By Rick Allen
Linear TV – good old broadcast television with a regular programming schedule – may seem like an anachronism to younger audiences. We are now meeting a generation that has never used a wired device. In addition, growing numbers of ‘cord cutters’ are giving up cable connections and relying solely on OTT distribution services. This has led many to wonder if we are nearing the end of linear TV as a viable medium.
On the face of it, this seems logical. After all, TV and connected TV (CTV) ad spends in the US is estimated to grow from the current $80bn to $93 billion in 2025. All of that growth is going to be from CTV. In 2020, the total number of US cord-cutters was 31.2 million. It is projected to reach 55 million by the end of 2022.
But forecasts of the death of linear TV are greatly exaggerated. I believe a winning strategy for content owners is one where their linear and DTC distribution models play complementary roles. It no longer has to be DTC vs. Linear but, instead, DTC and Linear. Let’s look at the landscape.
Linear TV vs DTC distribution: reach vs detail
Linear TV still has the advantage of unmatched geographical reach compared to streaming services. Even now, 75% of US households have paid TV. China is projected to add 33 million, and India, 28 million, pay TV subscribers between 2017 and 2023. This makes the linear TV distribution model a perfect choice for content owners who want to make a wide splash across huge geographical areas.
What linear TV doesn’t do, however, is give content owners granular viewer data – who is watching what, for how long, and on what device. A content owner’s own DTC service, which provides these insights, can play a complementary role in creating and strengthening viewer relationships. So, it makes sense…
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