Comment: ​Why Streaming is the new Olympic Gold for Advertisers

Connected TV promises to combine the attention-grabbing value of the big screen and quality long-form content, with the targeting and personalisation of digital.

For many media companies and their advertisers in Europe, that promise has not yet fully materialised, but 2024 might be the tipping point.

Kantar found that across the five largest European companies, smart-TV penetration was at 64%.

The Paris 2024 Olympics will see people taking advantage of Conected TV in new ways, creating new habits that could shape the future of Connected TV advertising in Europe and beyond.

The Olympics presents the first clear opportunity to rethink everything from targeting to personalisation to interactivity in sports content.

The Olympics will have more than 10,000 hours of content. People can choose from track and field, gymnastics, swimming and much more.

It’s estimated that almost 1 billion people will watch the games, but with so many different types of competitions to choose from, everyone will have their own viewing pattern.

In Europe, different media companies have the streaming rights in each country, with a variety of different ways that they will present their content to viewers.

Each streaming company will also be selling advertising to brands that want to reach specific audiences or attach their brand messages to specific content.

Media companies can use the Olympics as a time to learn about viewing habits, help advertisers embrace Connected TV-specific advertising opportunities like contextual targeting, and introduce interactivity to viewers to shape new habits.

Setting The Stage for a Win

Connected TV in Europe is still an emerging market, and it comes with its own set of challenges. Transparency is a major issue for Connected TV advertisers. Only 30% of advertisers in one study said that they have full transparency into ad placement for their Connected TV media buys.

Another challenge is the use of data in a way that is compliant with privacy regulations. The IAB released a guide to targeting on Connected TV in Europe, providing options that are compliant, but advertisers and media companies are slow to innovate.

The slower media companies and advertisers are to take advantage of Connected TV’s digital and addressable elements, the longer it will take to succeed on the platform.

Connected TV should not be considered an extension of linear TV with only fixed advertising placements set for a mass audience.

Streaming experiences like the Olympics illustrate other possibilities that can offer targeting, personalisation and interactivity – even commerce.

Media companies are just waking up to these opportunities on Connected TV, and a major element that they must put in place are the data and technology foundations to support more complex media sales and ad-ops.

Combining products across broadcast and Connected TV into a unified catalogue, having an updated rate card and accurate view of sold inventory can help their company transition to a more diverse and interactive approach to big screen advertising.

Media companies also need to update their sales and operations processes to be more nimble and flexible. This means automating everything from proposal building to uploading media plans to campaign management and operations.

And finally, providing advertisers with innovative Connected TV opportunities means that advertisers will want the reporting to prove that it worked. This means real-time, transparent reports that can be used to make adjustments mid-campaign and compare campaign performance to other media buys.

Media companies can’t make all of these changes by the Opening Ceremony of course, but this year’s games provide a testing ground for new ideas and sets the tone for what is to come in the future.

The media companies that take advantage of this opportunity to understand where they have weak points and where they need to evolve will have a head start in capturing growth after the “tipping point” from linear to Connected TV really sets in.

 David Dembowski is Senior Vice President of Global Sales at Operative