Key Points
- ITN plans to expand its NXTv Programmatic Hub through an integration with Comscore audience data.
- The initiative will add more than 800 lifestyle and behavioral audience segments to the platform.
- Buyers will be able to use Comscore data for planning, activation and post-campaign reporting of local linear TV campaigns.
ITN is expanding its programmatic local television advertising platform through a new initiative that will integrate Comscore audience data into the company’s NXTv Programmatic Hub, the companies announced on Monday.
Later this year, the integration will allow advertisers and agencies to apply advanced audience intelligence directly to local television campaign activation and reporting workflows.
At the center of the initiative is a new data store within the NXTv Programmatic Hub that will incorporate more than 800 lifestyle and behavioral audience segments supplied by Comscore. The data will enable buyers to move from planning to execution using audience-based targeting tools similar to those already common across digital advertising platforms.
Dentsu is serving as an alpha partner on the project and will help test the next phase of audience-based programmatic activation for local linear television. The agency plans to use Comscore audience segments to execute customized local TV campaigns through the platform.
The companies said the integration is intended to modernize local television advertising by applying impression-based programmatic workflows while preserving broadcaster control over inventory.
The platform will allow users to activate local linear television campaigns using Comscore audience data, create custom Deal IDs, manage audience-based buying strategies and monitor campaign delivery through unified reporting dashboards spanning both linear and digital video.
Campaign execution will be supported through an integration with Magnite’s ClearLine platform, which facilitates programmatic transactions for television advertising.
Todd Watson, the Chief Executive Officer of ITN, said the company has already established the programmatic infrastructure necessary for local television and is now focused on bringing audience intelligence directly into campaign execution.
“This represents the next phase in the evolution of local linear TV,” Watson said. “By integrating audience data directly into campaign execution, we’re making local TV more precise, measurable and actionable for advertisers.”
Jennifer Hungerbuhler, the Executive Vice President and Head of Local Media Investment & Productivity at dentsu, said agencies increasingly want local television to operate more like other forms of video advertising.
“With Comscore data operationalized in NXTv, we can move from planning to programmatic activation faster and with greater confidence,” she said.
“Modern measurement is at the core of how media buying and selling continues to evolve. We’re proud to power ITN’s self-service linear programmatic platform with advanced audience and behavioral data that enables smarter, more efficient planning,” said Hanna Gryncwajg, the Senior Vice President of Commercial at Comscore. “Audience-based buying helps advertisers reach the consumers who are more likely to engage, improving campaign performance and ROI. With this launch, ITN is making sophisticated linear programmatic capabilities easier and more accessible for the marketplace.”
