Next week, the TV Upfronts will put on their usual glitzy parade for media buyers – but there are new players and areas of focus that we highlight on this week’s episode.
Instead of just Hollywood stalwarts, ecommerce giants and streamers like Amazon and Netflix are presenting at the upfronts now that they have robust AVOD tiers. Data and tech can rub elbows with the celebrities doing their contractually obligated appearances to promote their shows anddazzle media buyers.
So far, shoppable TV has been a big area of focus. Disney is working with Walmart Connect to bring shopper data to streaming, and Amazon will allow viewers to “add to cart” while watching commercials on the platform. (Add to that list: NBCUniversal and Instacart’s partnership and one last year between Roku and DoorDash).
Buyers believe they have the upper hand this year, according to our senior editor Alyssa Boyle,. With plenty of choices for where to place their inventory, they are demanding flexibility. They will commit money but want more options to move that money around through the year.
The same competition that is giving buyers leverage is also putting pressure on the streamers. All the AVOD and SVOD services are competing for subscribers at the same time investors are pressuring them to make their streaming services profitable. They are making do with less, even if that means cutting content costs or marketing to attract subscribers.
Then, we dive into a tangly topic: Google Search.
Content owners are seeing traffic evaporate after recent core updates. Though some of the changes will help root out some gamification of search (like coupons.[insertpublishername].com type domains), small niche publishers that worked hard to make their traffic discoverable feel punished by the changes. That includes HouseFresh, an affiliate air purifier website that now sees inferior content encroaching on its search terms.
On the heels of Google wrapping its antitrust trial, we discuss how this latest issue is just the cherry on top of bad press for Google, from Ed Zitron’s take on how Google prioritized revenue over user experience to eyebrows raised over how big partnership deals with Reddit and Pinterest resulted in those platforms seeing boosts in search results.
