Key Points
- Viamedia.ai and Hearst Television have partnered to bring household-level addressable advertising to broadcast television.
- The initiative follows a successful market test involving Hearst’s WLWT-TV in Cincinnati and technology provider MediaKind.
- Advertisers can target specific households while accessing traditional broadcast inventory; Hearst says the technology could increase monetizable impressions by as much as 25 percent.
Hearst Television and ad technology company Viamedia.ai have unveiled a new addressable advertising platform that allows broadcasters to deliver targeted ads to individual households, a capability long associated with digital and connected TV platforms but largely unavailable in traditional broadcast television.
The companies said the initiative follows an extensive market trial involving Hearst-owned WLWT (Channel 5, NBC) in Cincinnati and MediaKind, whose advertising technology enabled household-level ad delivery through broadcast streams.
The new platform uses Viamedia.ai’s Parrot Ad Decisioning System to dynamically insert advertising into qualifying broadcast streams, allowing marketers to target specific audiences while maintaining access to the broad reach of local television.
According to the companies, the technology could increase monetizable impressions by up to 25 percent by opening inventory to advertisers seeking audience-based targeting and measurable campaign outcomes.
The announcement comes as broadcasters continue searching for ways to compete with connected TV, streaming and digital platforms that have attracted advertisers with advanced targeting capabilities and detailed performance metrics.
“Local broadcast TV delivers unparalleled impact for advertisers within targeted markets and we’re adding to our toolkit the capabilities to target not just the whole of the market but specific households within markets,” said John Robertson, Vice President of Distribution at Hearst Television.
Robertson said the technology allows Hearst to combine the scale and reach of local television with the analytics, measurement and audience targeting capabilities that advertisers increasingly expect.
The platform operates across three components: broadcast inventory supplied by stations, distribution infrastructure capable of supporting addressable delivery, and Viamedia.ai’s advertising technology layer. Together, the system allows local and national campaigns to be delivered dynamically to qualifying households.
Viamedia.ai President and Chief Strategy Officer Evan Rutchik said the development helps move broadcast television closer to the precision and accountability offered by digital advertising channels.
“While connected TV and FAST channels are growing in popularity among advertisers, linear still accounts for a massive audience,” Rutchik said. “By bringing true addressability to Hearst’s broadcast inventory, we move the market toward a model where broadcast delivers the same level of precision and accountability that advertisers expect from other channels.”
Media buyers have also expressed interest in the technology’s potential to transform television into a more performance-driven advertising medium.
Phil Sloan, the Senior Vice President and Managing Director at media agency Canvas, said the ability to target specific audiences significantly enhances broadcast television’s value within modern advertising campaigns.
“Hearst Television, Viamedia and their partners have opened the door to making all of TV a performance-driven channel, meeting advertiser demand. We look forward to continuing to explore this for our clients’ campaigns as they look to raise awareness and measure outcomes,” Sloan said in a statement on Wednesday.
Hearst Television owns three dozen local TV stations across the country, most of which are affiliated with ABC, CBS, NBC or the CW Network.
