Welcome to the fourth edition of our glossary of key terms that people in the TV, streaming and digital video industry use — and, often, misuse. For as much as people continue to use OTT or to act as if CTV and streaming are interchangeable and for as much as the terms short-form and long-form feel meaningless, new terms keep cropping up that can confound and convolute any industry conversation. So here’s the latest guide to what people talk about when they talk about the future of TV.

2025 additions are marked with an *.

Advanced audiences

What it refers to: Audience targeting that goes beyond TV advertising’s traditional age-and-gender-based targeting to aim ads at audience segments based on criteria such as household income, shopping habits and interests. Also known as strategic audiences and data-driven audiences.

How to use it: Appended with the words “as opposed to demo-based targeting” (or something to that effect) — at least until the binary between broad and narrow targeting fades and it’s all just a single spectrum of addressability.

Example sentence: Sure, we could fill our inventory more easily by sticking with demo-based targeting, but we stand to make more money per impression if we start selling on advanced audiences.

AI

What it refers to: The use of artificial intelligence technology to automate aspects of the production, pre-production or post-production process for shows, movies, videos and commercials. Specifically referring to the use of tools like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, Midjourney, Runway and Eleven Labs that are capable of writing scripts, producing images and videos, as well as recreating people’s voices.

How to use it: Prefaced with “generative” to distinguish from other forms of artificial intelligence.

Example sentence: No, the Wes Anderson AI videos aren’t completely AI generated because a person still had to come up with the prompts to get the generative AI tools to create the clips.

AVOD

What it stands for: Ad-supported video on demand

What it refers to: Video programming, such as TV shows and movies, that can be accessed at any time, are available either for free or a fee, and carry ads that play before, during and/or after the program. AVOD’s distinguishing aspect is that programming is available on demand rather than requiring people to tune in at a given time.

How to use it: With care. Before the rise of FAST services, AVOD was effectively synonymous with ad-supported streaming. Then FAST services came along and split the ad-supported streaming market into two sides — similar to how traditional TV has linear channels and programming available on demand.

But the line between AVOD and FAST is blurring.

A lot of FAST services, such as Paramount’s Pluto TV, have added programming that is available on-demand and carries ads. Meanwhile, originally AVOD services like Fox’s Tubi and Roku’s The Roku Channel have added FAST channels alongside their on-demand programming libraries. In short, only use AVOD when referring to a subsection of the ad-supported streaming market to differentiate from the FAST subsection. If the distinction is unnecessary, opt for the umbrella term “ad-supported streaming.”

Example sentence: I’m only interested in buying AVOD inventory because I figure those viewers are more likely to be paying attention when my ad airs.

*Clipping

What it refers to: A form of user-generated content in which a creator or company pays people to post edited clips from the creator’s or company’s long-form video to a person’s own social accounts based on how many views those clips generate.

How to use it: Only around people who use terms like “growth hacking” and “retention editing” and “attention economy” in the positive sense. Around everyone else just marvel at how the video must have really resonated with the audience to generate all this “earned” media.

Example sentence: Look, off-record, just between you and me, and only if you’re really willing to do whatever it takes to get in that Alex Cooper tier — are you familiar with the term “clipping”?

*Co-viewing measurement

What it refers to: The count of how many people are in a room when a TV or streaming program or ad plays on a TV screen.

How to use it: With whatever asterisks and caveats and packets of salt you have available. Or at least with the word “probabilistic” in the same sentence. Because there’s currently no deterministic way to count exactly how many people were in every room in which a show, sporting event or ad aired, so co-viewing measurement is just taking some sample of viewers and projecting them across the entire audience base. You know, like panel-based measurement.

Example sentence: Of course applying a co-viewing measurement factor of 1.2X is ridiculous because there’s no such thing as 0.2 of a person, but TV measurement’s always been probabilistic.

*Creator-generated content

What it refers to: Videos that brands commission creators to produce and distribute through the brands’ own channels.

How to use it: When the CEO is constantly asking about your brand’s influencer marketing strategy, the CMO is obsessing over organic social and CFO is breathing down your neck about agency fees. Or when it’s time to give your creative agency a little extra motivation to keep your account.

Example sentence: We know your agency is using gen AI to handle some of our campaigns, so either you reflect that in the billable hours or we invest in creator-generated content.

CTV

What it stands for: Connected TV

What it refers to: TV screens that are connected to the internet. This can be either a smart TV with its own built-in operating system or a regular, “dumb” TV hooked up to an internet-connected device like an Apple TV box, Roku streaming stick or Chromecast dongle. The point is that CTV concerns the TV as a device through which people stream services like Netflix and Disney+ — it is not synonymous with streaming.

How to use it: To refer to the TV screen as an internet-connected device or to refer to the audiences, programming or ads that are accessed through an internet-connected TV screen. Consider CTV to be the TV industry’s analogue to the mobile industry’s smartphone.

Example sentence: I don’t want to watch “House of Dragons” on my laptop, so I’ll stream it through HBO Max’s CTV app.

Currency

What it refers to: The measurement metric(s) used as the basis for transactions between ad buyers and sellers. Historically, this has referred to Nielsen’s Gross Ratings Point metric that gauges how many people may have seen a brand’s ad on TV, but it can also apply to other types of measurement. For example, since Google sells search ads on a cost-per-click basis, clicks are the currency for search advertising.

How to use it: To refer to measurements strictly when a measurement is the metric dictating how much money is to be exchanged between advertisers and media companies or tech platforms.

Example sentence: I don’t care how many people saw my ad. I care how many people purchased my product after seeing my ad, so let’s use sales lift as the currency for this campaign.

*Faceless creator

What it refers to: Video creators who do not show their faces in their videos.

How to use it: To rebut someone proclaiming the importance of showing a person’s face in the first 5 seconds of a video as well as the YouTube thumbnail. Or to rebut someone who says social video doesn’t have a “made-for-advertising” problem.

Example sentence: Was BuzzFeed’s Tasty, with its “hands and pans” format, the original faceless creator?

FAST

What it stands for: Free, ad-supported streaming TV

What it refers to: Streaming properties that resemble linear TV by carrying channels that air 24/7 based on a set programming schedule, are available for free and feature ads that interrupt the programming.

How to use it: To refer to the subsection of the ad-supported streaming market that mimics pre-DVR broadcast TV. The term FAST can be applied to the services themselves or to individual 24/7 channels that the services carry.

Example sentence: I don’t feel like figuring out what to watch. Just put on a FAST cooking channel so we can start eating.

In-stream video ad

What it refers to: Video ads that are served within a video that a person signaled intent to watch. Examples: pre-roll, mid-roll and post-roll ads.

How to use it: With the words “consumer has requested” firmly memorized so that when someone questions why a pre-roll ad in an autoplay video doesn’t count as in-stream, you can explain the core difference.

Example sentence: We charge more for in-stream video inventory because people are more likely to be paying attention to those ads.

Long-form video

What it refers to: Videos that are more than 3 minutes long and published on horizontal video platforms like YouTube, Facebook and streaming services. Basically any video that doesn’t qualify as short-form video.

As mentioned above, for years long-form video implicitly meant TV-length or longer videos. But then platforms like Vine, Snapchat and TikTok have pulled at the other end of the video spectrum to make 10-minute-long videos feel relatively long. And some TikTok creators even consider plus-60-second-long videos to be long-form. That line of delineation is reinforced by YouTube’s TikTok clone Shorts capping video lengths at 3 minutes, implying that YouTube considers 3 minutes to be the threshold between short-form and not-short-form, which we’ll call long-form (at least for now).

How to use it: With context. Same with short-form video, which is not the same as long-form video.

Example sentence: My long-form video strategy is stitching together a bunch of my TikToks into one video and zooming in to fill the screen horizontally so they look like an episodic TV or YouTube show.

*Micro-dramas

What it refers to: Serialized, scripted short-form vertical videos.

How to use it: With as straight a face as you can muster for the inevitable “You mean Quibi?” and with evidence at the ready for how this content category has exploded in China and how there are people in the U.S. spending $20 per month to watch these snack-sized shows. And how cheap they are to produce compared to traditional entertainment.

Example sentence: If they had called them micro-dramas instead of “quick bites,” maybe Quibi would still be around.

MVPD/Virtual MVPD

What it stands for: Multichannel video programming distributor

What it refers to: The leading candidate for worst acronym in the industry refers to pay-TV services — e.g. cable and satellite TV services — with “virtual” specifying the streaming versions, e.g. Sling TV and YouTube TV. MVPD is actually a fairly accurate acronym — these services distribute multiple channels that feature video programming — but so do FAST services these days, and the primary distinction between the two is that people have to pay for MVPDs.

How to use it: Don’t. Say “pay TV,” “pay-TV service/provider” or “streaming pay-TV service/provider.”

Example sentence: MVPD sounds like a disease. Do you mean pay TV?

OTT

What it stands for: Over the top

What it refers to: The method of distributing TV shows outside of — or, over the top of — a cable box or satellite dish. At least, that was the original definition. This acronym was introduced to describe TV networks making their programming available on their websites and other digital properties. Eventually, that included Hulu, which was one of the pioneering streaming services and likely a major reason why OTT has become synonymous with streaming and conflated with CTV.

How to use it: Don’t. Repeat: Do not use this acronym. Please. OTT was fine for a time, but that time has passed. As mentioned above, OTT has become synonymous with streaming, so let’s just say streaming instead. That way our friends and family members will know what the hell we’re talking about.

Example sentence: Remember when we used to say OTT? I’m so glad we all just say streaming now.

Out-stream video ad

What it refers to: Video ads that are served to a person who has not signaled intent to watch a video. Examples: standalone video ads that appear within written content, pre-roll ads attached to a video that plays automatically but that is not the primary content a person requested.

How to use it: Same as in-stream video ad explanation.

Example sentence: I can hardly even read the articles on that publisher’s site because of all the out-stream video ads popping up on the page.

Short-form video

What it refers to: Videos that are published on vertical video platforms like TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts — and somewhat short in length. If that sounds squishy, that’s understandable. So let’s spend a lot of time talking about the category of videos that are supposed to be concise.

For years, “short-form” referred to videos that were shorter than half-hour TV episodes and typically meant 10-minute-or-less YouTube videos. Then YouTube creators started making 10- to 20-minute-long videos, which begat the term “mid-form video.” Then Snapchat created a market for sub-10-minute-long vertical videos, and TikTok shrunk the market even more with sub-60-second-long vertical videos.

Because nothing can ever be so straightforward, TikTok and Instagram have been blurring the definition of short-form video by extending TikTok video lengths to 10 minutes and Reels to 20 minutes. Even YouTube Shorts can be less-short at 3 minutes. But rather than saying, “Screw it. It’s all video,” and sacrificing any shorthand for delineating among different video formats, let’s use the vertical format as the primary filter and use the 3-minute marker as a loose criteria.

How to use it: With context. If it isn’t already clear, “short-form” is a relative term. A TV or streaming show producer may consider any YouTube video to be short-form, whereas a TikTok creator may consider any YouTube video to be long-form. So rather than use the term “short-form video” on its own, it’s good to cite an example at the same time.

Example sentence: Our short-form video strategy right now is cutting clips from our TV shows and YouTube videos and reformatting them vertically to post to TikTok.

SSAI

What it stands for: Server-side ad insertion.

What it refers to: A method of programmatically attaching ads to a video when a stream is initiated, as opposed to waiting until an ad break to make the request. Also known as dynamic ad insertion and ad stitching.

How to use it: When someone marvels at the minimal lag when a streaming service cuts to an ad break.

Example sentence: Remember when streams used to buffer before a mid-roll ad would play? SSAI has minimized that latency. [Pause for those listening to marvel at the insight and perhaps cheer].

TV

What it stands for: Television

What it refers to: 1) The large screen(s) in people’s homes through which they watch video programming, ranging from live sports to sitcoms to movies to clips of cats. 2) The video programming that people watch on screens, including, but not limited to, the large screen(s) in their homes.

How to use it: To reflect the convergence between traditional TV and streaming. If a piece of programming can be watched on a TV screen, then it’s TV. Someone who watches a piece of programming or an ad on TV is a TV viewer. An ad that plays on a TV screen is a TV ad.

Admittedly, expanding TV beyond the traditional definition is going to take some time, especially with TikTok having a CTV app so that short-form video can also be considered TV. But if the annual upfront negotiations in recent years are any indication, that broader meaning is gaining traction, especially with YouTube having overtaken Netflix to lead TV watch time among streamers.

Example sentence: I’m gonna go watch TV now.

VAST

What it stands for: Video ad serving template

What it refers to: IAB Tech Lab’s framework for attaching information — such as pricing, placement type and creative identifiers — to video ad impressions. Think of it as being like a digital dog tag or microchip for video ads.

How to use it: In appropriate company, such as once another member of the conversation has used the words “bid request.”

Example sentence: If our DSP doesn’t update to VAST 4.3 and add support for the Creative ID framework, we’re gonna drop them.

*VTuber

What it refers to: Video creators who use virtual avatars, instead of their physical identities, to represent themselves in their videos.

How to use it: With your guard up because the quality of generative AI video tools like Runway have made it really easy to become a VTuber. At the same time VTubers predate generative AI, are among the most popular accounts on platforms including Twitch and YouTube and have effectively created their own mascots, which can make for valuable intellectual property.

Example sentence: No, VTubers aren’t faceless creators because they are showing a face, just not their real one.

What we’ve heard

“When our team read the brand’s newsletter, they saw that the brand used the influencers’ image in their newsletter, but it wasn’t part of the agreement.”

— The CEO of a U.S. influencer agency

Numbers to know

$12.99: The new monthly subscription price for Apple TV+, a $3 increase.

$50 million: How much money CBS News is reportedly losing per year.

$6.3 billion: How much revenue TikTok generated in the U.K., Europe and Latin America in 2024.

$20: Monthly subscription price for vertical video apps that specialize in micro-dramas and that people are actually paying for (R.I.P. Quibi).

What we’ve covered

Confessions of an influencer marketer on brands misusing creator content:

• The CEO of a U.S. influencer agency said a non-U.S. swimsuit brand used an influencer client’s likeness beyond the agreed-upon terms.
• The brand ended up offering a longer contract at better terms to make up for it.

Read more about influencer marketing here.

What Blue Apron’s move to in-house its influencer marketing strategy says about the creator economy:

• The meal kit delivery brand is in-housing its influencer marketing to cut costs and speed up campaigns.
• Blue Apron is looking to build closer relationships with more than 100 creators.

Read more about Blue Apron here.

Ignoring political noise, TikTok works to shore up place in organic social hierarchy:

• The platform’s Market Scope tool is meant to give brands a way to monitor paid and organic content in a single dashboard.
• The tool is only available on a invite basis in the U.S. and Europe at the moment.

Read more about TikTok here.

CTV looks to invest in creator content to win over more ad dollars:

• Tubi, Samsung TV Plus and Netflix are loading up on videos from creators.
• Advertisers are treating the inventory as discount premium video that satisfies demand for working with creators and running on CTV screens.

Read more about CTV creator content here.

Marketers increasingly pressured to show their creator spend is worth it — with harder metrics:

• Ad executives say creator content is boosting advertisers’ businesses but are hard-pressed to prove it.
• Brands are evaluating creator campaigns against customer acquisition and conversion counts.

Read more about marketers’ creator spend here.

What we’re reading

MLB’s new rights holders on deck:

NBCUniversal and Netflix are rounding home on deals to air Major League Baseball games, with the former on deck to pay $200 million per year and the latter to shell out $35 million a year to stream the “Home Run Derby,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

Netflix’s AI guidelines:

The streaming service has published a 1,900-word document outlining its rules around generative AI being used in shows and movies, which basically limit — but not forbid — the use of generative AI for content that appears on screen in the final product, according to StreamTV Insider.

Streaming’s rebundling:

People are increasingly subscribing to streaming services through third-party sellers, a behavior that resembles the traditional cable TV bundle as more streaming services pop up and their prices go up, according to The New York Times.

YouTube’s AI editing:

The Google-owned video platform has been using AI to adjust creators’ videos, such as by changing videos’ clarity, without notifying the videos’ creators, according to BBC.

Stability AI’s Hollywood charm offensive:

The company behind Stable Diffusion — one of the early image-generating AI tools — is trying to cozy up to the entertainment industry under its new-ish CEO as rivals Runway and Moonvalley attempt to do the same, according to Wired.