Consumers spend a lot of time watching video—on TVs and on other platforms. Eyeballs have shifted from watching live TV to a mix of live consumption PLUS DVR PLUS on-demand on a TV or digitally through a game console, smartphone, tablet or computer. Consumers are driving rapid change, devoting their time and money to a wide range of platforms.
But is the industry primed to make the most of the new video landscape?
Yes… and no.
According to Kristian “Kris” Magel, chief investment officer, Initiative, Interpublic Group, “This new world isn’t a problem, it’s an opportunity.” Consumers are watching as much video as in the past, if not more. The difference is that they’re exchanging some live viewing for time-shifted or on-demand. But that’s not a bad thing. The key, per Magel, is to be able to measure video consumption wherever it happens and to look at it consistently.
And Magel is pushing his advertiser clients to make a holistic video approach a “no-brainer.” However, there are other factors at play. He stresses that third-party measurement is essential and that media companies need to apply pricing that allows for dollars to flow across platforms in a similarly holistic way.
For media companies, on the other hand, the shifting consumer habits have redefined success—and their strategies for monetizing their ad inventory. “It’s not digital vs. TV… it’s about supply and demand,” says Adam Gerber, VP, sales development and marketing, ABC Television Network. He explains that Resurrection, a recent hit, earned as many viewers as past program successes like Grey’s Anatomy and Lost. However, nearly half of the viewing was on-demand across platforms.
The important thing for a publisher like ABC is to understand where consumers are watching—be it on TV, on mobile or, increasingly, on connected TVs—and having the ability to measure it.
The industry is making major headway in comparable measurement across platforms, with mobile measurement of ads and programming to be enabled this year.
However, there are four other areas that need further resolution as we march ahead toward a screen-agnostic, holistic video world. These are privacy and the unique challenge of building privacy-safe measurement experiences in a dynamic digital environment, the need for digital rights across platforms, cohesion around business models and metrics like viewability that create parity across platforms.
The good news is the willingness of players from across the industry to engage in dialogue as we forge ahead toward a screen-agnostic video marketplace. As Gerber noted, technology and data are changing daily—having “a measurement model we can all rally around” will provide a grounding function, enabling and facilitating a holistic video worldview and fostering important business discussions.
