Tim: With an increasing amount of Live content now delivered via OTT, we can turn the focus from SVOD and AVOD towards supplemented advertising. My observations across the OTT industry are of increasing challenges and media owners pivoting to hybrid-based models, capturing more user preferences with a blend of available options1. A recent article referenced testing of this in Europe, with strong recommendations towards broadcasters needing an ad-free subscription option. There is always attractiveness in free services, however, success is founded on the variety and selection of content. Traditional public broadcasting businesses can be sustained with an OTT advertising-funded model, while others are ever reliant on advertising sales generated for traditional linear broadcast channels. We will reach a tipping point; but we need to keep in mind that with inventories being more accessible for OTT, greater accountability around curation and management of the audience data is an increasing focus. The demand for addressable advertising, whether at the individual or household level, is growing quickly. With some of the enhancements in technology for OTT, we see a greater ability to connect advertisers with users. We are now moving from a model where each unique session is supported by user data at the point of ad request to a focus around the effective management and curation of user data. When it comes to programmatic, which is primarily driven through data and inventory matching, being able to effectively categorize a user is crucial, even while simultaneously meeting data collection regulatory requirements. For businesses working towards an advertising-funded model, making the right ad tech investment, to begin with is going to mitigate costly challenges moving forward. Like anything, a solid underlying foundation creates the ideal platform for innovation, growth and added value. Building these foundations or platforms is something we have been doing successfully for over a decade.

Kurt: Much has been said about OTT’sability to individually target viewers with ads that are relevant to them, but deployments still seem to be “in the future.” What are the blockers to the scalability of this capability to millions of viewers? Where are the bottlenecks? Are the challenges technical, business process, or a combination? Have you seen any implementations that can do that at a practical scale?

Tim: This is a great question! You will get widely varying responses depending on who you talk to on this. To target individuals and households, deep integration into the media owner’s data management platform or identity management platform is required. We’ve built the features and capabilities of our product to make this as effective as possible. SSAI is middleware connecting between video delivery and advertising monetization technology, handling the targeting data as effectively as possible to increase the value of each ad impression. Many of the solutions in the market have been developed from a technology perspective, with limited experience of the inner mechanics of advertising monetization and their underlying technologies; we’ve been driving the AdEase roadmap with a primary focus on what’s important to advertisers. Individual viewer targeting works and effective implementations exist; however, there is a misunderstanding that because each viewer is delivered a personalized manifest, they won’t get the same advertising as others. The data system that feeds advertising personalization must support it. Finding the balance between privacy and personalization continues to be a fundamental challenge for the industry.

Kurt: Is the goal to deliver a TV-like experience on all our devices? Or are there ways to leverage some of the unique aspects of our various devices to deliver advertising in new and innovative ways?

Tim: The difference in ad opportunities between Traditional broadcast and digital OTT are worlds apart. With traditional broadcast the level of flexibility and options as an advertiser are restrictive, making this channel more applicable to those seeking mass audiences and reach. Advertising placements are sold by the time of day, day of the week, and content ratings – there’s less complexity around where to invest, making it easier for buyers. But the lack of measurement encumbered the ability to effectively measure and return on investment. As audiences’ transition to digital OTT platforms, the options and flexibility for advertisers have grown exponentially. For clarity, let’s not ignore that many characteristics of traditional broadcast advertising continue to exist in this new world. With the ability to execute data-driven campaigns in an environment that supports measurement, advertisers can think very differently about engaging their target audiences. A more fluid and dynamic environment presents measurable paths a viewer/consumer can pursue in response to your advertising; continuing industry focus will be on closing the attribution loop. As digital OTT captures a greater proportion of audiences then the rigid ad break structures of traditional television will change in accordance, advertisers will gain additional choice around the length of ads, duration of ad break and of course the choice of audiences to target. As OTT usage increases, platforms for innovation continue to evolve. In terms of formats and approaches from an advertising perspective, the Interactive Advertising  Board (IAB) recently released a draft of their new Secure Interactive Media Interface Definition (SIMID). The IAB is doing great work as they help drive standardization; we saw massive growth and utilization in Video Player Ad Interface Definition (VPAID) and there is no doubt we are going to see similar interactive advertising and functionality through VAST4.1.