Channel 4 gets in on AI action with contextual TV ads

UK broadcaster Channel 4's progressive approach to content is seeping through to its ad strategy. While publicly-owned and touting a successful on-demand digital arm, the television company still relies on good old TV advertising for a large part of its revenue. However, gains from ad spend, which makes up about 93% of its total revenue, dipped around £40m last year as a result of a TV ad market decline of 3%. To offset this, Channel 4 has been working to make its ad spots more effective and accessible to a wider pool brands without making its programming more ad-laden, and has turned to advertising technology as a possible solution. Currently in trial and dubbed'Contextual Moments', the broadcaster has unveiled AI-driven ad tech that allows brands to target nuanced moments and scenarios within a programme, and place a relevant ad within the following break.