Kantar predicts new viewing behaviors, audience targeting strategies and dynamic product placement

Kantar unveiled Media Trends and Predictions 2023, its annual forecast of how the media landscape will evolve in the coming year. The leading marketing data and analytics company has a unique and comprehensive understanding of how people think, feel and act globally and locally in over 90 markets by combining its deep domain knowledge, data resources and benchmarks, as well as innovative analytics and technology.

The company’s latest report provides a definitive overview of upcoming trends in the media industry, using Kantar’s market-leading data alongside evidence-based predictions and expert viewpoints. The insights will help media companies and brands navigate 2023 and plan for the future. Focusing on new video-on-demand (VOD) models, soaring costs, data usage and new technologies, Kantar’s experts predict:

• VOD embraces appointment TV strategies – Marking a new chapter for the TV and video market, the winners in the platform wars will deploy hybrid strategies balancing VOD and linear content. Broadcasters are adopting aspects of VOD strategy that fit their positioning whilst preserving their points of difference, and VOD platforms are adopting concepts like “appointment TV” and curated content discovery. The market will shift away from all-at-once release strategies and box-set bingeing for new content to maximize revenues.
• Ad-supported models answer to inflation worries – Market penetration for ad-based video-on-demand (AVOD) grew from 20% in Q2 2021 to 23% as shown by Q2 2022 US data. Kantar’s Media Reactions 2022 study shows consumers are more accepting of advertising, and as rising costs are making ad-funded content more palatable. The timing is right to introduce ad-funded tiers to limit price-sensitive churn. However, ad-models risk creating two types of viewers: those with less disposable income who become over-targeted by ads, and those with more disposable income, who are more attractive to advertisers, but are harder to reach.
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