I’ve been following a streaming TV newsletter for as many years as it’s been written. It has spanned the entire history of Netflix, from their transition from DVD to their recent transition to linear TV.

What? I thought they were digital?

Well, they are, but what is digital? What is linear? Streaming? OTT? Life?

Back in the olden days, back before the world was able to toggle to whatever they wanted to watch within a few clicks, we were at the mercy of the linear TV landscape. Archaic cable networks, the TV Guide (channel) and reruns of The Godfather until late night talk shows were over.

Advertising was easy. There were only so many channels, so many shows. You picked one of the top 40 shows, saw that it was in the idea of what you were selling, and bought the airtime.

Cable then exploded to multiple DIY channels, including the DYI channel. News and sports never ended, and even when it did, the channels just kept going. Again, advertising wasn’t difficult. Certain channels spoke to certain segments of the audience, and that’s what you bought.

Then came digital, and the ability to pick and choose what you wanted when you wanted, and no one stopped you. You happily paid $5.99 a month or $7.99 a month for an endless stream of content that was, dare I say, really good. Prices went up. Other streamers entered the field. Content took a hit. Cable nets joined the party. Prices went up again. Content took another hit.

It turns out that to reach the audience, agencies needed to talk to 4 different point people at the network: the linear rep, the .com rep, the VOD (can’t forget about that) rep and the digital rep.

The cable industry started to hemorrhage customers (you remember the downfall of TV as well know it, the great cord cutting epidemic of the last 20 years) and everyone moved to streaming.
COVID hit and everyone was home watching all the reruns, Tiger King and so much more. Life wasn’t great, but for the streamers it was electric.

Coming out of the pandemic, work kind of started to return to normal, not as many people were streaming, and content took another hit.

Now we sit here with streamers moving into a linear type atmosphere with “Kids Playlists,” a passive viewing experience for kids as well WWE Raw coming to Netflix in January, Amazon taking over NFL football on Thursday, Disney+ and their strategy to release new programming on Wednesday nights.

Just when advertisers were getting out the traditional daypart mindset, the streamers reel them back in. Plus, we are back to the point where we need to put money into so many different channels just to reach the same person, again.
At least we have a viable source of trusted ratings and impressions that we can all
agree on and use as currency.

What? We don’t?

Photo by rawpixel