Why Are Broadcasters Partnering With LG? Alex Blundell Jones (LG Ad Solutions) Media Tech Talk #43

Streaming has overtaken cable and broadcast in the United States, and the television itself has become something new: an operating system, a home screen, a bundle of free channels and an ad platform in its own right. So can a television manufacturer really compete with the broadcasters for video budgets? Daevid Richards puts that question to Alex Blundell Jones, Commercial Director, Australia at LG Ad Solutions, the person sent from London to open the Australian market from a standing start. Alex starts at the beginning, at Captify in Covent Garden, a startup selling a product nobody had sold before, which he helped take all the way through to an acquisition. He shares the three lessons he took from more than a decade there, and what it was like to lead a sales team when COVID switched budgets off almost overnight. Then to LG Ad Solutions itself: what LG Channels and the home screen actually offer brands, what FAST means, and why traditional broadcasters have started to treat it as a way to grow rather than a threat. Alex explains what travelled from the UK launch to Australia, what had to change for a market that trades CTV very differently, and why price comes up earlier in the conversation here. Daevid also asks how a TV manufacturer works with the broadcasters it might be expected to compete with, what the new prominence legislation means for free to air apps on smart TVs, how the UK licence fee applies when you watch the BBC on a smart TV, and how LG balances partner-led growth with its own direct sales team. Chapters: (00:00) Cold open: the TV becomes something else (01:52) Can a TV maker compete with broadcasters? (02:07) Welcome Alex (02:30) Captify: building a startup from zero (04:06) Three lessons from selling in a startup (05:11) Leading a sales team through COVID (06:59) What is LG Ad Solutions? (08:17) The home screen opportunity (09:10) What is FAST? (09:46) Broadcasters lean into FAST (10:22) From London to Sydney: what travelled (12:58) What had to change for Australia (13:49) CTV pricing across markets (14:39) Competitor or partner to the broadcasters? (16:05) What broadcasters are buying (17:17) Prominence legislation and the home screen (18:15) A curveball: the UK TV licence (19:17) Partners and the direct sales team (21:24) Managing channel conflict (21:51) Thanks and what's coming in Part 2 (22:41) Coming up next on Media Tech Talk 💬 Guest: Alex Blundell Jones, Commercial Director, Australia – LG Ad Solutions   / alex-blundell-jones-1bb5b836   | https://lgads.tv/ 🎧 Host: Daevid Richards –   / daevidrichards   🔗 Links: LG Ad Solutions –   / lgads   Media Tech Talk explores ad tech, digital media, AI in advertising, programmatic monetisation, audience engagement, and the technologies shaping the future of publishing. 🏷️ #MediaTechTalk #LGAdSolutions #LGAds #CTV #ConnectedTV #FAST #StreamingTV #SmartTV #HomeScreen #Broadcast #Prominence #AdTech #Programmatic #DigitalAdvertising #Podcast