es In FEED’s IBC 2026 issue, a wide-ranging feature on shifting viewer behavior and platform strategy includes commentary from Setplex’s Regional VP for the Americas, Nelson Hulett, on two of the industry’s most pressing challenges: content discovery and advertising relevance.
On discovery, Nelson points to a clear divide between operators who are keeping pace with viewer expectations and those falling behind. “The operators who are pulling ahead are using AI-powered, intent-based search rather than keyword matching,” he says. “This allows viewers to simply say what they’re in the mood for and be guided to it.” As audiences grow accustomed to conversational, intent-driven experiences elsewhere, that same expectation is now shaping how they want to find something to watch.
The same principle, he argues, applies to advertising. “What I see moving the needle for operators is automated, AI-driven ad detection and replacement, ensuring that a viewer in one market sees an ad that’s actually relevant to them — a local snack brand, say, rather than a car insurance spot clearly made for somewhere else,” Nelson explains. That cultural fit, he adds, is what keeps free, ad-supported viewing genuinely engaging for audiences while staying valuable to advertisers — a balance that’s becoming increasingly critical as AVOD and FAST models scale across new markets.
Both points speak to a broader theme running through the FEED feature: as viewing becomes more fragmented and personalized, the platforms that win will be the ones using AI not just to automate, but to make every interaction — from search to the ads themselves — feel relevant to the individual watching.
Read the full article on FEED here.
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