TV Companies Unite On Outcomes to Battle Digital Rivals
In the midst of upfront week, most of the largest TV companies said they were banding together to battle the big-tech walled gardens that are siphoning off a growing share of video advertising dollars.
The companies are working with OpenAP to create a shared system offering a standardized way for advertisers to measure outcomes and buy audiences.
Outcomes is the key buzzword at this year’s upfront. The digital giants offer advertisers a load of information about the impact of their campaigns based on their own internal data and systems. The traditional television industry is fragmented, making it hard to compete.
To make TV easier to buy and evaluate, A+E Global Media, AMC Global Media, Fox, Hallmark Media, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Scripps Networks, TelevisaUnivision and Warner Bros. Discovery said they’ve agreed on a new standardized conversion API that will turn outcome data into a consistent, reusable signal across publishers. The system will support automated and agentic buying to increase investment in linear and streaming channels.
"The biggest barrier to scaling audience-based buying in TV is not strategy, it is fragmentation," said Lisa Herdman, chief enterprise integration officer at ad agency RPA.
"Building on OpenAP's existing audience and identity infrastructure to unify data, activation and outcomes, with support for agentic workflows, gives us a shared standard without disintermediating the direct partnerships that hold the trust and execution infrastructure clients rely on,” Herdman said. “That is how we modernize TV buying, creating more room for established partnerships to build on equity earned, for technology to interoperate, and for clients to see consistent, performance-driven results across the ecosystem."
Disney, while not fully signed on as a participant, has endorsed the effort. Disney has a history of being reluctant to join in on industry collaborations, although it has done some work with OpenAP, the digital ad company started by Fox, Viacom and Turner.
“For us, it starts with optionality, meeting advertisers where they are and giving them multiple ways to transact with Disney,” said Jamie Power, senior VP of addressable sales at Disney Advertising. “Emerging agentic capabilities, including what OpenAP is building, are unlocking greater value and effectiveness for brands and expanding the tools and pathways available to buyers to access Disney inventory.”
OpenAP said the initiative will establish a new standardized, cross-publisher conversion API (CAPI) for TV advertising that enables advertisers to connect first-party conversion and outcome data to exposure data from participating publishers through a single integration point. OpenAP will support a consistent data translation using its shared identity framework, creating a more interoperable set of conversion signals across premium linear and streaming environments.
The system will be expanding to include outcomes data from independent measurement companies in the future.
OpenAP said it will also introduce new campaign workflows to improve performance, enabling buyers to commit new dollars across publishers and platforms.
“Advertisers face growing pressure to prove performance while navigating increasing complexity. This cross-publisher initiative simplifies that challenge by making premium TV easier to connect, measure and invest in strategic audiences across data-driven video,” said Ryan Gould, President of U.S. Advertising Sales, Go to Market for Warner Bros. Discovery and Chairman of OpenAP’s Board of Directors.
“By bringing a more unified approach through OpenAP, we can reduce fragmentation, create greater consistency and unlock the full value of premium video—delivering meaningful impact for advertisers while providing publishers a clearer framework to prove performance and grow investment in strategic audiences.”
OpenAP CEO David Levy added: “Premium video needs its own intelligent operating layer to better compete with walled gardens. This cross-publisher effort will unify how outcome data flows into premium TV through a standardized integration point connecting advertiser conversion data with publisher exposure data. By simplifying how outcomes are measured and activated across publishers, we can help advertisers see performance more easily, enable agencies to scale their audience strategies, and give publishers a stronger framework to grow investment without adding operational friction.”
Nexxen Goes Home Screen
Nexxen said it is expanding its TV Home Screen business by adding inventory from TCL and TiVo Ads to its programmatic platform.
Home screen ads were the hot item during this year’s NewFronts. They appear whenever a viewer turns on their TV, creating reach and attention.
“Whether buyers are looking to deepen their existing CTV investments or capture audiences around major tentpole events, Nexxen TV Home Screen unlocks a powerful new lever with premium, native placements that draw attention from the moment the TV turns on," said Kenneth Suh, chief strategy officer at Nexxen. "By pairing exclusive access to scaled premium inventory like TCL and TiVo with streamlined programmatic purchasing, we're making it remarkably simple for buyers to capture measurable value across the Smart TV ecosystem."
TCL’s native home screen inventory will be available programmatically globally. Nexxen will be the exclusive programmatic home for select placements in the U.S. and Canada.
“Native placements on TCL Smart TVs give brands a high-quality, high-impact way to reach audiences at a key moment in the viewing journey. With Nexxen TV Home Screen, it’s now easier to activate that inventory at scale, enabling brands and agencies to discover audiences and secure premium placements with the speed and flexibility today’s TV market demands,” Jeremy Straight, global VP, TCL Ads.
TiVo Ads’ native home screen inventory will be available across North America and the U.K.
“Advertisers are looking for ways to meaningful access to audiences they’re not reaching today. The home screen is the moment before everything, where decisions are made. By bringing TiVo Ads’ native formats into Nexxen’s marketplace, we’re making it easier for brands to activate this opportunity at scale and turn moments of attention into measurable outcomes,” said Craig Chinn, senior VP, global advertising sales at TiVo.