Creating a Winning CTV Strategy: Distributing Your Content

In the earlier days of streaming, it wasn’t always easy to explain what we did here at Wurl. Sitting around the dinner table with family trying to describe how “we help get the content you see on internet-connected TV devices up on screen and monetize it through ads” didn’t come out so eloquently.

As the market has matured and entered the mainstream, however, “streaming” – now a universal verb – has become second nature. The overwhelming majority of American adults use streaming video platforms, while time spent with cable and satellite services is dwindling. As a result, CTV advertising revenue is expected to grow from nearly $26 billion this year to $42 billion by 2028 worldwide, vastly overtaking traditional linear. 

With superior personalization, measurement, cost, and resonance, CTV offers streamers and publishers tremendous opportunities to monetize and market to new audiences. But, before we focus on monetizing and marketing your content, the first step is to distribute it to an audience!

Let’s dive into the key things to know about when it comes to channel distribution.

Distribution 101

“Distribution” refers to sharing your content with audiences via multiple platforms.

Let’s say you’re a FAST (free ad-supported streaming TV) channel: Once your programming is in place and ready for the big screen, you need a way to get that content in front of viewers. This is where streaming platforms (think Vizio, LG, Roku) come in. By distributing across multiple streamers, your FAST channel content reaches more viewers, which, in turn, leads to greater opportunities to monetize your ad revenue.

Understanding different streamer models for distribution

Let’s stick with the example above and say you have a FAST channel to distribute. There are currently two methods of delivery most streamers accept:

• Direct to consumer: This model involves using a technology partner to provide server side ad insertion (SSAI) – also known as dynamic ad insertion (DAI) – and, most likely, act as your CDN or “Content Delivery Network” (also known as Content Distribution Network). Simply put, SSAI is the process of seamlessly inserting ads into video content and CDN refers to a group of servers located in several places, allowing the end user to access the content quicker. Since your tech partner provides you with these services, they should provide you with a variety of dashboards and reports to track your channel’s overall performance.
• Head end: Operationally speaking, this is typically described as a more straightforward model. A technology partner would deliver a channel – however, the streamer manages CDN and SSAI. That means the reporting associated with your channel would be provided to you from the streamer directly. 

The decision of whether your channel is direct to consumer or head end delivery is usually made in the business agreement phase with the streamer. The streamer should provide you with their business terms, including the delivery standards, when you sign on and a tech provider, like Wurl, will be able to support you.

Choosing the best streamers to fit your distribution strategy

Outside of the method of delivery, the other big factor to think about is which streamers fit into your distribution strategy. There are a few high-level points to consider here:

• Brand recognition: Aim for at least one or two big-name streamers. Many smart TV manufacturers, for example, also have FAST platforms and have fairly positive adoption rates with their customers.
• Go global: Don’t just consider US distribution. With FAST, the world is at your fingertips! If you have English-language content, consider multi-language captioning to broaden your reach. While the advertising market for FAST is rather nascent right now, the viewership internationally is very high in some markets. With the viewing behavior there, it’s a good way to test the markets and see which regions resonate best with your library.
• Go big, but don’t go home… yet: Consider strategic platforms for your channel along with the big names. Gone are the days of satellite space and broadcasting equipment – so, while you should definitely think about distributing across the big streamers, you also have a bit more wiggle room to try reaching new audiences through more niche avenues.

Knowing your support partners

Now that we’ve covered the essential touchpoints for a successful distribution strategy, it’s time for you to find the right partner that can meet whatever your specific needs are. To distribute your content and get it in front of more eyeballs, partnering with a technology expert like Wurl will make it easy to connect your content effortlessly with a global network of streamers.

Global FAST Pass (GFP) Global FAST Pass (GFP) is one of the world’s largest FAST channel networks that supports publishers in building audiences quickly and monetizing their content. GFP:

• Offers secure distribution of content on any of the streamers in Wurl’s worldwide network;
• Ensures instant monetization through our programmatic ad service that maximizes advertising revenue; and 
• Delivers robust data insights on a simple, intuitive dashboard to help you grow and retain your audiences. 

By streamlining your FAST channel distribution with Global FAST Pass, you can build a broader global audience, which in turn can generate more ad impressions, boost monetization, and create more growth opportunities.

At the technical and logistics level, building out this virtuous circle with your CTV strategy is complicated. That’s why in the coming weeks, we’ll dig into monetization, high-power marketing, retention, and much more so you can put the best foot forward with your CTV strategy.