Expanded programmatic capabilities at Sky Media ‘will democratise live sport’
Sky Media is providing access to its streamed linear and VOD advertising inventory through a private marketplace (PMP) for the first time, as part of an expanded collaboration with The Trade Desk.
The PMP access includes biddable (real-time auctioned) content, covering entertainment and, more dramatically, live sport.
The programmatic biddable live sport platform, including football, spans streamed Sky Sports and the TNT Sports app (also represented by Sky Media). That gives advertisers extensive reach into UK sports fans. This innovation is expected to attract new-to-sport advertisers, which will see cost barriers reduced thanks to data-driven geo-targeting.
For example, a premium brand that previously believed televised sport was too expensive can target passionate football fans who follow a city club by taking a local geographic segment of the streaming audience.
The automated real-time bidding for VOD and streamed linear covers TV screens, mobile and tablets. As well as TNT Sports, other apps available via the PMP include Sky Go, Now and Discovery+. Pluto TV will be added this year.
The Trade Desk partnership
Sky Media and The Trade Desk first partnered in 2021. Sky Media ramped up its programmatic efforts last year, having established the scale of incremental demand and revenue available programmatically.
Initially, the focus was on programmatic guaranteed (PG), which is exclusive with The Trade Desk. As part of the expanded partnership, advertisers will now be able to reach millions of Sky Q boxes with this PG offer later this year, opening up more viewers to programmatic VOD.
The PMP and biddable inventory option was announced in November 2024 and receives its formal launch this week. It includes frequency-capping capabilities to help advertisers maximise reach and ensure consumers are not over-exposed to any campaign.
Elements of Sky Media’s recently launched Sports Marketplace will be available via the PMP soon. This is the online destination for buying premium sports content across Sky Sports and TNT Sports. Buyers will be offered multi-event packages that include live football, tennis, golf, rugby and other sport.
Kicking off a simpler way to buy live sport — and win a £15k campaign
Biddable was a logical next step
Dan Cohen, director of transformation and strategic programmes at Sky Media, said the sales house is demand-agnostic and happy to work with direct buys or programmatic. “In programmatic, we want to tap into different demand forms,” he told The Media Leader.
“Programmatic guaranteed is very similar to a direct buy, so that was a natural place to start, building confidence that the demand was there, and it was incremental demand. We know there is an appetite for biddable, so that was a logical next step.”
This is the first time live sport has been available to buy at Sky Media via a private marketplace and Sven Hagemeier, general manager, inventory development EMEA, at The Trade Desk, considered it a landmark moment.
“This kind of sports inventory represents the most premium environment you can find on the internet. Combined with the value of the audience, these are the highest-value placements you can buy in media.”
Drawing upon work The Trade Desk has performed with other media owners in programmatic and especially live sport, he observed that, as soon as advertisers benefit from more signals and better data-driven decisioning capabilities, they are willing to pay more for inventory.
Programmatic streaming, with targeting, opens sport to new buyers, according to Hagemeier: “There are brands who could not run campaigns in national linear sport but can buy this. They can run in certain geographies or certain games and limit the amount of money they need to spend.
“Programmatic democratises access to live sport.”
Cohen hailed the value of sport as a way to engage audiences: “In this radically fragmented world, there are so few opportunities for brands to connect with attentive, emotionally engaged viewers who are watching at the same time.”
He pointed out that, while major drama and other entertainment shows can deliver the audiences, people are usually watching on demand so rarely witness the same experience at the same moment. Sport provides the shared emotion.
“All this amazing sport gives emotional connection and that is a real opportunity for brands. We want to open that opportunity to as many buyers as possible, whether with programmatic guaranteed or private marketplace,” said Cohen.
He agreed that the expanded programmatic capabilities at Sky Media will democratise live sport, including football, for advertisers. He noted: “The key is to give advertisers a chance to appear in premium content where they would not otherwise have a presence.”
Geo-targeting helps lower barriers
Turning to geo-targeting and the way it can make live sports affordable (by limiting the audience size for an advertiser), Cohen pointed to the many heavily supported clubs outside the Premier League whose following is not only fiercely loyal but possibly more local than at the Premier League giants.
“Brands can now get themselves in front of that audience on a localised basis,” he said.
Sky Media wants to make live streaming sports advertising as flexible as possible. One programmatic roadmap ambition is to let buyers pick out individual games outside larger buys.
Hagemeier highlighted a key benefit for media owners once you offer programmatic live sport, including with real-time bidding: “Sometimes you cannot fully predict the size of an audience for live events. Something can happen that makes a game more exciting and increases viewing. With programmatic, you can sell that additional reach.”
In the biddable private marketplace environment Sky is making available, brands and all their copy are pre-approved. Inventory is sold to the highest bidder.
Cohen continued: “Our work with PMP enables us to tap into that demand pool that is interested in biddable rather than guaranteed pricing, while maintaining the quality parameters around brands who can appear. PMP gives that perfect balance when enabling biddable.”
This programmatic evolution fits into one of the big missions for the TV industry in 2025: make it easier for advertisers to buy premium, brand-safe content. This is also a key motive behind Sky Media’s Sports Marketplace.
Cohen concluded with the hope that programmatic and biddable convince brands that have avoided sport — or TV — to look again.
“There is a perception that television is expensive, requiring experts, including an agency,” he observed. “For live sports in particular, the perception is that it is really expensive, but the reality is different. Streamed sport is affordable and within the grasp of the vast majority of brands.”
The Trade Desk is the first DSP with access to Sky Sports and long-form VOD through the new PMP.