Yael Milbank.
The AdNews end of year Perspectives, looking back at 2024 and forward to next year.
Yael Milbank, Magnite Managing Director ANZ
2024 has been a pivotal year for our industry, with progress in some areas and challenges in others. Looking ahead to 2025, I’m confident that the Australian market will witness three transformative developments. First, traditional boundaries between the buy and sell sides will blur further as new tools and technologies emerge. We’ll also see an intensified focus on the rollout of additional ad tiers across SVOD players. Most significantly, live sports will solidify their role as a cornerstone of audience engagement and retention, anchoring streaming strategies in the year ahead.
One of the most significant advancements in 2025 is set to be a convergence of supply and buy side technology. The traditional boundaries between buyers and sellers, who often operate with different technology partners or on different platforms, will fade as publishers and advertisers aim for more integrated and efficient workflows. Expect to see technology that bridges the gap between the two communities, like buy-side curation tools within SSPs, allowing for smoother, more direct connections.
For agencies who are seeking more control, these curation tools will allow them to manage supply and centralise their spend on the publishers they prioritise, making it easier for them to track and adhere to their commitments. For publishers, such tools will support stronger relationships with agencies and increased opportunities to strategically package their supply to meet specific agency needs. The enhanced collaboration will empower both sides to use shared insights for mutual growth, promoting more transparent, efficient programmatic deals that optimise outcomes for all involved. I consider that a win for all parties.
In 2025, we will see streaming platforms lean even further into ad-tiering strategies. Both established streamers and new entrants will evolve their ad products, presenting users with a spectrum of choices—from fully ad-free to ad-light and fully ad-supported models. This shift will further redefine viewer experiences, aligning user choice with value exchange. The strategic expansion of ad tiers will also open new revenue streams for content providers, who can capture diverse audience segments and maximise reach. For advertisers, this means greater access to premium video inventory and the ability to fine-tune targeting strategies across a varied landscape of user preferences.
Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge Australia’s unmatched passion for live sport. In 2025, this fervour will be a key driver for growth in the premium online video market. Our collective appetite for live sports content will push platforms and broadcasters to innovate to ensure seamless, high-quality streaming experiences that capture and retain audiences. This trend will shape ad strategies, with brands leveraging the guaranteed high engagement of live events to achieve greater impact. Moreover, the competition among streaming services for rights to major sporting events will intensify, influencing the investment landscape and spurring new partnerships between sports organisations and digital platforms.
Overall, 2025 promises to be a year of opportunity and advancement for many sectors of our industry.
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