• by Wayne Friedman , April 4, 2024

Ad technology and measurement company SambaTV is launching a near real-time platform to help political advertisers with next-day ad targeting at the regional, state, and national level throughout the 2024 political season. 

Yahoo and TelevisaUnivision are two early clients of the platform, which is named Real Time Political Audiences. The service will merge traditional TV with real-time targeting across streaming and digital platforms.

This comes at a time when it is more difficult than ever to reach voters -- especially via TV-video platforms, according to analysts.  Political advertising spending is estimated to be a record $11.1 billion in 2024, according to a BIA Advisory Services.

Samba TV says new political tools are increasingly crucial when it comes to ever increasingly siloed potential voters who turn to their favorite sources of political news information.

Samba TV Co-founder/CEO Ashwin Navin said in a release: “In one of the most consequential elections in history, coupled with a deeply fragmented media landscape, marketers are facing one of the most challenging political seasons to reach voters.”

Adam Roodman, senior vice president of product strategy & management for Yahoo, says the goal for Yahoo DSP is to optimize audience reach while controlling frequency -- a key element of any new TV ad tech platform.

Brian Lin, senior vice president of product management of TelevisaUnivision, says the tool is important for audience targeting, as Hispanics are "one of the biggest and most influential voter groups in the U.S.”