Observed Signal · Nov 6, 2025 · Interview · Source: VideoWeek · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
Broadcasters Must Unify Inventory to Win Ad Spend
An interview with Dirk von Borstel, Managing Director at Virtual Minds, argues broadcasters must unify their linear TV and connected TV (CTV) inventory and ad propositions to win back ad spend migrating to other media. While CTV offers new opportunities, it lacks the scale to compete with major platforms on its own. German and Austrian examples show that effectively combining linear and CTV offerings enables broadcasters to better compete for ad budgets. The discussion also notes that tech companies can play a significant role in consolidating reach across broadcasters, underscoring the need for an integrated ad-tech stack. Filmed at TV Rise 2025 in Lisbon, the interview frames cross-channel strategy as a key driver of broadcaster monetization in a converging video ecosystem.
Industry trend discussion on unifying linear TV and CTV inventory to win ad spend.
Track Virtual Minds Signals & Market Shifts in Real-Time
Polaris7 autonomous intelligence agents track regulatory filings, primary sources, executive changes, and deal flow 24/7. Create your free Explorer workspace to monitor these entities.
Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Dirk von Borstel is Managing Director at Virtual Minds.
- Broadcasters should unify linear TV and CTV ad propositions.
- CTV alone lacks the scale to compete with large platforms.
- Germany and Austria show benefits when broadcasters combine linear and CTV offerings to win ad budgets.
- Interview was filmed at TV Rise 2025 in Lisbon.
Connected Companies & Entities
1 Entity mappedRelated Market Signals & Shifts
Recent verified developments and strategic activity across this market segment.
Navigating the Fragmented Connected TV Advertising Landscape
Connected TV (CTV) is growing but remains fragmented across streaming services, mediatheques, video platforms, broadcasters, device makers, and operating systems. The ad ecosystem behind the TV screen involves many players, with legacy sales structures colliding with new platform logics, prompting questions about who will lead and who can be trusted. Industry voices from PubMatic and Virtual Minds argue that no single actor currently holds all the leverage, while tech providers are well positioned to consolidate inventory across platforms. Traditional broadcasters and publishers remain trusted sources for premium inventory, and cooperative distribution can enable scale and standardization. Platforms and device manufacturers are gaining importance by aggregating audiences and leveraging first-party data and ad infrastructure, though transparency and potential conflicts persist. Programmatic trading is increasingly the norm for CTV, often via Private Marketplaces or curated deals, with ongoing work on cross-inventory measurement and the convergence of CTV with linear TV and retail media.
European netID Exec Discusses Deterministic IDs and AI's Impact
In an interview, Daniel Dagehus, CTPO of the European netID Foundation, discusses the evolving role of deterministic identifiers in the open web. He argues that while AI and probabilistic models are useful for planning and simulation, deterministic IDs remain essential for campaign activation and delivery to real people across devices. netID has integrated with major ad tech platforms, including The Trade Desk, enabling advertisers to target deterministic segments. Dagehus emphasizes the importance of publisher login relationships to maintain direct user contact and independence from tech providers, especially as AI chatbots change the customer journey. He also highlights FedCM as a standard that can simplify logins and support publisher strategies for direct audience relationships.
Virtual Minds: Building Interoperable Operating Model for Total Video
Virtual Minds argues that true convergence between linear TV and CTV advertising requires an interoperability layer rather than replacing existing systems, preserving the strengths of each environment. Managing Director Ricarda Jebsen and Business Development Manager Max Deyerl highlight that while audiences already consume video seamlessly, planning and measurement remain siloed. The company cites progress in Austria, where broadcasters under JIC AGTT have adopted digital buying logic, CPMs, and real-time HbbTV signals (Teletest 2.0) to optimize linear TV via Virtual Minds' Media Manager. The approach aims to extend this model to all video channels, including mobile and DOOH, and emphasizes that AI will only improve workflows if data silos are integrated first. Virtual Minds advocates for industry-wide collaboration to establish common standards and avoid fragmentation, positioning its infrastructure as the solution for a converged 'Total Video' operating model.
Track Real-Time Market Signals & Shifts
Set up custom watchlists to receive automated, evidence-grounded executive digests whenever material signals or shifts occur across your tracked landscape.