Hearst Television Moves to Impressions-Based Selling of Local Television Advertising Inventory

By STS News Desk On Sep 23, 2019

Hearst Television Moves to Impressions-Based Selling of Local Television Advertising Inventory

Move Reflects the Modernization of TV Advertising Practices

Hearst Television, a local television leader serving media markets across 39 states, announced that its stations will immediately begin transacting advertising-sales agreements based on audience impressions – a metric reflecting a program’s viewer numbers and the sole common audience-measurement currency now applied across all video-viewing platforms.

The use of impressions will simplify the collective buying of various video advertising offerings. Sellers will be better positioned to offer buyers an advertising schedule that encompasses all platforms and pathways of video consumption and advertising – including live, linear and time-shifted viewing; over-the-top (OTT) and other digital advertising; and addressable advertising using cable set-tops and smart TVs. Additionally, this change increases the opportunity for television companies to provide inventory into widely used programmatic digital-advertising platforms and to participate more seamlessly in cross-market, regional and “unwired network” ad campaigns.

“We have always focused on providing large, quality audiences to our advertisers,” said Jordan Wertlieb, Hearst Television’s president. “Today’s video marketplace requires contemporary measurement metrics.”

“This is without question one of the most dynamic times in the history of our industry,” said Eric Meyrowitz, Hearst Television senior vice president, sales. “Helping facilitate a change that ultimately allows for easier transaction across multiple platforms is something we are excited and eager to be a part of.”

The decision coincides with an effort led by the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) to continue the modernization of television audience-measurement and advertising-sales practices for the benefit of advertisers and agencies and to reflect today’s realities about video consumption.