Well That Puts A Crimp In My TV Buys
This week SAG-AFTRA, the union representing TV and movie actors, moved to strike in solidarity with screenwriters, putting a huge crimp into fall programming. This is a pretty big deal because Hollywood actors and writers have not been on strike simultaneously since 1960. The issues are nascent and thorny – the threat of AI disintermediation looms large – so, a speedy resolution seems unlikely. What happens with all the upfront programming? Your guess is as good as mine. The strike will initially funnel more viewers to streaming for comedy and dramas, because that content is filmed far in advance; it will likely be 2024 before the strike is felt for streaming services. In the meantime, linear TV buyers will shy away from prime programming. Look for ratings increases in sports and news. YouTubeTV couldn’t have bought the NFL Sunday Ticket at a better moment.
“In a report made public last month, an intelligence community panel acknowledged that the proliferation of commercially available information had begun to eclipse more invasive surveillance techniques” – WSJ
Heads Up: Geo-targeting Is About to Get A LOT Harder
There’s actually quite a bit of information marketers can leverage to find and connect with audiences using geo-data. The ability to geo-fence and geo-target means delivering messaging at a receptive micro-moment – that store you just entered has a coupon available. But there’s other information – like the address you visit every day from 9 am to 5:30 pm is likely your office; the frequency with which you visit Saks department store implies a certain income and brand preference; etc. If marketers can’t use cookies, the next best data set is geolocation. Geolocation is, at minimum, a crucial data point in a behavioral algorithm. Accessing this data has been easy, since consumers enable mobile geo-location a lot, exchanging privacy for convenience. But, increasingly, there are groups outside of marketers buying that data, namely, law enforcement and governmental agencies. And there are progressive groups – think reproductive rights – who don’t want their travels documented. Massachusetts, with its reputation as a progressive state, is the first in the nation to propose outlawing the sale of geolocation data, and requiring law enforcement to obtain a warrant. The Ubers of the world can still use consumer geo-location – they just can’t sell it. The passage of the Location Shield Act looks pretty good, with the Massachusetts Senate’s majority leader sponsoring it. This would be the first in the US, but like California with emissions, the state dominoes would fall, dismantling a billion dollar industry. And making geo-targeting really, really challenging.