NEWSCASTSTUDIO.COM
By DAK DILLON
Editor in Chief, NewscastStudio
From sophisticated targeting in con-
nected TV to AI-driven predictive mod-
els that anticipate audience behavior, the
broadcast adtech landscape is undergoing
a reinvention driven by emerging technol-
ogy like artificial intelligence.
New research confirms advertisers’
growing commitment to programmatic
strategies, while industry executives pre-
dict that AI will continue to unlock un-
tapped revenue potential. Here’s how it’s
playing out in practice.
Programmatic and CTV surge
A recent “2025 State of Programmatic
Report” by Proximic, a division of Com-
score, found that 72% of advertisers plan to
increase programmatic spending in 2025,
strongly emphasizing privacy-compliant
approaches. Connected TV is at the center
of this spending surge, now commanding
28% of ad budgets — double what it was in
2023. According to the report, nearly half
of marketers reallocating their program-
matic CTV budgets by shifting funds away
from linear TV.
“Connected TV emerged as a clear win-
ner, and privacy-focused strategies like
contextual targeting are becoming essen-
tial for marketers aiming to deliver highly
effective, privacy-centric campaigns,” said
Rachel Gantz, managing director at Proxi-
mic by Comscore.
This shift isn’t surprising given that
consumer viewing habits favor stream-
ing over traditional cable bundles. At the
same time, the appetite for more automat-
ed buying practices has grown, with data
from Advertiser Perceptions showing an
uptick in programmatic guaranteed deals
on subscription video-on-demand (SVOD)
platforms.
How this affects broadcasters
It suggests that ad budgets — historical-
ly the lifeblood of linear television — are
increasingly in play. Linear TV isn’t disap-
pearing overnight, but it’s facing renewed
competition from CTV and digital services
that can better target and measure audi-
ences. That shift, executives note, is where
AI can make a substantial difference.
“By analyzing viewer data, AI is able to
pinpoint content that resonates with au-
diences the most,” said Siddarth Gupta,
principal engineer at Interra Systems.
“Personalized ad insertion further max-
imizes revenue by matching ads to indi-
vidual preferences or the type of content
being viewed at the time.”
In other words, AI-driven personalization
is no longer a novelty; it’s a business impera-
tive, helping broadcasters capture attention
in a hyper-competitive ad market.
Personalization and contextual adver-
tising in broadcast
Amid privacy crackdowns and the slow
demise of third-party cookies, advertisers
are turning to new, “ID-free” solutions that
rely on contextual and first-party data.
Proximic’s programmatic report noted
that 48% of marketers expect to rely pri-
marily on ID-free strategies by the end of
2025, and 52% plan to increase their use
of contextual data for targeting. These fig-
ures underscore the importance of align-
ing ads with relevant content or themes
rather than just behavioral profiles.
“AI can enhance content monetization
… enabling dynamic ad insertion, ensuring
more relevant ads and driving higher en-
gagement and revenue,” said Yang Cai, CEO
and president of VisualOn. This personal-
ized approach is central to strategies like
contextual targeting, where AI scans video
or webpage content to place ads that mesh
seamlessly with the viewer’s experience.
Beyond simple text analysis, AI models
can detect visual cues, sentiment and even
brand safety issues within video content.
That granular understanding helps advertis-
ers avoid mismatches — like a children’s toy
ad running against adult-themed program-
ming — and allows them to place ads when a
viewer is most receptive.
Stefan Lederer, CEO and co-founder of
Bitmovin, said one of AI’s greatest strengths
is “to efficiently and accurately search, tag
and categorize content … unlocking new ad-
vertising revenue potential through AI-pow-
ered contextual advertising.”
This means that archival footage or
niche programming can suddenly become
revenue-generating assets, provided the
right sponsors are matched to the right
content.
Forecasting and pricing benefits
Amid this flurry of AI-driven targeting,
there’s also a fundamental question of
how to price inventory. Linear TV once
AI driving change in advertising,
monetization for broadcasters
AI & ADVERTISING
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