• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, June 11, 2020

Google has created a dedicated TV section in Marketplace for publishers and will provide inventory that enables them to reach TV audiences across devices. The idea is to enable marketers to find the deals that best match campaign objectives and simplify the process of finding and securing premium streaming inventory.

The available publisher inventory is displayed graphically so that marketers can discover and negotiate deals. Filters allow marketers to search by geography or streaming device type. Specific publisher profiles enable marketers to explore more data around performance, audience and inventory volume.

The platform also allows marketers to send requests for proposals (RFP) to publishers directly from this dedicated space.

The new interface will roll out within the next few weeks. In addition, Google plans to add national linear TV broadcast and cable networks as well as local TV stations to this section in Marketplace.

As stay-at-home restrictions are lifted, Google data shows that connected TV use remains well above pre-COVID-19 levels. In April 2020, Display & Video 360's connected TV available inventory surged by 75%, compared with the previous year. It does not include YouTube and YouTube TV, which more than 100 million people watch on their TV screens each month in the U.S.

The dedicated TV section in Marketplace is part of new tools in Display & Video 360 aimed at making it easier for digital media buyers to secure ad inventory on high-quality streaming content.

Marketers wanting to skip the negotiation process, "we’ve worked closely with exchange partners such as Google Ad Manager, FreeWheel and SpotX to bundle inventory from top publishers, along with broadcast and cable networks, into ready-to-execute deals,” wrote Glenn Thorpe, senior product manager of Display & Video 360. “These deals, known as auction packages, are available to all Display & Video 360 users in Marketplace.

Auction packages allow marketers to select already assembled inventory by publishers based on genres, popularity, seasonality, formats or audiences.

For example, there are themed packages from "Hulu - Parents", or from exchanges, like Telaria's "Cord Cutters" bundle. 

YouTube Select’s dedicated streaming TV lineup is also available to Display & Video 360 buyers in the U.S.

When deals are secured and marketers are ready to make a purchase, a new “OTT line item” in Display & Video 360 should help marketers avoid configuration errors. The buying options are only available for connected TV ads with specific configurations selected by default.

This line item also automatically picks inventory from connected TV apps. If the content on these apps can be viewed on other devices, too, the new line item will include these environments.