• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, January 13, 2023

Since the beginning of 2022, six legacy media business assets have made appearances in the top-ten list of marketers buying OTT platforms, according to Sensor Tower, which monitors digital performance, usage and trends.

That list includes NBCUniversal, Fox Broadcasting, Disney, NBCUniversal Parks, CBS and the Paramount Network.

To be sure, this activity is probably a mix between brands running for no cost on legacy TV media companies’ streaming services, as well as paid advertising on other competitive OTT platforms. Sensor did not elaborate in its report.

Much of this makes sense, of course. Legacy TV media companies have looked to quickly grow new streaming businesses as well as keeping traditional TV networks going that are still making money.

Conversely, new premium streaming channels have been getting ample brand exposure on their sister traditional TV networks.

For instance, NBCUniversal’s Peacock TV received $193.6 million in national TV brand media value (exposure on NBCU networks) over the last 12 months from on-air promo advertising, according to iSpot.tv -- all while Peacock spent $26.6 million on paid advertising during that period.

Paramount Global’s Paramount+ got $183.9 million in media volume, with paid advertising for that streaming brand, amounting to $48.9 million.

Factor in this: Sensor says two free, ad-supported TV platforms (FAST) -- Fox’s Tubi and Paramount Global’s Pluto TV -- are the fastest-growing virtual ad-supported channels, with Tubi seeing a 37% bump in the third quarter to $236 million, while Pluto saw a 21% gain during the same period.

They must be doing something right. But it isn’t a perfect world.

While Pluto TV benefited from $2.3 million in media value in 2022 from Paramount networks, it spent $10.1 million in national TV paid advertising. Tubi benefited from just $46,228 in media value and spent $11.4 million in paid TV advertising.

This is the tricky tightrope dance that media companies continue to walk: How much to promote their own stuff on their network, and how much to sell to advertisers.

Although new FAST channels (free ad-supported TV) are growing, high advertising loads of streamers and legacy TV networks can ruffle the feathers of consumers.

Have we seen this movie before --  especially for the abundance of ad messaging on cable TV networks?