With more ad sales being done programmatically, FreeWheel, Comcast’s ad-tech company has introduced a new product designed to enable media companies manage inventory across sales channels.
FreeWheel’s Allocation Module will be available before the 2024 upfront. It is designed to give publishers a holistic view of spending against upfront commitments regardless of transaction type, enabling them to optimize the monetization of their inventory. That includes biddable programmatic deals..
It also lets users of demand side platforms know whether or not they are bidding enough in real time to meet the ad spending commitments their clients’ made during the upfront.
Media companies AMC Networks, Comcast’s NBCUniversal and Warner Bros. Discovery have signed on as initial development partners and will test the Allocation Module ahead of the upfront.
“Existing systems have been holding back the modern day upfront. There has been an inherent conflict between the concept of upfront commitments and programmatic bidding, which happens in real time,” said David Dworin, chief product officer at FreeWheel. “This new solution bridges that gap and has the potential to turbocharge the shift to programmatic as part of the next upfront.”
FreeWheel is using its Beeswax buy-side programmatic platform to get the Allocation Module up and running in time for the upfronts.
“Programmatic trading plays an important role in our advertising partners’ TV strategies, particularly as viewers are spending more time with streaming content and platforms,” said Jon Steinlauf, chief U.S. ad sales officer at Warner Bros. Discovery.
“We need to make sure that no matter how our inventory is purchased, it is managed in a holistic manner that extracts the most value for the advertiser and provides the best experience for viewers. We look forward to working with FreeWheel to take holistic inventory management to the next level in time for this year’s TV upfronts rollout,” Steinlauf said.
“As a content company that shifted years ago to a programmatic-first approach to buying across our digital inventory, and now our linear networks as well, a solution like this will allow us to better manage upfront deals and offer more flexibility and cross-platform reach to our clients,” added Evan Adlman, executive VP of commercial sales and revenue operations, AMC Networks.
“Since so much viewership is now on connected devices within streaming platforms, programmatic buying has never been more important,” Adlman said. “FreeWheel has been a great partner in driving technological advances in our industry, and Allocation Module will now make it easier for advertisers to reach audiences programmatically across all environments, at scale.”
