Once upon a time that phrase conjured up a universal image of that box in your living room where you watched your favorite shows on a specific day at a specific time. We spent hours in front of that box. We shared our excitement over the latest Tuesday night episode of that great show the next day with all of our friends.

TV watching has been a big part of our daily lives for decades. And despite all the press about cord cutters, the drop in TV viewership and the rise of time spent with digital media, TV watching is still a huge part of our daily lives. It comprises 35 percent of all the time we spend with media.

The difference?

Our watching is no longer relegated to just that box in the living room. Nor are we constrained by time. We can watch whatever we want, whenever we want. We can (and do) even binge watch that series we missed — for days on end if we choose.

Today’s TV is time and screen agnostic.

That’s great news for us as watchers. We have more choices. We can watch anywhere. Anytime. And it’s only going to get better.
But as advertisers, things are getting real. Really complicated. Really exciting. Really fast.

Fragmentation is crazy high. But advances in TV planning and buying methods are getting better and smarter everyday. Where once we could only target through programming that appealed to a specific demo, today with things like connected TV, addressable TV and programmatic media buying, we are getting ever closer to the kind of super smart targeting we’ve now become accustomed to in digital media buying.

The future is exciting. And based on everything that is happening right now. The future is here.