• by Tobi Elkin  @tobielkin, April 18, 2017

Sling TV said it saw a 51% rise in programmatic ad sales after it implemented a programmatic integration with Tremor Video for the recent NCAA tournament. The live TV event offered advertisers an opportunity to buy live-fed TV immediately.

Adam Lowy, general manager of advanced TV, digital & analytics, DISH Media Sales and Sling TV, said advertisers like the “immediacy” of buying live TV programming. Lowy said Sling TV opened up the NCAA to multiple demand-side platforms (DSPs) which saw thousands of advertisers bid on spots in the game.

“The idea is to buy live-fed TV immediately in real time,” Lowy said, adding that the NBA playoff games will be the next big TV “event” that Sling TV evaluates. 

Lowy said Sling TV has seen multiple categories taking advantage of buying live TV including auto, wireless/telecom, and consumer package goods advertisers though he declined to name them specifically. He said advertisers like getting into top-tier TV programming right away.

Tremor made the offering available, partnering with Sling TV to enable programmatic media integration, providing private auctions through live TV and real-time bidding up and running. “We want to enable any advertiser to buy TV in real time,” Lowy said. DSPs that are current accessing Sling TV impressions through Tremor include Adobe Advertising Cloud, DataXu, Google DBM, MediaMath, The Trade Desk, Turn, VideoAmp, and Videology.

In a blog post, Adam Lichstein, president, seller platform, Tremor Video, described a “milestone” in programmatic advertising: the ability for brands to buy a distributor’s premium live TV impressions in a real-time auction.

Sling TV last month said it was getting into programmatic advertising, partnering with Adobe’s Advertising Cloud.