Brian Wieser on why the TV networks may just want to sell to Walmart or Amazon

And why he's not bullish on addressable TV

TV advertising is in a tough spot.

Not only is the audience for linear TV shrinking, but the broader ad industry is increasingly focused on performance. And for better or worse, that has not been an area of focus, or perceived strength for TV.

So should the TV industry consider something radical, such as outsourcing some of its ads sales to performance-advertising experts?

That’s just one of the many interesting ideas raised by analyst Brian Wieser, who joined me on my podcast this week.

Wieser, who runs his own sustack/consultancy Madison and Wall, floated the idea that maybe TV networks should partner up with top retailers, but not in the way you might expect.

“Take television. we can argue that it’s a really effective performance-based medium. It's just not the way it was mostly sold,” he said.

“I think there's a lot of product evolution that needs to happen to become a credible seller of retail media for lack of a better characterization. And I think that also means partnering more aggressively with more, with sellers….”

“A Walmart or an Amazon has more credibility selling performance on any given medium than a TV network does. So then the question would be, if you're a TV network, shouldn't you just let Amazon or Walmart or any pure retail media company just buy up a whole bunch of your inventory because they could probably package that more aggressively?”

It’s a crazy idea, but maybe not that crazy. After all, many TV networks and streaming platforms are already partnering with Retail Media Networks, either looking to prove that TV ads drive real world sales, or to get people in the habit of buying stuff via their TV sets.

But actually letting big advertisers who are also major competitors become resellers - well, it could work. Yet such a move could also be perceived as a hell of a throwing-up-the-white-flag message to the market.

Of course, desperate times lead to all sorts of unexpected, maybe short-term decisions (see the new streaming players getting back into the business of selling shows to Netflix). Maybe it’s wise for TV to focus on what it’s good at and get help where it needs it.

Then again, TV has invested tons in proving that in a streaming era, it can be just as trackable and accountable as digital advertising. So far, that investment hasn’t stopped the loss of dollars in the medium overall. Wieser for one, is not a big believer in addressable TV in its many forms.

“It's fallacy,” he said. “I say this as someone who, you know, was a cable analyst in the year, years 2002 and 2003. I was fascinated by this opportunity from advanced TV or whatever they were calling it at the time and the possibilities of addressable advertising…What I don't think enough people in the advertising industry appreciated was that was like the 10th thing [most cable companies] was talking up. Like there were like nine other priorities that were way more important.”

One would assume that addressable TV has climbed the ladder of importance at many TV companies of late. Yet there are often bigger fish to fry, such as debt, and the future of movies and theme parks and streaming wars to keep fighting. Maybe ad sales feels like something where it’s worth taking more fliers on than you might have in the past.

For example, let’s say David Ellison snatches up Paramount. Why not shake things up? This is an era where many once-unthinkable moves are being considered in the media business.

In the meantime, take a listen to hear Wieser’s take on so many other aspects of the media business, including gaming, shoppable TV, and the post-cookie world.

I’m just about to leave CES, so this is all I have left in my brain at the moment. Back next week…