LOS ANGELES – The audience growth for ad-supported streaming services is driving more marketers to set aside part of their television media budgets to these newer platforms. Amid that shift, they’re also scrutinizing the content that provides the surrounding context for their advertising campaigns, as they’ve done with traditional linear television.
“There’s more attention to context in the AVOD [ad-supported video on demand] space than there has been in the past,” Mark Rotblat, chief revenue officer at streaming service Tubi, said in this interview with consultant Zach Rodgers at Beet.TV’s Beet Retreat.
Because Tubi carries more than 35,000 titles, information about its content can be more complex than the data about its audience segments.
“We always felt that we had to be about the best personalization, the best use of data,” Rotblat said.
That information has helped to provide viewers with personalized recommendations on what to watch, and now is informing its decisions on producing original programming. After being acquired by Fox for $440 million two years ago, Tubi has more financial and creative support to develop exclusive content.
“We didn’t want to make ‘gut’ bets the way Hollywood often does. We didn’t have the resources,” Rotblat said. “Now, we do have the resources as we’re part of the Fox family, but we still want to make smart choices.”
The original thriller “Twisted House Sitter” starring Crystal-Lee Naomi and Jennifer Freeman was a hit for Tubi, generating some of the platform’s strongest viewership.
Subscription Fatigue
As households reach the limit on what they’re willing to pay for subscriptions to ad-free services like Netflix and Disney+, Rotblat sees an opportunity for ad-supported platforms like Tubi to grow. Growing ad revenue can be reinvested in original programming that attracts viewers and more media dollars, creating a virtuous cycle.
“We’ve always maintained that there would be a point when there’s just too many subscriptions for a person to keep up with…but people will still want to consume content, but they want it to be free,” Rotblat said.
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