Digital platforms are realising their future revenue depends on advertising
here Netflix goes, the rest of the streaming world follows. And the broadcasting giant
has said it’s considering ad-supported revenue models. After a long run of SVOD domination, is AVOD the future of video? “If you turn on a digital channel, you’ll notice that the viewing experience is worse than traditional linear television,” says Rob Malcolm, chief product officer at Imagine Communications. “There are blank slates or partial ad fills, and you’ll see a lot of repeat ads.” To support this boom in ad-supported streaming, Imagine Communications has released SureFire™ – a new video ad server and ad decisioning solution for CTV (Connected TV). In order to differentiate SureFire, Imagine has anticipated a number of trends that are likely to hit ad-supported streaming, that are currently poorly supported by existing market offerings. regulation body Ofcom announced plans to make OTT channels subject to the same rules as television businesses. Digital companies used to playing fast and loose with ads, will now need to observe rules regarding their number and length, with content restrictions on what age groups can be targeted and when. SureFire is also able to connect to both first-party and third-party data, giving broadcasters the ability to use customer data intelligently – targeting everything from ads to new offerings, which is going to be a major factor in the success of any new OTT service and why eCPMs are much higher than on linear TV. Traditional broadcasters – through use of apps and online services – may have a distinct One of the biggest is increased regulation. This spring, UK media
advantage with the bulk of first-party data they have been able to collect on viewers. “As the death of the cookie approaches, more buyers are turning to OTT as a cost-effective solution,” notes Malcolm. “Broadcasters have so much first-party data, they can use SureFire to target advertising in a sophisticated and addressable way – and begin to restore the ad-revenue balance between these traditional media companies and the digital giants.” An ad-supported tier launch from Netflix would confirm what broadcasters have known for a while: Netflix is no longer just a streaming platform, it’s TV. And getting the most revenue requires stream diversity. “To a degree, Netflix has defied what we knew about making money from video. The big media companies have always known that for high-value content you need both sides – you have to charge for access, and monetise the viewer. The reason why major broadcasters can buy significant sporting rights is because they
are double monetising. Netflix’s news has almost made advertising cool again.” Most video ad-server solutions have approached TV advertising in the same way as banner ads on the web – a decision is made about which ad to show, with no regard for any of the other ads on the page. There is none of the category separation that is a hallmark of traditional TV ad placement. SureFire is able to look across the schedule to make better decisions about the appropriateness of each ad served. “It’s surprising how many broadcasters have not yet monetised their OTT apps, or are doing it in very small quantities. SureFire could be an immediate solution. Or if they are already using something like Google or FreeWheel, they can put SureFire in front of those ad servers to first fill all those ads the broadcaster has sold directly, before then taking them from demand side platforms.” SureFire is set to not only bring a broadcast-quality viewing experience to OTT advertising, but help OTT take advantage of the huge monetisation potential just around the corner, whilst offering the control required to comply with even the harshest regulations.
IT’S SURPRISING HOW MANY BROADCASTERS HAVE NOT YET MONETISED THEIR OTT APPS
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