NBCUniversal transacted 10-15% of its digital business programmatically during the 2015-2016 season, the company has revealed to AdExchanger.
Prior to the upfronts, the company expected to secure 50% of commitments on a “converged” basis, with elements of both TV and digital in a single deal. In this most recent upfront, NBCUniversal’s digital business grew 50% and, of that growth, programmatic represented 40%.
“We had been very active previously with our programmatic offering principally around display, but we wanted to evaluate how we could balance audience targeting at scale against premium content for our clients with video,” said Aaron Radin, SVP of partnerships and portfolio products for NBCUniversal.
Agency clients wanted deeper automation and more of a “portfolio” buy across all NBCU properties, Radin said.
NBC made marked efforts to unite its portfolio opportunities when it launched private exchange NBCUx last fall, which amassed audiences across news, entertainment, sports and Hispanic properties.
Omnicom Group buys video, mobile and display formats programmatically through NBCUx in addition to its larger TV sponsorships and brand integrations for its clients.
It creates custom segments for clients by connecting its data-management platform, Annalect, to NBC’s Audience Targeting Platform (ATP), combining first- and third-party data with viewership habits.