There is one universal truth about the concept of “appointment TV”: People will forever debate whether or not it exists anymore. Google the phrase, and you may find, like I did, these two articles right next to each other: Ding Dong, Appointment TV is Dead and Appointment TV isn’t dead. It’s making a comeback on streaming platforms.

While we’ll probably never again see the likes of 100 million people watching the last episode of M.A.S.H. (for comparison, Game of Thrones didn’t crack 20 million in its finale, and that had dragons!), I believe appointment TV will never completely go away. It’s just smaller and more spread out.

There are still, of course, seismic events that dominate conversations across multiple audience groups: the Summer Olympics comes to mind, for example. NBC has sold  $1.2 billion of ads for the event, a new record. It will be the talk of the summer, but, as is the case now with a proliferation of media opportunities, marketers have to think a bit differently about how to leverage the opportunity.

If you experience lingering back pain or can name at least three Grateful Dead songs, you may remember the iconic Reebok ad campaign of Dave and Dan. In the lead-up to the 1992 Olympics, Reebok introduced us to two decathlon athletes that 99% of the population had never heard of before in their quest to win gold. Everyone saw them, along with the actual events, at the same time in the same place.

But now, you can watch decathlon meets on YouTube or Peacock. You can stream U.S. swimming meets from the swim team’s website. A family gathered around the box in the living room is no longer the only way to take in big live events.

In fact, many American professional sports have international superstars that you previously would only see once every four years. The rise of smaller sports media properties: Fubo, ESPN’s streaming service, Fanatiz, DAZN, and others provide the opportunity to watch even the most niche sports year round.

This led me to think about five ways media companies and marketers alike can and are leveraging the best of “appointment viewing” in new and modern ways:

1. CREATE NEW “APPOINTMENT” MOMENTS

If appointment TV were dead, then why would Netflix be trying to resuscitate it? The streaming leader has created several live “appointment” watches in recent weeks, including The Roast of Tom Brady and John Mulaney’s Everybody’s in LA. Netflix is investing in live programming in a big way; they understand that while people love binging their favorite shows, they also hunger for experiences they can share with others, either in person or on social media. Content creators of all types can take similar strides toward creating new appointment moments.

2. RECOGNIZE THE HUMAN HUNGER FOR COMMUNAL EXPERIENCES

Advertisers and broadcasters have historically focused on ratings, but viewers are just looking to connect to something. We will forever coalesce around key moments of cinema and television—remember the Barbenheimer phenomenon last year? Every week offers the potential to drive more discourse than one would expect relative to actual viewership, like Shogun and Baby Reindeer. Seek out opportunities to offer people communal experiences.

3. BUT ACCEPT THAT NICHE IS HERE TO STAY

Despite having marquee Netflix promotion and presumably a massive budget, Mulaney focused on having people he admired versus chasing the biggest stars to boost viewership. Musical guests included Los Lobos, a band few have thought about in years, and Joyce Manor, a punk band with hardcore fans, but little name recognition beyond that. Netflix, having recently gotten into the advertising game, knows the value of niche targeting. For those subscribers not into Mulaney’s humor or the oddball supporting cast he chose, Netflix has tons of other options to keep them engaged. Embrace these types of more niche or “mini” communal moments as well.

4. LEVERAGE THE RETURN TO EPISODIC TV

It’s quite impressive how often Netflix shifts the zeitgeist. Releasing all episodes of House of Cards at once created the modern binging environment. Other streamers like Prime Video and Hulu followed. While there are exceptions on other platforms, most platforms have now returned to once-a-week drops on marquee series. Even Netflix has dipped its toes in the water, releasing the fourth season of Stranger Things in two separate parts and some of its reality shows in weekly segments. The proliferation of after-the-show podcasts and video series supports the value of making people wait a week to watch their favorite shows. Both content providers and marketers can leverage this weekly anticipation build versus the purely binge mentality.

5. THE MOVABLE WATER COOLER

Social media enables multiple “appointment TV” discussions to happen. For most of TV’s history, there was something niche you were into—say, Mr. Show—but it would be hard to find people with whom to share that experience unless you happened to stumble upon them in real life. However, the combination of niche content and social media makes for a powerful connecting force. People you’ve never met can offer up weird and interesting things for you to try, essentially bringing the proverbial “water cooler” to your house. Advertisers and content providers can find multiple ways to leverage these organic recommendation engines and participate in the moments that matter to people seeking new experiences.

All of the above leads to a simple conclusion: There are multiple “appointment TV” moments happening every week; the days of monoculture are largely gone.

But that’s great news! Savvy advertisers can spend more wisely and participate in those cultural moments that mean the most to them. If the Olympics are in your “swim lane,” then you can still participate there as one of the rare, truly mass communal experiences. If you want to be a part of the next niche indie sci-fi buzzworthy show, that’s an option as well. It’s a wonderful time to be in advertising, where moments both big, small, and in between all have a chance to enter the zeitgeist.