The European Programmatic TV Initiative (EPTVI) has rolled out a five-point roadmap in its mission to bolster growth, reduce fragmentation and support the programmatic TV industry.
A report, entitled A Roadmap for Programmatic TV in Europe, set out practical steps to overcome the challenges still holding the industry back.
Highlighting how programmatic TV in Europe has not achieved the same scale or pace of growth as the US, the report pointed to the differing broadcaster models, regulatory regimes and measurement bodies in the region, alongside a lack of common architecture.
“The goal is not to replace national models or impose uniformity, but to establish the shared foundations — technical, commercial and procedural — on which a more efficient, scalable and interoperable system can grow,” it noted.
Under the plan, members of EPTVI aim to:
• Establish a steering group to align efforts across broadcasters, agencies, platforms and trade bodies.
• Adopt a set of “North Star” principles for quality, transparency and interoperability.
• Launch a certification scheme, called the 3Ps Programme, for premium programmatic partners to highlight commercial and technical standards to buyers and sellers.
• Develop shared components, assets and frameworks that can support adoption of programmatic trading, reduce duplicated efforts and improve the basics that still slow down current processes.
• Run co-ordinated live pilots to test the proposed standards and toolkits in real campaign conditions, with an aim to showcase best practice and identify integration gaps.
EPTVI has worked with more than 100 senior stakeholders across TV and advertising to develop the action plan, which is considered stage one of its mission.
Stage two, launching in the summer, will focus on implementation. This includes supporting the steering committee to put the roadmap into practice.
There will be an industry summit in the autumn as EPTVI members and other stakeholders assess progress and agree on further action.
“This report is not a theoretical exercise. It sets out a series of practical proposals designed with and for the industry, focused on reducing friction, joining up fragmented systems and making programmatic TV easier to buy and sell,” said Jon Watts, executive director of The Project X Initiative.
“The proposals are designed to give commercial broadcasters, advertisers and technology providers the confidence to move forward. It’s about turning intent into action.”
Launched in June 2024, EPTVI aims to boost programmatic TV growth across the region’s top five TV markets: France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK.
Its founding members are Adform, Cadent, Equativ, Google, Magnite, OpenX, PubMatic and The Trade Desk, with support from The Project X Initiative.
There are also two advisory groups comprising senior executives from both the buy and sell side, including Channel 4, Dazn, GroupM, Omnicom Media Group, RTL AdAlliance and Warner Bros Discovery.
The full report is available here.
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