ExchangeWire have invited hundreds of thought leaders to share their thoughts on what next year will hold, across a range of topics. TV represents a massive opportunity, but there's some work to be done. Experts share their views on how the TV industry will ready itself for its inevitable connected future.
Ad models will catch up to user experience
"I’m also confident we’ll see better measurement in 2019. It’s lagged significantly behind consumer behaviour, but markets like Sweden are showing what’s possible. Fusing OTT and panel data is the next big step to delivering consistent cross-screen measurement, allowing TV to compete with the tech giants. 2019 should also see linear TV make some interesting technology strides. The growth of HBB (hybrid broadcast broadband) as a broadcast standard will allow more broadcasters to create addressable TV inventory. Heady times, as what was once a capability associated with set-top boxes becomes available to any broadcaster. Here's to 2019. Another big year for advanced TV."
David Fisher, Vice President Digital, Discovery Inc
Linear & OTT will continue to merge & complement each other
"Video consumption via social media will continue to gain popularity, particularly among younger people, as the trend towards 'distracting' content – in the form of bitesize videos through Snapchat, for example – continues. However, even as online video and VoD consumption increases, linear viewing will remain the most popular way to consume video content in 2019, with most consumers preferring to unwind in front of the TV box, rather than through their phones and devices.
"Personalised services like those offered by Amazon Prime, along with content bundles from bigger companies like Sky, might be growing in popularity, but this will not negate the need-state for traditional pre-planned TV amongst families and large groups, for example, of which there is still an obvious appetite. Ultimately, as the worlds of linear and OTT entertainment continue to converge over the year ahead, the two will come to complement each other, with audiences picking and choosing the content, service, and device that best suits their needs – whether that be on the bus or in the living room."
Rhiannon Murphy, Head of TV, the7stars
Broadcasters will move out of silos
"Instead of working in silos, broadcasters will combine these methods, allowing them to have more transparency and a better understanding of their whole inventory and how it works across different delivery systems. This will enable them to be more adaptable and ready for market changes, and will ultimately lead to a better viewer and brand experience."
Thomas Bremond, General Manager, International, FreeWheel and Comcast Technology Solutions
Live OTT will be an opportunity and a challenge
"Last year we began to see big spikes on our servers of hundreds of thousands of simultaneous user ad calls. We realised this was a result of consumers watching football matches live on their Roku device or on their mobile phones. In this case, we have to build and deliver a unique pod of ads to each individual one of those households at the same time, while adhering to competitive separation. This is a huge challenge, but also an incredibly exciting opportunity and I look forward to seeing it develop in 2019."
Mike Shehan, CEO, SpotX
Unified solutions to grow the UK addressable TV market
"Increased viewing across connected devices will see unified solutions, such as GroupM’s Finecast, continuing to grow the addressable TV market in the UK."
Stefan Jansen, Video Director, Mindshare UK
Add data to TV delivery
"We’re at a major tipping point for the TV industry; and any marketing platform today should be thinking about how to help advertisers capitalise on that."
Scott Ferber, Chief Innovation Officer, Amobee
Wide adoption of open standards
"Videa has implemented best practices for automated spot buying using open APIs. We believe the transaction process will be increasingly efficient if other vendors follow suit, because widely adopted open standards facilitate more effective transactions for both buyers and sellers – advancing the industry as a whole. Buyers and sellers will also utilise more data to better refine attribution and target audiences with improved precision. The best analytics strategies combine reach, engagement, access, and accountability."
Shereta Williams, President, Videa
2019 is the year for preparation
"Therefore, 2019 will be about getting ready. Making sure all of the technology pieces work together – cross-platform inventory management, yield clarity, and addressability. Driving new ecosystem partnerships between MVPDs, broadcasters, cable networks, and OTT players – and plotting to maximise scale and leverage first- and third-party data – should all be priorities to drive value and adoption. Time to set the stage for success."
Dave Villano, CTO, Imagine Communications
Digital rights management is key
"As a result, effective digital rights management must remain at the top of broadcasters’ agendas long into 2019, if their success is to continue."
Charlie Johnson, VP, UK and Ireland, Digital Element