad agencies were starting to worry that the rise of subscription video services would leave them without a route to viewers, perhaps they should begin to improve that outlook.
Because, seeming to come as a response to the rise of pay-for VOD, a new wave of ad-supported OTT TV services (AVOD) is growing, too.
Even NBCUniversal’s just-announced “Peacock” service, which will carry a subscription cost, will also include advertising, will also include advertising making it a part-AVOD service.
Not just advertising, but a new approach. Comcast’s CEO has promised Peacock will include “advertising with a light ad load”.
The partner innovation associate director at Interpublic Group’s Magna Global welcomes that. In this video interview with Beet.TV, Julie Anson says: “I love the AVOD opportunities.
“I think everyone in the industry is understanding the necessary investment in them. For example, Viacom’s acquisition of Pluto, Roku, Samsung, and Amazon all have their own AVOD services.
“It’s so apparent that consumers are willing to watch ads in return for free content. So as our own traditional players are creating their AVOD services, it’s great for buyers. It’s an additional distribution end point.”
Over the last couple of years, ad buyer consternation has grown at the soaraway success of subscription video services, plus growing consumer resentment to advertising, including ad blocking.
Across the TV industry, executives are striving to reduce ad load and length in a bid to regain consumer attention. And it seems the next generation of VOD service wants to recognize a reconstituted kind of advertising as a business model.
Anson recognizes such ad excesses as “one of the major reasons that people are turning to OTT”. That is why she is welcoming new VOD services that promises a lighter ad load.
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.
