Opportunities and Challenges in the Convergence of Linear and Digital TV

A report published by eMarketer

Executive Summary

Addressable, programmatic, and connected TV (CTV) have made advertising more accountable and potentially more effective than traditional TV, but challenges remain in achieving holistic measurement across linear and digital platforms.

What is the market opportunity for TV and video ad measurement?

US linear TV ad spending will remain flat, but addressable and programmatic will make up a growing part of the mix. CTV ad spend will grow by billions of dollars over the next few years, which will significantly increase the overall TV ad spend. As more programming moves to CTV, TV networks, marketers, agencies, and other players have an opportunity to increase the measurability of TV screen advertising.

What challenges stand in the way of holistic ad measurement across linear and CTV?

The process of bringing both linear and CTV ads onto the same viewing experience is in dire need of standardization. It doesn’t help that, at many agencies and TV networks, the teams that buy and sell ads are siloed. Further, companies that own TV and video ad inventory are reluctant to share their data with buyers, putting the burden on agencies to come up with campaign-specific metrics instead of a commonly accepted currency that works across linear and digital.

How can participants work through these challenges?

The roles that companies can play in streamlining the ecosystem vary according to their place in the supply chain. That said, industry efforts to pool addressable inventory and create universal identifiers that buyers and sellers can use for enhanced audience targeting and measurement are a good start.

KEY STAT: Combined US ad spending on linear and CTV platforms will exceed $93 billion by 2025, from just under $80 billion this year. All the growth will come from CTV spending.