The media landscape is undergoing a profound transformation, and the rapid rise of streaming television is at the forefront of this revolution. Viewers are increasingly cutting the cord, bidding farewell to traditional cable subscriptions in favor of streaming services.
As we delve into this seismic shift, it's essential to explore the emerging opportunities and challenges that this transformation presents for advertisers. One of the biggest opportunities is CTV (Connected TV) reach extension and how it enables advertisers to connect with premium audiences via premium inventory.
In July, we reached a pivotal moment when linear viewership (broadcast and cable combined) fell below 50% of total TV viewership for the first time. The aggregate use of streaming apps had already surpassed broadcast viewership in the preceding months, but July marked the moment when streaming eclipsed both cable and broadcast together.
U.S. audiences collectively watched a staggering 190.9 billion minutes of streamed content in July, surpassing the 169.9 billion-minute figure observed during the early pandemic lockdown in April 2020. This data demonstrates that streaming TV has firmly established itself as the dominant force in the media landscape.
The growth of streaming TV has paved the way for a significant shift in advertising spending as well. CTV ad spend is projected to reach $26 billion globally this year, with advertising-supported video on demand (AVOD) experiencing rapid growth. Forrester predicts that the percentage of streaming platforms' revenues from advertising will rise from 21% in 2020 to 38% by 2027.
Notably, industry giants like Netflix and Disney+ have entered the ad-supported space, signaling an evolution in how advertisers engage with audiences. The advancement of streaming ad technology, coupled with the influx of viewers to streaming TV, has intensified the competition for viewer attention.
As viewers continue to migrate from linear to modern TV, reach extension is a critical growth driver in the world of CTV advertising. This is especially true as more and more AVOD players throw their hats in the ring, leading to streaming media fragmentation and making it nearly impossible for buyers to reach out to every provider.
Now let's define what reach extension provides in the context of Madhive and the larger CTV industry:
The advantages of reach extension are not limited to a specific type of company and provide the potential to unlock new revenue streams. It can benefit various businesses, including those with a local-first mindset, companies possessing first-party data, and entities with owned and operated inventory, such as publishers and retail media.
CTV, as a rapidly growing channel at the intersection of digital and TV, offers opportunities for precise planning, audience identification, publisher controls, customization, and robust reporting. Adtech has evolved significantly, enabling more sophisticated targeting strategies and improved customization capabilities.
For example, reach extension allows buyers to curate their publisher lists and manage reach and frequency across their buys at the household level, a particularly relevant capability when it comes to local.
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Successfully expanding reach while ensuring brand safety requires a well-tuned technology stack, with both premium programmer partnerships and the ability to maximize the impact of the valuable viewers watching "long tail" content. Advertisers must focus on three key areas: planning, activation, and measurement.
Advertisers need granularity in selecting publishers, geographies, devices, and more. Hyperlocal precision and the ability to customize and integrate solutions are crucial for success.
Establishing direct supply connections and rigorous curation across SSPs, ad servers, and exchanges is essential. Implementation of fraud-prevention technologies like Double Verify and Human prebid filters on 100% of inventory to filter fraud instances before any impression requests are exposed to potential bids. Ensuring 100% fraud protection at every step of the process is a non-negotiable requirement.
CTV still provides advertisers the ability to drive mass reach, awareness, and brand lift that TV is known for, but it can also drive lower-funnel KPIs such as purchases, website visits, and foot traffic. This requires an ecosystem of best-in-class measurement partners, which can provide granular insight into outcomes and multi-touch attribution.
Madhive was founded in 2017 with a mission to empower brands and media companies with a modernized system for transacting on streaming. We enable advertisers to navigate the evolving landscape of CTV by providing the infrastructure to address the fundamental issues in the digital ecosystem including fraud prevention, transparency, and accountability, while also providing a powerful platform to extend their business off of O&O properties.
And as viewership habits change, Madhive is dedicated to reaching the right audience with precision, providing clients full transparency of the inventory they run media against. Madhive clients see where their campaigns ran down to the publisher level.
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Madhive's unique positioning in the adtech landscape allows us to provide granular targeting and activation, both for local and national advertisers. Covering 100% of designated market areas (DMAs) and running over 20,000 campaigns daily, we offer hyperlocal, precise scale that sets us apart from competitors.
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Transparency is at the core of our approach. Madhive clients have full visibility into where their ads run, down to the publisher, zip code, and device level. We prioritize effectiveness and outcomes without compromising transparency or fraud prevention. Madhive integrates industry-standard fraud prevention partners across 100% of our inventory, which provides advertisers with the confidence to optimize for outcomes.
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Reach extension is a valuable tool for brands and broadcasters who want to expand their reach to new audiences. But it’s important to choose a reach extension partner that offers premium inventory, control over where ads will run, and transparency in reporting— then hold them accountable.
At the end of the day, one thing’s for sure, reach extension is going to play an integral role in the future growth of CTV. And at a time when AI has opened this conversation of people vs. technology, reach extension provides the best of both worlds: human connection and insights through salespersons, combined with top-notch programmatic technology.
