Addressing the addressable challenge

Opinion
The US TV ad market is growing twice as fast as that of the UK, driven by addressable budgets. We need to emulate its initiatives here to drive growth.
The US television advertising market is experiencing rapid growth, expanding at more than double the rate of that in the UK — at 8% compared with the UK’s 3.8%.
This growth is primarily driven by the adoption of addressable and connected TV (CTV), whereas the UK still relies heavily on traditional TV trading models. The UK is at risk of missing out on approximately £250m in potential revenue annually due to its slow adaptation of these evolving commercial TV models.
Tess Alps once stated “Television is not dead, it’s having babies”, suggesting a future full of innovation and growth. Today, those “babies” — emerging forms of TV — are growing, but the UK has yet to develop the infrastructure and commercial models to support their full maturity.
Meanwhile, the US is making significant strides. Broadcasters are rapidly launching streaming platforms and addressable advertising is now a cornerstone of the US TV ad market.
Digitally focused US brands are embracing CTV for its data-driven targeting capabilities and its performance results. Additionally, the US has built a strong support system for this new ecosystem, exemplified by the success of the Go Addressable initiative — a cross-industry marketing body funded by 10 major supply-side operators.
This body promotes best practices, research and standards, helping to grow addressable advertising and drawing attention from advertisers eager to use their first-party data effectively.
In contrast, the UK still trades TV ad inventory using outdated systems based on share and broad audience metrics. This model is ill-suited for a data-rich, addressable advertising environment.
The skills and technology required for successful addressable campaigns are not integrated into traditional TV departments or even typical digital agencies. While it might seem logical for addressable TV to fall under digital agencies, it occupies a unique space — offering the brand safety and audience quality of traditional TV, but with the precision and measurability of digital channels.
The US is already addressing this challenge. Comcast’s Universal Ads platform, built on the FreeWheel adtech stack, aims to simplify buying, scaling and measuring TV ads in a way familiar to digital marketers. This convergence is echoed by Thinkbox’s Elliott Millard, who noted that platforms like ITVX, Sky AdSmart and Netflix’s ad tiers offer targeting on par with social media but in safer, better-regulated environments.
However, measurement and market complexity remain challenges. While ITV, Channel 4 and Sky have made a start by launching a joint ad marketplace, initiatives like Origin and Lantern don’t yet fully include VOD.
Effective addressable advertising requires new skillsets, tools and dedicated units that bridge traditional TV and digital expertise.
Addressable AV will challenge long-standing beliefs about TV advertising, especially theories built on mass reach like those from Les Binet and Peter Field or the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute. Fragmented viewing is forcing brands to shift from broad communication to focused targeting.
To unlock its full potential, the UK must create a marketing body akin to Go Addressable, sitting alongside Thinkbox, to champion best practices, educate stakeholders and guide the growth of addressable TV.
Without it, the UK risks falling further behind in this evolving landscape.
Charlie Makin is co-founder of Be Addressable and founder of Work It Out, and previously co-founded BLM and Pintarget
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