SANTA MONICA, Calif. – Media buyers have been look for sources of television advertising inventory to help them reach audiences, especially millions of younger consumers who canceled cable and satellite service or never ordered it in the first place. A significant source of inventory is coming from major streaming platforms such as Netflix and Disney+ that are adding ad-supported tiers to their subscription offering.

This hybrid form of streaming is combining the high-quality dramatic programming of subscription video on demand (SVOD) and the ability to reach audiences through ad-supported video on demand (AVOD).

“This idea of ‘subscription ad-supported video on demand,’ and it’s gonna be a really big element as we really push forward,” Brad Stockton, senior vice president of U.S. national video innovation at dentsu international, said in this interview at the Beet Retreat Santa Monica. “As we look at Peacock, Paramount+, Netflix, Disney+, Hulu — that’s really the evolution of where we’re going, is this SAVOD model.”

Another key trend is the growth in automation for television media buyers as they use tools developed for the digital display market. A key difference with premium television is that the supply is more finite than endless numbers of websites selling ad space for as little as possible.

“Programmatic has a legacy of being a dirty word: ‘a race to the bottom,’ cheap, efficient remnant inventory,” Stockton said. “The reality is…programmatic is the idea of utilizing a platform to activate our buys against a centralizing all your impressions to really understand exposed, unexposed audiences to our campaigns and be able to optimize with it.”

Connected television (CTV) historically has been more expensive that other kinds of television in terms of metrics such as cost per thousand viewers (CPM). As the audience grows for CTV, marketers can expect to find greater efficiencies, along with improved targeting.

“As scale continues to increase, year over year, quarter over quarter, that allows us to really take a look back at: what am I really willing to pay to reach my audiences in these platforms, especially as the SAVOD starts to increase?” Stockton said.

You are watching coverage of Beet Retreat Santa Monica 2022, presented by Ampersand, MiQ, Nielsen, PubMatic, T-Mobile Advertising Solutions and The Trade Desk. For more videos from the Beet Retreat, please visit this page