CTV World Summit London 2025 was a busy, two-day conference packed with sessions put on by Ads Wanted. The conference was kicked off by 3Vision’s own EVP Jack Davison who spoke on how US studios can maximise content revenues without cannibalising their D2C offers. We recapped some of the biggest themes identified during the conference.
TV OS
Sky (Comcast)’s Katherine Wen explained how they enhance pay TV monetisation through entertainment OS including preserving traditional TV features, seamless content aggregation and discovery, flexible viewing options, and supporting on-platform purchases. She also discussed Xumo and their StreamBox, which has 300+ built in FAST channels and the ability to upsell to paid content that users can subscribe to directly in the platform. Ruwido’s Ferdinand Maier showcased their latest remote control technology in an increasingly competitive space for TV OEMs.
Live Sports
A major theme of the conference was Live Sports which is increasingly becoming a topic of discussion in OTT and FAST. Virgin Media’s David Bouchier discussed the significance of bundling their offering with streamers including Sky Sports and TNT Sports. We also heard from Till Sudworth at NPAW who emphasized latency as a key factor in making a sports offering successful on OTT. He mentioned that, for example, 87% of playtime during the 2024 UEFA Euros came on televisions, with 25% coming from OTT, proving the continuing dominance of connected TV.
FAST & AVOD
Of course FAST and AVOD were another topic of continuous discussion. Virgin Media’s David Bouchier talked about their 33 FAST channels and how they are performing well against the pay TV channels but mentioned a 50 channel maximum they will introduce. ITV’s Akhila Khanna mentioned that the viewership on their FAST channels is largely coming from audiences under 55 (two-thirds of total viewership), highlighting an area in which they can market to a much needed demographic.
Beyond TV
A unique concept brought up at CTV World Summit was how companies are looking beyond the television screen. Shahid’s Natasha Matos-Hemingway explained a case study in which they sold merchandise during Saudi National Day which was a great success. Virgin Media’s Bouchier also discussed tapping into customers through avenues beyond TV including gaming and audio - especially as younger audiences are consuming less television and more digital content. Channel Four’s Karla Berry mentioned that their goal is to have half their revenue come from digital (which they’re on track to do) - again emphasizing increasing focus beyond the TV screen.
Profitability
Of course all innovation in the CTV space is ultimately judged by one thing: profitability. BritBox’s Kerry Ball explained that over 50% of owned and operated partners (versus syndication partners) are annual subscribers which helps with churn. Dr. Malte Probst from Swiss Studios described commissioning as “audacious”. Identifying a niche crowd, like those that enjoy ‘based on a true story’ titles can then be recommended similar content to reduce churn and increase profitability. Independent analyst Ben Keen noted studios’ windowing pivots in a constant battle of trying to get the best bang for your buck when licensing out content.
The two days went by fast but the panels, sessions, and networking made for another successful CTV World Summit. You can access all of the presentations HERE.
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