For decades, TV advertising has been a blunt instrument—great for reach, not so much for relevance. StarHub thinks it’s time for a sharper edge. The Singapore telco has unveiled Dynamic Ad Pods, the country’s first solution that swaps out ads in real time inside live broadcast TV channels. In plain terms: two households watching the same football match may now see entirely different commercials.
That’s a first for Singapore, and it could reshape how advertisers think about live programming.
Why It Matters
Until now, connected TV (CTV) ad targeting mostly lived in the on-demand world. Ads ran before your K-drama binge or during a paused news clip. StarHub’s Dynamic Ad Pods break through that limitation, extending precision targeting into live sports, news, and primetime drama. It’s an ad play designed not just to reach audiences, but to reach the right ones—without hammering them with the same tired message over and over.
With more than 175 million hours of viewing data feeding its connected TV platform, StarHub is betting on measurable performance, reduced media waste, and a smoother viewing experience.
How It Works
The tech backbone is Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI), developed with Australian CTV partner Hoppr. SSAI stitches ads directly into the live feed, ensuring they look and feel native to the broadcast. A feature called Dynamic Break Matching makes sure the transitions are seamless, so ad breaks don’t jar viewers out of the moment.
Formats are flexible:
- Skippable pre-rolls before shows
- Stitched mid-rolls during both live and on-demand streams
- Full-screen, sound-on placements designed to grab attention
For advertisers, this translates into better control of reach and frequency, plus brand safety controls and frequency capping to keep campaigns fresh.
Beyond the TV Screen
Dynamic Ad Pods aren’t confined to the living room. StarHub is extending campaign footprints across digital surfaces, from display inventory to WhatsApp retargeting. The idea is a continuous customer journey: see an ad on TV, get a reminder on mobile, tap a call-to-action, convert.
This kind of cross-channel linkage has long been the dream of TV and digital marketers alike. Now, at least in Singapore, that dream is edging closer to reality.
The Bigger Picture
StarHub’s launch comes at a moment when TV networks and advertisers worldwide are scrambling to bring digital-style accountability into traditional broadcast. Rivals like Disney+ and Netflix are already experimenting with targeted ad tiers, but those live mostly in the on-demand ecosystem. By dropping personalised ads into linear live feeds, StarHub is pushing into territory usually reserved for the YouTubes and TikToks of the world.
For viewers, the pitch is simple: fewer irrelevant ads, less repetition, and less disruption. For brands, it’s the holy grail of TV advertising—broad reach with digital precision.
Whether Dynamic Ad Pods prove to be the silver bullet for ad fatigue remains to be seen, but one thing is certain: TV advertising in Singapore just got a whole lot smarter.
