LAS VEGAS – Media agencies have been watching the growth of subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services with alarm. If more people are paying for ad-free TV, where will brands go to reach audiences?
At least the overall growth of connected TV as an overall category is giving them some reassurance. After all, connected TV services provide more precise audience targeting characteristics than traditional broad demographics, and the rise of advertising-supported, AVOD services is aiming to fill the gap.
So, how is the world’s largest media buying agency seeing things play out?
In this video interview with Beet.TV, Group M chief investment officer says connected TV has reached a tipping point – and broadcasters need to go fasters.
“I heard that adults 18 to 34, over 50% of those folks now are watching subscription services” Sweeney says.
“We’re also thinking that, in 2020, (the) prediction is that the largest segment of the audience … 18 to 49, will also go over the tipping point – 50% of those people will be watching not traditional linear TV, but connected TV in some way, shape, or form.
“That’s a big change for the industry. So our hope and the hope of our clients is that that’ll open up the ability to move off of some of the traditional buying metrics that have been in place for 30 or 40 years and that were incredibly effective and efficient from a delivery standpoint.”
Across the landscape, a plethora of technology companies and consultancies is bringing software that helps better index and target inventory available in VOD shows.
Increasingly, that intelligence is also being applied to linear TV ad inventory, whilst broadcasters themselves have spent the last few years trying to apply more data to their ads, satisfying marketers’ craving for ever more precise reachability.
Asked what media companies need to do, Sweeney says: “Hurry up. Measurement is hugely important. Those things need to change.
“We’ve got to get our clients to understand how you can change a target from ‘adults 18 to 49’ … (That’s) hard to do when you just buy a daypart and demo on a traditional TV or cable network.”
This video is part of Beet.TV’s coverage of advanced TV at CES 2020 presented by Amobee and hosted by GroupM Worldwide. For more videos from the series, please visit this page.
