Convergent TV World conference is taking place on March 5-6 in New York City. Click here to register.
“Transitional.” “Developing.” “Work-in-progress.”
Those are the best descriptions of the current state of TV and video convergence, according to industry experts that AdExchanger and Cynopsis identified as top leaders influencing the video advertising landscape.
As the line between TV and video viewing behavior continues to blur, ad technology and workflows remain siloed. There’s been some progress, but change takes time. There are, however, ways to continue building momentum.
We asked 10 industry influencers, including two buyers and three sellers, to rate the current state of channel convergence, the pain points they’d most like to see solved and which opportunities they are most looking forward to this year.
Here are three takeaways that stuck out:
- The majority of respondents see a lot of room for improvement.
- Some streaming publishers say they’re underwhelmed by advertiser investments.
- Building confidence in convergence depends on two priorities: outcomes and interoperability.
Let’s dive into the details.
Seven out of the 10 respondents ranked the current state of channel convergence as “fair” (as opposed to poor, good or great). Two optimists ranked it as “good,” while one media seller noted that it depends on a buyer’s data strategy.
Notably, no respondents ranked convergence as “poor” or “great,” which underscores their belief that convergence is a “work-in-progress.”
Several ongoing pain points in TV and video advertising help explain this perspective. When we asked which pain points they most want to solve, the top choice was a tie between ad measurement standardization and transparency.
Measurement strategies are still evolving, including the Video Advertising Bureau’s new TV measurement recommendations and Nielsen’s recent upgrades to its currency product combining panels with larger data sets. (Not to mention the recent spat between the two organizations.)
When measurement isn’t standardized, marketers have a more difficult time assessing what works and, in turn, justifying future increases in investment.
Respondents also highlighted transparency as a top pain point. The garden walls keep getting higher, and a lack of visibility into cross-platform viewership leads to bid duplication and a lack of frequency capping.
But make no mistake: The convergent TV landscape is far from just doom and gloom. Respondents believe the future of TV and video convergence is bright – and here’s why.
Measure up
We asked influencers in our space which opportunities the industry as a whole should prioritize to unlock future growth and improvement. Perhaps unsurprisingly, we got a familiar answer: Measurement and interoperability both need to improve.
Drilling in, the industry is most laser focused on outcomes-based measurement. As marketers face intensifying pressure to justify every media dollar, proving performance is a major priority – and buyers are voting with their wallets. Consider recent moves among marketers to get more detailed metrics from their TV publisher partners. It’s all part of the effort to make TV and streaming act more like a performance channel.
“As our industry continues coalescing, the biggest unlock for growth and true value will come from aligning around shared outcomes, because when our measurement, monetization and media decisions move together, the entire TV ecosystem moves forward,” said Jessie Schwartzfarb, EVP and head of video investment at Dentsu, who’s on our list of industry influencers.
But we can’t forget about interoperability, ensuring that technology and data across different providers or ecosystems are compatible. Media buyers and sellers are inking more partnerships with data and audience identity providers – and with each other – so everyone can get a complete picture of video viewing and ad performance.
As one of our respondents put it: Outcomes-based measurement “is critical, but data and technology need to be more interoperable.”
Play ball!
Still, buyers and sellers don’t agree on everything.
When it comes to pain points, two of the three sellers we polled identified “underwhelming growth in investment” as their top gripe. With connected TV advertising in the US expected to grow 13.8% in 2026, it’s not surprising that those on the buy side aren’t overly concerned.
It’s also likely that publishers are feeling more pressure as the upfront season inches closer and the competition among streamers for ad dollars intensifies.
We asked buyers where they expect to increase their investments this year and – no surprise here – they both named sports as their biggest focus, outweighing interactive ad formats, generative AI and agentic AI.
This emphasis explains why publishers are so gung-ho about expanding their live sports portfolios.
But will sports be enough to move the needle on TV and video investments this year?
We’ll have to wait and see how the rest of the year shakes out.
The Convergent TV World conference is produced by the AdExchanger, Cynopsis and the Chief Marketer Network.
