Glossary
What is programmatic TV?
Programmatic TV is the automated, data-driven buying and selling of television advertising inventory across linear, connected and addressable television environments.
What it applies to
The term covers three quite different situations, and treating them as one is the source of most disappointment with the category.
[CTV](/resources/glossary/connected-tv-ctv) is genuinely programmatic. Inventory is addressable, delivery is counted, and it can be bought through the same infrastructure as digital video.
Addressable linear allows different households watching the same broadcast to receive different advertising, where the distribution technology supports it. Real, and limited in scale.
Automated linear buying is a workflow improvement rather than a change in the product — the same spots, bought with less paperwork.
What it improves
- Audience-based buying rather than programme-based, which reduces waste against a defined target.
- Faster execution, including in-flight changes that traditional insertion orders cannot accommodate.
- Frequency management across services, at least in principle.
- Counted delivery, replacing panel estimates.
Where it falls short
Fragmentation. Buying across many streaming services requires many relationships, and the promised single interface rarely covers the inventory that matters most.
Premium inventory stays direct. The best television inventory is still negotiated, not auctioned, which means programmatic access is often to what was left.
Frequency control does not work as advertised, because caps are enforced within services rather than across them.
Measurement has not kept up. Delivery is counted well; effect is not, and cross-device attribution from a television is unreliable enough that geo testing remains the honest method.
Common questions
Can I buy TV through my existing DSP?
CTV inventory, increasingly yes. Linear and addressable linear generally require specialist platforms or direct relationships.
Is programmatic TV cheaper?
Not usually on a CPM basis — premium video prices well regardless of how it is bought. The gain is in reduced waste against a target audience and faster operation.
More in channels and surfaces
Screens beyond the phone, and the commerce that happens on them.