DISH Media Becomes Ad Tech Unifier
By E.B. Moss
“We Try Harder” was an ad tagline made famous in the heyday of linear TV advertising, which positioned being No. 2 in the market as a value for the customer. Today, linear and digital are in a battle for ad dol lars: in fact, each platform has unique advantages. So, what if you could dish up the best of both worlds, offering a programmatic way to buy linear and streaming premium video inventory from one company that tries harder?
That’s exactly what DISH Media has accomplished with their innovative DISH Connected technology. The team figured out how to overcome the constraints of satellite delivery mechanisms that prevented Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI). After years in the making, they have seamlessly integrated satellite and digital inventories—revolutionizing the entire ecosystem of television advertising by harnessing the power of internet connectivity in set-top boxes and enabling true DAI. This means a unified platform for programmatic advertising at scale. And by scale it means Dish Media has expanded their address able Connected TV audience by some additional 2B (yes, Billion) ad avails.
“We wanted to be able to exploit our current inventory on the linear side, and basically have more opportunities to target customers,” DISH EVP/Group President of Video Services Gary Schanman explains. The goal of creating DISH Connected and transforming linear television advertising into a digital-like experience was a good idea but required significant technical in novation. “It took a rework of a lot of the code and player technology,” Schanman reveals. “And anyone that works with traditional set-top boxes knows that it’s just not easy. In a lot of cases, you don’t even want to touch it.”
But DISH’s engineering team rose to the challenge, creating a first in the industry system to enable programmatic buying of linear TV inventory in real-time.
Next, it was up to the sales and marketing teams to explain and evangelize the feat of engineering. A key concern when bringing linear TV into the programmatic advertising model is whether the same execution and measurement standards can apply. However, Schanman confirmed that DISH Media’s new platform allows advertisers to leverage the same tools and metrics used for digital campaigns today. “It follows the existing programmatic sales and measurement processes,” he says.
The client experience remains similar as well. Again “trying harder” via dedicated sales teams to help agencies and brands understand how to engage with both open market and direct programmatic buys of DISH’s linear television inventory. Schanman praises the company’s focus on consultative sales and programmatic guidance: “I’ve always been impressed with DISH Media, even before I joined a couple of years ago. It’s a pretty dynamic, advanced thinking group,” adding that companies that sell one way or the other often don’t have the ‘bones’ and both linear and digital experience, like DISH offers between its satellite, Sling TV and FAST services.
For advertisers, DISH Connected opens up new possibilities for targeted, efficient campaigns. “Now the number of programmatic avails in our universe are going to go up threefold,” Schanman enthuses, “from Sling’s 1.2 billion ad avails to literally an additional 2 billion advertising avails that could be available through programmatic purchasing, coming from the linear side, to be able to target audiences where they never were able to before.”
Schanman’s goal moving forward is to continue improving the experience for customers, increasing engagement and ensuring the advertising experience is a positive one. So, while DISH Connected is a significant achievement, the company isn’t resting on its laurels. “We’re going to be launching pause ads on DVR, and things like that. So we’re always innovating,” he shares.