Last week, Angela Mertz represented EGG Group at the Cynopsis & AdExchanger Convergent TV World Conference. In her own words, Angela relates her overall experience of this conference as well as noteworthy observations and takeaways. The Convergent TV World Conference I kept coming back to a simple tension that showed up in a lot of the conversations. As an industry, we talk constantly about fragmentation. Consumers don’t. They’re just turning on the TV, landing on a home screen, watching YouTube on the big screen, gaming with friends on Roblox, or scrolling through TikTok and Instagram. And yes, consumers can absolutely feel overwhelmed by all the choices. But even when the experience feels fragmented to them, they still are not seeing the full complexity happening behind the scenes on the buying side. That gap between what consumers experience and what buyers must navigate came up repeatedly during the event. I also had the opportunity to participate in the ‘Reverse Pitches’ panel, where buyers share candid feedback directly with platforms and technology partners. It was a refreshing format which gave those who build the tools a chance to hear firsthand about the challenges buyers deal with every day, from fragmentation and measurement to added value and transparency. A few things stood out to me from the all the discussions: Convergent TV is About Systems, Not Stitching Channels Together We often frame convergent TV as the challenge of bringing linear, streaming, and digital together. But it increasingly feels less about stitching channels together and more about building systems that manage the complexity underneath. Television is starting to behave more like the rest of the marketing stack: dynamic, measurable, and responsive. Because of this, the old ‘linear vs. streaming’ debate feels less relevant than it once did. Programmatic is a Lever and Not the Whole Strategy Programmatic TV buying came up in several conversations, but the takeaway wasn’t that everything should move there. The real opportunity is when direct and programmatic buying work together. When those approaches complement each other, that’s when TV strategies really start to unlock incremental reach and performance. Measurement and Transparency are Reaching a Turning Point Measurement continues to be one of the biggest friction points in the convergent TV ecosystem. There is increasing pressure on the industry to be more transparent about what’s modeled versus what’s truly proven. As budgets grow and clients expect clearer performance signals, those distinctions are becoming more important. AI is Touching Almost Every Part of the Stack AI was present in nearly every conversation, from creative development to contextual targeting to workflow automation. But the most interesting part of those conversations wasn’t just about efficiency. It was the bigger question: What we should automate and what still benefits from human judgment? Some Fundamentals Haven’t Changed Even with all the technological change happening in TV, some things remain constant. Television still commands attention at scale. Shared cultural moments still influence behavior. Brands still benefit from being present in environments where audiences are engaged. What’s changing is the infrastructure behind how TV is bought, measured, and optimized. For me, that’s the real opportunity with convergent TV: Building smarter systems that allow brands to navigate the complexity while still delivering meaningful results. At EGC, this is exactly the thinking behind the Precision TV approach we’ve been developing. We create a framework that brings together linear, streaming, programmatic, and data signals in a way that’s more transparent, measurable, and responsive. And judging by the conversations at Convergent TV World, it’s clear the industry is still figuring out the best way to do exactly that. — Angela Mertz, VP of Integrated Media, EGC Group
