NEW YORK—Winners of the 2023 TVB Next and TVB DEI Leadership Awards were announced at TVB’s live Executive Summit as part of this year’s hybrid Forward Conference. 

This year, Cox Media Group, Havas Media, Horizon Media and Tegna received awards.

Every year, the trade association representing America’s local broadcast television industry, honors individuals and organizations who are shaping the future of local media.

“It is TVB’s honor to recognize these forward-thinking and dedicated leaders in our industry,” said Steve Lanzano, president and CEO of TVB, “The efforts, innovation and accomplishments of this year’s award recipients highlight the ongoing exciting future opportunities our industry possesses.”

Since its inception in 2016, TVB’s Next Award Program, gives the next generation of media leaders access to today’s thought leaders, insights into industry innovation and a leg up on career advancement at the annual TVB Forward Conference. The Award is underwritten by WideOrbit.

The 2023 TVB Next Award honorees for media buying and selling were presented by Toni Coonce, chief revenue officer, WideOrbit, WideOrbit. Coonce presented awards to both Nicole Besen, buyer, local investment, Havas Media, and Jennifer Kempton, account executive, KUSA, Denver, Tegna, as this year’s recipients of the TVB NEXT awards in Media Buying and Media Sales, respectively.

When asked about her views on the media buyer’s role over the next five to ten years, Nicole Besen said, “In the future, I see the role of media buyers expanding. I believe buyers will be responsible for multiple forms of local media, activating holistically across platforms, rather than focusing on just one piece of the puzzle.”

“Local TV has the influence to grow local businesses by reaching a loyal audience and turning them into lifelong customers,” said Jennifer Kempton, describing her views on the power of local broadcast TV and localism. “Combining the power of broadcast TV with the sight, sound, and visual elements of a local commercial creates the most effective marketing tool for businesses.”

“As a leader in broadcast advertising technology, WideOrbit is proud to be the underwriting sponsor of the TVB Next Awards Program,” said Coonce. “We believe it is crucial for the future of our industry to support and encourage emerging talent, and the NEXT Awards recognize and honor the industry’s next generation of media buyers and sellers. Nicole and Jennifer are deserving recipients, and on behalf of all the TVB Forward Conference attendees, I congratulate them on this recognition.”

TVB DEI Leadership Awards are a new award that recognizes the efforts of TVB broadcast members and media agency partners who have committed time, resources and vision toward advancing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion among their organizations. 

The new awards follow TVB’s formation last year of a task force made up of 14 broadcast member groups to help hiring managers diversify their sales teams, increase retention, and promote inclusion and belonging.

The recipient of the inaugural Media Agency DEI Leadership Award is Horizon Media for their commitment to promote and represent multicultural communities, providing thought leadership to the industry, and actively creating campaigns in the DEI space. Horizon Media’s Project Embrace program helps clients reach multicultural audiences and ensures that minority-owned media compete for ad buys. Most recently, Horizon has partnered with Burst to deliver local DEI stories on local broadcast TV. Nancy Larkin EVP, Managing Partner, LocalONE Investment and DEI Impact Team Leader, Horizon Media, accepted the award on behalf of the company.

The Broadcaster DEI Leadership Award was given to an active member of the TVB DEI task force, Cox Media Group (CMG). GMG was recognized as the first Broadcaster DEI Leadership honoree at the TVB Executive Summit for their promotion of diversity, equity and inclusion through hiring and recruiting practices, a mentorship program, scholarship fund, and community-based campaigns. Aisha F. Thomkins, director, diversity, equity & inclusion, for CMG accepted the award on behalf of the company.

In addition, the Ad Council Catalyst Award was presented by DJ Perera, Chief Media Officer for the Ad Council, to Allen Media Group.

SAN FRANCISCO—WideOrbit, the most widely used provider of broadcast and network TV and radio inventory and revenue workflow management software in the U.S., has released a new version of WO Network, the company’s flagship network ad sales and commercial operations platform.

WO Network 2023 introduces a number of new capabilities and benefits that are designed to help broadcast and cable networks generate more revenue, reduce costs, and improve efficiency, the company said. 

Those capabilities include enhanced Direct Response automation, improved precision when calculating CPMs and accounting for delivered impressions, improvements to the Electronic Material Instructions module, and more.

“WO Network 2023 simplifies network ad sales and commercial operations with new features and enhancements that deliver revenue growth, cost savings, and improved efficiency to our cable and broadcast network customers,” says Susie Hedrick, WideOrbit president and managing director, Traffic Systems. “We are excited to introduce these latest improvements to WO Network, furthering our commitment to continuous innovation and investment in our core products.”

Highlights of WO Network 2023 benefits and improvements, according to WideOrbit, include:

• Precision: Properties can now define raw impression values from 1(000) thousand to the unit level 1(001) which allows users more accuracy when calculating CPMs and accounting for delivered impressions  
• Direct Response (DR) Automation (Revisions): Import DR deal changes into existing WO Network Deals, improving the efficiency of importing DR Deals from an external partner
• Constraint Instruction Bundle Audit: Adds a new tab within Constraint Instruction Bundles to track changes to bundles 
• Deal Reweight Analysis Report: Extends daypart functionality to support user-defined Client Dayparts instead of Selling Name dayparts  
• Deal Search/Master Deals: Allows users to create Master Deals from an existing group of deals from Deal Search  
• Electronic Material Instructions improvements:  
• The ability to check for pending Electronic Material Instructions records at Log Finalization  
• Users can modify dates, times, day(s) of week, and spot type in instructions prior to import  
• Warnings to users regarding materials that may have exclusions or rejected statuses upon import

Other enhancements include: improvements to Advanced Log Rules that allow Placer to move units that are in violation of user-defined Log Rules; Spot Distribution enhancements allowing users to easily redistribute units to a different day of week (displace only) using the Spot Distribution tab; a new Ad-ID filter added to Material Instructions to help users easily identify correct Ad-IDs.

WO Network 2023 is now available for general release.

SAN FRANCISCO—WideOrbit has unveiled WO Traffic v23.0, the latest release of WO Traffic, the company’s flagship broadcast media ad traffic operations platform. 

WO Traffic v23.0 is now available for general release.

The new release, WO Traffic v23.0, introduces additional tools and features that are designed to help stations and station groups, helping generate new revenue, reduce costs, and improve efficiency with enhanced spot-level order validation, streamlined material approvals, the convenience of multi-select for mass import of Material Instructions, and more.

The newest release of WO Traffic also introduces significant improvements to the user experience, streamlining workflows to improve efficiency and productivity, the company said. 

“WideOrbit is committed to continuous innovation and investment in our core products,” says Susie Hedrick, WideOrbit president and managing director, Traffic Systems. “Each of the enhancements introduced in WO Traffic v23.0 work together to deliver benefits such as improved workflow efficiency and ease of use, helping our customers accomplish more in less time.”

“We have received some great features from WideOrbit upgrades in the past but the benefits of WO Traffic v23.0 are some of the best we’ve seen,” added Pam Friesen, traffic manager at Griffin Media, which is already using v23.0. “Our manual effort for displaced spots alone has been cut by half the time. Traffic and Sales are both very excited to work with the new features.”

Highlights of WO Traffic v23.0 benefits include:

• Orders+: Major enhancements include a new look, additional functions, and the ability to multi-select single Orders to quickly create an Orders+ Group
• Property Add to Profile: New options to add a Property more easily to Advertisers, Agencies, Credit Profiles and Contacts
• Format Details Report: A new report that brings together Format Instance Details across days, Properties and Channels, with an efficiency tool for working with many formats across Properties at once
• Zoom: Frequently requested by clients, a new Zoom option provides a user-controlled option to increase the entire application size, including fonts and grids
• Order Validation: Now expanded to support validation rules for Spot-level values
• Material Approval reimagined: Streamlined Material Approval workflow, including an enhanced Status tab on Materials
• Electronic Materials: The ability to multi-select and mass import Electronic Materials, creating many in a single action
• Political Type: A new Political Type field offers a centralized way to identify political advertising on Advertisers and Orders, with a reporting tool in Revenue, Pacing, and Spot Details

Other notable enhancements include: an added process to receive and view lift impressions for ads not replaced on a stream when using WO Traffic’s Addressable Ad Replacement; Digital Orders enhancements; new Placer conflict and override tools for managing oversell of bookends; an optional process at log finalization for creating up to 7 days of automation-ready playlist files for use in the event of an emergency; an Electronic Material Instructions Trial tool that allows users without a license to “test drive” the module by creating their own simple Electronic Material Instructions records and importing them. 

A detailed demonstration of new features and enhancements available with WO Traffic v23.0, is available here.  

TORONTO & SAN FRANCISCO—Yangaroo and WideOrbit have announced a partnership that will streamline and automate the delivery of traffic instructions between advertisers and broadcasters. 

As part of the agreement, Yangaroo’s asset management and delivery platform will be integrated with WideOrbit's Electronic Material Instructions module within WideOrbit’s flagship ad sales and commercial operations platform, WO Traffic. The integration facilitates a seamless end-to-end automated exchange of traffic instructions, effectively eliminating errors and saving valuable time for advertisers and broadcasters.

"The API integration between Yangaroo and WideOrbit delivers instant benefits to all advertisers and broadcasters using our platforms,” explained Grant Schuetrumpf, CEO of Yangaroo. “The smooth and immediate exchange of data between the platforms represents a substantial enhancement for all stakeholders involved in managing real-time responses and confirmations when advertisers submit traffic instructions to broadcasters across the USA."

"Our partnership with Yangaroo underscores WideOrbit's dedication to delivering comprehensive tools that better connect TV broadcasters and advertisers, ultimately simplifying day-to-day tasks,” added Susie Hedrick, president and managing director of Traffic Systems at WideOrbit. "By seamlessly transferring traffic instructions to WO Traffic through Yangaroo, we offer advertisers more advanced and automated workflows. This partnership aligns with WideOrbit's Wider-World approach, which aims to provide media companies with broader capabilities, deeper insights, and stronger connections."

As part of the integrated solution, advertisers can simply key in buy and traffic data using Yangaroo. The advertiser then receives immediate feedback that the instructions have been received and processed correctly by a broadcaster that uses WO Traffic, the companies explained. 

"This integration holds significant importance for Yangaroo as it aligns with our ongoing dedication to metadata integration,” emphasized Richard Klosa, CTO at Yangaroo. “Yangaroo plays a critical role in the asset and metadata ecosystem for advertising spot distribution, and this integration represents a pivotal milestone in our long-standing commitment to effectively managing traffic instructions."

SAN FRANCISCO—WideOrbit has announced that Toni Coonce has been appointed chief revenue officer at the company, which is a leading provider of broadcast TV and radio inventory and revenue workflow management solutions. 

In addition to serving as CRO, Toni will continue in her role as executive vice president of sales, managing all revenue and coordinating between clients and managing directors across all verticals.

Toni joined WideOrbit in 2006 as a TV account executive, rising through the ranks to become director of TV sales in 2016, vice president of TV sales in 2018, and most recently, executive vice president of sales in 2021. Prior to WideOrbit, Toni held a variety of positions with Marketron. Toni has proven herself as an exceptional sales executive, working with many of WideOrbit’s largest clients.

“Toni’s strong leadership skills, hard work and dedication make a huge, positive impact on WideOrbit," said Eric Mathewson, WideOrbit founder and CEO. “Those attributes, combined with her consistent ability to forge strong relationships with clients, make her promotion to Chief Revenue officer both well-earned and well deserved.” 

In addition to her responsibilities at WideOrbit, Toni serves on the board of the International Radio and Television Society Foundation (IRTS), which is dedicated to building future leaders and increasing diversity in the media industry. Toni also supports and participates with TVB’s NEXT Women program. Underwritten by WideOrbit, the program helps identify, prepare and advocate for women in the local broadcast television industry as they aspire to leadership roles.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to collaborate across teams and verticals within WideOrbit,” said Coonce. “My focus will remain on sales, on growing revenue, and most importantly, on nurturing the client relationships that are at the heart of everything we do.”

With the increasing risk of a major recession, increasing interest rates, and historic inflation, brands are scrutinizing ad spend more closely than ever. When it comes to advanced TV advertising, this signals a potential shift in strategy away from hypertargeting and toward a renewed appreciation for reach extension. 

Advanced TV includes connected TV (CTV) or over-the-top (OTT), video-on-demand, and addressable TV. Simply put, advanced TV is any form of television that is not traditional, over-the-air, broadcast TV, even though the content is much the same. Regardless of whether delivered by IP address or set-top box, all forms of advanced TV offer advertisers the ability to reach viewers with addressable advertising. And that addressability—the holy grail of one-to-one targeting – has become an advertiser’s latest shiny new thing. 

But here’s the rub: getting personalization wrong alienates the very consumers you’re trying to win. 

According to a recent study from ParcelLab, nearly half of US consumers experienced incorrectly targeted ads in the last six months. Of those, 42% immediately unsubscribed from the brand’s content, 24% took immediate action to block the brand on social media, and 22% decided not to purchase from the brand again. Budget spent on incorrectly targeted ads isn’t just budget wasted, it also negatively impacts brand reputation and leads to lost revenue. 

Add the problem of over frequency to the negative impact of inaccurate targeting, and advanced TV’s addressability loses some of its shine. But addressability isn’t the only value advanced TV has to offer advertisers. When working with budget constraints, extended reach often becomes more important, and more impactful, than expensive targeting.

The Promise of Addressability
Addressable advertising allows brands to target different households with different ads during the same program. At its most aspirational, addressability even promises the ability to deliver different ads to different devices within the same household. But while addressable advertising can be effective, it still lacks a supportive model that provides value to agencies and advertisers while also delivering a high-quality viewer experience—the kind of experience audiences have been trained to expect from decades of watching broadcast TV. 

What was initially controlled by a few prominent broadcast networks and cable TV companies is now fragmented across multiple platforms and service providers, both subscription and ad-supported, each with their own audience data. This fragmentation makes it challenging to know who is watching what and on which platform, and knowing that with precision is necessary for effective addressable campaigns.

Using advanced TV for reach extension, however, can be equally or more effective, since achieving unduplicated reach across platforms requires less granular and more readily available audience data. 

The Trouble with Measurement
Advanced TV allows brands to target unique groups at precise moments. But with increasing fragmentation, measurement can be inconsistent across platforms, providers, and services, as well as between advanced TV and broadcast TV.

Advertisers want to know what they bought, what was delivered, who it was delivered to, and what the outcome was. But depending on who’s compiling and reporting on the data, advertisers can end up struggling to compare GRPs to impressions to views to completed views, making cross-channel measurement and attribution extremely difficult.

Brands and agencies often find it more advantageous to blend metrics to get an overall picture rather than try to translate measurement currencies and force a more precise, apples-to-apples comparison – neither of which can ever be truly accurate. 

With the challenge of measurement and its degree of inaccuracy, brands might be better served by thinking more about content, context, and audience composition, focusing on the effectiveness of the creative and timing, as well as on reach.

Trust vs. Targeting
Consumers access content through a variety of methods and devices, each gathering various levels of information about them. No matter how and where the data is collected, the goal for advertisers is to ensure the information is both useable and useful, while maintaining compliance with privacy regulations.

But since data privacy regulations are constantly changing, advertisers should shift their focus toward meeting consumer expectations around their personal data. Consumers will trust your brand more if they believe you care about protecting their privacy as much as, or even more than, complying with the rules. 

As we approach a world without cookies, first-party data becomes more important than ever. Collecting first-party data, with consent, avoids privacy concerns but the data must be used with care—distrust can still result, and consent withdrawn, if the consumer senses their data has been used in a way they didn’t anticipate.

One solution getting a lot of buzz lately is data clean rooms. A data clean room allows advertisers and brands to match their own, first-party data with a publisher’s user-level data without exchanging any personal information or raw data. It sounds great in theory, but data clean rooms have their own drawbacks. 

The advertiser needs to have a solid database of first-party information to start with, and unless they focus primarily on a single publisher, they’ll need to invest in data clean room access for each publisher they use, which can become expensive. For most advertisers, data clean rooms are probably more of a future solution, when the promise of omnichannel data clean rooms becomes a reality.

Data and targeting tie back to attribution, concerning everything about the brand – from brand reputation to conversion. Attribution is how a brand determines campaign effectiveness but most of the data sits with publishers. As a rule of thumb, brands should only serve highly targeted or addressable ads if they have enough trusted data to have confidence in the purchase intent of the viewer. 

Advertisers concerned about consumer trust who are looking to grow their businesses would often do better to seek out unique, unduplicated reach, via both advanced and broadcast TV, rather than focus on one-to-one targeting. 

A Shift in Strategy
Our economic climate is changing, and the promise of hypertargeting hasn’t quite delivered on its promise. Consumer distrust and ad fatigue are escalating, meaning a significant amount of ad spend is wasted. 

Instead of gravitating towards the shiny new thing, evaluate the complexity of advanced TV measurement and currency, how third- and first-party data availability factor into addressability, and compare the cost and effectiveness of hypertargeting versus the extended, unduplicated reach that can be achieved by complementing broadcast TV campaigns with advanced TV advertising. 

Adapting to the expectations of today’s hyper-engaged, hyper-sensitive consumer is challenging under an avalanche of data from so many disparate sources. But the brands who succeed still see audiences for what they are—human beings looking for shared experiences, not numbers populating a spreadsheet. 

Success in an evolving TV ecosystem requires advertisers to elevate their strategy by shifting their thinking away from the pursuit of delivering the right message to the right person, at the right time, and toward a more inclusive, holistic goal – delivering a common message, to a common audience, at different times.

SAN FRANCISCO—WideOrbit has launched its ZingX buy-side platform offering media buyers access to ad inventory from thousands of TV stations using the company’s WO Marketplace sell-side exchange.

The new platform automates transaction and campaign optimization processes, making it easy for media buyers, agencies and demand-side platforms (DSPs) to add local TV to their omni-channel campaigns, thereby expanding reach and improving the performance of campaigns, it said.

The ZingX three-step ad buying process includes:

• Building a campaign and defining a budget, CPM goals, audience, target markets and dayparts.
• Previewing allocated impressions and budgets and adjusting as needed.
• Submitting to stations and tracking delivery. Impressions are automatically reallocated as spots air to optimize CPM and budget goals.

The cloud-based ZingX has a user-friendly interface that makes updating and accessibility easy. Ad buyers can create, manage and measure campaigns from anywhere at any time with the interface. 

“Our two-year partnership with WideOrbit has made broadcast TV extraordinarily simple for our clients to buy, putting large audiences and scalability at their fingertips," said Michelle Ricciuti, director of media strategy at Bliss Point Media, part of Tinuiti.  "The addition of broadcast TV complements our branded performance approach with patented tech to build brand value, acquire customers and boost digital conversions.”

Over 6,000 radio and TV stations and networks, including 90% of local U.S. broadcast TV stations, use WideOrbit. It is the system of record for more than $37 billion in ad spending every year, WideOrbit said.

ZingX delivers direct access to inventory from local TV stations using WideOrbit’s WO Marketplace sell-side exchange, it said.

The new buy-side platform is integrated with Comscore’s Local Market Television Measurement, which provides data for advertisers to reach impression targets based on market and/or daypart rather than relying on specific program buys. 

“With over 20 years’ experience as the leader in premium broadcast technology and the largest sell-side processor of premium advertising, WideOrbit is excited to bring that expertise to the buy side with ZingX,” said WideOrbit founder and CEO Eric Mathewson. “Optimized for the buyer, ZingX leverages WO Marketplace, our sell-side platform broadcasters already use, making it easy for buyers to access the reach, effectiveness and brand safety of premium local TV advertising.”

More information is available on the company’s website. 

TORONTO—Constellation Software Inc. and its subsidiary Lumine Group Inc. have announced they have entered into a binding agreement to acquire WideOrbit, which is a major supplier of ad management software to broadcast stations, networks and other media outlets in the U.S. 

Constellation also announced plans to spin off its Lumine Group subsidiary. Once that transaction is completed, WideOrbit will become a wholly owned subsidiary within Lumine Group and operate as an autonomous business unit within the Lumine Group’s portfolio of companies.  

“Today’s news marks the next step in Lumine Group’s journey towards building the world's leading network of communications & media software companies,” explained David Nyland, CEO of Lumine Group. “Since our inception, our focus has been on building a strong market share within the telecommunications industry, and today we proudly count industry-leading companies within our portfolio of companies. WideOrbit will accelerate Lumine Group’s expansion into the media space, bringing a wealth of domain knowledge, an experienced leadership team, and a customer ecosystem we look forward to continue serving. We are excited to dive deeper into the media space during this period of rapid innovation, and partner with WideOrbit to assist us in navigating the ecosystem and pursuing further acquisitions.”

“Lumine Group is the ideal partner to support WideOrbit’s continued growth ambitions,” added Eric Mathewson, founder and CEO of WideOrbit. “Our partnership with Lumine will build on our 23-year legacy and contribute to a stronger future for the company, our employees, and our valued clients. At a time when the media advertising landscape is evolving and generating more demand, the timing could not be more optimal. I look forward to what the future holds for WideOrbit and Lumine Group.”

The companies said that WideOrbit had an annual gross revenue in 2021 of about $167 million and that it employs approximately 450 employees.

The acquisition of WideOrbit is currently expected to close in Q1 2023, subject to the satisfaction of certain closing conditions.

Under the proposed deal, Constellation will remain the majority shareholder of Lumine Group and will distribute to the current Constellation shareholders, pro rata and by way of a dividend-in-kind, nominal value subordinate voting shares of Lumine Group, the company said. 

The spin-off and listing are subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange and acceptance of a final prospectus by the Canadian securities regulatory authorities.

The purchase of WideOrbit will be financed with funding from Constellation and a banking partner. Consideration for the purchase will be in the form of a cash payment plus the issuance to eligible WideOrbit shareholders of 13.83% of the shares of Lumine Group (on a fully diluted basis), Constellation said. 

SAN FRANCISCO—As networks broadcast and stream a growing number of channels, the technology that controls everything from ad sales to traffic and billing is evolving as well. New tools and strategies abound for helping content creators handle the growth of those channels. And as the name implies, today’s broadcast management systems have expanded and grown to offer content creators a better means of achieving that control. 

The goals? As varied as the content itself: Reducing operational complexity and costs. Selling advertising at a local and national level and on multiple platforms. Addressing HR issues. Automating order workflows. Identifying and executing audience-targeted orders at scale. 

Open Sourced
As the requests grow, broadcast management systems have responded—some by building  systems around a flexible, open source architecture; others by consolidating assets across a portfolio in an effort to respond more effectively to media buyers.

“The increase in channels has made it even more critical to ensure that organizations have a flexible and adaptable BMS,” said Jimshade Chaudhari, senior vice president of product for Marketron. “Given the increase in channels and the associated content, manual processes and siloed systems can no longer meet broadcaster’s needs. “ 

Earlier this year, two companies joined forces around the concept of standards-based platforms, open source architecture. For the Operative and Imagine Communications, that means ingesting orders from Imagine’s GamePlan ad decision and optimization engine from Operative’s cloud-native sales platform AOS, a partnership that enables a buyer to target audiences across different impressions—including geographic location or device type—as well as process orders across all types of different platforms using Imagine inventory management solutions.

”Our partnership with Operative enables our clients to streamline their operations across multiple media forms and to address the increasing desire to be able to sell on an audience basis,” said Tom Cotney, CEO of Imagine Communications.

Audience First
Those types of partnerships highlight the importance of taking an audience-first approach to selling advertising. Since audiences are more fragmented than ever, there is less guarantee that buying a specific TV show will deliver the specific audience. This is where NextGen TV steps in. The technology can deliver this by relying on consumer-driven demand to keep local TV competitive with growing OTT platforms. 

“And while this will level the playing field by allowing local TV to meet their advertisers’ changing needs… creating a common currency between linear and all digital assets will make it easier for broadcasters to sell their multiplatform ads,” Chaudhari said. “It’s important that modern BMS platforms recognize this and prepare broadcasters for this future.”

Over the past decade, broadcast management technology has steadily grown from standalone traffic and billing systems into integrated tools that manage content throughout its life cycle. That’s been a priority for companies like Myers, whose ProTrack software solution ProTrack centralizes content and allows users to acquire, schedule, monetize and distribute content from a single point of control.

Systems that were traditionally considered core traffic and billing are now expanding their systems with add-ons and built-in third-party technology integrations. ProTrack, which made its name in the traffic and billing space, now integrates with automation, accounts receivable and media asset management. 

Myers provides broadcast management systems to the vast majority of PBS member stations across the country, a unique challenge since public media companies must meet all the same responsibilities as a commercial network but with far fewer resources and revenue opportunities. Today, must-have features for networks like PBS now include automation log monitoring, schedule placement confirmation and report generation.

Unifying Operations
Other systems strive to meet multiple goals while simultaneously prepping to handle multichannel environments. Advanced planning, rights and scheduling, spot placement technology and ad sales and commercial scheduling are part of Imagine’s Ad Tech product suite. Technologies like the company’s LandmarkOSI traffic and billing system, Broadcast Master management suite for scheduling and finance or xG Linear scalable traffic for MVPD are designed to competently manage single or multichannel environments across multiple platforms. 

Unifying station operations on a shared technology infrastructure is another key priority for broadcasters with multiple stations in multiple markets. 

Large ownership groups are using WideOrbit’s WO Traffic system as a foundation to leverage new revenue streams by merging station operations on a single, collectively shared foundation. Like the infrastructure behind other traffic systems, WO Traffic integrates with other suites like analytics, sales, payments and airtimes while WideOrbit Placer works to determine proper spot placement for all advertisers as well as simplifies billing. 

That last piece was particularly important during the Covid-19 pandemic. Content creators needed to simplify the process of obtaining receivables, such as when religious broadcaster Bonneville International used the WideOrbit WO Payments Suite to help make decisions about clients who were struggling financially because of the pandemic.

“Because we have all the industry information coming out of our WideOrbit system, [we looked at industries like] the entertainment or tourist industries [and could be] more flexible [about payments] because that’s an industry that [was] hit harder [by the pandemic],” said Ken Nate, CFO and executive vice president for Bonneville. “We think this creates an opportunity for improvement down the road for both us and our clients.”

Streamline Internal Processes
Managing resources was also the impetus behind a UK studio selecting a new media operations platform to manage everything from studio bookings to quote creation. A joint venture of Sky and NBCUniversal, Sky Studios Elstree is using the Xytech Media Operations Platform resource management software to help streamline the film and TV studio’s internal processes like cost management and resource scheduling. 

That was also behind Viasat Broadcasting’s decision to turn to Xytech to manage staff and bookings for the network. With about 400 employees and 64 Viasat channels, the European TV operator needed an integrated system to manage and report on all operational and financial activities. 

“Xytech software offers a multitude of features when it comes to handling the complex requirements of bookings,” said Matt Waldock, Xytech vice president and director of business development for EMEA. “Our Media Operations Platform allows for quick and efficient quote and order creation. As bookings are added or changed, the system updates the display in real time, putting automated financial transparency directly into clients’ hands,” he added.

With the continued expansion of alternate viewing platforms, local broadcast TV is changing the way viewers consume their content — which changes the way in which advertising has to be bought and sold. Broadcasters looking to maximize their current core business must also effectively manage revenue that is now coming from OTT and third-party digital advertising. 

As with other broadcast management systems, the Integration Suite from Marketron is designed to serve as a single ecosystem. Working with business platforms like Salesforce and NetSuite, the system can handle billing export features, digital advertising, social media verification and electronic sales orders. 

The system works side by side with the Marketron REV sales platform, which addresses proposal creation, linear TV order entry and real-time data reporting leading to more revenue on every order via intelligent dynamic pricing and direct traffic integration, Chaudhari said. “All of this technology is built on an open platform that can be integrated into broadcasters existing systems via APIs, helping broadcasters augment their capabilities without having to rip out their core infrastructure,” he said. 

To demonstrate its efforts to accommodate an expanding array of advertisers, Marketron last month added new capabilities to its Marketron NXT digital ad platform that enable all broadcast and media companies to deliver digital ad solutions to advertisers operating in restricted industries, including cannabis, CBD, gambling, alcohol, fireworks and politics, thereby driving revenue from previously limited verticals.

As the market changes, so too must modern broadcast management systems — from aggregating data to holistic business-level reporting to ensuring the right programming appears on the right channel. 

“This level of flexibility prepares broadcasters for continued success as advertiser and consumer demands evolve,” Chaudhari said. 

SAN FRANCISCO—WideOrbit has announced the launch of the latest version of WO Marketplace, the sell-side advertising platform that automates ad sales transactions and provides local TV broadcasters with streamlined access demand-side platforms (DSPs) and agencies. 

The widely used WO Marketplace is the system of record for more than $37 billion in advertising spend annually for over 6,000 stations and networks. It is used by about 90% of local US broadcast TV stations, WideOrbit reported. 

“As the demand for automated buying and selling of linear, broadcast TV continues to grow, WideOrbit is excited to introduce the newest version of our sell-side platform, WO Marketplace,” said Eric Mathewson, WideOrbit founder and CEO. “In addition to improved access to high-quality demand, WO Marketplace offers broadcasters greater visibility, flexibility, and control, allowing them to optimize rates and maximize yield.”

The enhanced WO Marketplace platform introduces WideOrbit’s proprietary optimizer technology, which allows broadcasters to set their own rate guidance to ensure offers meet their rate criteria. Invisible to buyers, broadcaster-defined rate guidance is used to match buyer offers to the seller’s rates for maximized revenue.

Integration with Comscore media measurement for impression and ratings data ensures WO Marketplace’s optimizer technology assigns high-quality offers to help sellers realize their revenue goals, while also helping buyers achieve their CPM and impression goals, WideOrbit said.

With WO Marketplace, broadcasters sell based on impressions, offering inventory by daypart and inventory code so preempts are minimized. Spots are also non-guaranteed, so there are no makegoods and no posting. 

WO Marketplace integrates seamlessly with WO Traffic, allowing broadcasters to easily set rate guidance, compare WO Marketplace offers against what is booked in WO Traffic, accept offers, and electronically transfer orders and materials directly into WO Traffic, the company said. 

SAN FRANCISCO—vCreative, a provider of media workflow solutions, has connected the vCreative production workflow management platform to WideOrbit, a provider of broadcast radio and TV inventory and revenue management technology. The WideOrbit certified integration between vCreative's vPPO platform and the Electronic Material Instructions module for WO Traffic, WideOrbit's flagship ad sales and commercial operations platform, will enable the end-to-end exchange of copy instructions, eliminating errors and saving time for broadcasters, the company said.

Created in close consultation with customers, WideOrbit's Electronic Material Instructions is the first automated solution the company says addresses “the long-standing need to simplify and streamline the material instructions process.” WideOrbit’s Electronic Material Instructions module automates the receipt of new and revised material instructions from vCreative’s production workflow management system for electronic import into WO Traffic.

Prior to this integration, data associated with copy and commercial instructions would be entered into WideOrbit, and the same information would be re-entered into vCreative, as part of the workflow necessary to produce or collect the creative assets. With the Electronic Material Instructions integration, vCreative electronically shares the necessary data to instruct all spots in WO Traffic, significantly reducing the time required to manage this process.

In addition to the Electronic Material Instructions integration, WideOrbit and vCreative have also built a feature that automatically populates production orders into vCreative's vPPO and vPRO platforms from the WideOrbit contract in WO Traffic, creating a link between the material ID in both systems. This bi-directional exchange of contract data, copy, and material instructions eliminates costly mistakes and saves each user hours of entry time, WideOrbit said.

Susie Hedrick, CEO of vCreative, comments that, “Connecting to WideOrbit’s Electronic Material Instructions module puts the finishing touches on a series of projects that we have developed with WideOrbit to benefit our mutual clients. Its completion comes at a critical time and is a must-have feature for broadcasters looking to expand team efficiency and boost productivity. The impact is hundreds of hours per year returned to every user, and it introduces the first ever collaboration integrating commercial copy from the initial creative request all the way through to on-air execution.”

Will Offeman, WideOrbit Chief Product Officer, says "WideOrbit's Electronic Material Instructions module is designed to help our broadcast radio and TV customers improve efficiency and reduce costly errors. It is a significant step forward in automation for what was previously a highly manual process. We're excited to add this new integration with vCreative."

SAN FRANCISCO—WideOrbit has announced the latest release of WO Traffic, the company’s flagship broadcast media ad sales and commercial operations platform with new features that include an automated addressable ad replacement solution for live streams.

As viewing continues to grow on connected TVs and streaming platforms, the new automated addressable ad replacement solution for live streams is designed to help stations and station groups monetize streaming via OTT/CTV and NextGen TV. 

“WideOrbit has a long tradition of continuous innovation and investment in our clients’ success. We’re excited to introduce our addressable ad replacement solution with the release of WO Traffic v22.0,” said Will Offeman, WideOrbit chief product officer. “Over 80% of our customers today are streaming their over-the-air content and addressable ad replacement will make it easier for them to take full advantage of revenue opportunities on the stream.”

The company noted that streaming via over-the-top and connected TV (OTT/CTV) now accounts for 24% of total TV consumption, up from 19% in 2019, and ad spend in 2022 will exceed $19 billion,. a 32% increase over last year, according to Insider Intelligence. In addition, Nielsen’s 2022 Global Marketing Report found that 61% of North American marketers are planning to increase their OTT/CTV ad spend this year.

WO Traffic’s addressable ad replacement solution enables a single playlist to be sent to both airtime (over the air) automation and streaming ad servers, with Spot and Material level data. 

As a result, broadcast spots on the live stream can either achieve extended reach or be replaced with addressable ads. The digital playout system uses data from WO Traffic to make dynamic ad replacement decisions at the Spot and/or Material level. 

By monetizing ads replaced on the stream, stations can maximize the revenue potential of live streaming their broadcast content via OTT/CTV, while also ensuring they’re fully prepared for the addressable capabilities of NEXTGEN TV (ATSC 3.0).

Other features and enhancements in WO Traffic v22.0 include: 

• Efficiency improvements to the Electronic Material Instructions module, based on customer feedback;
• An all-new application area for compiling and analyzing Instructions Sets across Material bundles, Advertisers, and Properties;
• The ability to exclude Agency Commission and/or Tax on Order Lines, allowing for commissionable, non-commissionable, taxable, and non-taxable lines on an order;​
• Log efficiency enhancements, including an option for improved spot placement in swing breaks.

WO Traffic v22.0 is now available for general release. 

More information on WO Traffic v22.0, is available in a recent webinar, “One Platform, Multiple Solutions: What’s New in WO Traffic v22.0.”

Before the pandemic, some predicted a decline in local television viewing, pointing to the rise in popularity of streaming services and other web-based entertainment options. But for two years, American viewers have endured the ups and downs of COVID-19 planted firmly in front of their television sets. They're tuning in to local newscasts and programming to stay informed and maintain a sense of community connection.

The increase in viewership enjoyed by direct-to-consumer portals like Hulu, Netflix, and AppleTV is a reality. But there's every indication that local broadcast TV will remain strong in 2022. Many people are still working from home at least part of the time and will continue to do so for the long term as hybrid work models become the norm. They rely on their local news for information on current events, such as the changing pandemic situation and, crucial in 2022 local, state, and federal elections. 

The 2020 presidential election was an advertising juggernaut, with $9.5 billion in political ad spend across local broadcast and cable TV and digital video. Even without a presidential race, this year’s hotly contested midterm elections are expected to bring in $8,8 billion, a 125% increase over the 2018 elections. And more than half of those political advertising dollars will go to local TV stations.

Marketplace TV gaining traction
Over-the-top (OTT) and Connected TV (CTV) now account for 24% of TV consumption, up from 19% in 2019. Ad spend for CTV is expected to exceed $19 billion this year, an increase of 32% over 2021. And over half of those dollars will be transacted programmatically.

The advanced targeting capabilities available with OTT and CTV mean broadcasters can offer advertisers the extensive reach of their broadcast inventory alongside the targeting of digital. Programmatic marketplaces make ad-supported streaming inventory easy to access and affordable to buy, making it a desirable option for advertisers.

But marketplace transactions aren’t just for digital TV. The rapid evolution in programmatic advertising makes it easier for advertisers to include broadcast TV in their advertising mix, allowing TV stations to attract more advertising dollars. This year, the ease of execution, waste reduction, brand safety, and rate transparency of marketplace transactions will attract a growing number of advertisers, especially as broadcasters continue to improve their marketplace experience. 

As a result, the marketplace for programmatic purchasing of broadcast ads will grow significantly in 2022, bringing the industry closer to true convergence, where over-the-air, broadcast inventory and digital advertising can be purchased together through a seamless user experience.

Consolidation is coming
The past year saw the launch of several new direct-to-consumer streaming services, all hoping for a share of $25+ billion in annual revenue. Portals even exist for streaming local news broadcasts, giving consumers more choice than ever for how and where they access their news. 

A highly saturated market is causing increased audience fragmentation, especially as consumers struggle to balance subscription-fee overload with creating the right combination of services to access the programming they want, making free, ad-supported options increasingly attractive. 

As a result, a move toward more ad-supported streaming and consolidation among even some of the most prominent players in the space are all but inevitable. 

Addressable TV is growing
Addressable TV advertising is expected to generate about $7.5 billion globally in 2022. However, while that number is impressive, it’s still only a small percentage of the total TV advertising forecast of $153 billion. This year's focus will be on building the technical infrastructure that TV broadcasters need to sell, manage, execute, and measure addressable ads alongside more traditional digital advertising and over-the-air broadcast spots. 

The ability to offer advertisers cross-platform, addressable advertising is critical to creating the holistic reach extension necessary for traditional TV broadcasters to remain competitive in an increasingly fragmented market, especially with continued growth expected across CTV, FAST, AVOD, and NextGen TV.

RESTON, Va.—Comscore and WideOrbit have announced that they’ve expanded their longstanding partnership to automate linear TV buying and selling and that WideOrbit is introducing Comscore TV information to power automated TV transactions and audience targeting across markets and demographics.   

The partnership facilitates the automated buying and selling of advertising inventory from more than 1700 local TV stations across 210 Local Markets, allowing advertisers to reach a specific number of impressions in a market and/or daypart rather than make specific program buys, the companies said. 

Through the agreement, more than 65 agencies, brands, and DSPs will have access to inventory offered through WideOrbit’s sell-side platform, WO Marketplace, powered by Comscore TV information from over 50 million homes. More than 96% of US television households are available to reach via this platform.

“The growing demand for automated buying and selling of linear TV highlights the critical importance of offering advertisers timely, relevant data to target audiences across markets and demographics,” said Eric Mathewson, WideOrbit founder and CEO. “Our partnership with Comscore allows us to provide the data advertisers need for effective targeting, combined with the ease of execution, waste reduction, brand safety, and rate transparency they’ve come to expect from WideOrbit marketplace transactions.” 

WO Marketplace helps local TV stations open new revenue streams with automated access to new demand. By bringing sellers new demand that can be evaluated alongside current sold inventory, broadcasters can accept only the offers that best meet their needs.

"The industry has been asking for better automation of TV buying and selling to harness the power of broadcast TV, which remains one of the most effective ways to reach large numbers of consumers,” said Bill Livek, CEO and executive vice chair, Comscore. “We are proud to deepen our longstanding partnership with WideOrbit to help advertisers more efficiently reach audiences across specific markets and demographics.”

WideOrbit is the system of record for more than $37 billion in advertising spend annually and is used by such companies as NBCUniversal, Fox, ViacomCBS, AMC Networks, Univision, Gray, and Sinclair.

ATLANTA, Ga.—SpotGenie Partners, a provider of digital media services to the advertising, entertainment, and broadcast industries, has announced that it has completed the integration between their video ad management and delivery platform and WideOrbit’s WO Traffic.

This integration will allow end-to-end electronic transfer of material instructions from SpotGenie's "Blaze" Agency Traffic Generation/Distribution system to WideOrbit's Electronic Material Instructions module for WO Traffic, the ad sales and commercial operations platform widely used by television stations and networks. 

The integration is notable because WideOrbit's Electronic Material Instructions module automates the receipt of new and revised material instructions from buy-side systems, for electronic import into WO Traffic. This is the first automated solution to address the long-standing need to simplify and streamline the material instructions process, the companies said. 

The new automated process will eliminate errors due to re-keying of data from the PDF traffic instruction documents typically distributed by agencies to stations and networks and will reduce the timeframe required to ingest instructions, making it possible to speed up the process of taking the ad live to air. 

Wayne Dykes, CEO of SpotGenie, explained, "as the final piece of our five-year plan to improve the linear television traffic workflow chain, we are very proud to be partnering with WideOrbit. We started this process in 2016 by introducing our traffic validation feature, `Cross-Check’. We added our attribution analytics platform, `Performance’, in 2018 and our automation-assisted traffic generation system, `Blaze’, in 2020. This integration of systems with WideOrbit is the final significant step towards modernizing television traffic workflow processes. For advanced TV to actually fulfill its promise in a big way, it was imperative that the traffic process be sped up to match the pace of programmatic buying platforms. With WideOrbit being the most widely used platform by television and radio traffic departments, this is a game changer for SpotGenie clients."

SpotGenie will be rolling out this automated material instructions option to existing clients over the next few weeks.

SAN FRANCISCO—WideOrbit has announced the latest release of WO Traffic, the company’s flagship ad sales and commercial operations platform for TV and radio stations that is used by more than 90% of U.S. local TV stations. 

The WO Traffic v21.0 release includes new features and enhancements to help stations and station groups generate new revenue, reduce costs, and improve efficiency, the company said. 

“WideOrbit has always been committed to continuous innovation and investment in our core products and we’re proud to continue that tradition,” said Will Offeman, WideOrbit chief product officer. “Our 21.0 release of WO Traffic includes the Electronic Material Instructions module, a significant step forward in automation for what was previously a highly manual process, and just one of several new features designed to help our broadcast TV and radio customers maximize revenue, reduce costs, and improve efficiency.”

The introduction of the Electronic Material Instructions module marks the first automated solution to address the long-standing need to simplify and streamline the material instructions process, the company said. 

The Electronic Material Instructions licensed module integrations with several leading material instructions providers, including ECN, PremiumMedia360, ITN Networks, and SpotGenie. More integrations are coming soon, including Warren Lamb and vCreative. These integrations simplify the exchange of new and revised material instructions, helping broadcasters reduce errors (and costly makegoods) while increasing staff productivity.

WO Traffic v21.0 also introduces additional enhancements to improve efficiency, including easier, more intuitive log editing functionality; a new, customizable Inventory Analysis Report; improved New Orders navigation with easier property location and selection, and more.

For more information on the new features and enhancements available with WO Traffic v21.0, as well as improvements included in previous releases, request a recording of the recent webinar, One Platform, Multiple Solutions: What’s New in WO Traffic, here.

SAN FRANCISCO—The broadcast TV inventory and revenue workflow management provider WideOrbit has released WO Network 2021, a new version of the company's flagship network ad sales and commercial operations platform that is widely used by national cable and TV broadcast networks. 

The 2021 release includes new features and enhancements to help networks generate new revenue, reduce costs, and improve efficiency as well as the introduction of the Electronic Material Instructions module. 

The Electronic Instructions module marks a significant milestone in the industry by being the first automated solution to address the long-standing need to simplify and streamline the traditionally cumbersome material instructions process, WideOrbit said.

A licensed module for WO Network, Electronic Material Instructions integrates with several leading material instructions providers, including ITN Networks, ECN, and PremiumMedia360, with other integrations coming soon, including Warren Lamb. These integrations help networks save time and money by simplifying the exchange of new and revised material instructions between buyers and sellers.

The WO Network 2021 release also introduces new functionality for Sales teams, including the Master Deals Wizard, a centralized location to view and manage all deals sold under a single proposal. The ADU Prediction Tool, now widely available with WO Network 2021, helps networks increase revenue and reduce liability by minimizing both over- and under-delivery, using predictive analytics to identify the number of Audience Deficiency Units (ADUs) needed to deliver on a deal.

"With our 2021 release of WO Network, WideOrbit is excited to continue our tradition of ongoing innovation and investment in improving our core products," says Arden Adair, WideOrbit' senior director of product management for WO Network. "Both the Electronic Material Instructions module and the ADU Prediction Tool are game changers for our broadcast and cable network customers, promising long-term, positive impact on revenue growth, cost savings, and improved efficiency."

WideOrbit is the system of record for more than $38 billion in advertising transactions annually and is used by such companies as A+E Networks, Disney|ABC, AMC Networks, Hallmark Channel, ViacomCBS, The Weather Channel, and Univision. 

COSTA MESA, Calif.—Veritone has announced that its integration with WideOrbit has proven to be a boon for a leading U.S.-based TV station group in terms of customer satisfaction, renewals and incremental ad revenue opportunities as a result of the AI-powered data insights delivered in near real-time. 

The collaboration between the two companies features Veritone’s aiWARE operating system and WideOrbit's ad management and tracking platform, WO Traffic. Using the integration has allowed the stations to retain more advertising revenue and compete for new advertising share, Veritone reports.

WO Traffic aggregates all client ad data into a single source. WideOrbit’s API then centralizes specific customer log info from this data lake and transmits it to Veritone Attribute. The Attribute platform is designed to help broadcasters demonstrate the effectiveness of their offering and work with advertisers on strategies. This provides near real-time ad performance analytics on live, organic mentions, in-content and pre-recorded campaigns, Veritone says.

The Veritone and WideOrbit integration can be used by both TV and radio broadcasters. Attribute programmatically compares reconciled spot times within WO Traffic to web traffic and visitor data from an advertiser’s site.

For more information, visit www.vertioneattribute.com.  

WASHINGTON—COVID-19 came down on most of the world like a freight train, and as a result, how we deal with our lives—professionally and personally—have had to change nearly as quickly. That rapid process of change is not about to skip the TV industry, and in this instance, how business management systems continue to evolve.

Whether their primary objective is helping broadcasters handle advertising and traffic needs via the management of metadata, providers have focused their attention to a number of key processes that have been brought about by current events.

GOING REMOTE

Since mid-March, the majority of work forces have been keeping up with their day-to-day tasks from home. Many were unaware of just how the process would change for them.

“There weren’t a lot of people, a lot of our customers, that were talking about how to sustain a 95% ‘work-from-home’ posture,” said Steve Reynolds, president of Imagine Communications. In response, Imagine has been making much of its business management platform suitable for distributed use, whether via the cloud or possibly as a managed service. But it was still a change that people had to get used to.

Myers also had a number of customers questioning how best to handle operations remotely. They, like Imagine, had previously developed the capability and have been further developing it with its ProHost 2.0. While being able to fully integrate with all systems inside a given media facility, an edge device makes ProHost 2.0 available accessible anywhere, according to Mike Tirrell, CTO for the Westfield, Mass.-based provider of radio and TV management software.

What many users have been surprised to learn during this time is how little their work has actually been impacted because of the work-from-home orders, and in some cases, how more efficient they are. As a result, a return to the office and the type of previous operations pre-COVID doesn’t feel as urgent.

“I think there are a lot of companies now that are looking at what they can do with managed services and what they can do in the public cloud as being not just a business continuity plan but indeed being the primary plan for how they want to run their business moving forward,” said Reynolds.

COMPETING AGAINST DIGITAL

When it comes to advertising, TV has long been one of the predominant platforms for companies to spend on. But digital has emerged in recent years, and with the ad market severely impacted by COVID-19, the gap between TV and some of the big digital players like Google and Facebook is becoming clearer. Still, media companies should be taking this time to find ways to reassert its powerful position in the ad world.

“The premium television companies possess [digital’s] value, but their execution systems, the way they run their businesses, has grown to be very siloed—one platform stack on top of the next,” said Lorne Brown, CEO of Operative, a provider of automated advertising software. “The TV market ... needs to modernize their tech stacks in order to compete in this new marketplace and unlock their value.”

The dominant theme these days is programmatic advertising, which Myers’ CEO Crist Myers defines as, “making sure that the right programming is meeting your audience.” Although it is becoming more widespread in recent years, the development of the ATSC 3.0 standard will give broadcasters new tools to better target specific segments of the population, Myers’ Tirrell explains.

While digital has gotten out in front with programmatic, WideOrbit has developed “MarketPlace” and “Programmatic Digital” to help remove barriers to TV’s full use of the technology, like transactions, according to Mike Zinsmeister, CRO for the San Francisco-based provider of business management systems for M&E.

Brown, however, doesn’t see programmatic having the biggest potential for business management systems. Instead he is more focused on creating multifaceted systems that combine a number of different needs of users.

BRINGING IT ALL TOGETHER

In our review of business management systems for M&E a year ago, we discussed how combining the different facets of business management into single platforms was underway. That approach has only increased in the current environment.

“It all comes back to this concept of having a unified infrastructure,” said Brown from Operative, whose flagship cloud-based AOS is designed to help media companies integrate the various aspects and platforms of their business and allow them to sell it in ways buyers want to consume it.

Nearly all of the companies we spoke with have these types of products, whether they are for full system operation, or focus on the many different aspects of a single function like advertising. WideOrbit has its Unified Sales Suite to connect buyers and sellers through a single, easy platform. The latest version of Myers’ ProTrack, 7.0, features a variety of services for managing, publishing and more. Imagine’s XG Gameplan gives users insights into supply and demand aspects, as well as audience and other facets.

“I think that what we’re seeing with COVID-19 is a decade of trends in 18 months,” said Brown. Providers and users just have to try and keep up.

SAN FRANCISCO—After a two-year discovery and implementation, A+E Networks has launched WideOrbit’s WO Network as the traffic and ad sales platform for its ten cable networks, including A&E, Lifetime, History, Lifetime Movies, FYI, and VICELAND. 

“WO Network provides the A+E Networks’ Ad Sales team with a robust platform to plan, build, deliver and steward optimal media schedules for our clients in an ultra-efficient manner that has the flexibility to adapt to the ever-changing demands of the marketplace,” said Michael Peretz, Executive Vice President, Ad Sales Revenue Management & Operations. “WideOrbit’s Placer is best in breed and has extremely sophisticated functionality that maximizes the clearance of our advertisers’ schedules, driving better results for A+E and our media partners.”

[Read: WideOrbit’s Programmatic Ads On More Than 1,000 TV Channels]

With A+E’s switch to WO Network, WideOrbit now claims that it has more than 100 cable network properties that are live on its sales and traffic platform—the largest of any media business software company. WideOrbit customers include: NBCUniversal, Tribune Media, Entercom Communications, Raycom Media, TEGNA, and AMC Networks. By integrating capabilities, such as traffic management, centralized operations, and streamlined workflows, the company says its platform seeks to simplify media buying and selling and create value for both sides of media transactions.

“When it comes to delivering engaging content to a new generation of audiences in a variety of media formats, A+E is one of the media industry’s most forward-thinking companies,” said Eric R. Mathewson, founder and chief executive officer, WideOrbit. “By installing WO Network, A+E has a flexible, future-proof platform for maximizing the value of its content whether it is consumed on linear, VOD or digital channels.” 

SAN FRANCISCO—Programmatic TV continues to grow as a method for buying and selling advertising, as evidence WideOrbit has announced that its WO Programmatic platform is now offering local ad inventory on more than 1,000 TV channels.

WideOrbit reports that its inventory includes stations in 181 markets, including all of the top 50, reaching more than 110 million households. Stations participating in WO Programmatic include properties from station groups like Raycom Media, Gray Television and others. Stations from each participating group offers some or all of its inventory through WideOrbit’s open marketplace buying model, programmatic direct connections or both, according to WideOrbit’s press announcement.

Nick Waller, executive vice president and co-chief operating officer for Gray Television calls this a “tipping point” for local TV. WideOrbit’s Founder and CEO, Eric R. Mathewson, is proclaiming that “PTV’s day is finally here.”

NEW YORK—Video advertising platform Eyeview and WideOrbit, a provider of advertising management software, have announced a partnership that will enable programmatic TV ad buying through the Eyeview platform. Eyeview clients can now purchase TV advertising from local broadcast stations through WideOrbit’s WO Programmatic TV.

With the Eyeview platform, marketers can purchase TV advertising from stations in 115 U.S. markets, including 18 of the top 25. Brand and agencies can make programmatic offers for local broadcast inventory, as well as measure and optimize campaign performance through Eyeview.

Features of the Eyeview platform include relevant messaging, targeting and measurement. In addition, the system also features automated, efficient, impression-based buying while supporting campaign frequency goals; as well as algorithm-centric smart data sources for precise targeting.

NEW YORK—After AMC’s series ‘Mad Men’ concluded earlier this year, which centered on the ad industry of the 60s, the network is making a different kind of ad deal, announcing it will go with WideOrbit’s WO Programmatic TV for the programmatic advertising sales system for AMC brands. AMC Networks will offer a percentage of its TV advertising inventory across AMC, BBC AMERICA, IFC, SundanceTV, and WE tv through the WideOrbit platform.

“Our programmatic advertising initiative addresses our clients’ desire to apply their own data to more effectively target our networks’ valuable audiences,” said Arlene Manos, president, national ad sales, AMC Networks.

“This partnership will enable our clients to use their customer data to select programming in premium environments across AMC Networks in more precise and automated ways,” said Todd Gordon, executive vice president, U.S. director at MAGNA GLOBAL.

WideOrbit is a provider of advertising management technology for cable networks, and local TV and radio stations. It is headquartered in San Francisco.

SAN FRANCISCO - WideOrbit has announced that the U.S. Patent Office has issued three patents for inventions designed to provide broadcasters with greater control, engagement and monetization of streamed content.

The first patent, for invention 8,984,094, delivers content skipping technology, giving listeners greater control over live-streamed broadcasts. With this invention, WideOrbit seeks to offer more engagement for listeners during live-stream broadcasting with access to a feature that was previously only available for on-demand audio services.

Invention 9,003,443’s patent provides program syndicators with greater control over content insertion. By using this invention, syndicators can insert content and advertising into audio streams without using injector markers or accessing the streaming party’s computer or encoders.

The patent for invention 8,996,712 covers WideOrbit’s WO Streaming technology. This allows for the insertion of targeted advertising in audio and video streams delivered with HTTP live streaming, a common video streaming protocol used for QuickTime, Safari, OS X, and iOS software.

“These patents and our continued investment in research and development are exemplary of WideOrbit’s commitment to providing broadcasters, streamers and integrated media companies with technology that will help them make money from changes in how consumers enjoy audio and video content,” said Eric R. Mathewson, founder and CEO of WideOrbit.