• by Tobi Elkin , Staff Writer @tobielkin, December 30, 2016

Scott Ferber, CEO and co-founder of programmatic ad tech platform Videology, always has plenty to say. And his projections for 2017 are no different. Ferber said that 2016 was bolstered by major TV events like the Olympics and the U.S. election which resulted in strong Upfronts and linear TV ad sales.

However, in 2017, without these events next year, "we should expect a softer Upfront market and more pressure on media companies to offer audience-based selling.” In fact, Ferber maintained that audience-based selling will continue to grow “simply because there will be more ways to do it. The rise in digital devices makes data application easier, which will result in increased audience-specific targeting,” he said.

Not surprising, Ferber sees a spike in over-the-top TV, video-on-demand, and addressable TV in 2017. “Advanced TV advertising has been led by the consumption habits of consumers and this will be the case even more so in 2017 as fragmentation continues,” Ferber projects. He cites the increasing numbers of consumers that are using services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, via more different devices like Roku, Apple TV, and more whether on mobile or on TV.

Ferber hazarded to guess that interest in addressable TV will rise, with demand likely outpacing available supply. “Subsequently, we may see pressure on the Multichannel Video Program Distributors to work with content owners to open up more than the 14 minutes currently addressable,” he said.

“As broadcasters' audience-based offerings multiply, I expect the buy side will push for more consolidation, and the convenience of being able to purchase all of these services from a single platform.”

Measurement: Linear, Non-Linear and Walled Gardens:

“We’ve seen huge progress in measurement, but it’s something we have to continue working on.  We need systems that can measure all linear and non-linear formats, as well as walled gardens, such as YouTube, Facebook and Snapchat,” Ferber said.

“I think we will see more measurement vendors work towards providing an expanded, single-panel measurement system so advertisers can start to truly make apples to apples comparisons, as well as avoiding some of the errors around measurement that came to light in 2016.”

First-Party Data Puts TV Advertisers Ahead:

“We will continue to see an increase in the use of first-party data in TV advertising. It could even become the biggest driver of advanced/programmatic TV. With this rise, we’re going to see even more brands get directly involved with TV planning than ever before, because they can bring their own data to the party,” Ferber said. Imagine that—a bring your own data party.

Programmatic TV Planning Vs. Trading:

“We’re going to see significant progress in advanced TV planning, but a rise in truly automated trading will still take time for two reasons. First, existing trading systems actually work pretty well. They may not be automated systems, but they’re fine-tuned manual systems that have been working for a long time. Second, most TV trading is still done at the Upfronts. It will take time and education before TV buyers shift their preferences to using automation software.” How long is the question? There are varying opinions on this. Ferber said: “Once advanced TV planning becomes standard, trading will then follow.”