Bringing the Power of Programmatic Addressable to Traditional TV Buying

Programmatic Buying with Household-Level Targeting Comes to Cable

By: Matt McLeggon, Senior Vice President of Advanced Solutions at Magnite

Until recently, TV buyers could not access the dynamic targeting and measurement capabilities of OTT/CTV across a traditional TV footprint. 

That has changed.

Magnite is powering addressable TV across a growing number of MVPD STB and SmartTV endpoints. ‘Programmatic addressable’ creates enhanced revenue opportunities for media owners, and greater efficiency and less waste for buyers.

This new capability answers a pressing need from programmers who are seeking to monetize newly unlocked addressable inventory, and monetize a hybrid of digital and traditional TV through a single platform. It also represents an inflection point for the industry, signaling the arrival of automated, addressable buying traditionally reserved for digital TV content. 

Programmatic TV Reaches New Environments

Reducing fragmentation has been a longstanding goal within the programmatic ecosystem. Buyers have sought out solutions to consolidate inventory sources across display, web video, and OTT access points.

Magnite’s addressable TV offering goes one step further, by helping media owners manage their linear and digital inventory from a single platform and similarly providing a unified touchpoint for buyers.

Magnite is currently powering addressable advertising in these traditional television environments:

Live linear: Our new capability allows advertisers to target addressable audiences and replace scheduled broadcast ad spots in real-time.

Set-top box VOD: Addressable campaigns are currently running via a growing set-top box footprint that we expect to reach 43 million households this year. 

Solving for Competitive Separation

While managing linear replacement programmatically represents a major step forward, reaching scale requires accompanying solutions that protect linear revenue streams and minimize risk. One such risk is that a programmatic placement will run alongside a linear ad from a competitor.

In close cooperation with LTN Global Communications Inc., Magnite has solved for competitive separation in ad breaks consisting of both scheduled broadcast ads and digitally inserted ads. 

LTN Global is a leader in transformative technology and video transport solutions for major media companies. Using their LTN Target product, information about the scheduled broadcast ads can be passed to Magnite —  including the category of the ads running next to the digitally replaced ad slot — which Magnite is able to ingest and use to ensure that there is no competitive conflict when returning a programmatic creative.

Key Benefits for Media Owners & Buyers

Addressable inventory can boost media owners’ bottom lines. By activating household targeting, broadcasters make their inventory more valuable to buyers, which translates to more revenue per ad view.

For advertisers looking to achieve scale with maximum efficiency, Magnite’s addressable offering enables them to ensure 100% of their ads are served to target customers, so no impression goes wasted.

Our offering also includes holistic pacing, campaign management, and ease-of-activation so advertisers can optimize ad performance and track outcomes across linear and OTT. 

Key advantages of activating addressable TV include: 

• Household-level targeting 
• Holistic pacing and frequency capping (across digital and linear)
• Access to premium buyers 
• A single touchpoint to manage all inventory

Sell-Side Benefits:

• Maximize revenue and inventory fill by opening up traditional television supply to programmatic buyers. 
• Increase the value of your linear inventory by passing key digital identifiers like IP, device ID, and content metadata.
• Grow access to premium buyers beyond linear buying teams. Opening up more monetization opportunities from digital demand.

Buy-Side Benefits:

• Utilize all of the benefits of programmatic buying in a linear environment. Ability to layer audience data, report and execute individual 1:1 impression opportunities, and leverage third party measurement and attribution solutions.
• Access to premium inventory hosted in a singular touchpoint.
• Holistic pacing and frequency capping across both linear and digital mediums.

For buyers looking to drive customizable campaigns on a big screen scale, Magnite’s addressable offering is a watershed opportunity. 

 A New Digital Wave

As programmatic’s addressability and efficiency add more value to traditional tv, more companies are looking to make a digital overhaul. Meanwhile, programmatic advertisers can now reach any viewer, regardless of how they access their content. This opens up new kinds of buying, deals, and opportunities for media owners and advertisers. 

Buying CTV and traditional TV no longer need to be siloed endeavors. As the world’s largest independent sell-side advertising platform, Magnite is a one-stop shop, helping brands to reach any customer —  in any TV environment, all via one platform.