The Big Story: TV Progress Under Pressure

The Big Story podcast

Has anyone noticed the transition to streaming has woken up the TV programmers?

From the streaming wars to the constant talk of data, programmatic and targeting at this year’s TV upfronts, the industry is sounding more and more like it’s part of the digital world.

After years of slowly resisting the inevitable decline in lucrative linear viewing, the TV is finally running. Though opinions may be divided if it’s running toward change or running away from a linear viewing model that’s only getting more challenging.

Streaming, too, is in the middle of a reimagining.

Different bundling models are being tried out, from Max to a combined Disney and Hulu. Netflix isn’t letting friends bundle anymore, as it finally cracks down on password sharing.

And though live sports usually require a cable subscription, Disney is preparing to make ESPN – the channel – a standalone streaming service.

As streamers gain access to better content, they’re also losing out on an ad-light experience. Most have been dialing up their ad loads and raising monthly prices. The overall value proposition for TV advertisers, which valued the ad-light experience along with the access to younger viewers and data-fueled buys, is changing.

After we go through the changes in streaming business models and the advertising news coming out of the upfronts, we turn to one of our favorite topics: Google, which dropped two big announcements in the past week and a half.

First, Google Chrome remains committed to dropping third-party cookies and expects cookieless traffic to start on 1% of traffic at the beginning of 2024. Then Google started incorporating AI into Google Ads. Businesses can have Google scan its site and then generate ad creative, for example, creating a “dialogue” between computer and creator.

Listen in to hear more about Google’s plans to bring more AI into media planning and a deep dive into streaming (including some of the AdExchanger team’s current favorite streams).

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