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Each year in May, television (and now streaming) networks invite the industry to come together and bask in the advertising glory of the year to come. This is the TV Upfront event, where major new shows are revealed, big announcements are made, and advertising deals are struck. It’s a time when all the major outlets are looking to win over programmatic dollars and a timely snapshot into the health of the OTT/CTV medium.
After a fairly quiet 2023 event, the 2024 TV Upfront was something of a spectacle with dozens of celebrities and – for the first time – in-person presentations from Netflix and Amazon. With so many announcements and presentations in and around the show, Genius Monkey is here to cut through the fluff and find the nuggets that advertisers need to know about.
Movies are Going OTT
In an unexpected twist, every major presenter had at least one feature-length movie to bolster their line up. This is very unusual because the TV Upfronts are generally about… well, TV!
Movies and TV shows have always been separated into their own industries (the BIG and small screen) because of major differences in budgets and shooting methods. In the era of streaming, however, movies and TV are becoming one and the same: content for the service. Anything that can potentially convince a customer to sign up or renew a subscription is something worth showing off.
This comes at a time when a majority of Millenials and Gen Z would rather stream a new movie at home than go to a theater. It’s unlikely that the movie-going experience will ever go away completely, but more people than ever are staying home to watch the latest flick; many of those will come with ads.
Amazon is Suddenly in the Lead… Sort of
In January 2024, Amazon switched their standard Prime subscription to an ad-supported tier on Prime video. Overnight, Amazon found themselves with 200 million ad-viewing watchers; for perspective, Netflix (the overall #1 streaming service by subscriber count) has 40 million on the ad-supported tier.
Amazon already has their own in-house DSP to fill up that gargantuan inventory, and advertisers are quickly finding it to be more expensive to work with directly than most other platforms. As a Meta-DSP with access to many buying networks simultaneously, a platform like Genius Monkey will be the best bet for OTT advertisers to secure quality placements.
And secure it you should; in our experience, adding OTT into your portfolio of ads can produce great short- and long-term results. Check out this case study, where a Genius Monkey user experienced a 343% increase in 2-day conversions after a month of running OTT ads, drastically reducing the average conversion time.
Netflix Unveils In-House Adtech Platform
With Amazon suddenly showing themselves a tough competitor, it was time for Netflix to up its game as well; soon, advertisers will have the option of buying ads directly through the streaming service’s own set of in-house tools. Supposedly, this will allow for more transparency and control over the inventory they’re paying for.
In addition, Netflix is making its inventory available through the Magnite SSP, which notably allows buying through the Trade Desk and DV360. Microsoft was formally the exclusive sell partner for Netflix, but the big red “N” is feeling the pressure from Amazon to make their platform as accessible to advertisers as possible.
This announcement also comes in the wake of Netflix securing broadcasting rights for NFL Christmas games, which consistently rank among the highest-viewed programs each year. Netflix may be behind Amazon (in ad-supported viewers), but there’s a good chance their numbers will get a solid bump from sports fans looking for their holiday football hit.
Paramount Gets into the Programmatic OTT Game
Until recently, Paramount was taking a novel approach to advertising within their service. They partnered with Shopsense to create “shoppable TV” where links, ads, and QR codes would be inserted into the broadcast itself rather than existing as a separate commercial. This hasn’t been working all that well, and Paramount has finally made the jump into more standard programmatic practices.
Like Netflix, Paramount is calling upon Magnite to act as its primary SSP, allowing advertisers to programmatically purchase ad space. Programmatic OTT continues to shine as a powerful tool that drives awareness and conversions, and we don’t expect this train to stop rolling anytime soon.
Here We Go Again
If you’ve been reading these blogs with any regularity, it will come as no surprise that Genius Monkey sees CTV/OTT advertising as the programmatic channel with the biggest potential and a ton of room to grow. Inventory continues to expand and opportunities abound, and it might not be long before OTT is competing with video in ad share.
Now is the time to explore your options with OTT advertising, and there’s no better team to help you set goals and realize your potential like Genius Monkey. With over a decade of experience in targeted advertising, no single DSP can place your ads as inexpensively and consistently well as we can. Contact us today to see how we can elevate and evolve your marketing strategy to the next level!
