One big takeaway from the 2017 Digital Content NewFronts on which both buyers and sellers can agree is that \u201cWhat we\u2019ve been calling digital video has now become a completely mainstream consumer medium,\u201d notes Randy Rothenberg. \u201cThe industry is at a complete inflection point. We know that this is big not in the future but right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
The President and CEO of the Internet Advertising Bureau sees that inflection point supported by two main tent poles, he explains in this interview with Beet.TV. The first is that over-the-top video viewing in the living room is attracting all demographics, and that \u201ceverybody wants to be in\u201d on the mobile video craze.<\/p>\n
Among Rothenberg\u2019s observations is the gratifying number of marketers at this year\u2019s NewFronts events. He cites a Chicago contingent from Conagra and Starcom along with \u201cwhat appear to be hundreds of primary buyers in this room now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked about the scope of the NewFronts, given its inexorable expansion year after year, Rothenberg<\/a> dismisses headlines about companies dropping out of the festivities. The only year companies did not drop out was the very first year.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve said from day one this is a marketplace. It\u2019s not for everyone. It\u2019s going to be right for some, right for others and they should deal with it in different ways,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n