OTT, CTV, STB….Oh my!!!
It just seems with all the posts about OTT and CTV…and now even STB, it may be good to take a step back and clarify….
In the beginning, there was TV, which we call ‘Linear TV’. Think – cable, satellite, and antenna technologies used to deliver scheduled programming.
STB (set-top boxes) came about in the 1980’s. Think – old school cstable boxes needed to watch videos on MTV…
Now, jump forward to 2005 when iTunes began offering its users the ability to download specific TV shows directly to their chosen devices for a fee – voila, an OTT (over-the-top) service (streaming content).
And enter CTV in 2007 or 2008 when Samsung came out with the first smart tv – which eventually grew the world of CTV to both smart or not-so-smart, but just connected TV.
So there you have it. Andy why is that relevant this week…
OTT Is Fastest-Growing Media Segment For Local Advertising – the big takeaway from this, though is, ‘It’s important to note that BIA uses the terms “OTT” and “CTV” interchangeably, despite it being a subset of OTT video impressions that come specifically from connected TVs. CTV impressions typically account for 90% or more of OTT viewing and ad buying.’
And, Yahoo, DirecTV Advertising Expand Deal To Include STB Data…’
Yahoo has expanded its partnership with DirecTV advertising to include set-top box (STB) data.
Yahoo’s demand-side platform (DSP) clients can now activate TV usage data from millions of DirecTV households for planning, activation and measurement of campaigns across DirecTV and other inventory.
DirecTV had 13.9 million U.S. households for its traditional satellite TV service as of the end of this year’s second quarter, down 400,000 versus Q1, according to a Leichtman Research Group estimate.’
So you can see where the lines are getting/have gotten quite blurry between what is actually what!