Streaming next on your TV: personalised ads

STREAMING PLATFORMS WILL BE ABLE TO DELIVER ADDRESSABLE ADS BASED ON VIEWING HABITS, LOCATION AND OTHER DATA

WASHINGTON: In the new world of streaming television, advertising is not going away, but is evolving to become more like marketing on the internet— targeted to specific groups or individuals.

While some subscription streaming services including Netflix, Apple+ and Disney+ have pledged to be ad-free, others including those from Warnermedia and Nbcuniversal are expected to have some ad-supported options, as does Hulu.

Because these new platforms operate online, they will also be able to deliver targeted or “addressable” ads based on viewing habits, location and other data it may collect, in the same manner as Google and Facebook.

According to the research firm emarketer, addressable TV ad revenue, which includes some ads on traditional TV, in the US is likely to grow from $1.5 billion in 2018 to $3.5 billion in 2021.

Streaming services are making it easier for smaller companies and marketers to get on television through selfserve ad platforms without the big budgets required for broadcast TV, according to emarketer analyst Ross Benes. “There are a lot of new companies coming into television advertising” as a result of streaming, Benes said. “TV is still a place where you can get a massive amount of people’s attention.”

Roku announced plans this month to buy dataxu, which provides automated self-serve ads for what is known in the industry as over-the-top (OTT) services. “TV advertising is shifting toward OTT and a data-driven model focused on business outcomes for brands,” said Anthony Wood, chief executive at Roku.

The rise of streaming could raise a fresh set of privacy concerns over how data on TV viewers is collected and shared across various platforms and devices. A recent academic study found smart TVS, streaming dongles and other connected devices sending data to companies such as Netflix and Facebook. “There is a small number of these cloud providers that are getting a lot of insight into what you’re doing with these devices,” said David Choffnes of Northeastern University, who led the research.