TVOT 2023 with Tracy Swedlow

May 24-25 marks the next TV of Tomorrow conference in San Fransisco and a time of vast changes in the media landscape. Tracy Swedlow, CEO TMRW Corp. and Co-Executive Producer of TV of Tomorrow (TVOT) among other notable achievements, gives us an overview of what has been happening, where we are going and what to expect at the San Francisco conference.

Charlene Weisler: Can you give me a short recap of the media landscape for the past three years and any impact good or bad from the pandemic?

Tracy Swedlow: Subscription-based streaming services grew rapidly during the pandemic, but there’s been quite a slowdown in subscription growth rates in recent months (in part, because people are no longer sitting around the house with nothing to do, as they were during the lockdown; and in part simply because subscriptions are increasingly expensive) and churn rates, which have always been an issue for SVOD, are increasing significantly (40% according to a new Deloitte study). FAST/AVOD has also been growing rapidly, partly as a result of subscription-inflation. The fact that it’s accessed primarily on CTV platforms presents significant opportunities for gathering granular audience data and for enabling FAST’s monetization through increasingly personalized, targeted and interactive advertising—so, for example, one thing we’ve been seeing recently is a swell of interest in new, interactive advertising formats.

In addition to fueling the growth of streaming, it’s arguable that the pandemic also accelerated the rise of shoppable TV by increasing consumer usage of/familiarity with ecommerce: again, the wide distribution of CTV platforms has also been a catalyst here.

Another significant development over the past three years—even though it’s one whose full potential hasn’t yet been realized—is the ongoing roll-out of broadcast TV’s ATSC 3.0 standard (which has the consumer-facing brand, NEXTGEN TV) and the increasing availability of TV sets that support it. This will allow major improvements in audience measurement, advanced advertising and interactive services and promises a renaissance for local broadcasting.

Last but not least, the past three years have seen significant attempts to improve audience-measurement and the data-driven advertising it enables, not only through competition and the innovation that competition encourages, but through major industry coalitions and collaborations.

Weisler: What is this year’s TVOT about? And why?

Swedlow: We don't really impose an overarching theme on each event since we cover multiple, often quite disparate areas of and developments in the TV industry (everything from JICs to Web3, from AI to local CTV), and trying to fit everything into a unified concept would probably come across as somewhat forced. However, one thing I think I can say that TVOT is about this year—and every year—is community; a chance for leaders who’ve been working in this industry (and attending the show) for many years and who’ve built up a huge store of knowledge and experience not only to connect with one another but to meet and exchange ideas with emerging talent and new entrants into the TV business. The event is a little like a salon, where disparate ideas, strategies and industry sectors cross-pollinate.

Weisler: What are the top issues for media companies coming up?

Swedlow: Improving how viewership is measured in an increasingly multiplatform environment; improving how the data thus generated is interpreted and made use of while, and this is an issue that seems to be increasingly on everyone’s mind, maintaining privacy and promoting transparency; and in general, figuring out how to survive and thrive as some areas of the industry undergo rapid disruption (for example, by AI) while other areas (such as SVOD) that saw disruption just a few years ago reach maturity and possibly even start to retrench.

Weisler: What will the impact of AI be?

Swedlow: Honestly, I think the question is really, “What will the impact of AI not be?” I’m convinced it will affect most if not all areas of our industry—and, for that matter, of our daily life. Content creation, distribution and discovery, creative versioning for addressable advertising and data collaboration are just a few areas that immediately spring to mind.

Weisler: Give me three predictions for the next 3 years.

Swedlow: First, NEXTGEN TV will lead to a renaissance in local broadcasting, enabling improvements in audience measurement/data and advanced advertising, as well as more interactivity and multiple new consumer-facing services. Second, every press release announcing a new product will have “AI” in the headline, but (joking aside) this won’t be the usual marketing hype; AI will have huge consequences for television, advertising and pretty much every other area of human endeavor. And third, TV advertisers will know a lot more about audiences than they ever imagined they could, and those audiences will find advertising way less intrusive—in fact they might actually enjoy watching it, because it will be finely tailored to their interests and needs.

This article first appeared in Mediapost.

 

The TV of Tomorrow Looks Ahead

Tracy Swedlow, co-founder and CEO, TMRW Corp., is an industry visionary who has been charting the course of media since the 1990s. Her bi-annual TV of Tomorrow conferences bring together a stellar group of industry professionals who offer insightful takeaways about the landscape and how executives can embrace and prosper through the transformation. 

What are the biggest trends going on right now in the industry? According to Swedlow, it is attribution and ATSC 3.0. “Attribution is a super-hot topic,” she noted, “It is the customer journey – how they move through apps, websites and eventually into stores where they buy something.” She believes that we will get to full attribution soon.  With ATSC 3.0, “We are still very much behind the development of that technology for local broadcasting. Local broadcasting will change and we want to be as supportive as we can to get the right people together,” she added. 

I interviewed a few speakers, asking them their opinion of what we should expect in the next year and in the next three years. Here is what they reported: 

Question: What do you see as the biggest changes or transformations in the media industry in 2019?

Sean Doherty, CEO of Wurl: The biggest transformation we anticipate is the “tipping point” we’ve talked about through this decade, and is now becoming reality: the shift away from traditional TV viewing to Internet-based viewing. This opens up new paths to revenue for the streaming platforms already included in connected TVs, and a huge opportunity for those who have not yet crossed over to OTT. These free, ad-supported channels are unburdened by the parameters of traditional, linear TV and can bring viewers new experiences outside of “the box.” The technology is here, the viewers are here. There’s no reason for video producers and services not to keep up.

Ryan Rolf, VP, Data Solutions at Lotame: Unified view-ability standards in TV will start to come to life. The shift in how we understand TV and its influence on audiences will allow advertisers to engage in the same types of strategies they do on digital channels, creating a holistic view across channels and engaging, measureable campaigns. However, the industry should take the learnings from earlier programmatic days and not rush to "scale" at expense of quality and ask right questions as they merge TV, Digital, Linear, and Mobile with Data.

Jeff Greenfield, COO and Co-Founder of C3 Metrics: There are two major trends. The first is that traditional brand metrics will be unified with multi-touch attribution. As of now, the number one thing that CMOs want is ROI and attribution. They exist, but technical issues (such as ad fraud) have prohibited attribution from becoming the Holy Grail for CMOs – we can expect this to change this year as attribution has matured. The second is that standards for attribution accreditation will be set. The industry is currently lacking standards, given that accreditation had been non-existent, but the Media Ratings Council has come out with view-ability accreditation. With upcoming attribution accreditation, marketers will be relieved that standards will be followed by measurement companies.

Question: Where do you see the industry 3-5 years from now? 

Swedlow: I am very excited about new ideas in interactivity. There have been some exciting new developments. Walmart, for example, is investing in a company called Echo. They also bought MGM assets. They are going to be moving forward on interactive TV technology. Netflix announced in the Fall that they are going to launch interactive content with Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror series and they have been doing some interactive content with children’s programming. So I would say that this is an exciting new development to watch – interactive storytelling in a commercial environment. 

Doherty: All US-based video content will be consumed over the top.  The viewers are already there and from a business point of view, the revenue associated with “un-structuring” TV is evident, easily reachable, and simply makes sense.

Rolf: Voice data is early and overhyped at the moment, but eventually it will change advertising and tip the scales of power to the operators of the voice assistants in terms of who they recommend when a search request is initiated. CPG brands should be very wary of jumping in with Amazon for the sole fact that Amazon would likely learn all the data on what CPG products are most bought via voice and create their "Basics" version of it. They could possibly tilt scales in their own brand’s favor vs. the best interest of brands themselves. Also, voice takes away some power from consumers because unlike other medium where you have options visually displayed, that aspect is missing with voice allowing them to re-order or promote a brand of their choosing without your knowledge. It will be interesting to see how voice shakes out over the next several years.

Greenfield:  The biggest change will be the "Attribution Effect" – the 'after shocks' of advertisers leveraging attribution data which will force publishers to adapt to not only new formats, but content which is started from the perspective of the advertiser with outcome in mind.  The “Attribution Effect” will move media from its current outdated currency to Attribution's Outcome Currency.

This article first appeared in www.Mediapost.com

Peering into the Media Crystal Ball at The TV of Tomorrow Conference

Every December in New York, we are given an opportunity to map out the future developments in media at the TV of Tomorrow conference. This year, Tracy Swedlow, co-founder and CEO, TMRW Corp., focused the event on hot topics such as Attribution, Addressable Advertising and Data and how these three impact content creation and sales.

Here are the major takeaways:

Addressable Advertising Advances

“Traditional TV was a one-to-many ad medium where all would see the same ad,” explained Brett Hurwitz, Business Lead, Advanced TV, Oath. ”Addressable is not the case. It delivers a direct ad to the most relevant individuals. It is individualized advertising,” he added.

According to Amy Leifer, Vice President Sales Planning and Operations, Xandr, there is huge potential in addressable. “When you use data to attract audiences, it is more meaningful. Outcomes are so much better than using blunt media,” she stated, and added, “The reality is that it works regardless of whatever vertical you use. And it continues to grow because it works.” Xandr, AT&T’s new advertising division, launched their addressable product seven years ago.

Competing companies, such as AT&T and Dish, are now partnering on certain addressable initiatives, such as the political advertising marketplace, where they need scale and reach. “They are a competitor but we are combining our audiences in certain markets. We have an office in Washington DC that is dedicated to that marketplace,” Leifer noted.

Desirable niche targets sometimes pose a risk in addressable. We need to monitor, “which households are seeing any given ad far too many times,” advised Kevin Arrix, Senior Vice President of Dish Media. “It is difficult to control because sequencing is sold by certain groups.”

Understand How to Leverage Content

Karen Leever, President, US Digital Products, Discovery, understands the importance of content format in attracting the right consumer on the right platform. “Consumers deserve ubiquity of content and we need to give them reasons to come back,” she explained. Discovery offers full seasons on demand and, with key tent pole shows like Shark Week, the company strives to “go deeper on those for super fans” by offering short form content on the event, 8-15 minutes in length that they especially enjoy.

Leever measures the success with number of streams and minutes watched which she examines every day for both long and short form programs. In addition, Discovery has a social media initiative and has developed a robust social media community. “We have 300 million social media fans,” she noted. Discovery partners with such companies as Group 9, Dodo and Seeker which helps age down their linear TV demographic. But this effort is only used to build awareness. “There is not a lot of access to  programming over social media. Viewers must go to the provider,” she explained.

While Discovery seeks to own their content, Google sources news rather than creates it, according to Rebekah Dopp, Principal, News and Local Media Global Partnerships, Google. And thre are no plans at this time to go beyond aggregating. “It is not our core competency, not in our DNA,” she explained. “We are not content creators but a platform. And we do all we can do to maintain integrity of those who provide content.”

Attribution is Hitting Its Stride

Media companies and agencies are focusing more and more on attribution. “Attribution is a super-hot topic,” according to Tracy Swedlow, co-founder and CEO, TMRW Corp, the parent company of TV of Tomorrow. 

For agencies, it is important to manage for frequency and understand targets that are applied to linear space, according to Helen Katz, SVP, Global Director of Data and Contract, Publicis Spine. Creative has been a bigger challenge, she noted, because there isn’t always multi versions of creative that can be used for targeting. “We are in a learning curve,” she stated. But it is possible to measure success. Katz has seen sellers guarantee against the outcome in addition to the grps. And yes, “they have to hit both guarantees,” she added.

Media companies have to create their own benchmarks in this new and emerging space because there is little history to rely upon. “We update our guidelines every year,” Katz said

Data Continues to Rule

Donna Speciale, President of Turner Ad Sales, is a big proponent of data to help sales maximize the value of their inventory. Their work with AT&T’s Xandr has been formalized this past June and now they are working closely, collaborating and gathering data to enhance their current products. Xandr offers Turner access to AT&T first party data for 25 million set top boxes and 147 million mobile devices. “Our goals is to enhance our audience products,” Speciale noted, “making them faster. Our goal is to have real time optimization so we can post a lot quicker and cleaner.”

Speciale is hoping to get to national addressable. “But we are not there yet,” she admitted. “To me, it would have to get to at least a 50% mark for it to be a viable option. It is hard for us to do anything of that size because anything that deviates in a national footprint for C3, we won't get credit for. Nielsen needs one marketer for a national unit.” If ads are split between two different advertisers, Turner would lose that national rating for that telecast.

But in the meantime, Turner is doing beta testing to make the data actionable within audience segments. Speciale expects to announce new products by 2Q 2019. She also plans on being able to do her own attribution instead of going to third party sources. “We’ve got to get out of the demo and into audiences,” she stated.

This article first appeared in www.MediaVillage.com

How Will ATSC 3.0 Impact Local Television?

ATSC 3.0 has been receiving a lot of buzz at industry shows like TV of Tomorrow and CES. Described as a game-changer, this new protocol promises advancements that will enable interactivity on-demand for over-the-air local television.

Experts from the field are often bullish but admit there will be a lot of disintermediation, disruption, and transformation that—at least for the short term—could create uncertainty. Here are some of the anticipated pros, cons, and in-betweens.

Further Consolidation

There could be additional local consolidation by companies like Tegna and Sinclair Broadcasting, which might “enable those companies to streamline content production, content delivery, programmatic buying, and ad delivery from a central location,” said Tracy Swedlow, co-founder and chief executive officer at TMRW Corporation.

This could work well for advertisers by creating cost efficiencies and new opportunities for monetization, but could remove the local feel by leaving office operations to be conducted outside the market.

Read the full article on the Videa blog.

Welcome the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The TV of Tomorrow Offers an Exciting and Dystopian Future.

Where is TV headed? What is the TV of tomorrow? That was the question on my mind while attending the TV of Tomorrow conference held in NYC last week.

Many issues are hitting the industry now. “People are trying to aggregate data in order to organize the KPIs and monetize them while understanding all of the barriers involved how to bring all that data together,’” noted, Tracy Swedlow, Editor-in-Chief of ITVT and Founder of the TVOT Conference. In the realm of social media, many companies are grappling with “YouTube and their changing algorithms, libraries that are being de-monetized and the creation of greener pastures,” she added. 

One thing is clear; the TV ecosystem of today will definitely not be the TV ecosystem of tomorrow. Millennials are cord-nevers who didn’t grow up in a world of TV networks. Don’t expect them to change their habits as they age. And they don’t see the media landscape the way older viewers do. As Helen Katz, SVP/Global Director of Media and Insights, Publicis Media, explained when she asked her daughter what her favorite TV channels were, replied, “What is a TV channel?” 

For those of use with years invested in the industry, the changes discussed at the TVOT are at once exciting and dystopian. Here are my takeaways:

Increasing Technological Dominance

This drumbeat of technological change is leading to what Stein Erik Sorhaug, VP Product Strategy, Vimond, terms the Fourth Industrial Revolution where, through artificial intelligence (AI), we will drive human behavior and human thought. AI, as applied through Machine Learning, has the future capability to craft the most engaging content, map the most effective media plan and measure everything everywhere through the consumer journey. Ideally there will be room for both AI and human input where computers "create an inference layer" according to Mika Rautiainen, CEO/CTO, Valossa Labs, followed by "human curators editorially creating playlists and new channels," Sorhaug added.

Skill sets need to keep pace

Certain jobs could disappear in this new media ecosystem or will require different skill sets. "No question that people in yesterday's supply chain will be wiped out," stated Dave Morgan, CEO, Simulmedia, "marketing managers today don't have hard science background and will lose jobs to those who do." Swedlow suggested future media mavens, “create their own channel with their own ideas for original content. There will always be an opportunity for great content with real personalities and people who have a compelling story to tell.” 

Measurement Still a Challenge

“The lines between linear and digital are blurring,” explained Jenny Burke, SVP Sales Strategy, NBCU, “so we are concentrating on content; distributing it to whatever platform the consumer prefers.” How can this consumer journey be best measured? Aaron Fetters, SVP National Agencies and CPG Business, comScore, noted that, “times are changing and measurement must change with it. We need to future proof measurement with the growth in IoT, OTT and wearables.” But how can we accomplish this when there are walled gardens and silos of data and no industry standard content identification system in place? Until we can agree on the best way to track content, through content identification and ACR, full cross-platform measurement will continue to be a challenge and will become more complex.

OTT is Growing and Cuts Out the Advertiser

Ignore the influence of OTT at your peril. “Four major OTT services account for 80% of viewing time in OTT households with Netflix at 39%,” stated Katz. And it is growing. Since much of OTT is subscription based, this can shut out advertising. Fetters added, “We see that viewers are spending 25 hours per month with Netflix on their TV screen and that is 25 hours per month that is not available to advertising. We need to find ways of adjusting the advertising plan to reach those households.”

ATSC 3.0 Brings TV into the New Age

Although still in the arena of the engineering wonks, the advent of ATSC 3.0 will prove to be a game changer for local TV. This new protocol will, as Swedlow explained, “enable regular digital television over the air – local television and every other broadcaster - to be able to explore the relationship between linear over-the-air and interactivity on-demand.” How fast and how profound ATSC 3.0 will be depends on timing – when will all of the new chips be installed? It will take a while, she explained, because there is no deadline by the government, “but I think it will pick up steam,” she concluded.

We have to be “savvy enough to take advantage of all of these new technologies because everything will be interactive. There will be shows that will be voice activated and there will be shows that will require you to interact with another person or deal with blockchain to monetize your content,” explained Swedlow. The best advice I can give is to embrace change and be nimble. The future of television will demand more of us but it will be an exciting journey.

This article first appeared in www.Mediapost.com