The once-clear lines between linear and digital video have blurred, and the ad sales world is feeling the impact. Linear is no longer strictly limited to broadcast or cable television; it encompasses traditional programming, CTV, and FAST channels.

For advertisers, shifting viewer habits raises a big question: Where is my audience, and how do I reach them across increasingly fragmented platforms?

For sales teams, it means juggling multiple systems while maintaining an audience-first strategy. That's where we come in.

Let’s Break it Down

For us, convergence is really about how we choreograph ad delivery. There is a mix of delivery systems and tactics that assist organizations in getting their ad out there, and our goal is to help with the complexity of the sales process.

With Pilot®, what we envision is simple: users can build unified proposals with goals for each campaign. We break that order into its unique components, distribute them where they need to go, and then bring it all back together to measure the campaign’s full performance.

What’s driving the shift?

Change in the ad industry is inevitable. But what forces, whether technical, economic, or behavioral, are driving the more recent momentum? The answer is a steady mix of all three.

1. Economic pressure has advertisers looking for more efficient ways to stretch their budgets. A unified strategy helps sales teams align schedules with media that works harder for the investment.
2. Today’s tech landscape has raised the bar across every industry. People expect smarter tools to make their work more efficient, and media teams know there are better ways to do the job. As audiences drive the shift, the industry is not just ready for change; they’re demanding it.
3. Audience fragmentation demands smarter campaign planning and more precise delivery. According to recent data from Nielsen, 72.4% of overall TV viewing in Q1 2025 was of content that included advertising. 42% of that was streaming. That opens up a vast landscape of opportunity for advertisers.

That opportunity is not without its challenges. Take sports programming, for instance.

If you’ve tried to sell a sports package recently, you’ve felt it. Sports content that was once confined to local affiliates or regional sports networks is now fragmented across broadcast, cable, and direct-to-streaming channels. The NFL, college sports, and even MLB now offer digital-first or streaming-exclusive options.

That fragmentation completely changes how sports campaigns are built. You can no longer drop in a regional ad during a game and call it a day. Ad delivery is now heavily targeted, and it has to align with the very specific parameters of each campaign. A campaign built for linear delivery can’t simply be repackaged for streaming. It needs to be built with both in mind from the start.

What happens if the industry doesn’t adapt?

The truth is simple: the less we adapt, the more irrelevant we become.

Advertisers are moving fast, and they expect their partners to do the same. If you're not building and delivering campaigns that span both linear and digital platforms, they'll find someone who can.

On the other hand, sales teams don't have time to navigate outdated workflows or chase down disconnected data. They need systems that communicate with each other, data that can be utilized immediately, and a tech stack that can keep up.

The need for change is clear, but the tools to support it just haven’t kept pace. That’s exactly the gap we’re working to close. By building technology that bridges the gap between linear and digital, we’re helping teams not only keep up with buyers’ expectations but also stay ahead of them.

How we excel in the age of convergence

At ShowSeeker, we understand the complexity of different delivery systems. We’re building tools that help the industry move forward by meeting convergence demands. That starts with bringing linear and digital workflows into a single, unified platform, making it faster and easier to activate campaigns with the precision and automation users expect.

We're also focused on improving interoperability across the industry, ensuring that systems can communicate effectively with one another. This involves removing technical barriers between buyers and sellers, as well as investing in open APIs and data formats that facilitate more seamless exchanges between platforms.

Final Thoughts

Traditional linear TV isn’t going anywhere soon. There are still massive audiences watching high-profile programming and live sports. But with more streaming opportunities available, advertisers now have a more precise and dynamic way to reach their audiences. The real challenge is how sales teams evolve, adapt their processes, manage complexity, and design campaigns that reach audiences across every platform. It’s our job to ensure we provide the solutions that enable them to do so.