The Case for Cross-Platform Planning in the Upfronts

What’s the difference between linear and connected TV? From marketers and publishers, the discussion often centers around differences in pricing and audience preferences. From a technical perspective, specialists point to fundamental differences in how national broadcasters deliver content through traditional transmission systems compared to the internet-based delivery models used by streaming services. Yet, for viewers, TV is simply TV. They move seamlessly from watching a new episode of a show on Netflix to tuning into news on ABC without thinking about the underlying platform.

With audiences fragmented across an expanding array of platforms — from linear TV to connected TV (CTV), streaming apps, and digital video — relying solely on traditional, siloed media buys is no longer sufficient. Today's brands must adopt a cross-platform planning approach to maximize reach, minimize waste, and drive measurable business outcomes.

Cross-Channel Planning Matters More Than Ever

With more than 91% of viewers consuming video across more platforms than ever before, siloed campaigns risk redundant spending and missed opportunities. When advertisers plan within silos — purchasing separately across linear TV, CTV, and digital — they risk duplicating impressions to the same users while failing to engage those who are exclusive to certain platforms.

In fact, a study by Symphony Advanced Media and the Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement (CIMM) suggests that significant duplication occurs across platforms, with 30% to 40% of ad viewing happening concurrently across devices, highlighting the need for cross-platform coordination to minimize wasted impressions

Building a true cross-channel TV strategy ensures that marketers can reach the broadest and most valuable audiences without unnecessary repetition. It allows brands to bridge the gaps between platforms, maximizing total reach while controlling overlap. It’s the only path to efficient reach, minimized duplication, and full-funnel performance across the TV landscape.

Balanced Optimization Across Platforms

High audience fragmentation causes another challenge for marketers - managing exposure effectively across platforms. Without careful planning, campaigns risk overexposing audiences on one platform while simultaneously underdelivering on others, leading to wasted impressions, increased viewer fatigue, and missed growth opportunities.

Without strict frequency management, the same ad can easily reach the same individual multiple times within a short window, sometimes several times within a single hour. At the same time, relying heavily on a narrow set of publishers or focusing solely on either linear or CTV risks leaving large segments of the target audience completely untouched.

Maintaining the right balance between reach and frequency is crucial. A potential customer often needs to see an ad , but repeated exposure must be carefully distributed. Over-saturating a small audience pool does not improve outcomes — it leads to ad fatigue, declining brand favorability, and inefficient use of budgets. Cross-platform planning helps mitigate these risks.

Research from the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF) shows that optimal frequency varies across platforms and that higher cross-platform exposure generally results in better campaign outcomes. In fact, according to research from Innovid, cross-platform campaigns that unified linear TV and digital strategies saw a 35% lift in message association compared to single-channel efforts .

Without coordinated planning, advertisers can bombard a subset of viewers with repetitive ads while others barely encounter the message. By distributing impressions across a broader network of publishers, across both linear TV and CTV, advertisers can:

• Control overall frequency more precisely.
• Expand incremental reach to new audience segments.
• Reduce redundancy and optimize budget efficiency.

Upfront Advertising vs In-Flight Budget Allocation

In today’s dynamic media environment, flexibility is key. Static upfront buys lock advertisers into assumptions that may not hold true as viewership behaviors shift throughout the year. According to a 2024 report from IAB, 70% of advertisers are prioritizing real-time data usage and optimization to increase efficiency and responsiveness in cross-platform campaigns.

A flexible, cross-platform strategy enables brands to optimize in-flight, by reallocating budgets toward the most effective inventory as campaigns unfold, providing the best opportunity to drive maximum outcomes.

With the right approach, advertisers can:

• Reallocate budgets dynamically to high-performing channels or publishers.
• Adjust frequency caps to avoid saturation or underexposure.
• Expand into emerging inventory where audience engagement surges.
• Improve overall cost-efficiency by investing in the media environments, delivering the highest incremental lift.

Real-time data unlocks this opportunity. Rather than sticking to a pre-set plan based on assumptions made months earlier, campaigns can be actively shaped around audience behavior, cultural trends, and actual performance metrics.

Full Funnel Measurement

Measuring the success of TV ads is no longer just about counting impressions or tracking ratings. Advertisers must adopt more sophisticated approaches to evaluating impact across the entire customer journey.

Traditional measurement models, built around broad reach and basic demographics, are increasingly insufficient. Viewers now control when, where, and how they consume content. A one-size-fits-all framework cannot capture the full complexity of modern TV engagement.

Incremental reach, frequency management, and outcome-based metrics are now essential components of a complete measurement strategy.

A cross-platform TV plan must be able to answer critical questions at every stage of the funnel:

• Awareness: Did the campaign expand brand visibility among new audiences, not just reach familiar ones?
• Consideration: Did repeated, well-paced exposure move consumers closer to engagement or intent?
• Conversion: Did the media investment drive measurable actions, such as website visits, sign-ups, or purchases?
• Loyalty and Retention: Did exposure contribute to stronger brand affinity and repeat behaviors over time?

Modern TV measurement tools allow advertisers to track incremental lift, optimize mid-campaign based on performance, and link exposures to real business outcomes, not just media delivery. By consolidating insights across linear and CTV, brands can manage frequency more efficiently, identify new growth audiences, and validate media investments against real KPIs like sales, leads, or customer growth. Outcome-based measurement is a must now. In a world of speed, convenience, and shifting consumer expectations, the brands that win are those that prove impact, not just presence.

Simulmedia’s Advantage for Media Partners

With tools like Simulmedia’s TV+® platform, it’s possible to plan investments more intelligently, activate audiences across all TV screens, and measure real business outcomes, making the Upfront not just a buy, but a part of a growth strategy.

A partnership with Simulmedia’s TV+ allows marketers to:

• plan and execute holistically, across all top publishers and networks for an omni-channel, targeted approach
• model audience behavior across channels, identifying overlap and unique reach opportunities before a dollar is spent.
• actively manage reach and frequency in real-time across linear, CTV, and digital, ensuring that no audience segment is overwhelmed or overlooked.
• reallocate spend dynamically across channels as conditions change.

By combining sophisticated technology, rich data insights, and a relentless focus on outcomes, Simulmedia’s TV+ empowers marketers to deliver smarter, more effective campaigns that drive real results.

The Future of Upfront Planning: Cross-Platform or Bust

The Upfront remains a cornerstone of the advertising industry — one of its oldest and most significant events. Refusing to participate entirely would be short-sighted, but the approach to budget allocation across channels has evolved.

Audience behaviors now demand a smarter, more flexible approach - one that blends Upfront certainty with cross-platform coverage, in-flight optimization, and full-funnel measurement.

Advertisers who rethink their Upfront commitments in the context of total audience behavior, not just program schedules, will be better positioned to maximize impact and minimize waste.