One of the most data-driven discussions at last week’s NEM Zagreb came early in the program, with a packed Emerald Ballroom hosting the panel Video Ads: Linear TV vs. TikTok, Meta and YouTube on TV. Moderated by Maria Rua Aguete, Executive Director and Technology Fellow at Omdia, the session brought together broadcasters, producers, media agencies, digital platforms and marketers to address a question that increasingly defines the global audiovisual business: what does “TV” mean in an era dominated by social video, connected devices and algorithmic distribution?

Aguete opened with stark numbers. In 2025, global entertainment revenues will surpass USD 1.1 trillion, with 70% driven by video. By 2030, video alone is expected to reach USD 1 trillion, more than half of which will come from online video advertising, including social platforms, YouTube and ad-supported streaming.

While linear TV advertising is “not dead,” Aguete noted it is becoming a smaller part of the overall market. Over the next five years, traditional TV’s share is projected to decline from 18% to 11%, while online video advertising continues to grow rapidly. The geographic imbalance is equally striking: around 70% of connected TV advertising revenues and over half of global streaming revenues are generated in the US.

Against this backdrop, Aguete challenged Europe to rethink its fragmentation. “Why don’t we create a framework to help us compete globally?” she asked, calling for greater collaboration across Eastern and Western Europe rather than continued national silos.

From a producer’s perspective, Ivan Lovreček, CEO and Producer at CGM Films, was unequivocal: “TV is not dying.” Instead, audiences have moved into a multi-platform world, where producers must think beyond episodes and series and create a full storytelling ecosystem.

Lovreček illustrated this with Sram, the Croatian adaptation of the Norwegian hit Skam. Produced for television but distributed digital-first, the series releases clips throughout the week on social platforms, before airing the full episode on Croatian public broadcaster HRT. The result is a striking split: more than 200 million views on social media, versus around 5% of viewing on linear TV — a reality driven by the show’s 16–21 target audience.

Yet, Lovreček stressed that social platforms can act as gateways to long-form viewing. “If you hook them on social, you can move some of them to long-form content, including linear TV. Not 100%, but there is potential.”

For Denis Oštir, Editor-in-Chief at VIDAA, the headline issue is not platform rivalry but the lack of a unified measurement system. Comparing social views with TV ratings, he argued, offers little strategic clarity. Without common metrics — such as total time spent across platforms — the industry struggles to define success or properly value inventory.

Oštir also highlighted how connected TV advertising has historically been undervalued by being sold as “digital” rather than broadcast, despite appearing on the same screen. In his view, premium video inventory remains significantly undersold compared to linear TV, largely due to outdated selling practices.

Agency founder Nikola Vrdoljak (404 agency) urged the industry to abandon the linear vs. digital binary altogether. Instead, he proposed distinguishing between live and on-demand viewing, regardless of device. Live TV, he argued, still plays a crucial sociological role by delivering shared experiences — from sports to Eurovision — even if those experiences now happen across multiple screens.

What remains constant is the importance of the big screen. While younger audiences consume content differently, they still gravitate towards large screens for premium experiences, a point echoed by several panelists.

From the media agency perspective, Božidar Abramović, CEO of Omnicom Media Group Croatia, described advertisers as caught between global narratives and local realities. While budgets are expanding into digital and social, many brands — especially established FMCG players — are not abandoning TV. Instead, they are layering new channels on top of existing strategies.

Digitally native brands, however, follow a different path. As Ivanka Mabić Gagić, Managing Director at Aleph, explained, global e-commerce and ad-based companies prioritize platforms that offer scale, performance tracking and direct conversions. For them, TV often comes later — if at all — once brand-building becomes a priority.

Yet even this distinction is blurring. Several panelists pointed to digitally native brands that are now investing in linear TV and even opening physical retail locations, recognizing television’s continued power in building trust and authority.

Looking ahead, the panel agreed that social platforms will continue pushing into the TV environment — but success will not come from simply repurposing content. Short-form, vertical videos do not automatically translate to lean-back viewing on the big screen.

Instead, hybrid formats may emerge: short episodic content, micro-dramas, interactive storytelling and shoppable experiences. TikTok, in particular, was singled out for cracking social commerce through TikTok Shop — a model that could have major implications if adapted effectively for TV environments.

However, the panel cautioned against assuming that shoppable TV will mirror mobile behavior. As Aguete noted, friction remains a key obstacle: what works with a double-click on a phone does not necessarily translate to remote controls and second-screen interactions.

The discussion closed on a broader strategic concern: Europe’s position in the global video economy. Panelists agreed that regulation — from prominence rules to local content protection — will play a decisive role in sustaining European producers, broadcasters and advertisers.

Yet regulation alone is not enough. As Lovreček put it, Europe “missed the train” in several technology waves and now risks becoming primarily a market of users rather than gatekeepers. Abramović added that Europe must “learn to love itself” — leveraging its diversity as a strength rather than a weakness.

In the panel’s concluding predictions, one message was consistent: TV will survive, but not as we know it. The big screen will remain central, advertising will dominate monetization, and algorithms and AI will increasingly shape discovery and distribution. Linear business models will need to evolve, but video — in all its forms — will remain at the heart of the entertainment economy.

As Aguete warned in her closing remarks, without coordinated action, Europe risks waking up to a future dominated by a single video super-platform. “Let’s wake up here in Europe,” she urged. “Let’s love Europe.”

During a concise but revealing Q&A session at NEM Zagreb on the same day, A1 International Business and UniqCast outlined how their partnership aims to remove the main barriers telcos and broadcasters face when launching OTT services. Moderated by journalist Antonija Mandić, the discussion focused on a recurring industry problem: operators want OTT platforms that are simple, affordable and available immediately.

Elena Petrova, Head of Group Content, Broadcasting and Media Solutions at A1 International Business, explained that the collaboration was born out of repeated requests from operators struggling with high upfront costs, long implementation timelines and limited scalability. In a market where user behavior and content formats evolve rapidly, she argued that projects taking one or two years to launch are no longer viable. For A1, moving into streaming was a logical extension of its long-standing technical services for broadcasters, but delivering OTT at speed required a partner capable of providing a truly end-to-end solution.

That partner was UniqCast, whose CEO Darko Robič shared the company’s origins in emerging markets and early setbacks that ultimately shaped its core strength: flexibility. Founded in 2014 around a canceled African operator project, UniqCast survived by committing to build a complete OTT ecosystem adaptable to any business model, budget or technical maturity. Today, Robič positions the company as a provider of Netflix-style streaming platforms for telcos and content owners, designed to be future-proof and competitively priced.

Both speakers emphasized that the partnership works because their strengths are complementary. A1 contributes scale, international reach and deep experience in content and broadcast services, while UniqCast delivers the platform itself. Equally important, Petrova noted, is a shared mindset focused on understanding and resolving customer pain points rather than selling technology for its own sake.

AI emerged as a central element of the discussion. Robič explained that UniqCast began developing AI capabilities well before the current hype cycle, initially through voice search and later through deeper content analysis. Today, the platform can identify moments, emotions and context within video, automatically generate personalized short-form clips and adapt discovery to user behavior influenced by social platforms like TikTok. The goal, he said, is higher engagement, better retention and new monetization models layered on top of the OTT experience.

In closing, Petrova summarized what differentiates the A1–UniqCast ecosystem: simplicity, speed and scalability. With implementations measured in weeks rather than years and pay-as-you-go models that grow alongside customers, the partnership aims to offer telcos a practical alternative to complex, costly OTT deployments. As the session ended, it was clear that the collaboration is positioned not as an experiment, but as a long-term response to how OTT must work for operators today.