Streaming platforms are investing billions of dollars in original programming every year, raising the stakes for linear TV channels that aim to deliver audiences to advertisers. While linear TV has key strengths in sports, news and events, it also has the power to reach audiences with other kinds of original programming.
Rita Ferro, president of Disney Advertising Sales, said investments in original programming are central to her company’s strategy to reach audiences on any device. In this episode of the Beet TV/VAB “TV Reset” forum, Ferro discusses Disney’s efforts to develop content for its lineup of streaming and linear TV brands.
Speaking to Bill Koenigsberg, the president, CEO and founder of media services agency Horizon Media Inc., Ferro said linear TV not only works for live programming, but also an outlet for original content that reaches a different audience than over-the-top (OTT) services do.
“We continue to make significant investments in original content, because we know that original content drives consumption not only on the OTT platforms but on our linear platforms,” she said.
With its $71.3 billion acquisition of 21st Century Fox last year, Disney became the world’s biggest movie and TV studio. Its media brands include streaming platform Hulu, which has ad-supported and ad-free tiers to provide a customized viewing experience, and linear channels such as ABC, ESPN, Freeform, FX Networks and National Geographic.
“They are complementary, and they have different audiences as we’re finding through the research and the data,” she said. “That’s informing a lot of the decisions we’re making from a content investment perspective.”
You are watching TV Reset, a leadership forum produced in partnership with VAB. The series is presented by 605 and Magnite. For more videos please visit this page.
