Nexxen's 2027 APAC Predictions: Four Shifts Set to Reshape TV and Digital Advertising

In 2027, advertising across Asia-Pacific will be shaped by how brands reach audiences, how media is bought and how success is measured. Smart TV Home Screens are opening up opportunities before viewers press play, while live sport's ability to bring audiences together is becoming more valuable in an increasingly on-demand world. At the same time, agentic AI and outcome-based buying are set to reshape campaign planning, activation and accountability.

Four advertising technology leaders from Nexxen share their predictions for the year ahead, exploring what these shifts could mean for advertisers, agencies and media owners across the region.

Home Screens: The Next Marketplace for TV Advertising - Josif Zanich, Managing Director JAPAC

In 2027, the Smart TV Home Screen will evolve from being a fragmented, OEM-specific ad placement into a standardised, programmatic media channel, effectively becoming a new marketplace for TV advertising.

Historically, Home Screen inventory has been difficult to buy at scale because different OEMs have had their own formats, specifications, creative requirements and buying processes. As the industry moves towards greater standardisation of CTV ad formats, including the Home Screen, advertisers will increasingly be able to access this inventory programmatically, rather than treating each OEM as a separate media opportunity.

The opportunity goes beyond making Home Screen inventory easier to buy. While conversations around TV advertising have traditionally focused on what happens after you press play, the Home Screen is changing the game by giving advertisers access to the moments before viewing even begins. For instance, when consumers are browsing, discovering content and deciding what to watch.

This signals a broader shift in advertising. It's no longer just about the content itself, but the environments where audiences discover and choose that content. As Home Screen inventory becomes more standardised and accessible programmatically, we expect it to become a scalable marketplace for brands to reach audiences before they even press play.

Live Sports: Shared Attention in an On-Demand World -  Adam Hunt, VP, Partnerships & Business Development JAPAC

In 2027, the more TV becomes on-demand, the more valuable live sports will become for advertisers. 

As audiences continue to shift from scheduled programming to on-demand viewing, live sport remains an exception. Major sporting events still bring large TV audiences together, creating moments of collective attention that are increasingly difficult for other forms of content to replicate.

However, this creates a challenge for advertisers, as reaching these sports fans isn't straightforward. Fans are increasingly spread across platforms, moving between TV, streaming, mobile and social throughout the viewing journey.

As a result, there's a growing opportunity for advertisers to reach fans across screens, connecting with them throughout the live sports experience and turning shared moments of attention into broader cross-screen opportunities.

Agentic AI: From Platform Features to Agents That Trade - Janice Chan, VP, Platform & Client Services, APAC

If 2026 was the year of AI features within platforms, 2027 is when interoperability moves from pilot to practice. 

The real shift in programmatic will be DSPs and SSPs becoming callable by clients' own AI agents, through protocols such as MCP and A2A. In Australia, we expect early agent-to-agent trading to start in premium video, where high-value negotiated and curated deals across CTV, BVOD, SVOD and live sport suit agent-led workflows. This won't replace existing programmatic pipes. Instead, it will offer an additional lane for clients who are further along in AI adoption. 

As AI features become standard across every platform, differentiation will move from features to access: what proprietary data and intelligence an agent can reach through your platform that it can't get elsewhere. Governance and outcomes will become the buying criteria. Marketers will expect audit trails, approval controls and brand-safety assurance before agents touch spend, and the proof points will shift from efficiency gains to measurable campaign performance.

Outcome-Based Buying: Results Set the Agenda - Andrew Dixon, VP, Sales JAPAC

In 2027, outcome-based buying will become a more expected part of the media mix as advertisers face tighter budgets, leaner teams and greater pressure to prove results.

Outcome-based buying isn't new, but we expect demand for it to accelerate as clients and agencies look beyond media activity and focus more closely on what their investment is actually driving. Models based on cost per conversion, cost per site visit and cost per completed view are already being used today, with outcome-based planning and optimisation likely to become more common across campaigns.

AI decisioning will help accelerate this shift, making it easier to optimise campaigns towards specific goals and scale outcome-based buying across more media. We also expect more consideration of outcome-based pricing, where measurement and attribution are trusted by both buyers and sellers.

This will move performance closer to the starting point of the campaign, shaping how media is planned, bought, optimised and reported.