Cox Media’s TV marketplace Videa says it has placed its first order for full schedule, forward reserve inventory for programmatic TV advertising, calling it a first for the TV industry.
Videa placed the order with Carat, part of the Dentsu Aegis Network, and worked with both Carat and Amplifi to buy live inventory available with five broadcast stations in Jacksonville, Florida: WJAX-TV (CBS), WTLV-TV (NBC), WFOX-TV (Fox), WJXX-TV (ABC) and WJXT-TV (independent).
Videa debuted in September and was built to allow stations, agencies and brands to automate the buying and selling of broadcast television inventory at scale and up to a year in advance. Videa works with more than 280 broadcast TV stations.
“Having the technology and strategic capability to reach audiences at scale locally is imperative for the clients that we represent across the Dentsu Aegis Network,” said Jennifer Hungerbuhler, managing director of Local Video & Audio Investment for Amplifi, in a statement. “We appreciate Videa’s partnership approach to building their platform. It is uniquely built to provide the insights and transparency that enable our team to effectively reach the audiences that matter to our clients and their brands.”
“We’re working closely in partnership with key broadcasters and agencies as well as our sister company to support the best solution for our industry as it continues to evolve. Seeing the increased adoption and interest in our platform is rewarding. With many agencies trained on the platform now, we look forward to more orders like Carat’s in the coming months and to continuing to help local broadcasters leverage automation and data to improve their sales effectiveness,” said Shereta Williams, president of Videa, in a statement.
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Advertising is a prime concern for broadcasters as the new ATSC 3.0 standards near finalization in 2017. Broadcast groups like Sinclair are focusing more on ATSC 3.0, which will allow broadcasters more access to viewer data that can in turn help with offering more targeted ads.
Mark Aitken, vice president of advanced technology for Sinclair Broadcast Group, said Sinclair and other broadcasters will need to create confidence in data and then turn it into currency that can be traded for advertising revenue. But once they are able to do that, the cost for broadcasters to capture and analyze their own data sets will be less than what third-party services charge.