• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, January 8, 2020

Comcast’s NBCUniversal will soon be able to offer advertising buys that span linear and digital inventory across all its platforms on local, national and global levels, the company announced Tuesday at CES 2020.

The first iteration of the new tool, called One Platform, will be available in time for this year’s upfronts in June, although a final version will not be ready for three years.

The unified planning/buying capability will allow for audience-based targeting and reach and frequency optimization across platforms.

The media options will include Peacock, the new NBCU streaming service set to launch in April, as well as the company’s existing TV and digital assets.  

Until now, separate tools were used for linear TV and digital advertising, which required buyers to combine orders manually.

 “We know that viewers do not differentiate content by network, time or screen,” stated Linda Yaccarino, chairman, advertising and partnerships, NBCU. “Instead, our fans see NBC Universal as one giant home to the best stories. So that’s the mindset we’ll go to market with in 2020.” 

One Platform adds new tools and capabilities to NBCU’s CFlight united measurement platform, developed two years ago to improve analysis of video advertising across digital and TV platforms.

One Platform will also involve expanding the rollout of a cross-platform scheduling tool that NBCU developed with Comcast’s FreeWheel, Krishan Bhatia, NBCU EVP business operations and strategy, told The Wall Street Journal.

A single measurement dashboard will be available for the 2020 broadcast season, according to WSJ.

In November, NBCU hired Ryan McConville, formerly president/COO of Kargo, as EVP of ad platforms and operations, a new role dedicated to accelerating NBCU's ongoing efforts to improve cross-platform ad technology. McConville reports to Bhatia.