How the TV industry will adapt when most don’t have pay TV

Big changes are in store for the TV industry as most US homes no longer have traditional pay TV. Here is what A+E, Roku, Vevo, and Comcast Technology Solutions think it means to the TV industry.

nScreenMedia forecasts that the number of homes without traditional pay TV will exceed the number of homes with it in 2023.

Signals an expansion of the audience for television
TV programmers such as A+E are already exploiting streaming to reach customers in new ways. For example, Mark Garner, EVP, Global Content Sales, and Business Development at A&E, talked about how the company has launched several FAST channels, including most recently a channel exploiting the very popular show Ice Road Truckers. Mr. Garner sees the shift toward streaming as a way to expand the audience for A+E content:

“I think different segments of our audience are going to be available in different places. The way that we window content, you’re going to look for certain things on pay TV, and then you will find other content in FAST and DTC. It’s an expansion of our audience and an opportunity for them to catch the content when they want to catch it.”

Brands need to focus on innovation
Kristina Shepard, National Brand Team Lead at The Roku Channel, sees the expansion of the streaming audience as a challenge to brands to make their ad spending work harder:

“It’s going to be incumbent upon brands to look at this medium, make sure their dollars are working harder, and focus on innovation by weaving their brand messaging into new and innovative products because I don’t think the ad load is going to get back to cable. It’s going to lead to more targetability and innovation in this space.”

The Roku Channel (TRC) is working to help brands be more efficient with their advertising by giving them new products. For example, TRC is producing a 15-minute weekly show called Roku Recommends that features the best content to stream across all the channels available on the platform. Walmart is the launch partner, and others are also buying advertising in the show.

Standardized ad approaches will accelerate the industry
Bart Spriester Comcast Technical Services

Bart Spriester, VP and GM, Content and Streaming Providers Suite for Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS), thinks that a lack of standards in online advertising is holding the business back:

“Advertising will struggle until we, as an industry, get our targeted advertising ecosystem correct. Now is the time – and we have all the building blocks (224 signaling, AI, etc.) to make that happen and set the industry’s monetization methods for the next 1-2 decades. This will be the enabler to allow the ad dollars to flow between linear and streaming.”

Smoothing the technological incompatibilities between video platforms in the streaming space is an area of specialization for CTS. Mr. Spriester explained earlier in the session how the company helps content providers deliver FAST channels to multiple platforms, even though each has very different content management approaches.

More opportunities in distribution
Natalie Gabathuler-Scully, SVP of Revenue Operations at Vevo, focused on the additional opportunities that would come to services such as hers:

“I think it means more opportunity for companies like ours to be out there. I that digital television environment. Bringing that personalization, bringing our content in different mixes to users depending on how they like to consume it.”

Vevo is already exploiting interesting new approaches for brands. Earlier this year, the company launched two new “contextual ad products, Vevo Rewind, and Moods. The tools allow brands to target viewers watching music videos from a specific decade or embodying a specific mood. nScreenMedia