Growing acceptance of ads on streaming platforms is win-win for all: Magnite’s Gavin Buxton

India might be the world's second most populous nation, but when it comes to over-the-top (OTT) and Connected TV (CTV) adoption, it’s still catching up to its developed counterparts. However, the Indian OTT market is quickly nearing a critical tipping point.

As per a study by independent sell-side advertising company Magnite, conducted with Dynata two years ago, the demand for OTT and CTV inventory is set to surge. Advertisers are increasingly seeking data-driven insights to confidently shift more investments from traditional TV to streaming services.

Gavin Buxton, Magnite’s managing director for Asia, tells Campaign that his company is at the forefront of this transition. He tops up this claim by explaining how its technology empowers publishers, brands, and agencies to monetise content across multiple platforms, including CTV, online video, and audio, facilitating billions of ad transactions daily.

Alongside the rise of programmatic advertising, Buxton points out to an increasing number of players within the ecosystem, which could create complexities as well as ecological impact for buyers and suppliers. While a publisher or buyer can work with multiple adtech partners, he maintains that overextending themselves with too many touchpoints for accessing content and ads can lead to inefficiencies.

As India’s OTT and CTV advertising landscape evolves rapidly, with technology and consumer preferences driving significant changes, brands and agencies will have to navigate these shifts, by focusing on direct, efficient, and safe supply paths. Buxton sees great opportunities for them to leverage live sports, and embrace ad-supported models, which will be key to staying ahead in the promising future of digital advertising.

Here are the edited excerpts of Campaign's exclusive chat with Buxton:

With the rise of omnichannel advertising, marketers have to stretch their budgets further while trying to make a big impact. How can buyers navigate the complexities of supply path optimisation (SPO) to get the best value and drive higher returns on ad spend?

Today, many players stand between the publisher, buyer, and demand-side platform (DSP), each offering different variations of services. An efficient way for buyers to cut costs is to seek the most direct path to publishers and suppliers, minimising the number of intermediaries.

From a tech perspective, the inclusion of too many hops adds potential timeouts or challenges in the inventory’s ability to connect programmatically. The more direct the path, with lesser the hops, the higher the chances of the campaign’s performance being better. This approach reduces friction, leading to better price points and improved campaign performance.

How can marketers have confidence in the quality of the supply and audiences they are purchasing for their campaigns? How can they decipher if the supply side program (SSP) offers enough support for brand safety, since many of them often work with over 20 partners?  

Brand safety is crucial. In the evolving OTT and CTV domains, a player might be tempted to skirt the right guidelines to make a quick buck. Hence, brands should work with partners who have a direct engagement with publishers, especially in the streaming space, to maintain transparency and safety. Being aware if the player is working directly with the broadcaster will help the brand also get granular details about engagement and clarification.  

Incidentally, Magnite has built its entire ecosystem around brand safety. We employ both human verification and multiple technology layers to guarantee that our inventory meets brand safety standards, ensuring content appears in appropriate environments. When working with major streaming platforms and broadcasters, having a direct relationship helps us ensure the highest quality.

A GroupM India report revealed that while cricket continues to dominate the Indian sports scene, other sports such as football, kabaddi, badminton, and athletics are increasingly establishing their influence in the industry. Why are live sports, be it cricket in India and Olympics globally, emerging as a game changer to maximise campaign performance?

Live sports, especially in India with events like the IPL and World Cup, attract huge audiences across various platforms—mobiles, TV sets, even theatres. Our research shows that 86% of respondents watch live content via streaming platforms, marking a shift from traditional TV to mobile and CTV.

By the end of 2024, 45 million Indian households are expected to watch content on the big screen, with live sports playing a significant role. Cricket has definitely been leading the advancement of live sports and its sports rights and ad volumes will continue to be big in India. But other sports are also increasing, whether it is football or the Olympics. There is an appetite for live sports across different formats and brands are eager to lean into these moments.

How can agencies and brands leverage live sports streaming to deliver impactful ad placements and engaging diverse audiences at scale?

The layers in programmatic advertising allow brands to tailor their ads to specific demographics within a larger audience, unlike traditional sports broadcasting, which reaches a general audience. With mobile being a dominant viewing medium in India, brands can leverage interactive elements like QR codes to engage viewers beyond just watching the game.  

This is a win-win for everyone. Broadcasters don’t need to solely rely on the big players to drive revenue, the smaller brands can also get involved, and consumers also benefit.

Recently, Netflix announced that it is phasing out its low-cost ad-free 'basic' subscription in favour of ad-supported plans in some countries. But can streaming platforms ensure that it does not weigh down on the viewer experience?

In a survey we conducted, 77% of consumers said they would stop using a streaming service if the ad experience wasn't good and were actually open to tailored advertising. So, a customised ad would be more relevant and appealing to them. The upside of this is obviously the brand lift, engagement and recall.

India has long been familiar with ads in the viewing experience, thanks to the free-to-air model. Big players like Disney+ Hotstar and Amazon's Mini TV have successfully integrated ads. Now, Netflix is also embracing the ad-tier model.

In the early days, there was some resistance on a global level, like in the US, where it was felt that ads shouldn't be part of that experience and people should pay for subscriptions instead. That has definitely evolved now with Hulu in the US offering ad-lite experiences. According to Hub’s 2023 ‘TV advertising: Fact versus fiction’ report, around 60% of viewers said that they would choose an ad-supported plan if it meant they would save four to five dollars monthly.

Globally, there's a growing acceptance of ads in streaming, provided the ad experience is positive. A poor ad experience can drive viewers away, as seen with excessive or repetitive ads on traditional TV channels.

How does the delay in Google’s cookie deprecation offer marketers an opportunity to lead in privacy-centric strategies? Will advertisers finally adopt contextual advertising and partner with publishers who have already built deep first-party data?

The delay in Google's cookie deprecation came as a surprise to some. However, first-party data remains crucial.

Publishers, being closer to the consumer, are better positioned to understand audience needs and preferences. Magnite supports publishers in utilising first-party data to create tailored content and advertising opportunities. Even without cookies, the quality and relevance of content provide strong signals for targeted advertising.

In a diverse, multilingual market like India, understanding content context is essential for delivering the right message to the right audience, enhancing the ad experience.