SnapStream Series: The Future of Broadcast Monitoring & Compliance 

This is the third blog post of a three-part series on a future of addressable TV ads 

Key Takeaways

As broadcast TV advertising becomes addressable, TV and cable networks will have new opportunities to generate revenue. To prepare for this future, ad sellers at TV and cable networks should: 

1) think about delivery mechanisms for commercials, including leveraging ACR/smart TVs 

2) consider making different versions of an ad for brands 

3) create test opportunities for ad buyers 

Earlier in our series, we looked into how Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (MVPDs) and local TV stations should prepare for a future of addressable TV advertisements. TV and cable networks have to get ready for that future too. 

James Shears, the Vice President of Advanced Advertising at Extreme Reach, a creative asset management platform that helps ads get to the screens they need to be, has advice on how TV and cable networks can position themselves to take advantage of this future.

Think About Delivery Mechanisms for Commercials

Shears says that TV and cable networks need to think about their delivery mechanisms for commercials. They can run addressable advertisements through the MVPDs and set-top boxes, and they can also use OTT and smart TVs, which rely a lot on Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) data. 

Shears says that MVPDs store every ad on the set-top box, which means the ads are pre-cached for play-out. On the other hand, because OTT and ACR/smart TVs leverage IP to deliver ads, the ads get served in a more real-time manner. 

TV and cable networks, he adds, already rely on MVPDs to deliver their content in the linear world. 

“MVPDs have a lot of power, so they would control the technology and aren’t as incentivized as smaller players to build customized tech,” he says. “The MVPDs also already have the economics worked out within the space, and can drive the business discussions. It’s wrapped up within the carriage agreements of the content on linear TV.” 

He explains that by going outside the MVPD route, TV and cable networks may earn more power and could push for more customized technology. And because the economics and business models of the OTT and ACR/smart TV worlds aren’t completely defined yet, “there’s room at the table for more discussion.”  

However, Shears recommends that it's probably best for TV and cable networks to use all of those options. 

“To have a successful addressable campaign, you need scale, and the broadcaster has to decide the best way to do that," Shears says. “In the current environment, it’s probably prudent to explore all avenues available. From there, the market may help decide on the tech that works best and can scale quickly.”

Segment Inventory at the Appropriate Level, and Consider "Creative Versioning" 

Shears estimates that TV and cable networks in the United States have between 13 and 18 minutes of commercial time per hour—which amounts to between $66 billion and $70 billion in ad revenue per year. 

Ad sellers at TV and cable networks need to make sure that they’re segmenting their inventory at an appropriate level, given that addressable means “essentially splitting the units” they would typically run.

“Instead of showing, say, JCPenney to the entire country, you might show a portion of the country JCPenney and a portion of the country a Ford ad or a Coca-Cola ad,” Shears says. 

He also stresses that it wouldn’t make sense for them to make every single unit addressable “this early on,” though it will eventually. He recommends that ad sellers at TV and cable networks think through their business models, and consider whether or not it would make sense to do what he calls “creative versioning.” 

“You sell one spot to Ford, as an example, and so the entire country will see a Ford ad,” he says. “But maybe one viewer sees a sports car ad and another sees a minivan ad. You're still selling the entire spot, but you're creating different versions for brands.” 

It’s also important for those ad sellers to identify inventory. Linear TV has a finite amount of inventory—for example, 15 minutes of non-programming time per hour. The broadcaster sets the market price for the commercials that will fill those 15 minutes. 

“Addressable in the linear TV space requires a slot to show the commercial to the viewer,” Shears says. “That means, it too has to take part of that 15 minutes. If that is true, it really becomes an economics exercise. If the broadcaster now can’t sell the same amount of inventory as before, how does it manage the yield?” 

Shears suggests that the broadcaster looks at the lowest yield it currently has on its books, and replaces it with addressable. 

“That’s really a decision for the broadcaster to ensure it can still maintain the same or hopefully more incremental revenue,” he says.

Get Buy-In from Advertisers 

Of course, Shears notes that addressable advertising will only be successful if ad sellers at TV and cable networks get buy-in from advertisers. To get that buy-in, they should create test opportunities for ad buyers. 

“It would depend on the brand, because HGTV has different advertisers than ESPN or Lifetime," he says. "Ad sellers should identify an opportunity within their endemic advertisers. So if it's HGTV, maybe the advertisers are Home Depot or Lumber Liquidators. They could then create opportunities based around those types of genres.” 

Shears says that addressable ads allow advertisers to measure the effectiveness of their campaigns. Discussions between ad sellers and ad buyers need to happen before campaigns start so everyone understands the success metric. Once that is understood, ad sellers can design campaigns appropriately. 

“This is not a set it and forget it type of product.”

Update November 27, 2019: A new report from Rethink TV found that addressable TV advertising will grow rapidly in the coming years, increasing from $15.6 billion in total worldwide revenue in 2019 to $85.5 billion by 2025. The report also found that this growth in addressable TV advertising will happen in "all sectors of pay TV and all major geographies" over the next six years. 

With SnapStream Monitoring & Compliance, you can monitor your feeds for regulatory compliance and advertising proof of performance. Our solution includes closed captioning verification, loudness monitoring, audio watermark detection, and more. SnapStream also offers tools for searching TV; sharing TV clips to Twitter, Facebook, and more; and sharing clips of live events to social media in real-time. 

SnapStream Series: The Future of Broadcast Monitoring & Compliance 

This is the second blog post of a three-part series on a future of addressable TV ads 

Key Takeaways

Addressable advertising can help local TV stations grow their revenues. To prepare for a future of addressable broadcast TV advertising, ad sellers at local TV stations should:

1) focus on their advertising sweet spots—for example, the automotive industry 

2) find different ways to get viewers' geographic location and geolocation data

3) segment viewers in a specific way, such as who is in the market for a pickup truck

As broadcast TV advertising is becoming addressable, it’s not just Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (MVPDs) such as Verizon, Comcast, and DirecTV who have to gear up for that future. 

Local TV stations have to prepare as well—and James Shears, the Vice President of Advanced Advertising at Extreme Reach, a creative asset management platform that helps ads get to the screens they need to be, has tips on how they can do so.

Think About Geographic Location, Geolocation, and Advertising Sweet Spots

Shears says that for local TV stations, addressable advertising is geared toward both geographic location and geolocation. 

“It’s really about understanding where the consumer is,” he says. “Can you target based on zip code? Can you target based on location derived from a cell phone? The answer is yes.” 

Local TV stations also need to consider what their advertising strong suits are. 

“Your sweet spots are probably automotive, sometimes real estate and finance, and sometimes quick service restaurants—all things that are really bundled up with geolocation,” Shears says. “The first thing that you should think about is the automotive industry.” 

For example, Shears says that ad buyers at tier two auto dealerships (a group of regional dealerships who have pooled ad budgets), stipulate a simplistic targeting approach, such as wanting to reach viewers within a particular zip code. 

However, ad sellers at local TV stations should try to segment their audience in a more specific way. For instance, they could identify viewers who are in the market for a pickup truck. 

Seek Different Ways to Get Viewers' Geographic Location and Geolocation

Shears says that local TV stations have several options when it comes to getting their viewers’ geographic location and geolocation data. 

Sometimes, they can use authenticated opportunities to gather first-party data. Maybe they have an app that people need to sign-in to use, or maybe they can run a sweepstakes online which viewers have to give their email addresses or names and physical addresses to enter. 

Local TV stations can partner with data companies to get that data too. 

“The stations should focus on those companies that offer insight into first, the home where the TV actually is,” Shears says. “And look at some forms of device graphs to measure effectiveness. Did the person that saw the ad go to car showroom, as an example?”

Additionally, Shears notes that the ATSC 3.0 broadcast standard will create data opportunities for local TV stations. 

“It will provide different data points,” Shears says. “Now, that's probably a year or two away, but what it does is it allows you to leverage IP addresses, and from IP addresses you can kind of back in to your audience. Obviously, it would be anonymized, but you can figure out their location and census-level information, typically about who would be in that household, et cetera. That will help you build out your data profile.”

Get Specific Data About Viewers

How can local broadcasters get very specific information about viewers, like who is the market for a pickup truck? 

“Some of it is behavioral,” Shears explains. “You can kind of figure out what shows they’re watching. If you're a local broadcaster, you're probably hyper-focused on news. You can get some insights in terms of what stories are really resonating with people—are there things throughout the daytime block that they're really focused on?” 

From there, he says a local broadcaster can partner with a data company that does “look-alike modeling,” which is also a common technique in online advertising. That means the data company will find audiences that look like one another. It would look at the characteristics of a specific segment, and then go find audiences that are similar. 

To trace that information back to particular viewers, local broadcasters can partner further with MVPDs, which have the viewership data that happens on their set-top boxes. From there, the MVPDs could pinpoint viewers in an anonymous, privacy-compliant way. 

Shears also points to Automatic Content Recognition (ACR) technology, which is quickly hitting mainstream. Smart TVs, he says, rely a lot on ACR data. Since they’re connected to the internet, they operate from an IP address. 

“From the IP address, data safe havens can be used to pull attributes from that specific household,” he explains. “Really, the companies can apply census-level information. On top of that, smart TVs and ACR technology can capture genres of shows, engagement scores, and so forth. Because of that, these data sets could be quite comprehensive, covering both behavioral and demographic.” 

Local broadcasters can also turn to Nielsen, which packages up “vast amounts of data,” including census-level information on who is watching particular programming. Nielsen also has data on things such as “overnight ratings for quick insights.” 

Ultimately, Shears believes that there are so many data sets and vendors available that local broadcasters should not focus on one option.

With SnapStream Monitoring & Compliance, you can monitor your feeds for regulatory compliance and advertising proof of performance. Our solution includes closed captioning verification, loudness monitoring, audio watermark detection, and more. SnapStream also offers tools for searching TV; sharing TV clips to Twitter, Facebook, and more; and sharing clips of live events to social media in real-time. 

SnapStream Series: The Future of Broadcast Monitoring & Compliance 

This is the first blog post of a three-part series on a future of addressable TV ads 

Key Takeaways

Broadcast TV advertising is becoming addressable, meaning new opportunities for MVPDs to grow their revenues. To prepare for this future, ad sellers at MVPDs should: 

1) assemble data from their in-house databases and also partner with third-party data companies  

2) consider their viewers' geolocations 

3) collaborate with advertisers to hone in on the audiences they want to reach

Broadcast TV advertising is becoming addressable, meaning advertisers can better segment and target prospective customers. 

James Shears is the Vice President of Advanced Advertising at Extreme Reach, a creative asset management platform that helps ads get to the screens they need to be. He was previously at Dish Network, where he started the world’s first impression-by-impression platform for linear addressable TV. 

“TV typically has a finite amount of inventory,” Shears explains. But addressable environments “create additional opportunities for revenue.” 

According to Shears, TV is moving towards an IP-delivered future. And when everything becomes IP-delivered, whether or not viewers are watching programming on set-top boxes, content owners and advertisers will have to think about addressable advertisements, and about personalizing ads as well. 

He explained that most of the addressable ads viewers see today are still the same ads they would see if they were watching linear TV. 

“You’re delivered a product that you’re probably in the market for, but it doesn’t mean that the ad is catered to you specifically.” 

Advertisers need to ask themselves how they can make their ads more dynamic and personalized to drive engagement. They need to create the appropriate experience for prospective customers, and get an appropriate ad in front of them. 

“If you’re running addressable and you’re running the same copies that you would typically, it’s really going to fall flat,” Shears says.  

Of course, it’s not just advertisers who have to prepare for a future of addressable advertising on TV—broadcasters obviously have to as well. Here are Shears’ tips on how ad sellers at Multichannel Video Programming Distributors (MVPDs) such as Verizon, Comcast, and DirecTV, can navigate addressable advertising. 

Dive into the Data

One benefit MVPDs have? Because they’re sending bills, they have a good amount of information on their subscriber base, including names and addresses. 

“Addressable is really run by the data,” Shears says. 

He says MVPDs need to spend time sifting through what that data actually means. By partnering with a data company (such as Experian, LiveRamp, Neustar, Epsilon, and Acxiom), an MVPD would get a more high-level view of who exactly makes up its customer-base. 

“In most instances, these data companies provide two functions,” he explains. “First, they are database management companies, so they house CRM lists for brands. Second, they act as a safe haven for matching purposes. In that scenario, the MVPD would pass their subscriber file to the safe haven, who would then match that list with other census-level information to create a truer picture of who lives in the household.”

MVPDs should create census-level information around households for off-the-shelf segments, such as age, gender, presence of children, household income, and education level. They could then determine if those segments are appropriate for advertisers. 

Shears also thinks that MVPDs should get more customized with their data offerings—they “should be working with their advertisers to help them come up with interesting segmentation around the brands’ first party data” such as “heavy users of a particular product.” 

MVPDs might also have opportunities to leverage viewership data. For example, perhaps a particular segment of an audience consistently watches a certain program or genre. 

Consider Viewers’ Geolocation

A crucial piece of data MVPDs have on their subscribers is their geolocation. Because they know the physical home addresses of their consumers, they can create targeting segments around those locations. 

For example, maybe a subscriber lives within a two-mile radius of a McDonald’s and a Burger King. 

“That probably means they're more apt to be responsive” to ads for both of those fast food chains. 

Additionally, since MVPDs have their viewers’ home addresses, they can “back into” the IP addresses of those homes. 

“Once they have that, they could essentially create a device graph of all the devices in the home that are pinging the home IP address,” Shears notes. “That information is valuable both from a targeting perspective and also a measurement/attribution perspective.”

Dig Into The Exact Audience Advertisers Want To Reach

Ad sellers at MVPDs can brainstorm what some of the most popular targeting segments are (for example, maybe it’s those in the market for a car, or those with children), but Shears stresses the importance of having conversations with their advertisers to determine what it is that they’re looking for. 

If a brand is an auto manufacturer, for example, the client will probably want to reach consumers in the market for a car. If a brand is a restaurant, it would probably be more interested in geolocation targeting. 

“You need to think about ways that you can address people in the appropriate way, so you can target at the appropriate level,” Shears says. 

The first question MVPDs should ask advertisers is what metric they’re trying to measure.

Then, Shears says, MVPDs need to learn about advertisers’ consumers. They should ask advertisers questions that are “more defined than the traditional age/gender type of targeting that is done in linear television today.” Two examples of questions MVPDs could ask advertisers are “‘What does a client of the brand typically look like?’” and “Who are the typical heavy users of the product?’” 

Once ad sellers at MVPDs find out what an advertiser wants, they can help them measure and sculpt out their KPIs. Then, they can drive responses for the advertiser.

Ultimately, Shears explains, MVPDs have to make addressable “super easy” for advertisers to try out. He says that a first-time advertiser is probably seeking to target more off-the-shelf segments, such as household income, presence of children, and education level. That advertiser will generate brand awareness and increase sales. 

“To really benefit from addressable, though, they’ll want to come back and customize segments rather than use off-the-shelf segments.” 

With SnapStream's broadcast monitoring and compliance product, you will be able to monitor your feeds for regulatory compliance and advertising proof of performance. SnapStream includes as-run log integration, loudness compliance, and more. You can also use SnapStream to search, clip, and share live and recorded TV.