Earlier this year, eMarketer predicted that year-over-year growth in U.S. CTV media budgets would reach 17%, surpassing $33 billion, with the acceleration in ad spend finally exceeding the increase in time spent with CTV (7%).
However, while advertisers begin to catch up with viewers’ eyeballs — that’s more than 70% of the population, according to eMarketer — there are still numerous sticking points to resolve if marketers are to feel they’re receiving value for their investment, with audience measurement and pricing transparency being the most common complaints.
Last month, tensions flared between TV networks and Nielsen over its new “big data plus panel” measurement system. Networks — especially smaller ones and those with multicultural audiences — say fluctuating metrics are hurting their businesses, compared to Nielsen’s legacy system. Despite concerns, the new methodology is expected to become the de facto standard for upfront deals, prompting fears that it could unfairly influence future TV and streaming ad pricing. VAB organized the meeting after repeated complaints.
Meanwhile, at Digiday’s first-ever CTV Ad Strategies event earlier this month, townhall discussions — conducted under the Chatham House Rule — focused on challenges in CTV advertising, particularly pricing, fees, and the difficulty of achieving consistent reach and frequency measurement across platforms.
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