Continuum makes the case: linear TV's real barrier is agency economics
Large holding companies staff linear TV with dedicated national and local buying teams, specialists for cable and broadcast, and years of proprietary pricing data, according to Continuum's analysis published on AdExchanger. Independent and in-house agencies run one media buying team across every channel, so they cannot justify building the same infrastructure just for linear. Continuum, which builds an operating layer connecting inventory, pricing intelligence, workflow automation and reporting, describes its platform as a white-labeled extension of an agency's TV team, giving smaller shops the faster activation, in-flight optimization and consolidated reporting that holding companies already have.
Reach, frequency and often lower CPMs than highly targeted CTV go unclaimed when agencies avoid linear TV purely for its operational cost, Continuum argues. Streamlined workflows free agency capacity and improve margins, according to the piece, letting independent shops pitch for larger, more sophisticated accounts without hiring dedicated linear TV staff. Media planners get to weigh linear TV on the audience and pricing value it offers a specific campaign, using tools built for pricing intelligence, in-flight optimization and consolidated reporting.