LONDON and NEW YORK—Charter Communication’s ad sales unit Spectrum Reach and tvbeat have announced that they are working together to bring tvbeat’s programmatic ad capabilities to linear TV advertising in the U.S. market.
The deal will bring a fully automated, data-driven buying experience to linear TV and in the process allow digital advertisers to access traditional TV advertising inventory with the precision and ease of Connected TV (CTV), the two companies said.
Spectrum is reporting that the effort makes it the first U.S. Multichannel Video Programming Distributor (MVPD) to execute video ad campaigns in a CTV-like manner using traditional TV ad inventory.
Unlike typical linear ad buys that require manual negotiation and facilitation by a campaign manager, Spectrum said that its inventory can now be bought programmatically, meaning it can be purchased automatically through digital platforms. This means means that linear TV ads can be purchased in the same automated manner that has long been used by online streaming services, the two companies said.
"This collaboration is a great example of how tvbeat and Spectrum Reach are innovating to meet shifting advertiser expectations and consumer viewing behaviors,” said Dan Callahan, senior vice president and chief revenue officer, Spectrum Reach. “With tvbeat's technology, we're enabling our customers to purchase traditional TV ads as easily and precisely as they would with CTV—a capability previously unavailable for linear buys. This innovation aims to advance the industry by simplifying and enhancing the ad-buying experience."
The system also makes advertising more cost effective, as advertisers only pay when their ads are watched by their target audience. Once campaigns have run, advertisers have access to detailed impression-level reports to gauge ad performance, the two companies said.
More information is available at tvbeat.com, and at spectrumreach.com.
