Operative CCO Ben Tatta believes linear and streaming processes will have to be blended
With the expansion of live sports onto popular streaming platforms, ad-tech solutions that merge live linear and digital workflows are becoming critical for maximising revenue and inventory yield in the coming year.
Live sports requires more than just traditional linear workflows; they demand real-time flexibility for dynamic ad insertion (DAI) while maintaining the integrity of conventional linear ad breaks and ad separation rules
Blending the best of linear and streaming TV for live sport
If there’s one constant in media, it’s that people love watching live sports. With the rapid adoption of streaming platforms as a primary mode of consumption it’s essential that media companies enhance their ad-stack to maximize the value of live sports. Next year, it’s estimated by MNTN Research that more than 118 million people in the US will stream live sports content, up 71% from 2021. Both digital pure-play and traditional broadcast media companies are in the race to control live sports content, and new advertising approaches are emerging.
The trend will only continue in 2025. As more people move from linear broadcast to streaming sports, traditional and digital media companies have to monetise advertising inventory in new ways. Selling ads against streaming sport isn’t a simple thing. Streaming is a digital channel, but media companies are finding that they can earn more when they sell inventory up front. What’s emerged is a “linear streaming” hybrid, supported by ad-tech solutions that merge live and on-demand workflows critical for improving the yield and sell-through of their inventory, maximising revenue and engagement in the coming year.
What’s special about live sport?
Sports attract the huge scale for the largest events, as well as engagement and loyalty across the long tail. While millions tune in to watch a big football match, a die-hard fan will watch an entire season. Today, more people want those sports experiences to be on streaming channels.
This dramatic shift in audience behavior has opened up the traditional power structure of media giants. Apple, Amazon and Netflix are shelling out tens of millions for the opportunity to stream the Champions League, NFL, and other top tier sports. At the same time, traditional broadcasters like NBC and the BBC are investing heavily in streaming to support major live events like the Olympics and World Cups.
Monetizing live sport with “linear streaming”
Media companies are just beginning to establish the advertising formats and processes for live sports streaming content. What many are finding is that a blend of linear type ad sales and dynamic ad delivery works best. Media companies have strong demand from advertisers, and get better prices and more predictability if they sell up-front. This is a lot like traditional linear ad sales.
However, trafficking and delivering those ads is better with digital and dynamic technology. There are a few reasons why:
- Many media companies sell across CTV, linear and digital, and need a unified proposal and ad management workflow to manage it.
- Media companies get more flexibility with dynamic ad insertion, giving them real-time ad serving to handle in-the-moment action such as game kickoffs.
- Optimisation, reporting and delivery are all more streamlined and automated when done digitally.
The emerging “linear streaming” concept requires new technology, and processes that are built to handle the real-time nature of streaming sports on different screens.
Media companies are not about to rip out the technology they already have. Linear broadcasters still have a huge traditional linear business they must support for the next few years at least. Digital giants have programmatic and self-serve systems in place to support automated buying on a massive scale. Neither type of company is in a position to turn these tech stacks off and start over.
What’s needed is a solution that works in unison with current technology, blending what’s in place with what’s necessary to support live streaming sport. Most importantly, media companies need a system that unifies product and pricing data so that up-front sales are as accurate and as relevant as possible and can be accounted for when the rest of the streaming inventory is sold in a different way, perhaps through a private marketplace. Media companies also need a system that can work seamlessly with channel and platform-specific systems to create a unified, blended workflow. Operations teams should not have to spend hours at a time manually uploading campaign information across many systems, so processes need to be repeatable and automated at scale.
Finally, media companies need a system that is flexible enough to grow with their needs as streaming evolves further. We are only at the beginning of the journey with streaming, and already live sport has been reinvented, causing major upheaval to industry - as well as the ad sales and delivery process. The scale and scope of linear streaming will continue to grow, and media companies that are set up to accommodate that growth will be set up for success.
Ben Tatta is chief commercial officer at Operative
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