Media is now a global business. Audiences anywhere are clamoring for content from everywhere.
The K-Pop phenomenon means that a concert taking place in Seoul can attract a huge audience in Seattle and Sienna. In recent weeks sports fans globally have been gripped by world championships: cycling in Scotland; netball in South Africa and football in Australia and New Zealand.
Media connectivity is more than just television coverage of sports or concert relays to theaters.
Asia used to be called the Far East by some Europeans, but that was largely referring to the northern part of APAC. APAC actually refers to about one third of the world’s land mass if we include all the Pacific countries, which are around eight hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time (UK), and China, Singapore, South Korea and Japan (nine hours ahead) – and more for Australia and New Zealand. Of course, the differences are not only represented in the time zones, but much more importantly in those between peoples and cultures.
The Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (FAST) market is undergoing explosive growth, representing a significant revenue opportunity for service providers. A recent report from Omdia found that FAST revenue grew almost 20 times between 2019 and 2022, and is projected to triple between 2022 and 2027 to reach $12 billion.
Consumers are attracted to FAST channels because they are free to watch and provide a similar viewing experience to linear television. In exchange for free content, viewers are required watch video advertisements that typically run 15-30 seconds.
Recently, service providers have started exploring the benefits of delivering FAST channels with targeted ads. By delivering well-targeted ads, media owners can achieve a higher Cost per Mile/Thousand (CPMs), boosting their revenue. However, service providers must ensure a superior-quality streaming experience.
Traditional linear television has been around for more than 80 years, and in that time audiences have got used to its look and feel. They appreciate a lot of what it gives them: there are values in linear television that appeal.
Programs are shown at appropriate times. There are regulations around the amount of advertising and the way it can be presented.
The linear advertising experience is the result of all those years of striving to deliver for both audiences and advertisers. It is in everyone’s best interests if spots are not repeated too often as audiences will disengage. Choosing the right commercials for the program ensures that audiences are likely to be receptive.
Scheduling and commercial campaign placements have become core skills in running a successful linear channel. We tend to call this superior experience the “broadcast premium.”
But new entrants to the market, like the digital-first providers, now see the broadcast premium as something they aspire to. They want to give audiences the convenience of watching when and where they like, but still with the qualities associated with linear channels.
In simple terms, digital and linear media services are converging. This is an inevitable, inexorable process. But it does throw up three big issues that need to be addressed.
Media and entertainment is a well-established industry, with a heritage to be proud of. But maintaining a pivotal role in the consumer landscape for several decades comes with a unique set of challenges. As media and broadcast has evolved from a handful of linear channels through to a multi-platform ecosystem, more content needs to be reformatted and repurposed to reach an increasingly fragmented audience.
It is worth stating, at the very beginning, that there is nothing inherently exciting, engaging or sexy about the cloud. Or about IP media connectivity. They are, in the very best sense of the term, enabling technologies.
What they enable is a massive cultural shift in the media industry. This is the opportunity for a completely fresh look at how we do business, how we satisfy our viewers and subscribers, and how we make money.
You don’t need to be Nostradamus to work out that linear TV will one day go the way of Monty Python’s parrot: it will cease to be. The timing, however, is less predictable. Because unlike Python’s Norwegian Blue, scheduled TV continues to provide meaningful company in our living rooms. It will inevitably fall from its perch, but with a sizeable audience still feeding it, there’s plenty of life in the old thing yet. As legacy media inches towards a digital-only world, the prolonged squawk of scheduled TV is a major complication. Companies need to deliver for today while planning for a different tomorrow.
The media industry has evolved over the past century, from inventions to disruptions in communication and new-age technologies. In the early 1900s, radio was the crucial link to information, followed by television which by the mid-1900s became the most potent medium for news and entertainment. The late 20th century introduced the internet, and service & media providers entered a new evolution of connectivity. Websites and social media platforms flood the market, providing more choices than ever before. In the 21st century, smartphones are standard, and content consumption requires anytime, to any device, and anywhere access. The traditional television model is disrupted with streaming services like Netflix and Hulu and social media becomes a primary source of news and entertainment with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc.
The demand for free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) has exploded over the past few years, with virtually no sign of slowing. Variety Intelligence Platform (VIP+) Analysis predicts that FAST ad revenue will rise from between $3.5 and $4 billion in 2022 to between $5.3 and $6.1 billion in 2025. Moreover, Amagi’s most recent consumer report found that nearly one-third of American households said they would cut their TV subscriptions first in an economic downturn, with almost two-thirds of that group saying they would switch to FAST.[1] The reason is simple: When subscription rates and pay-TV services chip away at already fragile consumer budgets, consumers will simply turn to platforms that stream their favorite content free-of-charge, yet with ad support.
Advertising is a crucial source of revenue for video service providers. In 2023, global ad spend on TV and digital video is projected to reach $210.2 billion. Just as video providers look to increase advertising revenue, there is a simultaneous drive to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. How does the TV and video industry’s drive for monetization, which so often includes advertising, square with the need to make video operations more sustainable? What responsibility do TV and video service providers have to reduce emissions from advertising that they show and how can positive change be achieved? Before answering these questions, we first need to better understand the relationship between advertising and emissions.