SHAPING WHAT’S NEXT IN MEDIA

Last chance to save on Digiday Publishing Summit passes is February 9

SECURE YOUR SEAT

How YouTube is mixing up the TV ad market

youtube tv

Is YouTube TV? Even a few years ago, that question would’ve received ridicule in some advertising circles. It still might. But now that YouTube has become the streaming service people spend the most time watching on TV screens, it’s becoming hard to argue that YouTube isn’t TV.

This question of YouTube’s place in the TV advertising discussion was a top talking point among agency executives throughout Digiday’s recent video series, “The Future of TV.” As covered in the video below, the executives’ answer is largely “yes, YouTube is TV,” especially now that it’s starting to sell ads against TV’s most premium programming: NFL games.

“They’re a TV company. They just spent on NFL Sunday Ticket. They’re introducing non-skippable 30[-second ads] across the entire YouTube family. So they’re in the TV game,” said Kelly Metz, managing director of advanced TV activation at Omnicom Media Group.

More in Future of TV

A red-toned GIF of a TV screen with shifting static in pink, yellow, and red, representing the evolving landscape of biddable CTV and its dynamic, data-driven ad opportunities.

Future of TV Briefing: How AI agents prime TV advertising for ‘premium automation’

This week’s Future of TV Briefing looks at how agentic AI can enable TV networks to automate the sales of complex linear TV ad packages.

Inside NBCUniversal’s test to use AI agents to sell ads against a live NFL game

NBCUniversal’s Ryan McConville joined the Digiday Podcast to break down the mechanics of the company’s first-of-its-kind agentic AI ad sales test.

Inside NBCU’s $3 million Peacock Super Bowl pitch

February’s Big Game carries a big price tag for streaming inventory, and buyer need to double down. Still, it hasn’t put marketers off investing.