There’s a new buzzword in this year’s upfront market, and it’s not “flexibility” — it’s “fluidity.” AMC Networks, Disney, Paramount, TelevisaUnivision, and Warner Bros. Discovery are all pitching a converged approach to ad sales that blends linear TV and streaming inventory into a single, seamless pool.
What Fluidity Means for Advertisers
Instead of treating traditional TV and streaming ad inventory as separate silos, sellers are pooling them together so commercials — and ad dollars — can move fluidly across portfolios. An advertiser buying linear TV reach can automatically tap into streaming inventory when linear supply runs short, and vice versa.
“We really believe in fluidity this year to maximize the supply of whether it’s a traditional linear campaign or a converged campaign that’s cross-platform,” said Evan Adlman, EVP of commercial sales and revenue operations at AMC Networks. “It solves the problem that advertisers have of not reaching full supply of their campaign.”
Why Now?
Several factors are converging to make fluidity the central theme of this year’s upfront. Traditional TV sellers need to transition their ad businesses toward streaming for the latter’s ad revenue to match its audience share. At the same time, linear TV inventory is becoming scarcer, making streaming inventory valuable for extending audience reach.
Streaming ad targeting has also become more sophisticated, which both complicates and complements the relationship between the two inventory types. Sellers are betting that advertisers will value the ability to dynamically shift spend where it performs best — rather than locking budgets into rigid pre-allocated buckets.
The Bigger Picture
The term “fluidity” may be new, but the concept — sometimes called “converged” — has been building for years. What’s changed is the urgency. With cord-cutting accelerating and streaming viewership now rivaling traditional TV, the upfront market is adapting to a world where the line between linear and streaming has all but disappeared.
