Publishers Turn to Livestreaming to Tap Video Budgets Again

As linear television viewership continues to decline, advertisers’ appetite for reaching live audiences has only grown in proportion. To capitalize on this opportunity and tap into lucrative video budgets, publishers including Condé Nast, Penske Media Corp. (PMC) and Overtime have all recently launched or expanded their livestream video capabilities. The uptick of interest in the technology—by no means a new medium—comes as the boundaries between linear, digital and social video continue to blur, and the ecosystem grows more fragmented. As a result, scaled, live viewership has become increasingly rare. Livestreams offer advertisers access to live audiences, for only a fraction of the cost of traditional and connected television inventory. According to Borivoj Ivanovic, the director of marketing at video monetization platform Brid.TV, livestream ads bought via open exchange typically fetch CPMs between $10 to $20, whereas open exchange CTV rates can run between $10 to $50. For legacy publishers like Condé Nast and PMC, the medium offers them the chance to turn niche franchises like award shows and red carpets—often too small to justify the expense of a broadcast production—into sponsorship opportunities. And for disruptor brands like Overtime, livestream video serves as its valuable raw material and attracts younger audiences, a core part of its appeal to marketers, according to Rich Calacci, chief revenue officer of Overtime. “The smartphone is the default content delivery mechanism for the next-generation sports fan,” Calacci said. “With streaming and social video, you get the brand in hand 24/7." While the low overhead costs of livestream have encouraged publishers to experiment with the medium, monetization remains a challenge, as the key points of distribution—the social platforms—only offer revenue shares. Media buyers have welcomed the increased focus on the technology, which features better targeting than linear television, but publishers will have to treat livestream advertising more collaboratively, said Seth Hargrave, chief executive of media-buying agency Media Two. “Livestream is not a[n] ‘If you build it, they will come’ opportunity,” Hargrave said. “Advertisers need to know the quality will be there, and they want to work together with publishers to integrate the product with the programming.” Owning distribution Condé Nast began livestreaming the Met Gala three years ago, and its latest May program reached its largest audience yet: 53 million viewers. Condé Nast began livestreaming the Met Gala three years ago. Hosted by Vogue, the livestream featured custom pre-roll campaigns for brands including Starbucks and eBay and talent like the musician Ice Spice. The publisher livestreamed the event on every major social platform and across Vogue domains globally, and it generated record revenue, according to global chief revenue officer Pamela Drucker Mann. To build on this success, the company has invested heavily in its newest franchise, Vogue World, whose next iteration—a theatrical production set in London in September—will also be livestreamed. In the future, the company also plans to unveil livestreams paired to its GQ Men of the Year franchise, Glamour Women of the Year franchise and Pitchfork Music Festival, according to chief business officer Craig Kostelic. While Condé Nast has focused on programming, PMC has zeroed in on the advertising technology underpinning the medium. Last year, the media company debuted a video technology platform called Harmony, which sits between its content-management system and its ad server, according to chief digital officer Craig Perreault. Harmony uses a decision framework, based on sales agreements, to serve different ad products based on targeting goals and campaign objectives. The technology, which the company has used on 10 livestreams, also enables PMC to use its owned-and-operated ad inventory to promote and host livestreams. A March livestream of its Billboard Women in Music awards reached 60 million total viewers, according to the publisher. The new platform also dovetails with a broader expansion from PMC into the experiential space. In the last two years, it has acquired Life Is Beautiful Music and Art Festival, Dick Clark Productions and a majority stake in South by Southwest, as well as launched music and arts festival LA3C. With the addition of Harmony, PMC can now control and monetize every aspect of these products. "We can configure the video experience based on the business agreement of the PMC title producing the event," Perreault said. "It's an end-to-end solution that activates the reach of our entire portfolio." Navigating monetization challenges Unlike its legacy peers, the Overtime media business was built around livestream video from the beginning. Although the details vary by deal, the company often sells direct sponsorships that include brand visibility on livestream, in social media highlights and on its FAST channels. The company also owns the three sports leagues it films, giving it an unprecedented level of control over the operation, as well as broader global distribution. For publishers like PMC and Condé Nast, monetization has posed a thornier challenge. Two of the most popular social platforms for livestreaming—Instagram and TikTok—do not offer livestream ad inventory, and revenue shares must be independently negotiated. Others, like Twitter, Snap and YouTube, offer revenue shares, which cut into margins. As a result, publishers’ owned-and-operated sites remain their most effective vehicle for monetizing livestreams, placing publishers in the familiar position of trying to coax viewers to consume content on their domains. But according to Condé Nast's Kostelic, these livestreams could unlock a new type of paid social in the near future: one in which brands use publishers' videos as a contextual lens for awareness campaigns. "We're at this intersection where you get premium video but with the cost structure of Instagram," Kostelic said. "The idea that you could have professionally produced content on a social platform—that's contrary to how investment strategy currently operates."

Publishing News

Publishers Turn to Livestreaming to Once Again Tap Video Budgets

The tech offers advertisers live audiences for digital prices

Mark Stenberg

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Mark Stenberg