The Most Underrated Ad Placement in TV Is Hiding in Plain Sight

When you turn on your TV to find the latest streaming show, have you noticed something different on your home screen? That big banner front and center that used to be reserved to promote a streamer’s newest show is now offering up a message from one of your favorite brands. And this under-the-radar spot on your TV home screen has quietly become one of the most valuable attention moments in the entire advertising ecosystem.

As you flip, scroll, compare and debate what to watch next, you spend a decent amount of time searching on this screen. Industry data shows viewers can spend up to 10 minutes in this exploration mode. That’s 10 minutes of pure, intentional attention — not dual-screening nor half-listening while scrolling TikTok. Actual attention! It’s the first impression TV viewers see, and with it comes the opportunity to shape intent before they disappear into a walled garden with limited data, expensive ad inventory or limited measurement access. For marketers and brands, it represents prime-time ad real estate without prime-time ad clutter.

Nexxen’s new CTV Native Marketplace capitalizes on this opportunity, enabling brands to reach engaged, captivated viewers programmatically. Through the exclusive partnerships we’ve built with OEMs across the industry, we’re able to offer brands something that’s hard to find virtually anywhere else: incremental reach and real attention. While other OEMs also offer similar solutions, they’re different profiles, different content habits and different economics, which means Nexxen’s solution provides true extension beyond the usual CTV players.

The opportunity becomes even more elevated when you realize the engaging creative options available on the home screen, from full-screen takeovers to auto-play video, scrollable carousels and beyond. All of these native placements feel like part of the TV – fully integrated, different from an ad placed in the middle of programming. For categories like auto, entertainment, luxury or QSR, these creative formats pop in a way you simply cannot replicate on a phone or even inside of a streaming app.

Reach and frequency amplification, as well as incremental reach, are some of the primary applications for this type of inventory. And it’s worthwhile to find partners who operate end-to-end stacks with unique data, to get consistent, clean paths to analyze what’s working and what to do next.

So, the next time you’re deciding what to watch on TV, think as a marketer who has the chance to win the room before a show even starts. Ultimately, that’s what all this really comes down to. When someone turns on their TV, they’re fully engaged for a few rare minutes – not distracted, not skipping or trapped in an app. With the right data, access and tech, brands can take advantage of this powerful moment. And the brands who understand that the TV home screen is the new battleground for attention will be the first to win.