[ad_1]
With macroeconomic conditions affecting advertising and Hollywood strikes affecting content, 2023 was a year of lessons for the TV and streaming industry.
So, as part of Adweek’s year-in-review TV coverage, we asked 28 TV executives and insiders to explain the most important thing they learned this year.
From focusing on flexibility as the industry shifts toward streaming to older reality franchises like Survivor and The Bachelor having new, Golden moments as networks leaned on unscripted, here are the most important lessons learned by TV execs, ad sales chiefs and buyers in 2023:
Dani Benowitz, president, U.S. and global, Magna: It is important to continue to shift our thinking to a redefined definition of TV. TV is a device, not a channel. Video, as we should call it, remains an important part of the media mix, with significant budgets spent on TV and streaming. And video is expansive, encompassing 54% of media consumption, so it’s a disservice to distill to just “TV.”
Diana Bernstein, evp and managing director of investment, Havas Media Network: A reminder of the importance of transparency and partnership. As an industry, we saw the difficulty surrounding economic predictions throughout the year, which increased the need for continued communication and flexibility. Being able to come to the table in true partnership to discuss the good, the bad and everything in between is more important than ever as we work to make meaningful decisions that drive business. As we continue to push innovation, we need to ensure a strong foundation along with open and collaborative partnerships across clients, media suppliers and agencies.
Frances Berwick, chairman, NBCUniversal Entertainment: This year reinforced the power of fandom and brand loyalty. Bravo is one of the strongest brands in television with an extremely passionate and dedicated fan base. Look no further than BravoCon 2023—a three-day fan event in Las Vegas with more than 20,000 attendees that sold out in seconds and dominated the pop culture conversation in the following weeks.
Geoffrey Calabrese, chief investment officer, Omnicom Media Group North America: Quite honestly, the lack of readiness the industry has for the shift of currency and measurement. I feel here at OMG, we are so far ahead of the competition and are truly in the enviable position of now leading our partners down this path with us. Literally creating the future.
David Campanelli, evp and chief investment officer, Horizon Media: That the speed of change is faster than ever. Especially in the streaming space (how quickly properties launch, grow, add commercial tiers, change content/programming strategies, sports shifting to streaming, etc.) where things seem to change by the day.
