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Frequently Asked questions
TV & streaming always generates questions! And everyday, we answer all sorts of queries to help our clients better understand the TV and streaming landscape.
Below are the most popular questions that land in our inbox.
If your question isn't answered below, please reach out to our team who are always on-hand and happy to help!
Frequently asked questions
General TV & Streaming FAQs
AdPilot® FAQs
We look at what’s needed to genuinely move the needle.
There’s no point spending too little if it won’t impact your KPIs.
For example:
• A national UK campaign would struggle to be effective on £10k
• But a targeted, postcode-led campaign can generate very meaningful results
It’s about matching budget to ambition.
Yes – arguably more than ever.
TV has changed, not disappeared.
In 2026, “TV advertising” now includes:
• Broadcast TV
• On-demand platforms (ITVX, Channel 4, Sky, Amazon, etc.)
• Addressable TV (like Sky AdSmart)
•
So you get the trust and impact of traditional TV, combined with the targeting and measurement people expect from digital.
TV is still the most powerful way to:
• Build brand credibility quickly
• Reach people in a high-attention environment
• Stand out from the noise of social media
What’s changed is efficiency. Campaigns can now be:
• Highly targeted
• Launched with smaller budgets
• Clearly measured through web traffic, search uplift and sales
Digital ads interrupt people.
TV ads are chosen viewing. That difference matters.
Brands still use Meta and Google to capture demand.
They use TV to create demand.
In 2026, the smartest campaigns don’t choose one or the other. They combine both.
Linear TV is traditional, scheduled television.
It’s what TV was for decades:
• Programmes are broadcast at set times
• Everyone watches the same content at the same time
• You tune in rather than choose on demand
Examples:
• ITV live
• BBC live
• Channel 4 live
• Sky channels
From an advertising point of view, linear TV is:
• Programme-led
• Mass reach
• High impact
• Brilliant for brand building
It’s still hugely important because:
• It delivers scale fast
• It creates shared viewing moments
• It carries enormous trust
In simple terms:
Linear TV = “This programme is on now”
On-demand TV = “Watch what you want, when you want”
Modern campaigns don’t replace linear TV. They use it alongside on-demand and addressable TV to cover every type of viewing.
Sky AdSmart is fully addressable TV.
It’s the most “digital” form of TV advertising.
Instead of choosing programmes or channels, you choose households.
Your ad is only shown to homes that match your criteria, such as:
• Location
• Household income
• Presence of children
• Car ownership
• Interest categories
• In-market behaviour
Two people watching the same programme can see completely different ads.
So in simple terms:
• ITV (Live TV) = Programme-led
• ITVX = Person-led
• Sky AdSmart = Household-led
That’s what makes AdSmart so powerful:
• No wasted spend
• Perfect for smaller budgets
• Ideal for local or niche businesses
• Extremely measurable
It brings Meta-style targeting onto the biggest screen in the house, with the trust and impact that only TV delivers.
If ITVX is “digital TV with scale."
AdSmart is “precision TV with authority".
ITVX sits in the middle of both worlds.
It has the trust and scale of ITV, but the targeting and measurement of digital.
When someone watches ITV live, your ad is broadcast to everyone watching that programme.
When someone watches on ITVX, your ad is served based on who they are.
So ITVX lets you:
• Target by age, location, interests and viewing behaviour
• Run smaller, more efficient campaigns
• Measure performance more clearly
In simple terms:
• ITV (Live TV) = Programme-led
• ITVX = Person-led
• ITV as a whole = Both working together
It’s why ITV is now one of the most powerful advertising platforms in the UK:
• Broadcast TV for fame and credibility
• ITVX for targeting and efficiency
You’re not choosing between “old TV” and “new TV”.
You’re using both, through the same broadcaster.
DRTV stands for Direct Response Television.
It’s TV advertising designed to make people act immediately, not just remember your brand.
Instead of “building awareness”, DRTV asks the viewer to do something right now:
• Visit a website
• Search for your brand
• Call a number
• Claim an offer
• Buy a product
You’ll recognise DRTV because it usually includes:
• A strong call to action
• A clear offer
• A website, phone number or QR code
• A sense of urgency
For example:
“Visit our website today”
“Search for…”
“Order before midnight”
It’s highly measurable because you can track:
• Website spikes after ads
• Call volume
• Search uplift
• Sales attribution
So in simple terms:
• Brand TV builds trust and recognition over time
• DRTV drives immediate response and sales
Modern campaigns often blend both:
• Brand TV to build credibility
• DRTV to generate fast, trackable results
For businesses new to TV, DRTV is often the easiest and most reassuring place to start because you can see the impact quickly.
Connected TV (often shortened to CTV) simply means any television that is connected to the internet.
So instead of only watching live broadcast channels, viewers can also watch:
• ITVX
• Channel 4
• Sky
• Netflix
• Amazon Prime
• YouTube
• Disney+
All on their TV screen.
From an advertising point of view, Connected TV is where TV and digital meet.
It allows adverts to be:
• Targeted (like digital)
• Measured (like digital)
• Shown on the big screen (like traditional TV)
So your advert still has:
• The authority of TV
• The attention of TV
• The viewing experience of TV
But with:
• Smarter targeting
• Better data
• Clearer reporting
•
In simple terms:
Traditional TV = Broadcast to everyone
Connected TV = Delivered to the right people, on their TV
It’s why people say “TV isn’t dying, it’s becoming smarter.”
AVOD stands for Advertising-Based Video On Demand.
It means viewers watch content for free, or at a lower cost, in exchange for seeing adverts.
So instead of paying a subscription, the “price” is advertising.
Examples of AVOD platforms include:
• ITVX
• Channel 4
• All 4
• Pluto TV
• Freevee (Amazon)
• YouTube
From an advertising point of view, AVOD is powerful because:
• Ads are shown in a premium TV environment
• Viewers expect advertising (so it feels natural)
• Campaigns are highly targetable
• Performance is measurable like digital
It combines:
• The impact of TV
• With the targeting and reporting of online advertising
In simple terms:
• SVOD (Netflix, Disney+, etc.) = Subscription, usually no ads
• AVOD = Free content, funded by advertising
AVOD is one of the fastest-growing parts of TV because it gives advertisers:
• Big-screen presence
• Smart targeting
• Lower entry costs
• Clear results
FAST TV stands for Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television.
It’s a type of TV where viewers watch scheduled “live” channels over the internet, completely free, in exchange for advertising.
It feels like traditional TV… but it’s delivered like streaming.
So instead of choosing a show, you choose a channel:
• True crime channel
• Cooking channel
• Movies channel
• Sport highlights channel
• Documentary channel
And it just plays, like old-school TV.
Popular FAST platforms include:
• Pluto TV
• Samsung TV Plus
• LG Channels
• Rakuten TV
• Freevee (Amazon)
From an advertising point of view, FAST is powerful because:
• It’s big-screen TV
• It has growing audiences
• It’s lower cost than traditional broadcast
• It’s digitally targeted and measurable
So in simple terms:
• Broadcast TV = Scheduled, paid for by licence fee + advertising
• AVOD = On-demand, free because of advertising
• FAST TV = Live streaming channels, free because of advertising
FAST sits somewhere between:
• Traditional TV viewing behaviour
• And modern digital delivery
It’s another example of how TV hasn’t shrunk – it’s expanded.
Traditional ITV advertising is broadcast to everyone watching that programme at that time.
You choose the programme, the time, and the broad audience. It’s brilliant for scale, brand awareness and mass credibility.
Advertising on platforms like Amazon or Netflix is digital TV.
Your ad is shown based on who the viewer is, not what they’re watching.
So in simple terms:
• ITV = Programme-led targeting
“Show my ad during this show to reach this type of audience.”
• Amazon / Netflix = Person-led targeting
“Show my ad to this type of person, wherever they’re watching.”
Both appear on the TV screen. Both feel premium. They just work in different ways.
The smartest campaigns use both:
• ITV for reach and trust
• Streaming platforms for precision and efficiency
TV targeting today works in three simple ways, often combined:
1. By programme and channel (Traditional TV)
You choose environments that naturally attract your audience.
This is broad, powerful and ideal for awareness.
2. By person (ITVX, Amazon, Netflix)
Your ad is shown based on who the viewer is.
You can target by:
• Age
• Location
• Interests
• Viewing behaviour
3. By household (Sky AdSmart)
Your ad is delivered only to homes that match your criteria:
• Postcode or radius
• Household income
• Family status
• Lifestyle and buying behaviour
So in simple terms:
• Traditional TV finds the right environment
• Streaming TV finds the right person
• AdSmart finds the right home
Modern campaigns blend all three for maximum impact and minimal waste.
TV is far more measurable than most people expect.
We look at what changes because your advert is on air:
1. Website traffic increases
2. Search activity rises
3. Enquiries and sales grow
4. Geographic response improves
5. Timing correlation appears
If performance lifts when ads run and drops when they stop, TV is working.
For addressable and on-demand campaigns, we can also measure:
• Impressions
• Completion rates
• Reach and frequency
• Cost per response
In simple terms:
TV works when it creates measurable change in real behaviour.
It’s not about better.
It’s about different jobs.
Facebook and Google capture demand. TV creates demand.
TV:
• Makes your brand look established
• Builds trust and credibility
• Creates familiarity quickly
Digital:
• Converts interest into action
Digital ads chase intent. TV builds intent.
The strongest campaigns use both:
• TV to create interest and trust
• Google and Meta to turn that interest into results
TV doesn’t replace digital. It makes digital work harder.
Pause Ads are adverts that appear when a viewer pauses live TV or on-demand content.
So instead of seeing a blank screen or frozen frame, a full-screen static advert appears while the programme is paused.
They’re currently available across platforms like ITVX and Channel 4.
What makes them powerful is intent and attention:
• The viewer has chosen to pause
• They are still engaged
• The screen is uncluttered
• There’s no competing content
So your brand gets:
• 100% share of the screen
• Longer viewing time than a normal TV ad
• A calm, interruption-free moment
They’re also:
• Cost-effective
• Highly targeted
• Perfect for brand recall and website visits
In simple terms:
Traditional ads interrupt viewing.
Pause Ads appear when viewing has already stopped.
That makes them one of the most elegant and effective formats in modern TV advertising.
Clearcast is the organisation that approves TV adverts before they’re allowed on air in the UK.
Every TV commercial you see on broadcast television has been checked and cleared by them first.
Their job is to make sure adverts are:
• Legal
• Honest
• Not misleading
• Not harmful or offensive
• Compliant with advertising regulations
They work under the rules set by the ASA and BCAP (the bodies that govern UK advertising standards).
So before any advert can be shown, Clearcast checks things like:
• Claims and substantiation (“fastest”, “best”, “number one”, etc.)
• Pricing accuracy
• Promotions and offers
• Health, finance and legal compliance
• Tone, language and responsibility
Why they’re so important:
Clearcast protects:
• The viewer
• The broadcaster
• The advertiser
It means when your advert goes on TV, it carries a huge amount of trust.
TV is the most regulated form of advertising in the UK, and that’s exactly why it’s so credible.
From your client’s point of view, it’s reassuring:
• Their advert won’t be pulled
• They won’t face legal trouble
• Their brand won’t be damaged
In simple terms:
Clearcast is the quality control that keeps TV advertising trusted.
It’s one of the main reasons a TV advert still feels more “official” and credible than almost any other form of advertising.
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