MNTN: TV Remains the Most Powerful Advertising Platform Despite the Rise of Streaming

MNTN CEO Mark Douglas is rushing to talk investors and experts out of a common view: television is not dying, it is evolving.

TV remains the most powerful channel

Douglas insists that television is the most powerful entertainment medium on the planet. Despite the growth of streaming and audience fragmentation, TV is what sells products and shapes culture. Homes with a television watch more than three hours a day, which gives advertisers a scale that is hard to get on other channels.

Streaming opens new doors

Here is the paradox: streaming does not kill TV advertising, it develops it. Platforms such as YouTube TV, Hulu Live and Amazon Prime Video are building digital tools into the traditional format. This lets small and mid-sized companies that previously could not afford TV budgets finally reach this channel.

• Small e-commerce companies can now test TV campaigns with a smaller budget
• Local businesses get geolocation targeting
• Startups can measure ROI in real time, as in digital advertising

AI makes production cheaper

One of the main barriers is the cost of making video for TV. Douglas notes that AI tools for video production cut this cost by 70-80%, letting companies prototype and experiment faster. Instead of a month and tens of thousands of dollars on production, it takes a week and affordable pricing.

"This is a turning point.

For the first time in history, you don't need a huge studio and a huge budget to get on television."

The World Cup as a boiling point

Douglas sees the upcoming World Cup as a huge moment for advertisers. A global event when billions watch TV at the same time is a rare marketing opportunity, especially for companies that would not have risked jumping into something like this before.

What this means

Television is not just surviving, it is reinventing itself. Streaming and AI make TV advertising more accessible to mid-market businesses. If that holds true, the next 2-3 years will be decisive for advertisers who teach machines to create content for the biggest audience on earth.