OTT Television

Once internet advertising changed the digital marketing game, television came under greater scrutiny. Television is unable to target viewers as precisely as desktop and mobile advertising, which is why it has become less popular as an advertising medium. 

Online Television vs Traditional

Today, the line between online television and traditional television has been blurred. The major networks are also available online, and many streaming services do not display ads.  Cable competitors such as Hulu, Amazon Prime, Netflix and YouTube are fighting for the same viewers that the four major networks used to share almost entirely to themselves. 

Over the Top (OTT) television is a live streaming form of TV service offered directly to consumers via the internet. OTT bypasses traditional television options such as cable, broadcast and satellite platforms. Advertising on OTT television is more like advertising on mobile websites. With OTT (Over the Top) television advertising, marketers can target the right audience that they want to reach, because the same commercials don’t play for all as they do with traditional television. 

While on traditional television, advertising goes out the same way to whoever is sitting in front of the set. With OTT television, every advertising impression you buy is directed to the proper relevant audience segment. Instead of casting a wide net based on the type of programming that is being shown, an OTT budget is laser focused on your best potential customers. The days of targeting by generalities is over; now television, via OTT, can target via income, zip code, education or interest.

Advertising on OTT networks has become as easy as marketing your product with desktop and mobile publishers. Marketers can purchase OTT from the same DSPs (demand side platforms) that offer programmatic advertising opportunities. Or, one can buy directly from the OTT networks themselves. Hulu, for example, now sells advertising packages for as low as $500 per campaign, thus making their offerings available to all small businesses. 

New OTT Advertising Opportunties

Let’s take a look at the new OTT television upstart advertising offerings that are available today to savvy businesses. Numerous categories are available to advertisers, but all use the same programmatic approach that has helped buoy mobile and digital advertising to become the leading advertising medium today. 

MVPDs = Multichannel Video Programming Distributor

vMVPDs = Virtual Multichannel Video Programming Distributor 

The OTT networks the likes of Netflix, YouTube, Hulu and Amazon Prime have altered the way that we watch television. According to a new report from Nielsen, 19% of the time consumers spent watching TV in OTT-capable homes in the fourth quarter of 2019 was spent on streaming, whether it was ad-supported or paid subscription services. 

OTT networks are here to stay. Two thirds of Americans now have access to OTT television and 28% only watch on stream platforms. Among the youngest adult generation of Gen Z, 38% of the population only watches television on streaming platforms.

Purplegator provides advertisers with a multichannel approach to their marketing that now includes OTT television. The one difference that you will need when doing OTT television is that you’ll need a higher quality commercial than the ordinary video that you might use on mobile and digital advertising.