• by Karlene Lukovitz  @KLmarketdaily, May 31, 2023

Dish Media has launched Dish Connected, a solution that lets advertisers make combined, programmatic buys of connected TV (CTV) ad inventory on the Sling TV virtual MVPD and premium live linear inventory on Dish satellite TV.

By allowing programmatic execution of Dish TV’s linear buys, Dish Connected delivers real-time, targeted ads to internet-connected Dish set-top boxes (STBs) in the same way that ads for Sling TV campaigns are delivered.  

Advertisers can bid on and deliver ads to viewers in real time as viewers watch content on their Dish internet-connected STBs. Accessing programmatic ad inventory is easy and familiar for digital buyers.

Advertisers can transact programmatically on premium Dish STB inventory through private auctions set up with demand-side platforms (DSPs) such as The Trade Desk and Yahoo DSP, or through sell-side platform (SSP) Magnite. 

Horizon Media, Havas Media, Stagwell and Camelot Strategic Marketing & Media are among those that say they will use the solution to expand reach across CTV and linear. 

Horizon Media has “invested heavily” in programmatic buying across premium CTV inventory, and Dish Connected will “open up a larger inventory pool for our clients, making the buying experience more accessible than before,” said Alexander Stone, senior vice president, advanced video and agency partnerships for the agency. 

“The programmatic automation of convergent television advertising will allow buyers and sellers alike to unify end-to-end campaign planning, execution and measurement” and “reach their most valuable audiences holistically, regardless of how they consume their content,” said Matt McLeggon, senior vice president, advanced solutions at Magnite.

"Linear media buys have historically used endemic metrics to inform their decisioning," but the Dish solution allows buyers to use today’s data ecosystem, including a brand’s first-party data, to optimize linear TV buys and improve viewers’ experience, added Verna De Jesus, vice president of CTV for The Trade Desk.