Direct publisher relationships are appearing more essential for tapping into connected TV benefits by enabling buyer goal identification, KPI alignment, and optimal signal sharing within bid stream data compared to open marketplace alternatives with unproven supply, contends Tim Ware, vp, Future Today Marketplace at Future Today.
“The need for a direct deal is more important than ever to fully take advantage of the promises of connected TV,” Ware told Beet.TV at the IAB Newfronts. “A publisher direct deal is really paramount to success versus an open marketplace where there’s a lot of nascent supply.”
Direct relationships allow buyers to deliver target audiences through fragmentation advantage rather than viewing fragmentation as an obstacle.
Audience Advantage leverages contextual signals
Future Today announced Audience Advantage at IAB Newfronts as a solution powered by content signals and contextual metadata through partnerships with companies including NOP, Proximic, and Iris TV.
“Contextual signals are deterministic. They’re privacy compliant. They don’t use legacy IDs,” Ware said. “With AI and machine learning, the viewership and the signals can inform where these audiences are and who’s the best prospect for your brands.”
These signals enable addressability while maintaining privacy compliance and complete bid stream data transmission capabilities.
Co-viewing amplifies campaign effectiveness
Campaign performance increases exponentially with co-viewership presence, with ad-supported video on demand environments providing superior engagement compared to free ad-supported television’s channel-surfing replacement model.
“Campaign effectiveness is naturally going to be exponentially greater where there’s co-viewership in the room. If I’m buying a television ad, I certainly want more people in the room and I want them watching the TV,” Ware said.
AVOD viewers demonstrate higher engagement by actively selecting movies and shows for family viewing rather than passive livestream consumption, creating better brand metric impact.
Measurement capabilities reach inflection point
Partners that previously conceptualized measurement solutions now deliver reality across full-funnel metrics, with brand health measurement through Syne, emotional sentiment analysis via Sleeping Giant Labs, and incremental sales lift tracking through Cerkana.
“We’re at this inflection point in time where it’s all becoming a reality,” Ware said. “You can measure brand health and brand lift. We partner with Syne, we partner with a company called Sleeping Giant Labs that can measure emotional sentiment.”
Additional measurement includes exposure-to-search tracking with EDO, website visit measurement, and incremental reach analysis through iSpot TV partnerships.
Subscription fatigue drives AVOD growth
Value-conscious consumers facing subscription bill scrutiny will increasingly choose free ad-supported high-quality entertainment options like Future Today’s Awesome TV and Happy Kids over paid streaming tiers.
“The subscription fatigue phenomenon is very real,” Ware said. “Our expectation is as value conscious consumers emerge, as we all contemplate our streaming bills, that a value conscious family is going to want a free, ad-supported high quality entertainment vehicle.”
Future Today’s native AVOD apps operate as purely commercial-supported platforms that perform well against industry peer groups while addressing consumer cost concerns.
“Future Today has native AVOD apps that are purely commercially supported that perform very well against our peer set,” Ware said.
You’re watching “Publisher-Direct Approach & Content Value: Building Partnerships That Drive Outcomes,” a Beet.TV Leadership Series at IAB NewFronts 2026, presented by Future Today. For more videos from this series, please visit this page.
