There is much talk in the industry about whether so-called “programmatic” technologies, which are revolutionizing internet display and video advertising, will come to ye olde TV any time soon.
Despite many hurdles in the way, one ad-tech vendor says the prospect is already “very real”.
“The market today is $700m and is going to grow to $4.bn by 2018,” says DataXu founder and SVP Sandro Catanzaro in this video interview with Beet.TV, referring to a June eMarketer forecast, which forecasts programmatically-traded ads growing from just 1% of US TV ads this year to 6% by that year.
So what is programmatic TV? Specifically, Catazano says DataXu is working with three platform variants of the technology:
- Connected TV, with “accurate and granular targeting” and almost “immediate reporting”.
- Addressable TV, in which audiences are reached through partners like Cablevision, DirecTV, DISH, Comcast and Sky by swapping a standard ad for one that is targeted.
- Programmatic linear TV, in which audiences can be found using data and technology to uncover propensity of individual viewers to be watching different TV shows.
Boston-based DataXu recently made a number of appointments to oversee onmni-channel, south-east Asia sales and its own finances, following a $10m investment from UK satellite pay-TV operator Sky.
The company offers marketers and their agencies automated media buying, optimization, reporting and data management across devices, and a year ago was named the strongest “total advertiser solution” in a Forrester Wave report.