What Display Daily thinks: Will there be an impact on TV sales if consumers are not happy with what they get to see on those screens? Probably. It would be logical to assume so. We just went through a relative golden age of TV viewing during the pandemic when there wasn’t much else to do. It was a boom time for many. The change in strategy by the major media companies with rising premium TV costs, and increasing adoption of ad-supported subscriptions, means that TV viewing isn’t as much fun as it used to be.
Will the recent actors’ and writers’ strikes have an impact? It would be logical to assume as much because title releases have been pushed back and many series are behind schedule in development.
Consumer cost-cutting during a time of high interest rates and inflation is driving the ad-supported streaming options. There’s little doubt about that as people move on from binge TV post-pandemic. However, the output on TV screens is controlled by a handful of companies, all of them more concerned about competing with each other and most trying to outdo Netflix, which has lost some of its luster in the process. The result is a very confusing mess of what show or movie is on what platform, and when, and for how long, which leads to an increasing confusion about what subscription to pay for and how to find the best mix of services and apps for the kind of content you want to watch.
It sure makes you want to go back to a time when there was an electronic programming guide (EPG), a set time, set channels, and it was all bundled under one fee with some premiums if you wanted to catch movies early on. Now, you have all the choice in the world and nothing to watch.
More Ads on More TVs on More Devices
Amazon is significantly expanding advertising options on its Fire TV platform, letting brands buy video ad inventory previously reserved just for entertainment companies and introducing new ad formats and targeting capabilities.
The e-commerce giant is opening up its coveted Fire TV home screen slots to all advertisers, not just studios and networks. These prominent full-screen ads were previously off-limits to regular advertisers. Amazon says adding the on-TV ads can increase campaign reach by 125% compared to digital video ads alone.
For the first time, advertisers can also buy exclusive sponsorship of free, ad-supported streaming channels on Fire TV. And later this year, an upgrade to Fire TV’s voice search function will let brands buy sponsored ad tiles that appear in search results.
The moves represent Amazon’s latest push to capitalize on its fast-growing Fire TV platform, which now boasts over 200 million active users globally. As viewing shifts to streaming, the company is eager to grab more of the $200 billion global TV ad market.
Fire TV has been adding ad-supported entertainment content and short-form videos to boost engagement. The service tripled streaming hours between January and September, Amazon said.
Advertisers are eager for new video ad inventory, but Amazon faces stiff competition from rivals like Roku Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. Amazon claims its users have little overlap with other platforms.
The ad expansion may invite more regulatory scrutiny as Amazon extends its reach across e-commerce and digital media. But for now, the company is aggressively leveraging its data and technology to push deeper into the advertising realm.
This news comes on the heels of reports that Roku is also seeing a rebound in advertising revenue growth after a slump earlier in 2023, although the pace remains uneven across verticals. The company added 2.3 million new accounts globally last quarter and total streaming hours grew 22% year-over-year. Roku has been expanding ad units and programmatic availability to capitalize on the recovery. However, average revenue per user dropped 7% as account growth continues to outpace platform revenue gains. Roku remains cautiously optimistic about ongoing improvement in video ad spend. The streaming platform competes with Amazon’s Fire TV and others for share of the fast-changing over-the-top video market.
