Discovery Opens Floodgate of New Streaming Ad Formats

Discovery Pause Ad Streaming Advanced Advertising
One of Discovery's Stop-Light Ads, which appear when programming is paused (Image credit: Discovery)

Discovery introduced a suite of streaming advertising formats designed to create extra engagement with viewers of the company's programming on its streaming service Discovery Plus and its authenticated app Discovery Go.

Streaming technology enables more innovative ad formats than traditional television and the new products put Discovery in the same ballpark as Hulu, NBCUniversal and Roku with ads that reward binge viewing, offer messages when programming is paused and provide opportunities to purchase products advertised from the sofa.

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For example, one of Discovery’s formats, Green-Light Ads, assures an advertiser that its ad will be the first one all viewers see for an entire day. Another format, Lime-Light Ads, makes a sponsor the centerpiece of a limited commercial environment and High-Light Ads allows one sponsor to own the first break of a show.

“Our suite of advanced advertising solutions is an opportunity for our partners to amplify their brand messages across Discovery's valuable streaming platforms," said Jim Keller, executive VP, digital advertising sales and advanced advertising at Discovery. "With these enhanced solutions, our advertisers will be able to further interact with viewers in unique and impactful ways through world-class content and premium experiences."

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Discovery Pause Ad

Discovery's version of a binge ad (Image credit: Discovery)

Streaming allows advertisers to reach a younger audience and Discovery said its advanced advertising products use a new OneGraph tool to unite audience across linear, digital and social, giving clients more reach.

Here’s how Discovery describes its new ad formats:

Green-Light Ads: A 1-day immersive sponsorship that allows advertisers to be the very first ad all viewers see on Discovery Plus.

High-Light Ads allow advertisers to own the first ad break of a show, which reduces clutter and makes brand messages more impactful.

Lime-Light Ads: A limited commercial interruption experience that puts advertisers center stage with consumers, assuring maximum brand awareness and affinity.

Stop-Light Ads interact with viewers even when they take a break from viewing. This pause ad delivers relevant messaging to consumers at the right time and place, creating an ownable, positive and entertaining viewer experience outside of the traditional ad break.

Showcase Ads: Discovery’s proprietary shoppable ad format allows viewers to take action right from their TV screen and purchase the items and products that align with our food and home show content.

Spot-Lite Ads: This sponsorship allows advertisers to reward committed viewers with an ad-free environment. Available after viewers binge three episodes in a row, Spot-Lite ads deliver the best viewing experience in exchange for the viewer’s attention.

Marquee Collections are custom curated collections that allow advertisers to select episodes from Discovery’s streaming library of over 60,000 to tell their story.

Search-Light Ads help advertisers align their message with contextually relevant content. These ads allow advertisers to match their message with the right episodes, extracting all parts of speech and multi-word expressions like ice cream, garage door, and beach trip to provide advertisers with contextual alignment on an episodic level.

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.