Dish Media is the latest to tap BrightLine for interactive connected TV ad formats, making two new advanced advertising products available on its Sling TV streaming service under a new partnership announced Tuesday.
Under the partnership, virtual MVPD Sling TV is bringing on In-Stream Interactive and Dynamic Addressable formats from BrightLine. The advertising vendor already powers interactive ads for major streamers, cable networks and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services of smart TV OEMs including Samsung and Vizio.
As for Sling TV’s new formats, In-Stream Interactive ads include versatile scrollers and simple games and trivia, while Dynamic Addressable feature tailored creative units based on a viewer’s specific location.
One of the major benefits the partners cited is the ability for advertisers to gauge whether their TV campaigns are driving incremental results, alongside interactive ad units that prompt viewer action and enable more measurable results on aspects like brand awareness and purchase intent.
“As a leading streaming platform, our goal is to provide our SLING advertisers with the most effective, full-funnel ad solutions that allow for optimal targeting,” said Dave Antonelli, vice president of Sales at Dish Media, in a statement. “Our first-party subscriber data coupled with Brightline’s suite of personalized ad experiences is another opportunity for our brand partners to achieve better attribution and guide consumers further down the marketing funnel.”
In announcing the partnership, BrightLine cited recent internal research that found dynamic CTV ad inventory delivered a 126% purchase attribution rate and a 3.5% lift in purchase intent.
It also follows earlier BrightLine research that found consumers have an appetite for interactivity and desire for new ad formats, with 75% of respondents stating a preference for interactive TV ads over a standard commercial. And 85% of viewers agreed they “prefer ads that feel personalized or localized.”
“There’s a growing appetite for dynamic ad units that allow advertisers to engage directly with their audience and deliver more than a traditional TV commercial, " said Michael Bologna, chief accelerator at BrightLine, in a statement. “We’ve partnered with Dish Media to expand the possibilities for CTV advertisers and provide viewers with the most dynamic, effective, and measurable ad experience available.”
The Sling TV virtual MVPD offers a cable-like lineup of streaming TV channels and among others competes with the likes of YouTube TV and Hulu + Live TV. Sling TV marked quarterly growth in the last period, gaining 117,000 net additions in Q3. However, that growth slowed considerably compared to the prior year quarter and its base stands at 2.12 million, compared to the 2.41 million subscribers it had as of Q3 2022.
Sling TV also lagged far behind competitors in terms of subscriber growth in Q3, when YouTube TV added an estimated 600,000 subscribers for a total of 6.5 million and Hulu + Live TV added 300,000 for a total of 4.6 million, per Leichtman Research Group. Sports-centric vMVPD Fubo also outpaced Sling TV subscriber additions in Q3, adding 310,000, in the period, but its base of 1.47 million still trails the Dish-owned vMVPD service.
BrightLine, meanwhile, has marked traction for its interactive CTV ad experiences. Among other clients it counts are A&E Networks, AMC Networks, NBCUniversal, Fox, and Hulu, as well as Roku, Apple, and Amazon.
Earlier this month the vendor debuted its new Accelerator PTM (Pedal to the Metal) offering, a suite of ad units that includes a collection of new formats to be released quarterly.