Opinion
Supporting traditional TV isn’t about nostalgia – it’s a good advertising strategy
If we believe in telling Australian stories, we need to back the media that brings them into our living rooms. Luke Smith from Pubmatic explains.
The long-term strength that brands gain from advertising on TV is under threat. Not because of technology. Not because platforms are changing. And not because audiences are leaving broadcast. The real threat is a race to the bottom on price.
If buyers are evaluating premium TV through the lens of short-term metrics like completions or views and then benchmarking it against the lowest possible CPMs from social or UGC platforms, they’re missing out on real, measurable business value. And by the time that becomes clear, the campaign may already be under water.
In times of economic uncertainty, strong brands don’t just survive. They lead. And in Australia, where competition is fierce and consumer confidence is fragile, one thing still holds true: the stronger your brand, the less you need to rely on discounts to compete.
That’s why branding channels still matter. And why professionally produced TV – across broadcast, digital, and streaming platforms – continues to play a vital role. Free-to-air. BVOD. AVOD. These environments still deliver attention, trust, and emotional connection at scale. They help brands land a message in a way few channels can.
The even better news? There’s real goodwill in the Australian market to support premium content. Buyers, agencies, and marketers all publicly acknowledge its value. But in the background, that support is often undermined by procurement processes that are focused on satisfying auditors rather than delivering effectiveness. And it’s no longer just a quiet concern in planning sessions. It’s showing up in negotiations. Instead of asking “Does this deliver the outcomes needed?,” the statement made becomes “the auditor claims the CPMs should be cheaper.”
Having spent a decade of my career at the Seven Network in both linear and digital, and now at PubMatic in an APAC role, I’ve seen that sentiment grow. I believe competition is good – but only when it’s on a level playing field. Despite strong support for local content and local publishers, negotiations would often come down to one thing: price.
I remember one instance where we were asked to match the CPMs of a social platform running six-second, user-generated videos with no moderation and no context. Meanwhile, we were offering 30-second ads in high-production, prime-time programming. The comparison didn’t make sense — but it was becoming standard.
I’ve seen what UGC serves up to my kids, and we need to remind ourselves that production values matter and there is a cost to creating quality content.
And we’ve already seen what happens when the industry stops comparing like for like. Globally and closer to home across APAC, I’ve seen instances where premium publishers have responded to what the market said it wanted. They opened supply, leaned into programmatic, and looked to meet demand. But in the process, buyers shifted more budget into social, drawn by simple metrics and cheaper inventory. The quality of premium content didn’t change – but pricing expectations did. And now, many in that region are working hard to reset the narrative and reclaim the value of premium.
Let’s not make the same mistake here. Completion rates and CPMs are useful – but they aren’t the full story.
Where your ad shows up, and the context it’s seen in, changes how people feel, think, and act. In fact, recent research from Amplified Intelligence shows that premium placements on a large screen drive a 15% uplift in brand choice compared to social platforms on mobile. That’s not nostalgia. That’s outcomes. shows that premium placements on a large screen drive a 15% uplift in brand choice compared to social platforms on mobile. That’s not nostalgia. That’s outcomes.
Agencies are still investing in premium video because the value is clear. It delivers for brands and supports the environments that matter – the ones built for attention, creativity, and results. Advertisers deserve the flexibility of programmatic alongside the impact of premium content.
If we want a thriving, diverse media ecosystem that reflects local culture, supports journalism, and provides brand-safe environments at scale, then we can’t ask the best of our ecosystem to undervalue themselves just to stay on the plan.
So, this is the call to action. Back the big screen. Back premium content. Back the environments that make brands memorable.
Because if we believe in the value of our brands, we need to back the media that builds them.
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The issue with the term “premium” is that it’s totally subjective. What the industry means by premium is effectively “professionally made”. People watch what they want and consider premium what they like. With that said it is undoubtedly true as Luke says that within the programmatic landscape and the overvalue of identity we’ve largely forgotten importance of creative in context.
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