The definition of TV is changing rapidly, but its fundamental strengths may be misunderstood by many marketers. In a conversation for NDA’s CTV Focus Month, Thinkbox Strategy Director Elliott Millard discusses the reality of viewing habits, the power of addressability, and why TV’s short-term performance power is being overlooked.
How is commercial TV positioning itself in a landscape where viewing habits are increasingly fragmented across on-demand services, smart TV apps, and streaming platforms?
Our core belief at Thinkbox comes down to what we call “Total TV”. That includes anything professionally produced, regulated in a meaningful way, independently measured, and subject to editorial oversight.
Under that definition, ITV, Channel 4, and Sky sit alongside Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, and the wider CTV or FAST landscape. When you view the market through that lens, overall viewing is actually remarkably stable.
Time is being spent across different delivery platforms rather than on entirely different types of content. People still overwhelmingly choose professionally produced, regulated content on their TV screens.
Even among 16-to 34-year-olds, commercial TV advertising time remains higher than YouTube and TikTok combined.
Why is there such a gap between that data and the prevailing narrative that traditional TV is falling behind platforms like YouTube?
Partly, it comes down to location and industry perspective. Research shows media and marketing professionals regularly misjudge average media habits because we assume others consume content the way we do.
There is also a dominant US narrative influencing global opinion.
In the US, linear and cable viewing have dropped significantly, and YouTube TV occupies a dominant position. But European markets operate differently. In Europe, linear TV remains the primary starting point when people turn on their screens.
Additionally, marketers are naturally drawn to new, innovative channels. That drive pushes the industry forward, but it can sometimes cause us to undervalue established channels where audience behaviour changes much more slowly.
Looking closely at Connected TV, what developments are creating the most interesting opportunities for advertisers?
Addressability is a huge driver. It gives advertisers the sophisticated targeting, data matching, and sequential storytelling capabilities long associated with digital display or social, but delivers them on a high-impact, large screen where viewers are far more receptive.
At the same time, because so much media consumption is driven by algorithms, fewer media experiences are truly shared.
That creates a dual strategy: advertisers should leverage detailed addressability via CTV while continuing to invest in broad, live linear moments like major sports, drama, or reality TV. Shared cultural experiences are becoming rarer, which makes them increasingly valuable for brand building.
Has CTV made television more accessible for smaller advertisers and SMEs?
Significantly.
Broadcaster platforms, such as ITV’s Universal Ads, offer self-serve interfaces that feel familiar to anyone using social or digital platforms. This lowers the barrier to entry, allowing smaller brands to start on TV before scaling up.
Crucially, TV behaves differently from pure performance media. Case studies from direct-to-consumer brands show that TV results compound over time rather than dropping off immediately once a campaign stops.
The main caution for newer advertisers using rapid production or AI tools is maintaining creative quality. TV carries a distinct premium environment, so campaigns need to fit the high-standard context of the medium.
Many marketers feel pressured to allocate budgets toward performance-led digital platforms over premium channels. How should that balance be viewed?
Much of that shift comes down to structural short-termism across businesses. Marketers face weekly sales targets and quarterly reporting, forcing a focus on immediate results.
The issue is that TV has historically positioned itself almost exclusively around long-term brand building, allowing social and digital search channels to claim ownership of short-term performance.
Econometric modeling shows TV is exceptionally strong at driving short-term sales returns, often outperforming many digital display or social channels within an eight-week window.
When platforms like display or social are over-invested relative to their actual performance, shifting spend toward TV can deliver better short-term profitability alongside long-term brand health. Tools currently in testing, like the broadcaster-backed Lantern initiative, will help connect TV exposures directly to digital outcomes to prove that value clearly.
How are creative formats evolving on CTV to support commercial returns?
Pause ads are a strong example because they allow dynamic, contextual data insertion, such as tailoring messaging based on location, local airports, or the genre of show being watched, without always requiring a full video production asset. Sequential storytelling is also advancing rapidly, allowing categories like automotive to guide consumers through tailored narrative steps across multiple exposures.
Overall, the most effective TV campaigns now treat television as an integrated ecosystem. They pull TV content into social channels and bring social conversations back into TV environments, combining broad reach with tailored data execution.
