• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, May 22, 2024

Connected TV advertising markets have seen a 24% increase to 5.9 billion programmatic impressions coming from independent demand-side platforms (DSPs), according to FreeWheel, a Comcast-owned ad-technology platform.

FreeWheel defines “independent” as ad buys coming from agencies and buying entities that are not owned by a holding company.

It adds that for the full-year 2023, among those deals, 76% were “non-guaranteed” with 24% “guaranteed.”

When it comes to the use of non-guaranteed/guaranteed in media deals, the authors of the report say advertisers “have to balance guaranteed and non-guaranteed buys to manage frequency and find their optimal audience mix.”

When it comes to “non-guaranteed” deals, the report says 77% came via “publisher direct deals” and 23% says it came via a private marketplace (PMP) bundle. It notes that PMP  bundles have risen nearly 120% in impressions.

The biggest categories for those independent media platform deals: Pharmaceuticals, casino/gambling, telecommunications, e-commerce/retail, and automotive.

High demand for content and programming categories in 2023 were drama, reality/game show, lifestyle/culture, news/politics, and comedy programming. In 2024, FreeWheel projects the biggest opportunities for the independent programming market will come with live sports.

Overall the authors say: “This is a boon especially for independent demand advertisers, who are gaining flexibility in how they target audiences and manage budgets — plus increased access to a large swath of premium inventory that was previously less accessible programmatically.”