Who's Watching Whom?

Smart televisions never had more tech power nor greater responsibility.

- Ronan Shields

Traditional television ad spend is down, indicative of the fact that the TV screen, which for so long was the epicenter of most homes in the U.S., is no longer king of the media jungle. And the numbers reflect this: Per eMarketer, mobile surpassed TV in terms of ad spend in 2018 with wireless devices commanding 33.9 percent of all U.S. media budgets compared to 31.6 percent for TV. The market research company also reports that TV ad spend dipped 0.5 percent in 2018 to $69.87 billion and will fall another 1 percent to $69.17 billion this year.

The pressure for marketers to better demonstrate ROI on their TV ad dollars is increasingly being facilitated by technical progressions in the consumer electronics and media landscape. Like internet-connected TV sets.

More than two-thirds (70 percent) of global TV shipments in 2018 were units that can connect to the internet, according to IHS Markit. This is helping to shape viewing habits, with Nielsen recently noting how Americans spend nearly 8 billion hours per month watching such devices.

“With the increasing number of U.S. households using connected devices, comprehensive measurement is imperative for publishers to better understand how consumers are spending their viewing time,” read the report.

Meanwhile, as television manufacturers seek new business models—away from their earlier “box-pushing” revenue streams—which are dependent upon intimate relationships with consumers, many are opting to enter the media business.