Big-time linear TV advertising remains in the sights of competitive media platforms. But what about new media platforms in which traditional TV networks have a financial interest?
Consider
current addressable TV advertisingon
traditional linear TV platforms and premium “non-linear” TV platforms on digital platforms.
It turns out that both growing TV platforms (also factoring in probable overlap) account for
around $3 billion each.
For example, U.S. addressable TV ad spending is projected to grow to $3.3 billion by the end of 2020, according to eMarketer -- growing more than 30% over 2019. This
compares to the traditional TV total advertising -- national and local -- mostly stagnant at around $70 billion.
Some 15% of advertisers are now including addressable TV regularly in
their buys -- while 35% have tried it. To some, this indicates a technology moving beyond its infancy.
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Still, in perspective to the broader market overall, addressable advertising is
slower-moving. Why? Marketers are still leery about the cost -- what this ad “tax” it will mean to their overall media costs.
Now let’s look at “nonlinear” TV
advertising on Hulu and full-episode players. Magna, the IPG Mediabrands unit, says this advertising will climb 15% next year to the same level as the addressable advertising -- $3 billion in 2020.
Magna says it will represent 7% of the overall TV ad marketplace.
What is the downside with “nonlinear”? Many say the lack of unified TV measurement and metrics —
viewers, key performance business indicators, or other comparative data — is a major factor. “Reach” for this specific platform is also an issue.
Magna says national TV
will sink 3.3% this year, dropping $1.4 billion from the 2018 level of $42.7 billion, and another $170 million in 2020 — a smaller decline due to rising political and Olympics revenues that
year.
Local TV is sinking 18% this year from $22.1 billion -- down $4 billion from 2018.
So where does all this money go now? For many, conventional wisdom says it continues with
competing digital platforms — including digital video. Magna says digital video will grow another 20% this year to $13.7 billion.
The real question: If future wisdom — and
actual ad dollars — shift to more friendly, TV company-focused addressable or nonlinear TV advertising, is that a positive message for both TV owners and their advertising clients?