• by Tyler Loechner  @mp_tyler, February 20, 2014

Considering where real-time bidding (RTB) came from -- bottom-dwelling remnant inventory -- do big-name publishers currently investing in programmatic need to justify themselves? 

Maybe a little, said Jeremy Hlavacek, VP of programmatic at The Weather Channel, but “the revenue does a good job justifying it” for them. Hlavacek said that when speaking on the panel: “Supply Side Story: Are Media Brands Really Real-Time Now?” at OMMA RTB in New York on Thursday.

Alanna Gombert, GM, CatalystDesk, Conde Nast, chimed in to add that she believes the CPMs also justify it.

However, it appears that revenue and CPMs are not justifying programmatic for all major publishers. As Advertising Age reported yesterday, The New York Times has let go of Matt Prohaska, its first -- and now former -- programmatic advertising director. The general assumption, though, is that The New York Times is simply changing its approach rather than giving up on programmatic altogether.