Advertising will remain main TV revenue, says Fertig

Advertising will remain the principle source of revenue for TV and digital-terrestrial will emerge as the dominant distribution platform, according to Len Fertig, co-founder of central and eastern European broadcaster CME.

Addressing Informa’s Digital TV Central and Eastern Europe conference in Bucharest, Fertig said that 70% of the world’s population continued to watch TV over the air, mostly on the grounds of cost. “I think advertising will remain the prime source of revenue in TV [because] most people can’t afford to pay,” he said. Fertig said he believed that the simple mass-audience model would change however. “New technologies can target advertising, but the overall advertising segment of the revenue pie will hold its own,” he said.

Fertig also said he believed that digital-terrestrial TV could provide a means to deliver premium services affordably through data-casting and auto-recording on DVR boxes “at a fraction of the cost and inconvenience to the viewer than cable”.