Spectrum Reach, the advertising division of Charter Communications, has formed a partnership with London-based advertising technology firm TVBeat to bring programmatic ad opportunities to traditional linear channels for the first time.
The collaboration between Spectrum Reach and TVBeat (stylized as tvbeat) is billed as a first-of-its-kind partnership that allows a cable TV provider to offer programmatic ads within its traditional linear cable networks.
Through this partnership, Spectrum Reach said it wants to modernize the ad-buying process for linear television, moving away from the industry’s traditional model that requires manual negotiations and campaign manager involvement. Instead, advertisers will be able to purchase TV ads automatically through digital platforms, mirroring the experience of buying ads for streaming services, the company affirmed.
“This collaboration is a great example of how TVBeat and Spectrum Reach are innovating to meet shifting advertiser expectations and consumer viewing behaviors,” Dan Callahan, the Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer of Spectrum Reach, said in a statement on Tuesday. “With TVBeat’s technology, we’re enabling our customers to purchase traditional TV ads as easily and precisely as they would with CTV, a capability previously unavailable for linear buys. This innovation aims to advance the industry by simplifying and enhancing the ad-buying experience.”
The programmatic system offers several advantages for advertisers. Campaigns can be targeted so that payment is only made when ads are actually viewed by the intended audience, helping to improve cost efficiency. Once campaigns conclude, advertisers receive detailed impression-level reports to assess performance. The technology also supports Video Ad Serving Template (VAST) tag execution—a widely used protocol for delivering and organizing video ads—which is essential for both CTV and digital video campaigns.
By bringing these capabilities to linear TV, Spectrum Reach and TVBeat hope to bridge the gap between traditional broadcast and modern digital advertising, offering brands the reach of television with the targeting and automation tools of online video.
“By aligning with Spectrum Reach’s innovative approach, we can help digital advertisers streamline their processes, boost their returns and reach wider TV audiences with the precision of CTV planning,” said Robert Farazin, the CEO of TVBeat. “But more importantly, through this partnership, we’re delivering solutions that make it easier for advertisers in today’s competitive landscape.”
The partnership gives advertisers a scalable and measurable way to integrate linear TV into their broader programmatic-focused media buying budgets, the companies affirmed. Buyers will be able to take advantage of automation, targeting and measurement capabilities of programmatic spots run on traditional linear TV channels, just as they’ve come to expect from connected TV platforms and streaming video apps.
