CTV

The TV market’s vanishing impression problem is even more concerning than the numbers indicate. But maybe a little impression scarcity is a good thing.

Contextual ad platform Seedtag acquires Beachfront, a supply-side platform that specializes in TV and video.

While agencies push for more programmatic buying options, publishers want to maintain control in TV ad buying negotiations – and particularly over their “premium” content.

Inspire Brands, the fast-food franchise that owns popular chains such as Dunkin’, Sonic and Arby’s, is rewriting parts of its TV playbook to better manage reach and frequency in streaming media campaigns.

In today’s newsletter: Why Apple’s SKAdNetwork 4.0 is a bust; advertisers are irked by Google’s optimization-driven demand for different creative formats; The Trade Desk releases a baffling list of top 100 publishers.

In today’s newsletter: Publishers fear they’ll be excluded from The Trade Desk’s “premium internet”; buyers weigh in on Netflix’s plans to offer an ad server; and PayPal launches an ad network and data brokerage.

As more ad spend shifts to CTV, there are new opportunities to make errors with campaign delivery. To help address the issue, Zeev Neumeier, founder of Inscape Data, is launching a new venture called GraySwan.

In today’s newsletter: Ampla suspends loans to DTC brands, putting their ad budgets at risk; why Sony is investing in IP rather than a streaming platform; and Netflix will move on from Microsoft in favor of in-house ad tech by 2025.

To some degree, the digitization of TV marketing is inevitable. But there’s a limit to how much TV ad buying should digitize, according to Needham’s Laura Martin.

Enjoy this weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem … 

Fixating on ROAS makes it harder to figure out how certain parts of a campaign perform, especially now that retail media buys often include other, less performance-focused channels like display and CTV as audience extension.

Telemundo wants to score bigger ad budgets by proving it can target ads to a multicultural audience in ways that drive real results. It’s also trying to reach more Gen Z by investing more in streaming distribution.

The phaseout of third-party cookies kicked off the sell-side curation trend. But it’s also being driven by advertiser concerns about open web media quality and the need to enhance publisher contextual signals with audience data.

Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Signaling Change Amazon has a new ad measurement product for publishers. Signal IQ, as it’s called, is designed to help sites measure the impact of alternative IDs on campaign performance, including for streaming media, Ad Age reports. The idea is to make it easier […]

In addition to taking execs through its plans to launch its own ad platform, Netflix hosted a separate event open to the press to showcase its content as part of its efforts to stand out to advertisers.

Enjoy this weekly comic strip from AdExchanger.com that highlights the digital advertising ecosystem … 

Views of Shorts on CTV devices more than doubled last year, people watch more than 1 billion hours of YouTube daily on their TVs – and other fun facts from YouTube’s Brandcast event.

Remember back when Netflix insisted it would never run ads on its platform? Well, not only does it now have 40 million MAUs for its AVOD tier, it’s also launching an ad tech platform.

Warner Bros. Discovery had the most to prove during this week’s upfronts. So, the company used its upfront stage on Wednesday to showcase a new suite of ad products.

What is Google’s true motive in launching the Chrome Privacy Sandbox? An optimist might give Google credit for not dropping the hammer like Apple did. But it’s hard not to be a little cynical about Google’s goals, according to Samantha Jacobson, chief strategy officer at The Trade Desk.

In today’s newsletter: Google’s generative search experience launches in the US; kid-focused brands worry Instagram is serving their ads to predators; Fox hypes clean rooms and shoppable TV at the upfronts.

During Disney’s upfront event on Tuesday, just hours after Amazon’s, the Mouse House couldn’t hold back on pitching its content and advertising prowess. Sports was a big highlight.

Amazon kicked off its first-ever upfront event with advertising right out of the gate, including pitches about its scale, shopper data and content, particularly its sports programming.

TelevisaUnivision used its upfront stage to remind agencies and advertisers that Hispanic audiences drive business results. It shared ways buyers can work directly with it for targeting and measurement, plus new video currency options for media transactions.

Actors, musicians, dancers and comedians vouched for the value of NBCU media in between flashy performances and trailers during the programmer’s TV upfront. But about advertising, NBCU execs barely made a mention.

In today’s newsletter: Companies looking to sell data target the US market; which media companies to bet on at TV upfronts; and generative AI data licensing is the new publisher revenue stream.

Programmers are using their Q1 earnings reports as a dress rehearsal for their upfront pitches. Meanwhile, programmatic platforms, including Magnite and PubMatic, also had upfronts in mind during their Q1 earnings.

Will data dazzle media buyers at this year’s TV upfronts? Plus: Why recent changes to Google search results have decimated traffic for some digital publishers – and rewarded others.

Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) broke the trend of streaming publishers reporting positive gains last quarter. But it’s slowly gaining subscribers, and expects bundling and global expansion to help speed up traction for its streaming service, Max.

For Magnite, the biggest growth opportunity lies in supply-path optimization. The trade-off is the pressure to differentiate itself from other supply-side platforms competing for agency deals.