The 13 Most Important Things TV Execs and Insiders Learned in 2024

It would be an understatement to say that the TV industry has changed a lot in the past year.

From increasing consolidation, plummeting upfront prices, and an ongoing fight over sports rights, streamers and broadcasters are forging ways ahead in the new era of TV. And, they’re also learning lessons along the way.

ADWEEK asked 14 TV executives, ad sales leaders, and insiders about the biggest thing they learned about the industry in 2024.

Jay Askinasi, svp head of global media revenue and growth, Roku

“Interoperability within the programmatic ecosystem has become a critical priority.

Strengthening relationships with third-party partners not only drives success for our advertisers but also elevates the entire industry. This year underscored just how increasingly important interoperability is to create a unified yet open platform that integrates seamlessly with industry standards, third-party tools, and existing advertiser workflows.”

Dani Benowitz, global and U.S. president, Magna

“Change is constant and the industry continues to be even more fragmented.”

David Cohen, CEO, IAB

“We tend to look at challenges and headwinds before we embrace opportunities. It’s time for the industry to recapture an opportunity mindset. With so much changing so fast, how can we leverage it to drive growth?

Yes, we need to stay practical, pragmatic, and balanced. But we won’t win by playing defense. It’s also time for streaming to break out of its adolescent skin and grow. I fully understand the business imperative for profit, but heavier ad loads with poor frequency caps are not a winning formula for viewers, and inconsistent measurement is not great for advertisers.”

Rita Ferro, global ads president, Disney

“Being flexible and agile to a dynamic marketplace continues to be of top priority for us. We need to remain customer focused so we did a pretty significant reorg maybe two months ago to really address the importance of being close to our customers, understanding what their goals are, and making sure that we’re delivering on all of the expectations of best-in-class partner with them. Flexibility, consistency, and how we show up is really important.”