‘Redefining the buckets’: TV upfront advertisers face pressure to reconsider programming biases

In this year’s annual TV advertising upfront marketplace, advertisers will be forced to confront their long-held programming preferences. As linear TV and streaming viewership continue to head in opposite directions, agency executives expect advertisers to continue to move more money to streaming in this year’s upfront. A good chunk of those streaming dollars is likely to stay with the TV networks, especially those that operate their own standalone streaming services. But even those streamers’ ad availabilities have been relatively limited. Read more below.

• When it comes to upfront advertisers, the dividing line lies between TV-quality programming and programming that people watch on TV. Everything else is an afterthought.
• PepsiCo is seeing success on TikTok as a pay-to-play platform, which is using the platform to release popular challenges for users.
• The uncoupling of work and location means that opportunities are no longer restricted to major urban centers.
• For Digiday+ members, media buyers are ramping up their efforts to guide clients through the exploding but complex world of marketing in gaming.
• Verizon is hoping a spree of publisher and agency partnerships will help solidify its role as the top DSP that isn't owned by Google, Amazon or The Trade Desk.
• Media brands launching exclusively on TikTok have amassed large, Gen Z audiences. The next step is expanding to other platforms to build their businesses.
• Apps that generate fake one-time emails can create just one more disruption to publisher first-party data and identity goals.