The Modern Media Dictionary: Get to Know the New Terms Driving TV Ad Sales in 2025
In the rapidly evolving world of media and advertising, our industry’s language is transforming just as quickly as its technologies. To help make sense of this complex landscape, David Dembowski explores how traditional media terms are being reimagined and new vocabularies are emerging.
Understanding the Evolving Language of Media
Media is moving fast, and a lot of the terms we use to talk about media and advertising have taken on a new meaning. Consider the term “linear,” which is being used in a number of new contexts. To many digital natives, “linear” is a synonym for “old fashioned media.” Today eMarketer describes linear TV as: “TV that is programmed and watched as scheduled through a satellite or cable network. It is not streamed to a specific user on-demand.” However, that definition doesn’t tell the whole story.
Over the last decade, as content distribution channels have moved towards digital platforms, linear refers to the idea of how advertising is trafficked and scheduled with pre-sold, fixed placement programming. This concept is being more widely adapted by streaming companies who are selling advertising against live and on demand sports and event content. Despite its digital foundation, audiences are measured via third party companies like Nielsen and sold via GRPs. And the typical advertiser KPIs are around brand awareness and benefit from the mass reach and scale of broadcast networks. Today, the term “linear” describes these content experiences less the specific delivery method.
Linear is just one example of a changing term that reflects the major shift that media companies and advertisers are going through as CTV and streaming become dominant channels. The big digital streamers and traditional broadcasters are being faced with emerging audience behaviors like millions of people watching live streamed events. There are also new advertiser opportunities like selling “converged” (another new term) linear-style streaming inventory in the same proposal as programmatic or dynamic CTV. What we need is a modern media dictionary. It will be a mashup of traditional media terms, old terms with new definitions, and entirely new terms, driving the future of advertising and new revenue models.
The Modern Media Dictionary
What we need is a modern media dictionary. It will be a mashup of traditional media terms, old terms with new definitions, and entirely new terms, driving the future of advertising and new revenue models.
Going into 2025, here are the new definitions that define the modern media dictionary:
- Linear Advertising: Advertising that is trafficked and scheduled with pre-sold, fixed placement programming. Tune in- but changing because of live sports.
- Live Linear: Live streamed programming that is pre-sold with fixed placement programming instead of using dynamic, dynamic or auction-based ad sales.
- Convergence/unified advertising: Delivering a single unified proposal, having a blended product and pricing view and a streamlined, integrated workflow through IO, delivery and reporting.
- Gross rating point (GRP): Measures the size of an audience that an advertisement impacts.
- Impression: One instance of an ad shown on a specific screen in a specific ad slot.
- CTV: Connected TV refers to any television set that connects to the internet and can stream digital video content
- Streaming: Refers to multimedia for playback using an offline or online media player that is delivered through a network (Wikipedia)
- VOD/AVOD/SVOD: “Video on Demand” that can be supported by advertising (AVOD) or subscriptions (SVOD) or both.
- On Demand: A media distribution system that allows users to watch video content whenever they want
- FAST: “Free ad-supported television” streaming channels that stream traditional linear programming without a subscription.
- vMVPD: “Virtual multichannel video programming distributors” stream TV content over the internet in exchange for a monthly subscription fee.
- OTT: “Over the top” media service is a digital distribution service offered directly to viewers via the public Internet, rather than through an over-the-air. (Wikipedia)
- Ad Supported: Programming or content that includes advertising as part of the revenue model.
The modern media dictionary is a living list. It’s changing even as I write it, and we’ll need to keep it up to date to ensure we’re all speaking the same language. Digital giants, traditional broadcasters, and advertisers are forging a new path that brings the best of TV and digital into one place. Nailing the definitions that help us define that new reality are key to our long term success.