While streaming accounted for nearly 40 percent of total TV usage in July, advertisers are seeking more content transparency in order to shift additional video ad dollars into streaming. Over the past several years, publishers have invested in building authenticated first-party data that assures marketers they are reaching real, individual users within their target audiences. However, as connected TV (CTV) grows, one major challenge persists: sharing content information, including standardized contextual and brand-suitability data that can be activated programmatically.
Linear TV is delivered to millions of viewers who typically see the same ads simultaneously. Targeting is based on the network and viewership demographics, while brand suitability is determined by program restrictions at the show level. In CTV, millions of viewers stream their favorite shows, but viewers see different ads because of advanced targeting. When it comes to brand suitability, legal and technological reasons prevent CTV buyers from enabling show-level restrictions programmatically.
In addition, unlike a mobile device which is personalized to the viewer, a smart TV is shared in a household of several viewers. Combined with questionable accuracy of ad targeting and measurement data, at best buyers have an unclear idea of who saw the ad and within what type of content the ad appeared.
The emergence of AI has been a focal point of industry disruption, most notably in the entertainment industry. As the studios and gilds settle on the role of organic intelligence AKA people, AI, ironically, may offer the best path for buyers to scale investment in ad-supported streaming...