Observed Signal · Jun 22, 2026 · Technical Release · Source: AdExchanger · Impact: 3/5 · Sentiment: Neutral
Tatari: Programmatic Is a Tool, Not a TV Strategy
Tatari Chief Revenue Officer Andy Schonfeld told AdExchanger’s Inside the Stack podcast that programmatic buying — particularly via DSPs — should be viewed as a tool rather than a TV media-buying strategy. Tatari highlighted gaps in DSP access to premium streaming inventory, noting that much live-sports streaming (e.g., Hulu Live) is sold as linear passthrough and is not reachable via DSPs. The company promoted its Upstream technology as a response: automating direct insertion-order (IO) buying with major networks (CBS, Fox, Disney), improving measurement and allocation using an $8 billion historical spend dataset, and reducing intermediary fees. Schonfeld also discussed appropriate use cases for programmatic, AI-driven compression of media planning time, and described the future of TV as “direct, automation, and convergence.”
Highlights practical limitations of DSP-based CTV buys and promotes a technology (Upstream) that automates direct network IOs, which could influence buyer strategies, measurement approaches, and fee structures across TV/CTV media buying.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Tatari CRO Andy Schonfeld said programmatic is a tool, not a TV media-buying strategy on AdExchanger’s Inside the Stack podcast.
- Tatari placed a billboard on the Palais at Cannes calling out DSPs at the industry gathering.
- Tatari argued that much live-sports streaming (example: Hulu Live) is sold as linear passthrough and is not accessible through DSPs — citing roughly 90% of that inventory.
- Tatari’s Upstream technology is designed to automate direct IO buying with major networks, improve measurement/allocation using $8 billion in historical spend data, and cut intermediary fees.
- Schonfeld said AI is compressing a 40-minute media-planning process into about one minute and framed the future of TV as direct, automation, and convergence.
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Premium CTV Publishers Build Outside Programmatic
At Marketecture Live, industry leaders from Tatari, Warner Bros Discovery, NBCUniversal and Marketecture Media discussed how premium Connected TV (CTV) inventory is increasingly sold outside traditional programmatic pipes. They noted the U.S. TV ad market is roughly $90B (about $60B linear, $30B streaming), with only around half of streaming inventory traded programmatically. Panelists argued direct deals remain important for guaranteed inventory, brand safety and revenue certainty—especially for live and moment-driven content—while programmatic continues to provide targeting, flexibility and discovery. Automation is beginning to lower barriers to direct buying; Tatari introduced Upstream as a solution to automate direct deals and bypass traditional programmatic layers. The consensus was a hybrid future for CTV combining automation, data and direct publisher relationships.
CTV Buying Faces Infrastructure Problems
An ADWEEK House Cannes fireside co-hosted with Tatari highlighted structural issues in programmatic connected-TV (CTV) buying. Philip Inghelbrecht, CEO and co‑founder of Tatari, argued that CTV’s buying architecture was inherited from digital display and is ill-suited for premium streaming inventory, where a large share of impressions come from a small number of publishers. He said programmatic CTV is useful for narrow targeting and retargeting but is not a substitute for broad-reach TV buys, and recommended moving automation closer to the ad server to cut manual processes. Inghelbrecht also expressed skepticism about current AI in advertising, calling much of it workflow automation rather than intelligence that improves decision‑making. The piece was published in partnership with Tatari and reported by Ashley Cisneros Mejia.
Unlock CTV Growth: Direct Sports Buying is Key
An AdExchanger Content Studio sponsored post argues that while programmatic media buying drives most CTV growth today, true scale and contextual impact come from direct sports buying. The piece notes that in 2025, more than 90% of CTV ad dollars moved through programmatic pipes, and forecasts that 2026 growth will be driven largely by programmatic activity. It cites MLB’s seven-game World Series, which averaged 15 million viewers, as an example of the value of direct negotiations. The author contends that many valuable sports inventory—regional games, talk shows, pregame and postgame coverage, and premium streaming packages—remains accessible only through direct deals, often at discounted rates via floaters and opportunistic placements. Direct buying provides predictability, concentration, and context, while programmatic remains best for precise activation and retargeting. The message: start with sports to break the programmatic ceiling and achieve broader reach with measurable impact.
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