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State of the Screens

Dear Researchers: “TV” Refers To Content, Not Delivery Mechanism

By April 19, 2018No Comments

What is TV? — Is content that was originally developed for TV, but delivered to the viewer via streaming “digital”?

Proper measurement is made even more difficult when we can’t agree on what is being measured!

Are original shows developed by Amazon/Netflix (The Crown, etc.) more like HBO shows (Game of Thrones, etc.) or 2-minute videos on Buzzfeed/YouTube?

Quote from Alan Wolk — Editor @ TVREV.
“More confusing still, is that many researchers insist that Netflix, Amazonand Hulu are “digital video.” This makes no sense either, as what those platforms are showing is still television — most of their content consists of network TV reruns. The original series they’re producing are also TV — professionally produced long-form programming. There’s no logical reason to lump them together with two minute Buzzfeed videos or YouTube UGC.

The fact that more and more television will be delivered in a time-shifted manner via digital devices also speaks to the need to make sure that we’re calling TV “TV”. It’s easy to show the decline of television by focusing on the falling number of viewers watching linear television, but as our friend Innovid’s Tal Chalozin pointed out earlier this week, it’s not that TV is failing, it’s just changing and adapting.”

Michael Beach

Michael Beach is the Chief Executive Officer of Cross Screen Media, a media analytics and software company that enables marketers to plan, activate, and measure CTV and linear TV at the local level. Michael is also the founder and editor of State of the Screens, a weekly newsletter focused on video advertising that is a must-read for thought leaders in the advertising industry. He has appeared in such publications as PBS Frontline, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Axios, CNBC and Bloomberg, and on NPR’s Planet Money podcast.