DirecTV Advertising and Dish Media are trying to make addressable linear TV easier for programmers to implement with new standardized products that aim to simplify workflow and remove the need for custom integrations.
The three new options are meant to cut the time and effort it takes for programmers to enable addressable advertising across different and multiple distributors. According to the companies, the solutions speed up time to market by making custom integrations and development unnecessary, while also providing flexibility.
“In the past, the programmer enablement process has been custom and often quite manual, slowing down the adoption of addressable and the benefits that it brings,” said Kevin Arrix, SVP of Dish Media. “By offering these standardized and consistent solutions that improve programmer operations, we’re making it easier for media owners to light up more of their inventory for addressable targeting across out platforms.”
The three options include: Direct integration through the INVIDI Conexus consolidated campaign management platform; a plug-and-play product from Adcuratio for broadcast or broadcast and cable networks combined, including live events; and unified workflows across multiple distribution endpoints via Canoe Service Assurance.
Matt Van Houten, SVP of Product, Operations and Business Development at DirecTV Advertising, in a statement pointed to the power of addressability and benefits for marketers “with the ability to precisely reach consumers, optimize for cross-platform reach and frequency and measure outcomes.”
“Now we’re excited to announce the next wave of streamlined addressable solutions which will unlock the powerful capabilities of this format for programmers and ultimately benefit advertisers with a broader and simpler addressable ecosystem,” Van Houten continued.
In announcing the new solutions, the distributors called out a need in the industry for effective products that address challenges in implementing addressable advertising for a programmer’s national inventory, including with technical standards, integration methods and self-service options.
Julian Zilberbrand, EVP of Advanced Media at Paramount, weighed in, saying in a statement that the company is “fully invested” in growing its linear addressable capabilities and delivering more scale for advertisers.
“There’s a need for solutions that require fewer custom integrations with the various distributors in the marketplace,” Zilberbrand stated. “Dish Media and DirecTV Advertising’s standardization solution is a significant step forward in alleviating assorted operational inefficiencies and is one of the steps needed to streamline and move the ad buying community into the next era of addressable advertising.”
DirecTV and Dish Media are part of industry consortiums such as GoAddressable that are working to help scale and simplify addressable TV. A survey conducted by GoAddressable and Advertiser Perceptions in fall 2022 indicated positive momentum on the addressable advertising front, with 81% of advertisers polled citing overall satisfaction with the options currently available, up from the 72% that said the same a year prior. Of those using addressable, 37% said they planned to increase their ad spend in the format in 2023. Factors helping to drive increased satisfaction included a simplified buying process, as well as more options and improved cost to implement.
Earlier this year Ampersand, a TV ad sales company owned by major cable operators, introduced new functionalities to automate elements of addressable TV for buyers to speed up the process for campaign planning for buyers across its supply partners, which include Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox, Altice and Verizon.