Will Cable TV be Phased Out in Favor of Connected TV?

4 Min Read

It’s not a matter of ‘if’, but ‘when’. As it stands, cable TV is still raking in more advertising dollars, but internet TV subscriptions have already surpassed cable TV for the first time. There were 131.2 Million new subscriptions added, bringing the total to 613.3 Million worldwide – and those are only the 2018 figures. Last year, it was reported by Deloitte that 69% of consumers subscribe to internet TV, while only 65% of consumers pay for cable or satellite subscriptions.  By 2023, there will be an estimated 82% of households adopting this technology.

However, the migration towards internet TV (or Connected TV, as its more commonly known) is greatly skewed across generational lines, as shown in a recent report by eMarketer:

This brings up another point of discussion – the why behind Connected TV, from both a consumer and advertisers perspective. Allconnect, a website which helps guide consumer purchase decisions for TV, breaks down the cost/fee structure nicely in one of their recent blog posts, however it’s easy to see why Connected TV is gaining popularity with viewers:

• Flexibility: Viewers can pick, choose and watch at their leisure – at any time of the day. In other words, the content works around the viewer’s schedule and not the other way around. Cable TV on the other hand, requires viewers to purchase a set bundle of channels, some of which they probably don’t even watch.
  
• Minimal Disruptions: A huge plus for viewers who are bothered by ads – viewers can seek and find the content they like without being constantly interrupted by ad breaks. However, the landscape is changing, with some Connected TV networks like Hulu, starting to run advertising inventory. This is still minimal compared to cable TV advertising, whose networks are stuffing in more ad slots within a single hour as reported by LA Times.
  
• Original + Fast Tracked Content: Networks like Netflix are a production engine in themselves, creating their own proprietary shows and movies at a rapid rate. Cable TV is struggling to keep up with the volume and choice offered by Connected TV.  Not to mention that many of these shows – like Black Mirror and Stranger Things (to name a couple) –  turn into a cultural phenomenon.

This trend toward Connected TV opens up opportunities for advertisers looking to make their brands known, and it’s clear to see why it is the next big thing: 

• Premium Inventory: Consider brand safety a concern of the past – advertisers needn’t worry about whether their ads are being displayed on a platform not aligned with their brand. We are a pioneer in this field and have hand-picked a selection of premium Connected TV networks like CNN, ESPN and CNBC (among 150+ others), who have proven time and time again to create value for advertisers.
  
• A Direct Response, Performance Marketing Channel: Probably the biggest reason why advertisers are flocking to Connected TV. Gone are the days of vague measurement and vanity metrics – TV is now a performance marketing channel, which can be tracked and reported like any other digital channel. We built MNTN Performance TV for this very reason – to empower advertisers to launch a premium ad experience, but measure its performance down to the smallest detail.
  
•  Living Room Quality: A key piece of the Connected TV advertising puzzle. Unlike other digital channels, where ads can be paused, shut-off or ignored, our platform enables advertisers to run 15 or 30 second, high-definition and non-skippable ads across these premium networks streamed exclusively on TV screens and not on mobile or desktop devices. This feature was built on the premise of the “second-screen”, whereby the majority of viewers have a second device present when watching Connected TV and navigate to the advertiser’s website upon viewing the Connected TV ad. Our own data shows this second-screen dynamic, which leads to increased campaign performance. Living Room Quality, combined with our measurement tool, allows advertisers to capture when a viewer navigates their website upon viewing the ad.