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On Christmas Day 2024, 65 million households tuned in to watch the NFL and Beyonce on Netflix. Much like a moonwalk or a Superbowl, this was one of those increasingly rare moments when much of America was sharing the same video experience at the same time.
This is important for two reasons, streaming and other on-demand choices have disintegrated the video audience into a vast tapestry of tribes viewing what they want, when they want. Outside of breaking news or sports, we as a nation are rarely watching the same thing at the same time as we were with the final episode of MASH in 1983 when over 100 million gathered in front of the tube. Secondly, the Christmas Netflix NFL spectacular was delivered to those 65M households using an Internet live streaming platform; meaning no major network or local affiliates needed for distribution. Yes, Amazon and Peacock have done a laudable job of bringing a credible Internet-based live stream of the NFL and the Olympics for viewing. However, prior to this Christmas gift from Netflix, there has been nothing approaching these numbers and, more importantly, this level of acceptance. Call it audience capitulation, the new norm.
Is there good news for advertisers?
Yes. There are still opportunities to create “water cooler moments” even in a fragmented viewing world. What will your coworkers be talking about in the office the next day when they go to fill their water bottle – or kick off their first Zoom call of the day? Sixty-five million of them will be commenting on that stunning cowboy outfit that Beyonce wore.
Unlike traditional media that has relied on ratings services to provide estimates of viewership, live streaming platforms are fully informed with verified measurement tools. With CTV, there is the chance for total accountability and more precise measurement. Yes, Fanduel and Verizon (the lead advertisers sponsoring the event) were able to get in front of a massive audience with one media buy, and the data is there to help them understand the households and devices where their marketing messages were delivered.
The connected services are by nature a two-way platform offering prospects for interactivity and addressability. For the properly informed advertiser and progressive streamers, there are boundless opportunities to create immersive viewer experiences.
Are there more opportunities for Netflix and their fellow streamers?
Yes. The opportunity exists to create a frictionless, transactional model for what is surely going to be more access to live programming by recognizing the value of temporal, contextual ad placements. The CPMs to be assured a spot in the big game are much more valuable than just stating we will deliver 100K male, auto intenders over the next few days in some hodge-podge of programming. And of course, there is virtually no price too high when it comes to brand vanity.
Judge not, rather embrace and facilitate transactions using some of the existing models for traditional linear TV. Yes, if you just dropped in from Mars, you would easily conclude this current traditional linear TV ecosystem is arcane and a bit ridiculous. However, it did manage to pocket $60 billion in advertiser-paid media this past year. Come get your rightful share but be willing to meet the buyers where they are (for now). Don’t make the mistake of just tossing these valuable placements on the programmatic marketplace and seeing what you can fetch.
So where is the added value?
Local. As stated above, there are no national networks or local affiliates involved in the delivery of these programs. Sure, that removes a middleman but it also misses the opportunity for additional ad sales teams to package up some of the newly created avails and market those on a geographic basis. Ad sales professionals in the Philadelphia market will win a premium price during an Eagles game. In most cases these ad sales teams are already there in the form of local broadcasters or MVPDs. It’s not enough to just put it out there on the open market. Make it a formal commitment with a local sales team, a prescribed expectation for success and exclusive access to inventory. This will serve to exert pressure on inventory and create scarcity. Replicate that over and over across 200 DMAs and it all adds up.
Christmas 2024 will go down as one of those seminal moments when the streamers notched yet another milestone on their march to eventual supremacy as the delivery platform of choice. Gone are the outcries over fees and moans about crashing servers. Whether you know it or not, you just witnessed an important moment in ad sales history. What matters most is how the leaders manage the opportunity. This is about a 45-yard field goal…don’t screw it up.