tvbeat

Comcast Launches Programmatic Bidding for Linear TV

Comcast Advertising announced a new programmatic, biddable workflow for its linear TV inventory, accessible exclusively through FreeWheel. Advertisers can target and bid in real time, with live campaigns running on both linear and streaming. Comcast plans to expand programmatic access to additional buy-side platforms and, eventually, allow other publishers to make their linear inventory available via FreeWheel. James Rooke, President of Comcast Advertising, described the objective as unifying audiences across all TV buying forms in a single, programmatic workflow. The move follows earlier industry efforts, including AMC Networks’ 2023 rollout with FreeWheel, and is complemented by Dentsu testing the workflow on campaigns such as Stitch Head, which releases in theaters on October 29, aiming to unlock incremental reach.

Europe Leads in Convergent TV, Says tvbeat CEO

TVbeat CEO Robert Farazin discusses convergent TV as a unifying model for linear and CTV inventory through an orchestration layer. In an AdExchanger interview, Farazin describes tvbeat as an ad tech platform for forecasting, planning, and optimization—not a traditional SSP or measurement provider. The piece notes Spectrum Reach (Charter’s ad sales arm) is partnering with tvbeat to enable programmatic buying of linear inventory with the same tools used for CTV, signaling a deeper, data-driven approach to TV across screens. Farazin points to Europe as ahead of the US in converged TV adoption, with Scandinavian markets reportedly reaching around 90% converged campaigns and the US roughly 18 months behind. tvbeat aims to unify broadcasters’ fragmented ad stacks by exposing inventory to impressions-based buying while managing DSP exposure and PMP deals, emphasizing audience-first selling and a blend of impression- and outcome-based metrics.

Recent News Shapes the Future of CTV

The article analyzes recent developments shaping Connected TV (CTV), arguing that publishers, buyers, and agencies should emulate tech giants to scale CTV without surrendering control to Google, Meta, or Amazon. It highlights Google's shift to IP-address usage for targeting and measurement as a major policy update, alongside Digital Envoy's LOCID technology which provides a stable household ID for cross-device attribution. AI is presented as a key accelerant for 2025, enabling more efficient planning and better integration with traditional TV data, geospatial datasets, and CDPs. LOCID reportedly enables household-level measurement across devices (TV, mobile) and supports privacy-preserving practices via non-ID solutions and clean rooms. The piece calls for a unified ecosystem centered on householding, IP-based measurement, and AI-driven planning, with stakeholders including publishers, Retail Media Networks, Ad Tech & CDPs, Agencies, and Large Brands, to preserve premium CTV value against the platform giants.