Giving broadcasters the confidence to adopt programmatic

Lance Charlton, Head of Programmatic in EMEA, Ooyala writes about programmatic on the back of their video index extra report.

Ooyala recently released its latest Video Index Extra report, providing a deep-dive look at trends within the programmatic advertising market. For the report, Ooyala selected influential European broadcasters using its technology for both direct and programmaticsales,and evaluated how much of their inventory was sold programmatically, as opposed to directly, in 2016.

The resulting paper: “Broadcasters Shy to Adopt Programmatic: Challenges and Solutions,” shows that programmatic adoption among traditional TV providers is slower than the rest of the programmatic digital video industry.  

The question is why? After all, there are countless reports painting programmatic as being on the up-and-up. The promise of programmatic is easy to follow, and despite some initial concern, is now seen as an ideal solution in a market where audience viewing is fragmented across devices and platforms. It is perfect for buyers wanting to streamline the challenge of reaching obscure or hidden online audiences, across all devices, as efficiently as possible.

Unlike publishers and media companies, who have so much inventory it can be a challenge to sell every impression, broadcasters have a finite amount of premium, long-form content available. They are less challenged in that respect. Their buyer relationships are strong, deals are being made and the process simply works. It’s predictable. When selling, broadcasters are well accustomed to predictable prices and the concern is programmatic will be unable to maintain it.

If they are to change, broadcasters need an incentive, and without predictable prices or buyers putting pressure on them to make a move, they see no urgent need. This answers the question of why adoption of programmatic is currently slower than among traditional TV providers, and why, while programmatic is gaining momentum across the digital video industry, direct deals continue to rule the roost.

However, programmatic doesn’t have to be unpredictable. Methods such as automated guaranteed allows buyers to have the familiarity of fixed prices and maintains the connection between the buyer and seller. And by taking a holistic approach, having technology that allows them to cross-compare the revenue potential between direct-sold deals and programmatic, broadcasters can make more informed selling decisions and realise how predictably lucrative selling programmatically can be.