What Is Convergent TV Advertising and Why Is It Important?

Convergent TV combines any kind of linear TV and advanced TV. When we refer to advanced TV, we mean any TV content outside of linear TV models. Advanced TV usually includes CTV, over-the-top (OTT) streaming, TV Everywhere, video on-demand (VOD), subscription video on-demand (SVOD), ad-based video on-demand (AVOD), programmatic TV and free ad-supported TV (FAST).

Convergent TV advertising is when you advertise to consumers on any of these TV types.

Just a few years ago, marketers focused on advanced TV and its capabilities. That worked then, but things aren’t as simple anymore. Today’s viewers watch TV in many different formats — sometimes all at once. We now need to shift our focus to be more holistic, to something that encompasses both linear and advanced TV advertising – hence, convergent TV.

In fact, nine out of 10 buyers in a 2022 IAB report anticipated a converged marketplace within the next few years, where teams plan and buy both linear TV and CTV.

Since TV has become more complex, you need to adjust your TV advertising strategy. Continuing to work in silos keeps you from fully reaching your consumers where they are and duplicates reach and frequency — that is, where you could be overserving your audiences with an ad, which could potentially diminish their brand perspective.

Instead, factor in the TV types your target audience(s) may be watching and the devices they’ll be using and consider using multiple TV advertising types in your ad campaigns.

Increasingly, buyers foresee a converged marketplace

Nearly nine in 10 buyers anticpate a converged marketplace in the coming years, 42% of which see it happening in the next two years – up from 30% in last year’s study.

% Forsee Single Converged Marketplace for Linear TV and CTV

42%

YES, within the next two years

46%

YES, but will take longer than two years to converge

12%

NO , do not foresee a converged marketplace