CTV Guide Category: Streaming TV 101

Television advertising is changing, and marketers are changing with it. Viewers are abandoning the “linear TV” of networks and cable. Instead, they’re moving to over-the-top television, or OTT, which enables them to watch streaming content from the internet on smart TVs, computers, tablets, and smartphones.

Roku is a company in the OTT world, and it’s also the name of the device that the company sells. A Roku device is a digital media player that provides simple streaming entertainment to a TV’s HDMI port to any television set. It translates content from streaming services, such as Netflix and Hulu, so a viewer can watch them on a “smartened” TV set.

While Roku is popular among cable cord-cutters, some viewers keep cable service and use Roku alongside it. Additionally, some smart TV owners add a Roku to their smart sets because it often enables more content and provides better streaming quality. That adds up to a lot of Roku’s – which, as of now, are over 50 million in service.

For many viewers, Roku provides their first taste of OTT viewing. Consumers who have been confused by all the choices in the non-cable world can be surprised and pleased by how easy it is to hook up Roku TV and use the Roku remote to start enjoying it. The main menu presents the Roku Channel Store, which lists dozens of content providers. Some are free, and most require paid subscriptions with many free trial offers. Roku actually has its own free service, called The Roku Channel.

A consumer can be a Roku viewer without buying a Roku device. There’s a free Roku app, and a viewer can manage subscriptions and view content through the Roku Channel store on a computer or smartphone, as well as on a TV.

Roku does a lot to make advertising on the Roku device easy for marketers who want to reach the digital viewing audience. Roku’s platform sells TV commercial spots, similar to how Hulu sells some TV spots on E! that runs on the Hulu app. The types of advertising include the 15 to 30-second spots shown before or during an OTT show with full-screen interactive video and interactive overlays.

The Roku ad platform, OneView, provides a marketer’s interface into Roku programmatic advertising, which is the real-time automated purchase of ads across a variety of content providers. Because of the size of the Roku audience, OneView is able to provide extensive demographic data. It makes guarantees about demographic delivery and assures measurables, such as website visits and mobile app downloads.

OneView includes traditional linear TV advertising. And the result of having this widespread presence of Roku devices in linear TV homes gives them a large repository of data on these viewers. An advertiser may supply ad parameters and buy advertising programmatically through the Roku platform and may even purchase slots directly from the Roku platform or from its affiliated content providers.

While Roku offers a full range of advertising choices, the main reason marketers engage with Roku is to reach the audience that’s watching content through a Roku media player. Much of that audience has cut the cord and is not watching linear TV at all. Even those who still have linear TV spend more and more of their viewing hours with the new OTT content.

Thus, an OTT advertising platform is both a necessity and an opportunity for marketers. It’s where the viewing audience is going, and it’s where an advertiser can present customized and targeted advertising in a way that hits the intended targeted audience.

When an audience has Roku subscriptions to content providers such as Hulu, Netflix, and Amazon Prime, then an advertiser can reach that audience with various opportunities for OTT advertising. That includes Hulu advertising, Netflix advertising, and Amazon Prime advertising.

To a viewer, Roku is a doorway, and all the OTT content providers are what’s behind the door. An advertiser has the ability to present messages both at and behind that door – at the Roku channel menu and on the content providers.

What should a digital ad look like? All OTT providers publish specifications, such as Hulu advertising specs. They tell an advertiser what’s needed in such areas as dimension, frame rate, audio bit rate, and display ratio.

Cost to Advertise on Roku

How does Roku make money? At one time it was from the sale of physical devices, but in recent years Roku advertising revenue has surpassed Roku revenue from hardware sales. Roku revenue takes a number of forms:

• Advertising on the Roku Channel Store and The Roku Channel
• Sponsorship of entire shows on The Roku Channels
• When viewers watch a content provider through Roku, Roku is entitled to sell some of that provider’s ad inventory
• A fee for subscriptions purchased from the Roku menu
• Fees for advertisements sold through OneView
• Payment for placing a direct button to a content provider on the Roku remote
• Deals with TV manufacturers to build the Roku digital media device directly into the TV

OTT advertising companies include content providers that sell ads, companies that help marketers purchase ads, and companies that facilitate the exchange. Roku does all of these. It sells ads on its own content and facilitates ads trading on an automated exchange.

These ads include OTT advertising examples such as spots that run before and during the content. Roku advertising examples include interactive and non-interactive versions of the ads and also banner ads on the channel store.

Roku captures and maintains a data store of Roku demographics that allows them to precisely target viewers across multiple media. For instance, it can stream ads to a computer or mobile device based on what content the viewer recently watched or on what sites the viewer recently visited. Roku can help marketers send a message to someone who looked at their product, or a competitor’s product, online but didn’t make a purchase.

These kinds of ads target a Roku audience marketplace that spans generations. Gen Zers, Millennials, Gen Xers, and Boomers are all represented in the sum total of people who use Rokus.

Apple TV is neither a television set nor a broadcast service, despite what the name suggests. It’s a digital media device that enables a TV to connect to the internet. It gives a “regular” TV the same capabilities as a smart TV. With it, a viewer can stream content from providers such as Netflix and Hulu. It performs the same function as a Roku or Amazon Fire Stick. Because it’s more expensive than its competitors, it appeals primarily to people who are “Apple-centric” and have iPhones, iPads and Macs in their homes.

Apple TV consists of an Apple TV box and a remote. The box attaches to an HDMI cable that connects to the internet with either the remote or with the Apple TV app, which is downloadable to a smart device. The device comes in both an HD and 4K version where the latter provides better resolution. A viewer may use an Apple TV 4K with a non-4K TV, but the other way around won’t work well.

An Apple TV, as a piece of hardware or device, is a one-time expense. There’s no Apple TV subscription required. Once an Apple TV device is connected, it can be used to subscribe or log in to various streaming services. You can also select content with the Apple TV app running on an iPhone, iPad or Mac. There’s a feature called Apple TV channels where a viewer selects Netflix or Amazon Prime or any other available streaming service.

Apple, too, offers its own streaming service, Apple TV Plus, often known as Apple TV+. Sometimes you’ll hear people talk about Apple TV shows and Apple TV movies, but these are more correctly referred to as Apple TV Plus shows and movies.

Apple TV and Apple TV Plus are not, in and of themselves, rich fields for advertisers. There are no Apple TV+ ads. In fact, Apple takes pride in pointing out that fact. There is Apple TV advertising a viewer sees on the Apple TV menu while selecting content. However, that advertising consists largely of Apple messages, many of which promote the shows on Apple TV Plus.

The best opportunity for reaching Apple TV viewers is through other content sources those viewers watch on Apple TV. These are content providers such as Hulu and Amazon Prime, the same sources that provide content to viewers of smart TVs and TVs with Rokus. They’re the same sources bringing shows to viewers who are watching on a phone or tablet.

For non-TV advertising, Apple actively promotes a service called Apple Search Ads. These have been around for a few years, and a large number of Apple ads 2019 and Apple ads 2020 fall into this category. These are contextual ads that a user sees in the Apple App Store. As such, they are most valuable for businesses that have Apple apps and want to drive traffic to those apps.

With the proliferation of content providers delivering shows these days, it’s not surprising that Apple has decided to market its own streaming service. Apple TV+ is one of the Apple TV Plus Channels a customer can choose from the Apple TV menu. Apple TV Plus shows have a lot in common with shows viewable on other content providers: they’re largely movies and archives of TV series.

A viewer doesn’t have to own an Apple TV device or use an Apple phone or computer to enjoy Apple TV Plus. It’s open to all audiences. The seven day Apple TV Plus free trial is out there for any viewer to take advantage of. Just download the Apple TV Plus app on whatever device to stream internet content and it’s ready to go.

Is Apple TV Plus free? Not for ongoing subscriptions; a viewer has to pay a monthly fee, currently $4.99 a month. However, as an incentive to buy an Apple TV box, purchasers of Apple TV are entitled to an Apple TV Plus free year of programming. That offer is open to purchasers of any Apple device. Also, if a consumer buys Apple One, a bundle of five other services including Apple Music and Apple News+, Apple TV+ is included.

An Apple TV Plus review claims Apple TV+ costs less than most other streaming services, and an appeal for viewers is that it doesn’t include advertising. However, Apple TV Plus content lags behind its competitors. It doesn’t have as many shows or shows that are as popular. Part of that comes from being later to the game than the others, and it should be noted that Apple TV Plus is committed to introducing new content every month.

Marketers should be aware of Apple TV Plus and its no-advertising policy. It’s unlikely that many of its competitors will adopt the same rules any time soon, but any tendency to resists ads is something advertisers need to keep abreast of.

While Apple TV and Apple TV Plus provide fewer opportunities for advertisers than some other venues, it’s instructive to look at Apple TV commercials and how Apple has marketed its own products. Even Apple print ads have been inventive and have helped the company build and hold a fiercely loyal customer base. The Apple advertising touch shows not only in an Apple TV+ commercial, but also in the company’s commercials for Apple Music, iPhone, iPad and all the other products and services Apple provides.

For example, an Apple TV commercial 2020 for the iPhone 12 features “Powerful,” the Apple TV commercial song 2020 sung by Yma Sumac. Another theme of the Apple commercial 2020 focuses on the quality and variety of what customers can see on their iPhones. This includes pointing out how enjoyable it is to watch movies on these devices. Apple encourages viewers to make their movie viewing experience better by downloading the Apple TV+ app and watching Apple TV+ content on their iPhones.

Apple TV Plus is a relative newcomer to the world of streaming content. It’s been around only since November 2019. Thus, an Apple TV commercial 2019 wouldn’t have focused on Apple TV+ until well into that year.

From the “ancient” days when it first introduced the Mac through its famous and anticipated Super Bowl commercials and on into 2020’s colorful iPhone commercials, Apple has been a trendsetter for creativity in advertising. The company has made wide use of all the advertising media available in the world today, but Apple has been zealous in enforcing restrictions on the use of its channels for marketing. The Apple TV+ advertising ban is a case in point.

For marketers, Apple provides an example of what can be done in advertising through a wide range of media. Though there are restrictions on the opportunity to place advertising with Apple TV and Apple TV plus, there’s a lot to learn about advertising in all the ways that are possible in today’s world.

With so many people cutting the cable cord and viewing streaming content instead, it was inevitable that the world’s most famous family entertainment provider would jump on board. Disney Plus hit the market in November of 2019 and within six months had over 50 million subscribers. One of Disney Plus’s boasts to its viewers is that it shows no commercials. While streaming services include advertising, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime, viewers can opt for the Disney Plus sign up and enjoy streaming content, and commercials for free.

This doesn’t shut marketers out completely from Disney Plus viewers, though. Disney Plus is also sold as a part of a bundle with services that do welcome advertisers, namely, Hulu and ESPN Plus.

Once a consumer has signed up for a Disney Plus account, they can use their Disney Plus sign in on a number of types of hardware. Disney Plus login devices include smart TVs and TV sets with digital media, for example, set-top boxes and sticks. However, a viewer doesn’t need a television to enjoy the service. There’s a Disney plus app for PC, as well as for tablets and phones including Apple devices.

Once a consumer has an account, they can stream content to several devices at once. The Disney Plus login is valid on any of the common computers and phones. The subscription service charges just one monthly fee for access across all of these devices. A customer can pay for a month at a time or save some money by paying for an entire year. The monthly option has no long-term commitment and one can request a Disney Plus cancellation at any time.

Disney and Disney Plus have an unequaled appeal to both adults and children. Before the launch of the Disney Plus service, a lot of Disney movies were available through some of the other content providers. But now Disney is pulling these shows back into its own service and it’s becoming more and more the case that a viewer needs Disney Plus, or the Disney Plus bundle with Hulu and ESPN, to watch the best entertainment from the Disney library.

Content providers such as Netflix and Amazon Prime are competitors to Disney Plus, but Hulu’s situation is different. Disney has been a part owner of Hulu since 2009 and more recently has become the controlling owner. So it’s not surprising that Disney Plus offers Hulu to its customers as well.

Consumers can buy Disney Plus and Hulu separately, but there’s also a Disney Plus bundle that includes Hulu. The Disney Plus Bundle price is $12.99 for Hulu with ads and $18.99 for Disney Plus bundle Hulu no ads.

In its basic version, Hulu is a video-on-demand provider with a library of TV shows, movies and proprietary content. However, there’s also a Hulu product called Hulu Plus Live TV, which offers real-time broadcasts of some of the same channels as received via antenna, cable or satellite. This option is available with Disney Plus as a Hulu Live Disney Plus bundle.

There is no Disney Plus bundle free trial available. Customers have to sign up and start paying the subscription fee from the very first Disney Plus Bundle login, whether it be Disney Plus Hulu no ads or Disney Plus Hulu with ads.

Many customers choose to subscribe to the less expensive Disney Plus Hulu bundle with the ads, so there are opportunities for marketers to reach fans of Disney content who own these bundles.

The Disney Plus app is available on smart TVs, TVs with digital media devices, laptops, workstations, tablets, smartphones and gaming consoles. There are tens of millions of adults and children viewing Disney content and not all of them are cable cord-cutters. Many families choose to watch Disney in addition to their regular cable TV viewing. They might even be watching cable TV on their TV set and Disney Plus content on another device.

The content of the Disney Plus app comes from the entire family of Disney companies. That includes Disney Plus movies from Pixar, the Star Wars series and the Marvel movies. Disney Plus also comes with content from National Geographic.

Disney Plus customer service is available to help its viewers stream on four separate devices at one time with one subscription. Another Disney Plus feature is GroupWatch, which allows friends at different locations to enjoy a virtual group movie night. Once they’re connected, they can even pause and rewind at the same time and share their reactions.

Disney Plus price is $6.99 per month or $69.99 for a full year. While there are no Disney Plus ads on the Disney Plus content, there are opportunities for marketers to reach the Disney Plus audience through ESPN Plus and Hulu. These platforms actively seek marketers and work to make advertising with them as friendly and easy to use as possible.

Does Disney Plus have a 30-day free trial? No, it doesn’t. Unlike many of the other popular streaming services, Disney does not offer a Disney Plus free trial. In a Disney Plus free trial Reddit thread, it’s mentioned that there is no Disney Plus 30-day free trial or even the kind of seven-day free trial that’s common in the digital content world.

In the closest thing to a Disney Plus free trial, Verizon offers a one-year-long Disney Plus free account to Verizon customers. They can enjoy a year not only of Disney Plus, but of the entire Disney Plus Bundle with Hulu and ESPN. Customers who already have a Disney Plus account can take advantage of the offer when they sign on with Verizon. As is the case with most free subscription periods, customers must do a Disney Plus free trial cancellation at the end of their year to avoid being billed going forward.

Disney Plus has a worldwide reach. Disney Plus countries include the United States and Canada and more than a dozen European countries as well as Australia, New Zealand, India, Japan and Indonesia. They have plans to expand even more into Asia as well as into Eastern Europe.

ESPN Plus is affiliated with the popular ESPN television and cable network. It’s a streaming service that viewers can purchase either on its own or as part of the Disney, Hulu and ESPN Plus bundle. The ESPN Plus app runs on all the same devices as the Disney Plus app, including TVs, laptops and smartphones.

Sports and Disney are two of the most popular entertainment choices around, so it’s not surprising that the Disney Plus ESPN bundle is doing well. The Disney and ESPN audience is a rich one for advertisers. While Disney Plus may not show advertisements, both ESPN TV and ESPN Plus have always had ads and it’s expected they’ll continue to do so.

The ESPN Plus schedule includes events from professional sports leagues, boxing and ESPN Plus UFC Fight Nights. There’s also college football and basketball and featured shows with top names in sports such as Peyton Manning and Pau Gasol.

There is no ESPN Plus free trial. However, a viewer can sign up for ESPN Plus for a monthly fee of $5.99 and, if they don’t like it, the service offers the option to contact ESPN Plus customer service and cancel ESPN Plus at any time.

Hulu’s platform has been one of the most popular video-on-demand streaming services for some time, competing with the likes of Netflix and Amazon Prime. Its affiliation with Disney and the ability now to add Hulu to Disney Plus has helped to boost its popularity.

Hulu plans include both a basic version with ads at $5.99 per month, a very competitive price for a streaming service. Its ad-free version is more expensive at $11.99 per month. Hulu offers a 30-day Hulu free trial.

There’s also Hulu Plus Live TV, which includes the Hulu video-on-demand service plus over 65 live TV stations broadcasting the same content that comes over the air or via cable. This costs $54.99 per month and can also be purchased as part of a Hulu Live Disney Plus bundle.

Most Hulu customers choose the version with ads. That’s good news for marketers. Hulu is a leader in creatively working with advertisers to help them place their messages on the platform. They work with a lot of large marketers, but they also provide a self-service interface called Ad Manager to help smaller advertisers find their way in the world of digital marketing.

First launched in 2007, Hulu is a subscription-based video-on-demand streaming service that is now owned by both The Walt Disney Company and Comcast. It began life as a way to stream recent episodes of television series from certain major networks but has since expanded to include both movies and original content that can’t be found anywhere else.

One of the things that originally made Hulu notable was that, unlike competing services like Netflix, it displayed commercials alongside the content people were consuming. A Hulu commercial list 2021 can be used to showcase relevant content to users typically and ideally before and during their favorite programming.

From the perspective of a marketer, this means that your Hulu advertising campaign can potentially run on a wide range of different devices – from gaming consoles to built-in apps on smart televisions to streaming boxes, like the Apple TV and more. Hulu advertising specs dictate that all ads must be in high definition and have at least stereo sound.

The Hulu Ad Manager also has additional requirements for Hulu commercial 2021, like the fact that ad durations can only be between 15 and 30 seconds and must be in the 16:9 aspect ratio.

A Hulu advertising strategy is a perfect opportunity for marketers to take their message to an audience that is as engaged as it is large. According to one recent study, as of the third quarter of commercials on Hulu 2021, Hulu has hit an impressive 42.8 million subscribers around the world.

As stated, Hulu ad products have several clear requirements that marketers must follow to be approved by the platform. In terms of video technical specifications, these include things like:

• They must have a bit depth of 8 or 16 bits.
• Ads require a Hulu bitrate to be at a minimum of 15,000 kb/s, which is the equivalent of 15 Mb/s.
• They must use chroma sub-sampling of 4:2:0 or 4:2:2.
• The preferred codec ID is ProRes HQ, although H.264 is accepted.
• The color space is YUV.
• The preferred resolution is 1920 x 1080 for Hulu High Definition, although 1280 x 720 is accepted for Hulu Standard Definition.
• Accepted file extensions include either .mov or .mp4.
• The maximum file size can be 3 GB.
• Acceptable formats include QuickTime, MOV or MPEG-4.
• Acceptable frame rates include 23.98, 25 or 29.97 frames per second.

As expected, Hulu audio settings are equally specific. Requirements here include:

• A bit depth of 16 or 24 bits for all two-channel audio tracks.
• A minimum nitrate of 192 kb/s.
• At least two channel Estero audio.
• The audio must match the duration of the video.
• Acceptable Hulu sound-quality file extensions include PCM and AAC.
• A minimum sampling rate of 48 kHz.

With regard to third-party tags and programmatic content, there are several additional requirements. These include ones like:

• A 1920 x 1080 resolution, but 1280 x 720 is also accepted. Of course, the aspect ratio must still be 16:9 regardless.
• For any 4:3 aspect ratio content, the resolution needs to be 1440 x 1080.
• Letterboxing – meaning when black bars are placed above or on the sides of the ad – on native 1.78:1 or 1.33:1 is not acceptable.
• Ads are preferred to have a constant bitrate of between 15 to 60 Mbps.
• Having said that, a variable bitrate of 20 to 60 Mbps will also be accepted.
• Ads must support Main Profile at Main Level, also commonly referred to as MP@ML.
• They must be filmed in the 4:2:2 color space.

With regards to programmatic advertising, in particular, it’s important to note that Hulu does accept standard tags and supports VAST – but only from Hulu-approved vendors. Some of these programmatic partners include but are certainly not limited to ones like The Trade Desk, Roku OneView, Adobe, Sizmek, AppNexus, Tremor, and MediaMath, among others.

Hulu does support VPAID in VAST tags for vendors that have been previously approved. Understand, however, that a vendor can be approved for VAST but not approved for VPAID in VAST. It will depend largely on whichever vendor you’re talking about. As of 2021, Hulu does not accept wrappers on VASTs.

Hulu does, however, accept 1 x 1 trackers and click commands. They do not support iFrame, iLayer, JavaScript, and any similar types of internal redirect tags. Therefore, advertisers will need to adjust their plans accordingly. Hulu sales representatives are available to answer questions that any advertisers may have, and their VPAID vendors should be able to do the same.

Once the ads have been uploaded, Hulu will manage a significant part of the process in terms of hosting. This includes encoding, hosting, and streaming all creative assets. Just a few of the metrics available through the platform include impressions, clicks, completion rate, and CTR.

Unfortunately, because video commercials are not “directly clickable” on most devices that people will be using to view them, CTA buttons that appear as clickable and that include phrases like “Click Here” or “Buy Now” are not allowed. URLs, hashtags, and QR codes are also not accepted as of 2021.

Finally, any Hulu ad products an advertiser might choose to upload need to be submitted without any leaders. Examples of these include slates and countdowns. Hulu will also not accept stitched ads at this time. Therefore, it’s not possible to take two 15-second ads and join them together as one larger 30-second ad.

Hulu ad specs differ in several interesting ways from YouTube ads and Roku ad specifications in particular. This is true in terms of YouTube ad specs, the Roku ad framework, and more.

Required YouTube specs include, but are not limited to ones like:

• YouTube ad formats include shippable ads that the viewer can skip after five seconds.
• Supported platforms include not only desktop computers but also mobile devices, television sets, and gaming consoles.
• Non-skippable ads must be watched before associated content can be viewed. These can be 15 or 20 seconds in length, depending on regional standards.
• Overlay ads – meaning the types of ads that overlay an image or text that appear on only the lower 20% of the video content – are only supported on desktop devices.
• These must be 468 by 60 pixels or 728 by 90 pixels in size.

Roku ad specs are similarly specific:

• Ads need to be available in both standard definition and high definition formats that are appropriate for displaying on large television screens. Resolutions of less than
• 720 x 480 pixels, or with frame rates of less than 30 frames per second, are not allowed on the platform.
• Roku apps can not run the same ad more than one time during a single break from the content that someone is viewing.
• Ads cannot repeat more than two times per hour, per user.
• Ads cannot repeat more than five times on the same day on a per-user basis.
• Ads that display during a television show or movie that someone is watching are not allowed to do so until at least seven minutes of the aforementioned content have
• been viewed. From that point on, they can appear no more frequently than at seven-minute intervals.

So while both the Roku specs and YouTube ad specs do give advertisers a lot of options in terms of where and how their audience sees their content, it’s clear that Hulu commercials are beneficial in several ways. Not only do they give advertisers more control over the format and placement of their commercials, but the structure is one that closely mimics that of traditional television. In other words, an experience that people are already used to.

In the end, Hulu advertising has allowed the platform to evolve into one of the major players in the Connected TV advertising world as of 2021. Gone are the days when audiences would all gather in front of their televisions and watch the same thing at the same time. Today, an audience’s attention is fractured – but that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

They have very specific requirements as to what shape a Hulu marketing plan can take, but they’re also shaping the Connected TV video quality requirements significantly. These days, people expect a certain quality experience from the content they view. They’re leaving cable and over-the-air television in droves in favor of something that allows them to watch whatever they want, whenever they want it, with absolutely no exceptions.

It’s not that they’re against advertising – most definitely far from it. It’s just that they want the same quality experience that they’ve come to expect from their streaming services. Marketers who understand that will undoubtedly have the Hulu advertising revenue to match. Therefore, it’s critical to follow these video specs for all advertisers – both for those who are currently working with the CTV landscape and for those who are looking to get into Connected TV in the not-too-distant future.

Marketers have long relied on television advertisements to get their messages across, but these days fewer of their viewers are watching network and cable TV shows. Where have they gone? Increasingly, they’re spending their entertainment hours watching over-the-top (OTT) television programming on streaming content providers such as Hulu.

OTT refers to viewable content that is streamed over the internet. Because it most often comes into homes over cable, it travels over the top of the conduit for “regular” TV programming. It isn’t always viewed on a television set. You can watch it on a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. It’s not a traditional broadcast signal that’s recognized by older TV sets. To watch it on a set, you need a smart TV, or you need to add an OTT device such as a Roku or Amazon Fire Stick to your non-smart TV.

Viewers access OTT content by subscribing to OTT providers such as Netflix, Amazon Prime and Hulu. The advertising on OTT is different from broadcast ads. Typically they’re 15 to 30-second ads that are either pre-roll or mid-roll. That is, they’re presented before or during an OTT show. Viewers tend to pay more attention to them than to traditional, or linear TV ads, and they’re more likely to watch all the way through to the end.

One of the best OTT advertising platforms is Hulu. Hulu offers video on demand (VoD) with a library of old television shows and movies that viewers can view whenever they choose on whatever connected device they want to use.
Hulu customers can choose a Hulu subscription with or without advertisements, but the majority choose to save money and stick with the cheaper plan that includes ads. During 2020 the number of paid Hulu subscribers increased from 30 million to 35 million. The pandemic has moved viewer habits toward streaming services, and it’s unlikely they’ll move back.

OTT advertising platforms such as Hulu offer marketers an audience that linear TV programming can’t match. Hulu advertisers can target viewers by age, gender, zip code, and viewer interests. They receive feedback on who’s watching, whether they’re watching ads to completion, and how often they’re visiting the advertiser’s website for more product information.

Hulu provides marketers and viewers with a suite of tools to tailor the advertising experience. Viewers may use Ad Selector to choose an ad from two or three options or, with Brand Entertainment Selector, choose to watch a long commercial upfront or shorter commercials during the show. There are pause ads that appear only when viewers take a break from streaming. Hulu is always trying to make advertising less disruptive to the viewer and more engaging.

For OTT advertisers, Hulu offers Binge Ad for placing relevant advertising into viewer binge sessions. Branded Slate offers “presented by” introductions at the top of a show. Marketers can integrate advertising with Hulu’s home page, offer personalized ads to targeted audiences and present those audiences with an interactive experience.

With linear TV advertising, a marketer is concerned only about how ads look on a TV screen. Hulu TV ads, however, aren’t always viewed on TV. Advertisers have to think about how their ads will appear on every type of device. The ads need to be captivating on an oversize wall unit, and the advertising content also must look right on a smartphone.

Every OTT platform publishes guidelines such as Hulu advertising specs or YouTube ad specs. These tell you, for example, that all advertisements must be in HD and stereo. They specify what’s required in dimensions, display ratio, frame rate, audio bit rate, and so forth. They remind you that the maximum file size is 3 GB and the duration must be between 15 and 30 seconds. This duration is critical in retaining the acceptability of the ads to viewers and maintaining a high watch-to-completion rate. There are additional considerations for Hulu interactive ads.

Compliance with technical requirements is critical, but Hulu also has suggestions for how to specify your target audience and how to choose what kind of content you want your advertising to run in conjunction with. Specifications and guidelines such as these are a boon to all marketers, especially those who are new to the OTT advertising arena. Hulu has consultants and self-service tools to help advertisers work within the ad specs and enjoy a truly positive ad-placing experience.

Where do you start if you need to know how to buy OTT advertising and kick off your Hulu ad campaign? Are you ready to commit a substantial portion of your advertising budget to an OTT platform? If that platform is Hulu, there’s a tool, such as Keynes Digital, being introduced that can get you into the world of streaming TV advertising with low barriers to entry.

The Ad Manager is a self-service tool to help smaller companies place their ads on Hulu. While Hulu works with large corporations, they also want to lower the barrier to entry for organizations that have a limited budget. These small players can now use Ad Manager to partner with Hulu to launch, manage and track ads in the new world of streaming content.

All you have to do is create an account, submit a video, select the dates you want, and use the tool to define your target audience. Once your video is approved you’re good to go, and your ad will reach a viewership that you may have thought was beyond your means.

How much does it cost to advertise on OTT? If you’ve looked into it, you’ve run across the term “cost per mille,” or CPM. The “mille” stands for thousand, and the CPM is the amount you pay for 1,000 impressions or 1,000 viewings of your ad.

In linear TV advertising, you buy a time slot, and the price depends on how many TV sets are expected to be turned on when that time slot occurs. Everyone who sees your ad is going to see it on the same date and time. In the OTT world, nobody can predict exactly when your advertisement is going to be seen. Fortunately, OTT advertising gathers statistics and knows whenever your spot runs on a connected device. With CPM pricing you pay only for people who actually view your commercial. Many small to medium companies can’t afford the cost of a large linear TV audience, but the CPM model allows them to buy advertising in affordable increments.

For any OTT platform, the CPM varies based on a number of factors, such as the popularity of the show and whether or not they’re Hulu transactional ads, which allow viewers to interact with a commercial and take action in another window. These ads use push notifications and QR codes to prompt view actions such as making a purchase. Hulu CPM generally runs from around $20 to about $60.

Hulu ads 2020 focuses on this year’s trends for OTT viewers. The unusual stresses of this year mean that your Hulu commercial 2020 more than ever must be attuned to today’s viewing habits.

Toward the end of last year, Hulu launched a research project aimed at understanding the contemporary audience. March of 2020 and the arrival of COVID-19 gave even more impetus to this research. People are at the same time binging and watching more varied content. They’re watching on more types of devices. Smartphone wifi viewing in particular has spiked.

Hulu commercial list 2020 includes new successes this year and continued successes from the past year. Hulu uses what they’ve learned to boost the advertising success of its partners. They’re proud of their case studies that demonstrate that success. Their partners included household names as well as companies that are just beginning to put their names on the map.

They worked with Third Love, a marketer of all-size bras, to expand their reach by positioning their ads with top-quality content of concern and interest to women. They helped Alfa Romeo introduce a new sports model with in-show integration with an action movie. They integrated Jagermeister with the Huluween feature to increase brand favorability and purchase intent. They partnered with trimmer manufacturer Manscaped to reach their target audience of millennials and GenZ men.

Hulu will work with you to help identify how best to position your advertising dollars. It’s especially true for medium-sized companies: Hulu is a platform that can open the doors to the expanding world of OTT advertising and help reach audiences in ways that weren’t possible only a few years ago.

Hulu is a popular streaming service that has revolutionized the way we watch TV. With the rise of Connected TV (CTV), viewers can now watch their favorite shows and movies on their TVs, laptops, and mobile devices. This means as streaming has become more widespread, viewers can now be reached everywhere. These viewers come from all demographics and are spending more time streaming content than ever before.

Hulu offers a free trial for new users to test out their platform and see if it’s right for them. This trial period allows users to watch Hulu on their CTV devices and access premium content. For advertisers, this trial period is an excellent opportunity to reach new audiences and build brand awareness. 

To Hulu activate, it requires premium creative specs for advertisers to run CTV commercials on their platform, ensuring a premium experience for viewers. This ensures that viewers have a pleasant experience while watching ads and are more likely to engage with them. Overall, Hulu’s commitment to providing a high-quality streaming experience for its users is one of the reasons it has become such a popular platform for advertisers.

Hulu TV’s CTV platform offers a wide range of TV channels for viewers to choose from, including live sports, news, and entertainment. Advertising on Hulu TV is done through a combination of traditional TV ads and programmatic advertising. Hulu uses data and analytics to deliver personalized and relevant ads to viewers, ensuring a higher engagement rate for advertisers.

Hulu is also home to some of the most popular TV shows, including “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Little Fires Everywhere”, “Shrill”, “This Is Us”, and “The Good Doctor”. These shows have a massive following, driving demand for users to buy a Hulu subscription. Hulu also produces original content, such as the award-winning series The Act and Ramy.

When it comes to advertising on Hulu, advertisers or agencies can choose from various ad formats, including standard commercials and interactive ads. The platform also offers targeted advertising, allowing advertisers or agencies to reach specific audiences based on factors–age, gender, and location.

Hulu TV shows are some of the most in-demand in the industry, and many viewers sign up for the service specifically to watch them. As a result, programmatically allowing Hulu to be a part of your CTV strategy is an effective way to reach a highly engaged audience.

The Hulu app is available on a wide range of smart TVs, making it easy for viewers to access their favorite shows and movies from the comfort of their own homes.

Live TV streaming services, like Hulu TV vs YouTube TV, are two of the most popular options. Both platforms offer a wide range of channels and features to users, but they differ in crucial ways.

One of the most significant differences between Hulu TV vs YouTube TV is their content offerings. While both services offer live TV channels, Hulu TV also has an impressive library of on-demand content, including popular Hulu TV shows and original series. In contrast, YouTube TV focuses more on live TV, with fewer on-demand options.

Another significant difference between the two platforms is their pricing. While both offer competitive prices, Hulu TV’s prices vary depending on the package chosen by the user. For instance, the Hulu TV + Live TV plan costs $64.99 per month, while the Hulu (No Ads) + Live TV plan costs $70.99 per month. On the other hand, YouTube TV costs $64.99 per month, with no variations or add-ons available.

In terms of features, both platforms offer a range of capabilities that make them attractive to users. Hulu TV offers unlimited simultaneous streams on its Live TV plan, while YouTube TV offers up to three simultaneous streams. Both services also offer cloud DVR capabilities, with Hulu TV offering up to 50 hours of DVR storage and YouTube TV offering unlimited DVR storage.

Lastly, both platforms have different target audiences. While Hulu TV has a broader appeal with a mix of live TV and on-demand content, YouTube TV is more focused on the live TV experience, making it a better fit for sports fans who want to watch live games.

It’s also worth noting that Hulu TV vs YouTube TV is available on Chromecast, a media streaming device that allows users to stream content from their smartphones or tablets to their TVs. Both platforms offer an easy setup process, allowing users to start streaming their favorite content quickly.

When deciding between Hulu TV vs YouTube TV, it ultimately comes down to what type of content and features a user is looking for. While both platforms have advantages, Hulu TV’s mix of live TV and on-demand content makes it an attractive choice for users looking for a broader range of content. On the other hand, YouTube TV’s focus on live TV and sports makes it an excellent choice for those who prioritize live events. Regardless of the platform chosen, Chromecast provides an easy and convenient way to stream content to your TV.

By understanding the differences between these two popular live TV streaming services, advertisers can better determine which platform is best suited for their target audience. With Hulu TV’s mix of live TV and on-demand content and YouTube TV’s focus on live TV and sports, advertisers can tailor their campaigns to reach the right audience and drive results.

Hulu Plus, the premium subscription service of Hulu, offers users access to a vast library of TV shows, movies, and originals. The package also includes the ability to watch Hulu Plus Live TV with its Live TV package. Subscribers can enjoy over 75 live channels, including sports, news, and entertainment. With Hulu Plus, users can also access add-ons like HBO, Cinemax, and Showtime for an additional cost.

One of the most significant advantages is the Hulu login with Disney Plus. With Hulu Plus, subscribers can bundle their subscriptions with Disney Plus and ESPN Plus for a discounted price. This bundle is an excellent deal for those who want to access a wide range of TV shows, movies, and sports content at a lower cost.

In conclusion, Hulu Connected TV is an excellent platform for advertisers looking to reach a wide range of streaming viewers. With its premium CTV platform, Hulu offers advertisers the ability to target their audience with precision, delivering personalized ads to users across all demos. Hulu TV channels, including its impressive originals, also make it an attractive choice for viewers looking for a streaming service. Finally, with the added benefit of Hulu Plus, Hulu proves to be one of the best CTV advertising platforms, with a vast library of content and affordable pricing options.

As the world of streaming services continues to grow, Hulu Connected TV is sure to be a significant player. Its ability to provide users with quality content and a seamless streaming experience has made it a popular choice for viewers across the United States. With its advanced targeting capabilities, Hulu offers advertisers a unique opportunity to connect with their target audience and deliver personalized ads that resonate with their viewers.

The Television and Streaming division of NBCUniversal, a Comcast company, owns and operates the American over-the-top video streaming service Peacock. The service, which bears the NBC logo as its name, debuted on July 15, 2020.

Peacock boasts top-notch features and amusement. One of the best things that set it apart from its competitors is that it’s free. Fans of NBC sitcoms and dramas, live sports (like Premier League soccer, WWE, etc.), and other content can find everything they need on Peacock. Although Peacock’s base edition is free, it has few selections and advertisements.

You will have access to some television shows and movies that have received the highest critical acclaim over the last century; however, you will be required to watch advertisements to access HD-quality videos.

The service provides advertisers the reach and scale they greatly need while providing consumers with the free service they want. Free movies and TV are available, giving you more than streaming 7,500 hours in its free version, but if you upgrade to a Peacock Premium plan, not only will you get rid of Peacock ads, but also you’ll have access to twice as much content.

Per a Peacock TV review 2022, you may watch everything on the platform for $5 per month with advertisements or for $10 per month without them. It’s also incredibly reasonable and offers a ton of free stuff.

NBC can compete with streaming heavyweights like Netflix by promising a reduced monthly fee. Options are also provided. They have a sizable selection of old and new NBC shows and an increasing number of original series, and they cover sports reasonably well. Peacock is accessible on any device connected to the internet and game consoles, including the PlayStation, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, and Apple TV devices.

Since it launched in July 2020, NBCUniversal’s streaming service Peacock has increased strongly. The site has a tiling layout filled with well-known network programming, yet it is not as huge as some of its competitors, like Netflix, Hulu, Disney Plus, and HBO Max.

Let’s review some pros and cons of Peacock TV.

• Plans for all types of viewers: Peacock offers a free plan if you can’t afford it or don’t want to pay for the package plans available.
• Exclusive NBCUniversal content: NBC shows, live sports events, a sizable back catalog of television programs and movies, and live news are available for next-day viewing.
• Virtual channels make streaming possible when channel surfing: Users can also design custom channels featuring live events, a trending feed, or their preferred material.

• Too many ads: It’s an experience to enjoy free content, but too many ads pop up and, at times, become annoying.
• Peacock Streaming Complaints: When trying to watch a Peacock program on the same network while downloading or transferring huge files, this could create buffering.
• Missing features:  On Peacock, you cannot create multiple profiles like Netflix and other popular streaming apps. Plus, when Peacock skip intro disappeared, it got added to the bad list.

Let’s delve into what most of you might be thinking, “Is Peacock free?”

Peacock offers a free subscription with limited access to 40,000 hours of video and plenty of advertisements. However, Peacock has too many commercials and ads popping up in the middle of watching something that may not be so pleasant for many subscribers. Therefore, the Peacock ad free price for premium subscribers is $9.99/month. The Premium Plus package not only blocks all kinds of ads but will also provide double the amount of content.

Live and early-access content is not available for the free plan but only for the premium one. On the other hand, Netflix has a monthly subscription of $12.99 and does not even cover live programs like the Olympics or the weekly broadcasting of WWE. A Peacock subscription is also cheaper than Hulu, at $11.99, and HBOmax, at $14.99 per month.

Making every effort to compete with other streaming giants, Peacock has gained immense popularity among Redditors. When asked about Peacock, a Reddit user named Killthecord said, “My wife uses it a lot. She will point out any glitches or malfunctions in streaming apps. She’s never had an issue with it”. Similarly, many other users don’t shy away from complimenting the service on Reddit.

Peacock is the subscription streaming home for NBCUniversal films and television if you’re looking to stream popular series. Having alternatives is usually a good thing, and the Peacock streaming service allows you to select from three tiers: Peacock, Peacock Premium, and Peacock Premium Plus.

Peacock basic is free, has countless ads, limited content, and no live programming. Peacock Premium costs $4.99, providing access to live programming and fewer ads than the free version. Peacock Premium Plus, on the other hand, blocks all sorts of commercials for an interruption-free experience and provides access to various content.

Peacock Premium vs Peacock Premium Plus – Both are paid services costing $4.99 and $9.99, respectively. A major difference is the ad experience, where Peacock premium pops commercials before, after, or sometimes during a video, while Peacock premium plus is totally ad-free. However, the question remains why does Peacock Premium have commercials despite being a paid service? The answer is simple – A tiny amount of programming, Peacock channels, live events, and a few TV episodes and movies will still feature commercials due to streaming rights.

The good thing is that the company ensured viewers wouldn’t watch more than five minutes of advertisements every hour when using the free service or the “Premium” version. If you want to get rid of the ads completely, you must pay an extra $5 to upgrade to an ad-free view.

Consumers also have the option to try Peacock Premium Plus free trial service for 7 days before paying for the subscription to check if the highest provided service is actually ad-free and as promised. After the seventh day, the automatically linked account will start deducting money. But the good thing is that you can unsubscribe anytime.

Ad Supported is a term used to describe audio transmissions that are made freely available to the general public, whether directly or indirectly (i.e., not on a subscription basis or any other business model). The term “streaming TV advertising” refers to advertisements that appear within TV shows on an internet-connected device instead of those you might see on regular linear television.

These streaming service advertisements will run before or during the live TV streams available on ad-supported networks and applications. As more consumers turn to stream video content instead of traditional cable and broadcast TV, OTT, or streaming TV, commercials present a chance for advertisers to reach new audiences at scale. Ad-supported tiers are more affordable than non-supported ones, which is the primary factor driving this topic’s rising popularity.

The streaming platform gets much more money off of you than it would if you paid for a subscription while you view commercials but pay less. Discovery+, Hulu, Paramount+, Peacock, and HBO Max are some of today’s ad-supported streaming services. A growing number of services, like Netflix and Disney+, are also introducing ad-supported tiers.

Netflix is to eventually consider an ad-supported TV subscription model after vehemently maintaining its stance on no advertising for its users for many years. Many Netflix members no longer see the value in the platform, given that many of their favorite episodes and new “must-watch” series are debuting on other streaming services. It may be a crucial step, given that the company will start from scratch and use Netflix advertising. This change may be essential to keeping its clients, but many clients might prefer an ad-free experience, which may cause a decrease in viewers. Therefore, it won’t be wise for Netflix to do so.

To learn more about this topic, read more of Keynes’ blog on Netflix shifting to ad-supported TV HERE.

Peacock is one of the most cost-effective streaming services available right now, costing less than $5 a month. Even 5 hours of content per week works out to only 25 cents per hour of streaming, so keeping Peacock autoplay on will surely not be an issue. You can’t go wrong with Peacock Premium if you enjoy NBC network shows, original series, popular movies, and some sporting events that other streaming apps do not offer.

Peacock continues expanding its library to serve its devoted fans better by providing an almost uncountable number of various genres and series alternatives. If you’ve been grieving the removal of The Office from Netflix, or if you are interested in watching Saved by the Bell and other shows for childhood nostalgia, it’s a good idea to keep Peacock settings on your watchlist because the streamer has promised additional content and new announcements in the months to come. Peacock’s original programs like Yellowstone are worth checking out as well.

Hence, when you ask, “Is peacock premium worth it?” – we at Keynes give it a definite “YES!” Although it’s too early to tell whether Peacock’s exclusive series will be successful or not, it’s difficult to argue against the attractiveness of the platform’s free tier.

A smart TV is a television with a built-in computer that enables access to the internet. With a smart TV, a viewer can bring in content from streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, and Peacock, plus various internet services that stream live television shows. It allows viewers to see content not available on cable or satellite. And it also provides the opportunity for new types of advertising. Consumers can buy a TV that’s sold as a smart TV. They can get the same capabilities with almost any set by adding a digital media player such as a Roku, Amazon Fire Stick, or Xiaomi TV stick.

Types of Smart TVs

A type of smart TV ad is the type that comes along with the content. For instance, if a viewer watches a Hulu show, they might see short ads, around 15 to 30 seconds, before or during that show. Viewers see these whether they’re watching on a smart TV, a non-smart TV with a Roku, or a non-TV device, such as a smartphone or laptop.

Another type of smart TV ad that’s only seen on a smart TV. These ads are specific to the manufacturer and operating system. Some of the manufacturers have embedded ad distribution into the operating systems of the computers they’ve built into their sets. If a viewer is watching on a Samsung or LG TV, he or she will see ads on the screen before any chosen content. They may appear in the home menus, on the row that lists content, or as banners.

Some manufacturers offer settings options to reduce these ads, but most don’t let a viewer get rid of them entirely. For marketers, these ads present an opportunity and a risk. There is the opportunity to present ads that viewers will see even before they select content and can’t easily opt out of, but there’s the risk of viewer hostility to these kinds of messages.

In addition to the TV manufacturers, Google is also pushing Android TV ads. Within the past year or two advertising capability has been pushed onto Sony TVs and other TVs with updates in the Android TV operating system.

Smart TVs can gather information about the shows and ads viewers watch. Some consumers are concerned about privacy and smart TVs watching them. So, where is the camera on a smart TV? Well, many smart TVs do have cameras and microphones recording viewer reactions. Usually, it’s in the bezel, the area immediately around the outside of the screen. But in most cases, there’s a setting that allows viewers to turn the camera off.

Samsung ads are an important part of Samsung’s overall business. These include not only Samsung ads on phones targeted to Galaxy users but also Samsung ads for TV. Some ads are specific to Samsung smart TVs, such as the Samsung TV pop up on bottom of screen.

More than that, Samsung offers Samsung DSP. DSP stands for the demand-side platform and allows marketers to take advantage of programmatic advertising, which is today’s automated way that digital ads are bought and sold. In the DSP, advertisers select parameters such as how frequently they want their ads to run and the demographic characteristics of their desired audience, and the DSP takes their ads to the programmatic marketplace where the ads are matched with available slots.

Samsung smart TVs are equipped with a feature called Automated Content Recognition (ACR) that tracks the viewing behavior of their audiences. ACR captures data on who is watching which content, viewing which ads, and using which smart TV apps. This information is available to advertisers to help their targeting and provide feedback on the types of audiences viewing their ads. ACR tracks not only who saw the ads, but also who missed them.

Additionally, Samsung offers a service called TV Ad Retargeting, which allows advertisers to reconnect with potential customers who just viewed a TV ad, their ad, or one from a competitor. After 60 seconds of the original TV ad being shown, a retargeting strategy sends a digital message to viewers’ smartphones, tablets, and laptops.

For non smart TV 2020 is a year of decline. Smart TV is taking over as far as new television sales go. Still, there are plenty of non smart TVs in homes all over the country, and many of them aren’t going to be replaced any time soon. Shoppers can still find an RCA non smart TV, but the LG non smart TV is getting rarer and rarer. The customer who insists on a non smart TV might look at the non smart TV Best Buy has for sale or the non smart TV Walmart can offer.

As is so often the case with a product that becomes hard to find, a non smart TV Amazon can offer anything from a massive wall unit to a non smart TV 32 inch set.

On the surface, the difference between a smart and a non smart TV is simple. A smart TV can connect to the internet and a non smart TV can’t, at least not on its own. A smart TV can view streaming content from sources other than cable, antenna, and satellite TV.

Any TV with an HDMI connection can indeed be given smart TV capabilities. All that’s needed is a digital media player such as a Roku, an Amazon Fire Stick, an Apple TV, or a Xiaomi Stick. Here, the TV can be connected to the internet and receive the same kind of content a Smart TV can. People who own smart TVs sometimes add these devices because they’re inexpensive, they allow access to more content and the streaming quality can be better.

From an advertiser’s point of view, there are some things a smart TV can do that a TV “smartened” with a Roku can’t. With both, advertisers can attach messages to content. With a smart TV, however, marketers can present advertising using the manufacturer’s capabilities before the viewer selects a show. Furthermore, Smart TV provides advertisers with a wealth of audience demographics they might not get in any other way.

Streaming TV ads have changed the advertising game. Streaming TV has revolutionized the way people consume video content. With over-the-top (OTT) platforms and connected TV (CTV) devices, viewers can watch their favorite shows and movies on-demand, without the need for traditional cable or satellite TV. This shift in viewer behavior has disrupted the traditional TV advertising industry, leading to the rise of streaming TV ads.

Streaming TV ads have numerous benefits over traditional TV advertising. One significant advantage is the ability to offer targeted and personalized ads to viewers. Unlike traditional TV, which relies on general demographic information to reach an audience, streaming TV can use data to create ads that appeal directly to individual viewers. This means that ads can be personalized based on a viewer’s interests, location, browsing history, and more. As a result, streaming TV ads are much more effective at engaging viewers and driving conversions.

Another benefit of streaming TV ads is the ability to measure their performance accurately. With traditional TV ads, it’s challenging to determine exactly how many people saw an ad, engaged with it, and ultimately made a purchase. With streaming TV ads, advertisers can track metrics like impressions, clicks, and conversions in real-time, providing valuable insights into the effectiveness of their campaigns. This data can then be used to optimize future ad campaigns, making them even more effective at reaching the target audience.

Overall, streaming TV ads offer many benefits over traditional TV advertising. They provide more targeted and personalized experiences for viewers, enabling advertisers to create more engaging and effective campaigns. Additionally, they offer more accurate metrics, making it easier for advertisers to optimize their campaigns for better results.

As more viewers shift to streaming TV, advertisers must adapt their strategies to stay relevant. Streaming TV ads allow advertisers to reach a wider audience, engage with viewers in a more targeted way, and deliver measurable results.

With streaming TV ads, advertisers can access a wealth of data and analytics, allowing them to track the effectiveness of their campaigns in real-time.

First, what is OTT? OTT, or over-the-top, refers to video content delivered over the internet.

OTT advertising started to gain traction in the early 2010s, as more viewers turned to streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video. Today, OTT is a major player in the advertising world, with more and more brands investing in OTT advertising campaigns.

OTT advertising examples could include TV commercials shown between Handmaids Tale on Hulu or The Office on Peacock. With OTT, advertisers can target specific audiences, based on demographics, location, interests, and more.

Connected TV, or CTV, refers to TV sets that are connected to the internet.

Almost 90% of US households have a CTV device, with that number projected to grow in the coming years. CTV advertising is becoming increasingly important for advertisers looking to reach a broader audience.

CTV ads can be displayed on streaming services like Hulu, Peacock, HBO Max, Paramount+, and ESPN+, allowing advertisers to reach viewers who have cut the cord on traditional cable TV. The industry technically combines OTT and CTV as one, because they work congruently. So if you’re looking for Connected TV advertising examples, they are also those TV commercials played before, during or after a streaming show or movie.

With CTV advertising, advertisers can use sophisticated targeting techniques to deliver ads that resonate with their target audience.

Connected TV advertising companies like Keynes are leading the charge in programmatic advertising.

We offer an audience-first targeting approach to help advertisers build relationships with their audiences. Our programmatic advertising technology enables us to deliver targeted ads that are more relevant to viewers. We work with a all premium of connected TV channels or networks to help brands reach their target audience, including Hulu, Peacock, HBO Max, Paramount+, and ESPN+.

We also know you don’t want to pay to access each new platform or to find the time to pull every lever. Additionally, we know it’s hard for marketers to have to learn the ins and outs of a new channel and how to manuver around the challenges. Some things we can give you tips on are someof the following.

One of the biggest challenges is ad-blockers. Many viewers use ad-blockers to avoid seeing ads altogether, making it challenging for advertisers to reach their target audience. To combat this, advertisers must create ads that are engaging and relevant to the viewer, increasing the likelihood that they will watch the ad even with an ad-blocker installed.

Another challenge is competition. With so many streaming TV services available, advertisers must compete for viewers’ attention, making it essential to create ads that stand out from the crowd. Advertisers must also be careful not to oversaturate viewers with too many ads, which can lead to ad fatigue and ultimately turn viewers away from the platform altogether.

Finally, ad fatigue is a significant challenge for advertisers on streaming TV services. As viewers are bombarded with ads, they can quickly become tired of seeing the same ads over and over again. To combat ad fatigue, advertisers must create fresh and engaging ads that appeal to viewers and provide a unique and valuable experience.

So as your full service media partner, we provide end-to-end campaign planning, set-up, optimizations and insights. Our goal is for you to spend less time logging in and learning new UIs and tools and more time on the things that matter to your brand and customers.

Ad-supported streaming services refer to platforms that offer video content for free, with ads displayed before, during, or after the video.

Some is a list of ad-supported streaming services that are the most popular:

• Hulu
• Peacock
• HBO Max
• Paramount+
• ESPN+
• Amazon Prime Video

These are some of the best streaming services for advertisers to serve their TV commercials programmatically. These free ad-supported streaming services allow advertisers to reach a large audience with targeted ads, without the need for a traditional TV commercial. So, let’s dive into these streaming platforms a little more.

Hulu offers a range of advertising opportunities for advertisers, including video ads, display ads, and sponsored content.

With over 41 million subscribers, Hulu is a major player in the streaming TV world, and also offers bundle membership options with Disney+ and ESPN+. Hulu’s advertising options are designed to be flexible and customizable, allowing brands to reach their target audience with precision.

Peacock is NBCUniversal’s streaming service, offering a mix of free and paid content. Peacock’s ad-supported tier is free, with ads displayed before, during, and after the video.

Peacock TV ads offer advertisers a range of options to target their desired audience. Advertisers can choose to air their ads during live TV programming, on-demand content, and during exclusive Peacock original programming.

Peacock’s audience is diverse and includes a mix of younger and older viewers, with about 61 million monthly active users. This makes it an attractive platform for advertisers looking to reach a broad audience.

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