← External Forces: Digital & Technology (all topics)
Streaming & connected TV shift
What it is
Audiences moving from scheduled linear broadcast to on-demand streaming, watched increasingly on internet-connected television sets rather than phones. Advertising follows the audience, but not immediately and not at the same rates
It breaks the bundle that funded broadcast - subscription revenue, carriage fees and advertising were previously collected together
Impact on industries
- Connected TV advertising is addressable and measurable in a way linear never was, so it commands better rates per impression
- Direct subscriber relationships remove the distributor from between the broadcaster and the viewer
- Cord-cutting erodes pay-TV subscription and carriage revenue faster than streaming replaces it, so the transition destroys value before it creates it
- Content cost inflation is severe, since streaming platforms compete globally for rights that were previously bought regionally
- Free ad-supported tiers and linear channels persist in price-sensitive markets, so the shift is a mix change rather than a replacement