Post-Pandemic Takeaway: A Tsunami of Ad-Supported Smart TV Options for Advertisers

That was the key takeaway of MediaRadaramp8217s virtual inquiry last week on the future of video advertising For Acorn TV General Manager Matthew Graham the pandemic transformed both the amount of time people watch TV and what they watch quotPeople were stuck at home and formed new entertainment habitsquot he said quotPeople felt they were getting more out of their daytoday livesquotAcorn one of parent AMC Networks39 group of smart TVcirculating services saw viewership rise as much as three times its normal level this past spring Although that outcome has declined since Acorn which is subscriptionsupported remains ahead of its prepandemic viewing levelOver the last six months a variety of new smart TVdistributed services have hit the scene The majority are from independent players and many are adsupported Some are getting additional carriage on Xumo Tubi Fubo TV Pluto TV and other multichannel bundles that have smart TV alliances or through multichannel content packagers such as Cinedigm Jukin Media and Future Today Sponsor business for Cinedigm this fall is booming to the point where late last week the company announced that it will launch at least 15 new services from thirdparty sources over the next yearquotWe work with a lot of linear TV advertisers and they realize the marketplace has shiftedquot said Justin Gutschmidt head of national sales at Premion Tegnaamp8217s ad platform devoted to smart TV business quotThey see a way to align with local audiences and find the right messages Being able to prove their results were important We can measure the networks in whole new waysquotFor Xumo with more than 190 channels in its bundle a big spike in homebound audience led to a spike in ad sales and business continues to increase quotYou hate to say the pandemic has been good to us but the pandemicamp8217s been good to mequot responded Bill Condon the ventureamp8217s senior vice president of advertising partnershipsGutschmidt joined Condon and other participants in declaring that the surge in new channels is for real and will continue next year and beyond as long as the economic and geographic barriers to entry remain low and brand participation increases over time Through individual smart TV setdevice or multichannel bundle deals these channels get immediate access to a nationwide or worldwide constituency at low cost quotThere are more options than ever and we can customize themquot he added quotSo many entrants in this space can have immediate visibility Viewer demand has led to more adsupported content Itamp8217s an exciting timequotHow commercials are presented to viewers over these services compared to linear TV is another factor behind the viewership surge Condon noted Thereamp8217s less commercial time and fewer commercial breaks per hour and in the near future these services will follow the lead of Hulu and other megacontent providers in giving viewers a choice of ads to watch requesting more info for individual products or ordering merchandise or services on the spotWhile AMC Networks has no plans to transform its current group of smart TVrunning services from subscription to adsupported Graham acknowledged that the company will quotlook at all kindsquot of revenuegeneration for future services quotNothing is off the tablequot he saidAlong the way look for a growing number of niche adsupported newbie channels assembled by genre or by appeal to communities of color and other demographics These services will have to operate on upgraded brand safety benchmarks and transparency to establish credibility with potential advertisers Gutschmidt notedGraham suggested that as more adsupported services come forward including lowerpriced versions of subscriptiondriven enterprises like HBO Max which will kick off that approach early 2021 they may present some content free to viewers at first to build up brand awareness and loyalty Whatamp8217s more within the next few years adsupported services and bundles quotwill produce original content and own the content on a scale similar to services like Netflix and AmazonquotClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Post-Pandemic Takeaway: A Tsunami of Ad-Supported Smart TV Options for Advertisers

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Simon Applebaum

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Post-Pandemic Takeaway: A Tsunami of Ad-Supported Smart TV Options for Advertisers

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