It was great to reconnect with so many of our partners, clients, and industry peers at Advertising Week New York 2025. The conversations were bold, the energy was high, and one thing was clear — the convergence of content, commerce, and data continues to accelerate.
Below are a few key takeaways and reflections on where our industry is heading — and how TiVo is uniquely positioned to help shape what’s next.
- AI Is Here — But It’s Still Human-Led
No surprise: AI dominated the conversation. But the tone was pragmatic, not hype-driven.
Panels explored two emerging approaches: efficiency-first AI (automation of manual tasks) and agentic AI (LLM-first systems that optimize creative, audience targeting, and campaign execution).
The consensus? AI won’t replace marketers — it will amplify them. In other words, AI should take the keyboard, not the steering wheel.
AI is already transforming how we plan, buy, and measure media — but the real opportunity lies in pairing it with human insight and creativity.
“At TiVo, we see AI as the bridge between data and discovery — making every impression more relevant, not just faster.” — Cara Hathaway, VP Product Management, Monetization, TiVo.
- Audience-Based Buying Is Back — and Stronger Than Ever
The industry is once again shifting from incremental reach to audience-based buying, prioritizing precision and relevance over raw scale. Advertisers want to understand who they’re reaching, not just how many people.
This aligns perfectly with our roadmap at TiVo. With data across IPTV and TiVo OS devices and the ability to integrate with industry-standard ID frameworks, we’re well-positioned to enable audience-first activation in a privacy-compliant way.
“Advertisers don’t want more impressions — they want more intention. That’s where TiVo shines.” — Craig Chinn, SVP, Advertising Sales, TiVo.
- Retail Media and First-Party Data Partnerships on the Rise
Retail media continues to gain momentum, expanding its footprint across the convergent TV ecosystem.
Marketers now want to match their first-party data with CTV platforms to improve targeting and measure outcomes, which opens new opportunities for TiVo to connect our data-rich environments with retailer clean rooms — creating faster, more flexible integrations and better campaign performance.
- Premium Ad Formats That Perform
Amid all the talk about measurement, identity, and automation, the creative canvas still matters. Brands need formats that make people stop, notice, and engage. That’s where TiVo stands out.
Our Home Page Hero Ad (HPHA) unit was a frequent talking point during client conversations in New York — not only for its visual power, but for its performance and scale. Positioned at the very top of the TiVo home screen, the HPHA is the first impression a viewer sees — a premium placement that delivers both awareness and action in a single moment. Unlike other CTV environments that are limited to newer TV models or fragmented app ecosystems, TiVo offers a benefit that is rare in the market: unduplicated reach across millions of households. Our 200+ operator partnerships represent millions of unique households — audiences that advertisers simply can’t access anywhere else. This exclusive footprint allows campaigns to reach incremental, high-value viewers that even major OEM platforms can’t deliver.
Discussions around the home screen dominated the week, underscoring its rise as one of the most valuable touchpoints in the connected TV (CTV) landscape. As the front door to the viewing experience, it offers advertisers rare, concentrated audience reach at scale. With CTV continuing to evolve, the home screen has moved beyond experimentation, it’s now a core element of CTV-first strategies, combining the broad reach of television with the precision of digital.
- Measurement, Simplicity, and Speed Will Define 2026
Advertisers are demanding clearer, faster insights, and the message from Ad Week was consistent: simplicity wins.
Measurement across linear and streaming remains a challenge, and third-party verification partners like Kochava are becoming essential.
TiVo’s is focusing on delivery, utility, and speed in a market where agility defines success.
- The Road Ahead: Metadata, Discovery, and Convergence
If there was one theme that tied everything together, it’s that context is becoming currency.
As media, retail, and entertainment continue to converge, the industry is rediscovering that relevance isn’t just about reach — it’s about understanding what viewers care about and when.
For TiVo, this starts with metadata, which is the connective tissue between content, discovery, and advertising. Our metadata isn’t just descriptive; it’s definitive. It powers personalized recommendations, smarter search, and contextual ad placements that help brands appear in moments that matter.
During Advertising Week, we announced our new partnership with Comscore, a major step forward in enabling advertisers to access independent, cross-platform measurement. The collaboration combines TiVo’s metadata with Comscore’s advanced analytics, offering brands a more complete view of performance across linear, CTV, and on-demand platforms.
It’s another example of how TiVo continues to bridge data, discovery, and delivery — connecting the dots between what audiences watch, how they engage, and what drives results.
“At TiVo, we’re not just powering TV. We’re powering understanding — giving advertisers and audiences a clearer view of what’s relevant, measurable, and meaningful.”
— Fariba Zamani, Global, VP, Data Monetization, TiVo
As we move into 2026, that combination of contextual intelligence, metadata mastery, and measurement transparency will define the next chapter of connected TV.
In Summary
Advertising Week 2025 underscored what we already know:
- The future of advertising lies in connecting audiences and brands through meaningful, data-driven experiences.
- AI + HI (Human Intelligence) is the winning combination.
- Audience-based strategies and premium ad experiences will drive performance.
And TiVo is not just part of that future — we’re helping define it.
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