SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — In a streaming world overflowing with shows, apps and remote controls that seem to require a pilot’s license, Bill Condon says the real hero is something viewers never see: metadata.
Condon, global head of advertising sales at Gracenote, a Nielsen unit, says the company’s data has quietly become part of the plumbing that helps streaming platforms organize their vast libraries and helps advertisers understand what viewers are actually watching.
“Because Gracenote has long powered the search and discovery of content in the ecosystem, our metadata is built into the infrastructure of the majority of streaming platforms out there,” Condon said during an interview with Beet.TV contributor David Kaplan at the Beet Retreat San Juan.
In practical terms, that means Gracenote’s information about shows, genres and viewing context acts as what Condon calls the industry’s connective tissue.
“It basically becomes the single source of truth,” he said. “It’s the connective tissue.”
That same data feeds Gracenote’s content graph, which links programming information to advertising opportunities. Instead of buying generic streaming inventory, advertisers can align campaigns with a show’s genre, mood or theme.
Condon said that level of insight lets marketers “buy around content, genre, mood, or things that are relevant for their brands, KPIs and objectives.”
From blind buying to contextual clarity
Streaming has given audiences more choice than ever. For advertisers, that abundance can feel less like a buffet and more like trying to pick dinner from a menu the size of a phone book.
Condon says the industry is shifting away from what he describes as blind buying.
“I think what we’re trying to do is move from a world of blind buying to truly transparent buying,” he said. That means understanding both the content itself and the context surrounding it.
The goal, he added, is to let marketers see exactly where their ads ran and how they performed. That level of transparency has long been standard in other parts of digital advertising but has taken longer to emerge in connected television.
Ads are having a comeback moment
Another surprise in the streaming economy is that advertising, once treated like the villain of the entertainment industry, has staged a comeback.
Condon summed up the shift with a line that earned a few laughs in the room.
“One of the big headlines is ads are sexy again,” he said.
After years of subscription only streaming services promising viewers freedom from commercials, platforms are rediscovering that ad supported models can be a powerful business.
Consumers, Condon said, are increasingly willing to accept ads in exchange for lower subscription costs or free content. The rise of free ad supported streaming television, or FAST channels, helped prove that point.
“This was a true value exchange,” he said. “They’re willing to sit through premium long form content or content that’s relevant to them in order to watch the ad.”
What viewers dislike, he added, is not advertising itself but poor execution.
“Viewers don’t hate ads,” Condon said. “They just don’t like a bad ad experience.”
Buyers push for deeper transparency in CTV
As connected TV advertising expands, supply side platforms are playing a larger role in programmatic buying. Condon believes that shift makes transparency even more important.
Buyers should insist on knowing exactly where their ads appear, he said.
“Going to the app level and not understanding what the show level is is unacceptable in this current environment,” Condon said.
That type of visibility helps advertisers confirm brand safety while also connecting media spending to business outcomes. Knowing the specific content environment also opens the door to more precise targeting based on genre, mood or audience context.
Condon said the push for clarity is already influencing the marketplace. Agencies and brands are increasingly demanding reporting that shows where ads ran and how they performed.
AI enters the chat and maybe the drinking game
No conversation at a media conference in 2026 would be complete without the obligatory artificial intelligence question. Condon acknowledged the hype with a joke.
“The buzzword AI, agentic, I think we’re going to play a drinking game at Beet.TV every time that comes up,” he said.
Behind the humor, he sees real potential for AI to improve how ads align with video content.
Future systems could analyze video at the show level or even scene level to understand what is happening on screen and match ads accordingly. The technology already exists, he said, though scaling it across the streaming ecosystem will take time.
At the same time, Condon cautioned against letting automation run wild.
“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should,” he said.
AI, he added, should be viewed as a tool rather than a replacement for human judgment.
“You need that human touch,” Condon said. “It’s a blend of art and science.”
If the industry strikes that balance, he believes AI could help deliver ads that feel more relevant and less intrusive. And if that happens, viewers might finally accept what Condon calls the new reality of streaming.
Ads, it seems, are back in fashion.
You’re watching coverage from Beet Retreat San Juan 2026, presented by Alliant and TransUnion. For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
