Five things that make Connected TV different from Linear TV

Planning for Connected TV — why is it a challenge

Connected TV is no longer on the fringes of media planning and buying. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated digital adoption with reach of digital crossing 700 mn in India. And for the first time, digital advertising has taken the numero-uno position among all media.

Given the sharp increase in the reach, today, advertisers and agencies are having to contend with a complete change in the way they plan, buy and measure audio-visual media. Here are some ways in which Connected TV (CTV) is going to be radically different from Linear TV (LTV) for advertisers and agencies

1. Industry structure remains oligopolistic unlike search and social: Linear television is an oligopolistic market with a few large broadcasters — Zee, Star, Viacom, Sony and Sun calling the shots and controlling the bulk of the viewership share and revenues. A few years back, many believed that Connected television might end up with a dominant player much like Google in search, Facebook in social and Amazon in e-commerce. However, the OTT landscape shows that consumers prefer diversity in content. There are platforms like Disney+, Netflix and Prime Video operating alongside Zee5, Sony LIV, Voot, MX Player among many others
2. Distribution is a function of perceived value by the consumer: Linear TV comes in the form of packages of channels. Broadcasters work with DTH providers and cable operators for growing their distribution. In Connected TV, distribution is a direct function of perceived value. For subscription content, consumers may not choose to pay for content or may pick and choose services. Also, one individual subscription may or may not be shared across multiple devices within and outside the household. This complicates planning. The current pricing structure of CTV platforms does not allow great content to be ad supported at the moment. Absence of unified measurement means that advertisers cannot plan for reach in the same way as they do for LTV. For content discovery, supplier curation platforms and watchguides exists for TV. There is none, at the moment, for CTV
3. CTV lacks the robustness of measurement and monitoring that LTV currently offers to be able to absorb millions of dollars of ad revenues : LTV has a unified measurement in BARC. However, there is no unified measurement for LTV and CTV nor there is any unified measurement among individual CTV players. Different naming conventions across CTV platforms means that it is extremely difficult for brands to even know where their CTV campaigns are delivering. CTV comes with its own challenges of brand safety and ad fraud. Means of certification, higher control for advertisers and blockchain based solutions can help in bringing more transparency for CTV
4. Context of Consumption is different for LTV and CTV: Linear TV consumption happens on the household television and is co-viewed other members of the family. CTV consumption is largely on mobile and individualistic. The use of smart TVs is increasing, though, as the devices become more and more affordable.
5. Media buying and metrics are different for LTV and CTV. On TV, it is possible to reserve spots on scheduled shows such as the 9 PM news or on an RODP buy on a specific time band in a movie channel. That is not possible at the moment on Connected TV. However, CTV brings numerous benefits of addressability, personalization and retargetting. Potential for innovation is also higher for CTV given that the ads can be made very creative and also interactive. From a planning perspective, the metrics have changed. On LTV, one would buy a spot on CPT, CPRP or unduplicated audience. These metrics are different for CTV — and revolve around Brand Safety, Viewability, View Through Rates, Completed Views, Clicks etc.

Last but not the least, CTV is democratic platform. There is no entry cost and the platform offers ample opportunity to test, learn and optimize. For LTV, there is a high entry cost barrier including the costs of creative development.