The Smart TV Home Screen Is The “Appointment Viewing” Opportunity For The Streaming Era
The streaming era has given consumers unprecedented control over how and when we consume content. Gone are the days of artificial scarcity dictating the availability of content.
The steady decline of traditional Pay TV and the meteoric rise of streaming services have ushered in this new era of entertainment, defined by hyper-personalized viewing experiences and on-demand accessibility.
While that has created many benefits and opportunities for both viewers and advertisers alike, it’s not without casualties. Top among them is the concept of “appointment viewing” — the shows and events that in the past could generate a significant tune-in audience on a known channel at a known time.
Few shows today can command the kind of mass audience that hits of the past could deliver. The numbers don’t lie:
In 1996, Seinfeld reigned supreme with over 26 million viewers.
In 2006 it was American Idol with 17 million viewers.
Then The Big Bang Theory in 2016 with 11 million viewers.
While the era of traditional appointment viewing is over, advertisers don’t have to sacrifice mass reach in the age of individualized content consumption. They just have to move with the viewers.
The Advent of Streaming and Cord-Cutting
While certainly the end of an era, it’s hardly the end of the TV itself as a mass-reach vehicle. Viewers have just reallocated their viewing time to the connected space. In fact, in the U.S. there are over 230 million CTV users who average just under 2 hours of time spent with CTV every day.
Streaming has ushered in a new golden age of entertainment, where viewers demand content on their own terms, empowered with unparalleled choice and flexibility. And while streaming grows, Pay TV's presence in U.S. households has dropped to below 50%, with cord-cutting eroding market share expected to fall by about 2-3% annually.
So where, and how, do advertisers fit into this transition?
The answer can’t be found in the ads and business models of the past. The intricacies of the smart TV business represent a dynamic shift that requires a fresh perspective for advertisers aiming to engage with audiences effectively…and the recognition of a new and rising medium.
The Home Screen Paradigm
While no one program or content partner can deliver the mass reach that advertisers have enjoyed in the past, there is an alternative solution for advertisers that’s unique to this new TV era — the smart TV Home Screen.
The Home Screen is the first thing viewers see when they power up their TVs today… not a TV show in mid-stream, or a programming menu to scroll through. This is the hub of their viewing experience - an interactive, lean-in environment that offers unprecedented opportunities to reach and converse with viewers when they’re the most engaged.
Amid this evolution, the smart TV Home Screen has become a new and critical gateway to mass reach for advertisers. In the fragmented world of streaming apps, the Home Screen serves as the daily rendezvous point for viewers seeking their entertainment fix.
For the growing number of cord-cutting households, the Home Screen guides them through their content journey, making it an ideal platform for advertisers to make a lasting impression.
Unlocking Value for Advertisers
For Media and Entertainment companies promoting content, it’s a seamless solution. The Home Screen creates unique direct response opportunities to captivate audiences through personalized recommendations and in-stream video, fostering engagement and driving potential subscriptions.
For consumer brands, the Home Screen is a new way to provide value to the consumer in uncluttered, premium real estate. It creates the opportunity for a brand to build a unique viewing experience rooted in its initiatives or messaging. Brands can also have a voice around larger tentpoles, aligning with new, timely, and premium content.
The Home Screen is TV’s new mass-reach vehicle. It’s where brands and content partners increasingly turn to achieve tangible business outcomes. In fact, with our Branded Content Studios initiative, brands even have a path to creating and placing exclusive original content on the Home Screen, essentially redefining both content and advertising for this new medium.
The Power of Personalization
The ability to curate viewers' entertainment journeys through relevant content recommendations and an intuitive user experience has fueled a year-over-year increase in Home Screen engagement. As viewers increasingly rely on the Home Screen as part of their daily routine, advertisers can capitalize on this "appointment" by delivering meaningful value exchanges right from the moment the TV is turned on. Boom - mass reach in the age of personalized entertainment.
The onus is now on all of us as an industry to recognize this pivotal juncture and harness the power of the Home Screen to forge meaningful connections, enhance brand recognition, and deliver tailored content that resonates with viewers.
