The year is 2030. TV ads are supercharged

The opportunities in TV will be supercharged by 2030 as streaming reshapes viewing habits and creates new ways for advertisers to resonate with audiences. The ongoing and steady decline in linear TV viewing will continue to span age groups and will mean that live viewing is largely reserved for major cultural moments. Over the next five years, we’ll see broadcasters continue to adapt to a multi-platform, digital-first landscape, facing strong competition from streaming giants. As TV evolves, it will become more accessible to a wider range of advertisers, while benefiting from enhanced targeting, interactivity and accountability.

IAB UK’s Futurescape Barometer predicts that spend on video display will account for over a third of the total digital ad market by 2030 as TV morphs and is redefined with new streaming services, content producers expand offerings, and video sharing platforms continue to be a preferred choice for viewing. For more from the IAB UK Futurescape Barometer, log in to download the graphs.

The shape of the market

To remain competitive in a fast-growing market dominated by broadcasters and major streaming platforms, niche on-demand services will increasingly consolidate and partner with larger platforms - maximising their reach and survival opportunities. Meanwhile, the boundaries between broadcaster and platform will continue to dissolve. YouTube is already a dominant way to reach younger audiences, often via TV sets, while broadcasters are doubling down on social content to engage new viewers. Streaming giants will continue to focus on building and retaining loyal audiences and will battle with broadcasters to lead in creating culture-defining content.

“TV content has never been more popular and, as a viewer, there are now more ways than ever to access that content in the way that suits you best. Whether it's putting ITVX on Playstation to attract younger viewers, or creating our new distribution partnership with YouTube - which sees us launch our long-form archive content on the platform - our ambition is always to evolve how and where we put our content to meet viewer needs."

Kate Waters, Director of Client Strategy & Commercial Marketing, ITV

How to future-proof for 2030

TV needs to be redefined to encompass the full landscape of viewing through the TV set - incorporating broadcasters, CTV players, streamers and video sharing platforms as a matter of course

Avoid over-targeting. Targeting and audience scale must be carefully aligned with advertisers’ goals. As TV is increasingly traded in a digital context, it's important to avoid being overly targeted. The key to TV’s power has always been its broad reach and scale; focusing too narrowly could limit scale and result in ineffective outcomes for advertisers

Plan with an audience-first mindset. Advertisers moving beyond the traditional linear TV landscape should be led by an audience-first mindset. This means working with a range of TV/CTV partners that offer both scale and audience alignment across platforms, resulting in effective multi-partner multi-media plans

Evolve measurement methodologies to accurately assess and establish the impact of advertising on CTV platforms and its influence on business outcomes

Pilot shoppable and interactive formats as part of test and learn approach, scaling opportunities to deliver brand and sales impact

Broaden the scope of briefs. Consider the role that supercharged TV can play in both short-term performance centric and long-term brand centric briefs. This will require an adjustment in how agencies plan and trade TV

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