‘Programmatic buying’ to account for 20% of US TV ad spend

‘Programmatic buying’, also known as automated media buying, will account for 20% of US TV advertising spend by 2018, according to Strategy Analytics. 

The research firm claims that traditional TV ad buying practises, which have been “fairly static for decades” will start to shift in the coming years, as firms try to improve operational efficiencies.

Strategy Analytics defines programmatic buying as the use of data, technology, and software to drive better media buying decisions, and says this has already become “entrenched” in online advertising and is making “significant inroads” in online video.

Programmatic buying has already been introduced in a number of television services, notably Sky TV’s Adsmart platform in the UK, said Strategy Analytics.

“There are challenges ahead, notably in industry education, technological limitations and control over pricing. But we believe that the benefits of programmatic buying are beginning to outweigh perceived obstacles to its wider adoption in television,” said Michael Goodman, associate analyst at Strategy Analytics.