Agenda
A look at the macro picture for television as the industry adapts to a new normal of uncertain consumers and impatient investors, and fights for growth. Is there enough consumer spending power and advertiser budget to sustain our enriched TV ecosystem? How do SVODs grow profitably? What will stir the television set replacement cycle, if anything? Is the connected car the new frontier in Media & Entertainment? We explore the evolving carriage and bundling relationships between Pay TV and studios, spanning linear channels, ad-free apps and ad-tier apps.
Can Pay TV providers use FAST and AVOD as a new layer of engagement, bringing some of the Smart TV experience into their own UX? What about video sharing platforms? What other entertainment belongs in the operator environment? We want to know how the one-stop-shop experience can be improved, from holistic content discovery to super-bundling. Is there an opportunity to personalize hard bundles (like multiple SVOD ad-tiers for a cost-conscious subscriber)? We explore the challenges when hard bundling, including the danger of wholesale price rises. As more TV is streamed, will operators be competing directly with Smart TV OS providers for super-aggregation?
We explore the remaining barriers to advertising in connected TV. What technology, process or business considerations can stop ad dollars following audiences directly into ad-funded streaming today? Does more unified measurement and planning, or more programmatic transparency on genre or context, unlock revenue? We explore the role of non-interruptive formats for building reach or frequency, such as home screen ads, dynamic product placement or pause advertising. What is the progress in reducing complexity and tech-tax from the connected TV advertising ecosystem, and are all the key stakeholders – including premium content owners – happy that revenue distribution models are sustainable long-term?
This theme will explore the strategies for gaining market share in the Smart TV OS landscape. It will discuss the role of FAST channels in attracting and retaining viewers, the potential for new talent in the FAST space, and the future of global FAST growth. We want to know how connected TV OS providers make their UX the best place for consumers to find premium streaming content, whether SVOD, BVOD, AVOD or FAST. We want to know how TV OS provider differentiate their offer to consumers, and whether Smart TVs can become the gateway to most of our viewing, adopting the role so often fulfilled by set-top boxes. This panel also explores the opportunities for growth in the FAST market, spanning anything from broadcaster FAST to D2C sport.
In this session, we’ll consider whether the TV industry has reached an inflection point when the cost of streaming plummets while reliability and latency improve. We’ll discuss innovations that increase capacity, lower traffic and reduce costs for content owners and service providers. We’ll discuss reducing environmental impact, as well as the evolution of CDNs. Finally, we want to understand the contribution AI can make – including in video processing and the resource this function uses.
We will explore holistic cross-platform video planning, focusing on how buyers understand the value of different channels within a fragmented advertising landscape. We’ll discuss incremental reach and frequency across platforms, as well as the next steps in industry measurement initiatives. We’ll also hear about how digital and broadcast advertising are converging, from how broadcast ad breaks can be made more digital-like through to enhancing programmatic trading with more data signals.
Omdia forecasts 900+ million connected cars on the road by 2030 featuring ever-larger screens in the front and rear, with the car OEMs themselves and the likes of Google and Apple looking to become gatekeepers to the in-car environment. We hear what the connected car means to the Media & Entertainment industry as a new distribution endpoint for content and advertising. What is the evidence that passengers, and especially drivers, will have the time or inclination to watch TV in this environment? Who will provide the Entertainment OS – and is this a race Pay TV aggregators can join? With car makers looking to develop recurring post-sale revenues (just like Smart TV manufacturers), what could the business models look like for those with leverage on content, advertising and data.
A look at how broadcasters grow their share of the streaming market, starting with the next steps for owned-and-operated (O&O) apps. How does BVOD attract more youngsters, or convert older broadcast fans? Is there any appetite for greater use of video sharing platforms as third-party distribution partners for premium content? We explore the potential for next-gen broadcaster-controlled aggregation via platforms like Freely or DVB-I service lists. There is a special focus on how we grow the market for these linear-friendly and EPG-centric experiences.
This theme explores how we deepen engagement with all TV viewers and where appropriate, how extra engagement can be monetised. We are interested in how app, device and UX strategies can help operators and streaming services achieve this reach and deep engagement. We will consider the market impact when viewers can choose from set-top boxes, operator-developed Smart TVs and operator apps on Smart TVs or retail set-top boxes (like Apple TV). We also want to know the potential for emerging concepts like immersive storytelling, interactive overlays (especially in sport), personalized highlights packages, next-gen accessibility, etc.
Ofcom in the UK has laid out three options for the future of TV distribution, with a special interest in free-to-air. These are investment in a next-gen DTT platform that is more efficient, full DTT switch-off, or reduction of DTT to a core ‘nightlight’ service. In this session, we consider what these approaches could look like in practice. Broadcast-to-streaming migration in satellite and cable is also considered. Have we started the countdown to large-scale broadcast switch-offs and, if so, how are we going to guarantee universal access to quality free content and affordable broadband delivery?
Topics include how digital ad breaks can mimic key qualities of broadcast, from mega-scale programmatic peaks in live sport to programmatic buying using genre and ratings signals. We also consider how broadcast ad breaks can be made more digital-like, reviewing progress for addressable digital insertions into broadcast signals and biddable programmatic buying of linear broadcast TV. It is now possible to harness confirmed (rather than forecast) broadcast audiences in real-time to replan ad breaks on-the-fly, so is this a game-changer? We want to know the extent to which broadcast TV ad breaks can ‘go digital’ even before the distribution signal does.
In this session, we’ll discuss how TV takes a greater share of the ‘performance’ budget that marketers use to achieve short-term activations, from website visits to in-store sales. We explore the rich data ecosystem that can demonstrate consumer intent as the basis for targeting, whether it comes from loyalty cards, web search activity or context on publisher-owned properties. You will hear about advances in addressable TV – one of the most powerful tools in the Performance TV box. Ad format innovations that drive consumers ‘down the funnel’ are considered, like QR codes and shoppable TV.