25 TV Execs and Insiders on 2022's Most Important, Yet Overlooked, Trends

The 2022 TV year included a $43 billion mega-merger, an influx of FAST channels, AVOD tiers and constant executive shuffling. And with all that disruption, it's easy for other important television trends to get overlooked. As part of Adweek's year-in-review coverage, we asked 25 of the top TV executives from broadcast, cable and streaming outlets; ad sales chiefs; and media buyers about which trends deserve more attention in the industry. Plus, stay tuned for more year-in-review stories in the coming days, including ad sales chiefs and buyers explaining how the ad market changed in 2022, the most important thing TV executives learned in the year and where the industry will go in 2023. Now without further ado, from measurement shakeups to the power of live broadcasts, here are 2022's TV trends that everyone needed to pay more attention to: By Adding Ads, Disney+ and Netflix Are Disrupting the Streaming Industry—Again Dani Benowitz, president, U.S., Magna: I almost want to flip this question on its head and ask if we can start a new trend. As an industry we need to stop using the term “TV or television.” Looking to 2023, let’s make sure we’re addressing the full consumption of sight, sound and motion–which in our world, is video. Frances Berwick, chairman, entertainment networks, NBCUniversal Television and Streaming: There is more exceptional, memorable content across every genre and more viewing of content than ever before, which is something that seems to have gotten lost in a sea of stories on consolidation, synergy savings, monetization models. Geoffrey Calabrese, Omnicom Media Group’s North American chief investment officer: I think that while the currency and measurement discussion is top of mind for everyone, we don’t talk about how you operationalize it on both the sell and buy side. David Campanelli, evp and chief investment officer, Horizon Media: It is hard to find a trend that didn’t get enough coverage, to be honest. Many probably got too much coverage (like how Netflix was selling their ad tier to advertisers). But the biggest trend of the year has to be how live sports continues to defy trends in linear TV. Not that this hasn’t been covered, but it could be covered even more, especially how it relates to the future. How big new rights fees for NBA and other leagues will get, how aggressive will streamers be to get in on the action. How TV networks cannot afford to lose sports rights or their HH’s will fall even more precipitously. Where all of that goes is really a lynchpin for the future of the video marketplace. Craig Erwich, Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment president: We’ve freed ourselves from the constraints of a traditional development cycle. We’re now developing shows year-round in order to attract top talent when they’re available. Milo Ventimiglia’s new show, The Company You Keep, is a perfect example. Milo was busy wrapping production on This is Us during the traditional pilot production period. So we adapted our timetable for this project and now have an exciting drama starring Milo that will premiere on Feb. 19. Rita Ferro, president, Disney Advertising: Inclusion and representation. We made a call to the marketplace to triple commitments to multicultural and inclusion initiatives for the second year in a row, and we are bullish on continuing to hold ourselves and the industry accountable by meeting and exceeding those benchmarks. For Disney, ensuring representation and inclusion is rooted in everything we do as a business, from our programming and talent to the partners we work with. We need to ensure that as an industry, 2020 wasn’t just a moment in time and that we continue to make strides as a collective. Personally, as a parent, and professionally as an executive and leader, this is table stakes to me and it should be to everyone. Kathleen Finch, chairman and CCO, U.S. Networks Group, Warner Bros. Discovery: Brands still matter. As content offerings and platform options multiply at unheard of speeds, consumers are looking for guideposts. Networks that deliver on clear brand promises are the networks viewers will continue to come to night after night. Marianne Gambelli, president of advertising sales, marketing and brand partnerships, Fox Corp.: Trust and transparency. In the wake of a changing social media landscape, there’s plenty of risk for advertisers to allocate their media dollars that’s associated with content on these platforms. Advertisers are looking to further align their brands and messaging with premium content and collaborating with media partners that are committed to providing the necessary scale in stable, high-engagement environments for their campaigns. Amy Ginsberg, chief investment officer, Havas Media Group: The monetization of all streaming/digital video by partners at the expense of traditional linear. With the 2023 ad market projected to not be as strong as in the past, it is critical for them to find revenue streams to make up for the shortfall. Jeremi Gorman, president, worldwide advertising, Netflix: My personal trends are to watch true-crime shows, and Christmas movies, so I landed at the right place! Extrapolating that trend to the whole member base, I think one of the most overlooked things in TV is how the same person can enjoy different shows equally, but at different moments. Not enough time is spent talking about receptivity to ads across different moments of the same person’s viewing journey. While I am a 45-year-old woman living in Los Angeles, I enjoy different types of shows at different moments of the day. I think Netflix is uniquely positioned to understand that and to help advertisers build creative campaigns to capture attention differently at different times. John Halley, president, Paramount Advertising: Nielsen’s panel is going away. There will be no status quo in measurement, which has major implications for advertisers’ marketing mix models. The work of transition to new currencies needed to start yesterday, and nobody is talking about it. Alison Hoffman, president, domestic networks, Starz: The impact of password-sharing on our industry. Kim Kelleher, chief commercial officer, AMC Networks: With all the breathless coverage of the “streaming wars” and which services and companies are perceived to be up or down, it can be easy to forget the central truth that all of this is built on–people love television, and advertisers love the impressions that live in and around television, particularly the high-quality impressions adjacent to high-end and immersive scripted dramas. And they love these impressions for a very simple reason–they perform! These are the shows that build fandoms, and that affinity is transferrable to smart advertisers who know how to partner with content companies and build opportunities around this coveted programming. Alison Levin, vp, ad revenue and marketing solutions, Roku: Content discovery in TV streaming is the next big opportunity for marketers. Viewers want brands to help them find content they love. The leading brands are going beyond the traditional TV ad to curate search, personalize the viewer experience, create new shows and more. It’s a whole new way to build a consumer relationship. Chris McCarthy, president and CEO, Showtime and Paramount Media Networks: The authentic and nuanced portrayals of mental health across all genres of content is changing how people think and talk about it. We’ve been tackling mental health for decades, and a year into the creation of the Mental Health Storytelling Initiative–where we brought together leading entertainment companies and experts to create the Mental Health Media Guide–I’ve been inspired by how creators across the industry are crafting innovative storylines to normalize and elevate these vital conversations. Storytelling has the power to drive meaningful change, and as someone who has been open about my own mental health journey, I’m excited to see shows that target audiences of all ages—from Never Have I Ever and The Good Fight to Grey’s Anatomy and Yellowstone–showcase a range of mental health experiences that not only resonate with fans but encourage people to take action for themselves and others. Dennis Miller, president, The CW Network: The powerful relationship between broadcast and AVOD. Peter Olsen, evp, ad sales, A+E Networks: Not sure if it’s a trend, but the re-emergence of the TV model as a proven reach vehicle for marketing and advertising was extremely important and validating this year. Viewership continues to evolve, but fundamentally, TV remains the most powerful tool in a marketer’s toolbox. Whether it's linear, CTV, AVOD or SVOD, how we harness it will determine how we grow our businesses. What’s old is indeed new again. Why Ad Format Innovation Is Crucial for the Future of TV and Streaming Amy Reisenbach, president, CBS Entertainment: How great the quality of comedy on network TV is right now. Shelby Saville, chief investment officer, Publicis Media Exchange: While currency and measurement are getting a lot of airtime and attention, the operational side of the equation is not getting as much traction. It’s great to see the industry leaning into testing and discovery, but no one is really talking about how we build out new systems that will help measurement scale across the entire industry. That piece of the puzzle will take time and dedicated effort. Dave Sederbaum, evp, head of video investment, Dentsu: While not new to this year, I think the reality that change is hard and takes time was reinforced this past year. Heading into 2022, the topic of currency and measurement change was at the forefront of every conversation. Additionally, the diversification of video spend and the reduction in reliance of linear television were at the forefront of every presentation we heard from our valued partners. As the market took shape, traditional focus areas seemed to rise in importance. Make no mistake, change and progress happened, but in a more muted fashion than was initially hoped. Something that I challenge myself daily on is the fact that in times of prosperity or times of adversity, the path to progress needs to persevere. Rob Sharenow, president of programming, A+E Networks: Brand dilution and confusion. There are a lot of very big media brands out there whose core value propositions have become less clear to consumers. That’s also why strong trusted platforms such as ours are so critical in getting messages across. Donna Speciale, president of TelevisaUnivision U.S. ad sales and marketing: There has been a radical increase in the importance of key multicultural segments in U.S. marketing. Historically, Spanish-language marketing was the first to get cut during an economic downturn and while there’s been much attention on the slowdown in general market, Spanish-language investment is actually growing. Hispanics are the driving force of the U.S. economy and a consumer base that is going to continue to expand rapidly in size and impact. Now, more than ever, brands recognize that if they want to future-proof their business, this is an audience they simply can’t afford to miss. Jon Steinlauf, Warner Bros Discovery's chief U.S. advertising sales officer: While we’ve seen some declines in the traditional TV market, sports continue to drive live ratings. There is durability with live sports, and we have seen that as well in sponsorship sales within our sports portfolio (NBA, NCAA, MLB and NHL). Stacey Stewart, U.S. chief marketplace officer, UM: Measurement—there was a lot of talk early but now, no one is really talking about what all of the tests mean in reality, and what the next steps are. Matt Sweeney, chief investment officer of GroupM U.S.: As the digital endemics (that spend large percentages of their revenues on sales and marketing), face headwinds, underappreciated traditional TV marketing categories: CPG, Travel, Pharma, Finance, Auto, Retail categories, carried the day.

Year in Review

25 TV Execs and Insiders on 2022's Most Important, Yet Overlooked, Trends

From measurement shakeups to the power of live broadcasts

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