Upfronts Won’t Die In TV Renaissance: Magna Global’s Bayer

FORT LAUDERDALE — If you think the coming age of buying addressable, internet-style ads in the blink of an eye is going to mean an end to the TV ad industry as we know it, think again.

“I think we’ve entered …a renaissance of television,” Matt Bayer, SVP of advanced TV at Magna Global, tells Beet.TV in this video interview.

“We’ve been on a journey for a long time where now TV is (supposedly) going to be empowered with better data and technology than ever before and I think we’re on the beginning steps of that journey. But, I do think the upfront (for TV ad sales) is not going away.

“The upfront won’t die. It’s a very strong part of the way a client goes to market.”

Although ad buyers can buy specific audiences who may be watching a diverse range of content, Bayer says there will continue to be value in the process of committing upfront ad spend against a specific TV show. But he does see addressable TV reaching 100 million-home scale in the US, something which will tempt advertisers away.

 

This video was produced at the Beet.TV executive retreat presented by Videology with Adobe, AT&T AdWorks and Nielsen.

Bayer was interviewed on stage by moderator Ashley Swartz, CEO of Furious Corp.

You can find more videos from the Beet Retreat on this page.