For what feels like forever, broadcast TV industry buzz has centered around impression-based selling and automated transactions. But while those things are indeed important, 95% of local spot TV transactions are still completed using more traditional, and highly manual, workflows.
A Holistic ApproachDeveloping automated buying and selling for local spot TV is an undeniably important priority but equally important are improvements to the traditional workflows so many transactions still rely on. WideOrbit takes a holistic approach, one that addresses both the current reality of manual workflows and the future needs of automated buying and selling. That means we're working on ways to streamline and simplify the entire process end-to-end, for both traditional and automated transactions, digital and linear, from pre-buy, proposals, avail requests, and negotiation, right through to payment processing.
Broadcasters, advertisers, agencies, and vendors can all benefit from processes that are easier, more efficient, and more cost-effective. To accomplish that, investment in programmatic will continue but at the same time, we're also addressing pain points that currently exist within the traditional process, through automation wherever possible.
The following processes are notorious for highly manual workflows and high-touch, back-and-forth communications.
These processes often involve repetitive, tedious steps that take valuable time away from the more important business of selling spots, which makes them prime candidates for automation.
They're also WideOrbit products or modules that are either already available or coming soon for WO Traffic and/or WO Network. Contact your Account Executive to learn more.
Electronic Material Instructions: Manual handling of electronic material instructions isn't just time-consuming, it's a process that is rife with the opportunity for costly errors. Automating the import of aggregated electronic material instructions, both new and revised, saves both time and money, freeing sales executives from the tedium of manual data entry. (Licensable module for WO Traffic or WO Network.)
Order Validation: Automating order validation at the point of order entry ensures all orders comply with established, broadcaster-defined business rules before the spot airs. Automating validation eliminates wasted time spent searching for and correcting missing or incorrect data at month-end. (Licensable module for WO Traffic.)
Auto-ingestion of creative materials into the traffic system (Electronic Materials): Significant time savings can be realized through automated import of electronic materials from third parties into the traffic system. In addition to saving time, auto-ingestion can also reduce data errors by eliminating the need to manually key in items, such as Ad-ID. (Licensable module for WO Traffic.)
Airtimes: Manually compiling spot airtime data and sending to the advertiser or agency requires a great deal of manual effort. Automatically generating an airtime report for each buyer or buyer group and automatically sending that report to the advertiser or agency saves significant time. And for advertisers, auto-delivery of spot data provides faster insight into campaign performance. (Part of our Unified Sales Suite.)
Automated makegood suggestion tools (ADU Optimizer): The process of delivering on a makegood can take weeks or even months. Whether it's due to a pre-emption or a shortfall in ratings or impressions, the advertiser wants to negotiate a makegood that will deliver not just the right number audience deficiency units (ADUs) but the right audience, at the right time, and during the right programming, to achieve the best result. The broadcaster has to juggle all that against a limited supply of available inventory, which is why it can take so long to find and deliver the right spot. An automated makegood suggestion tool offers options based on a comparison of the advertiser's needs against available inventory, reducing manual effort, saving significant time, and improving advertiser satisfaction. (Licensable module for WO Network.)
Invoicing and payment processing (WO Payments Suite): Automating the accounting cycle reduces or eliminates a wide range of traditionally manual financial processes. Integrated with WO Traffic or WO Network, WO Payments Suite allows broadcasters to go from order to invoice, invoice to payment, and payment to cash application and reconciliation, quickly, efficiently, and cost effectively. Days sales outstanding (DSOs) are reduced, improving cash flow, and reducing costs.
True digital/linear convergence requires a coming together of automated and traditional selling of both linear and digital inventory, to allow for the management of both in parallel, within the same systems and using the same, familiar workflows. That means that the work to develop programmatic systems must also happen in parallel with efforts to automate traditional workflows.
Traditional deals aren't going away anytime soon. Here at WideOrbit we're working on streamlining and simplifying the entire process end-to-end, for both traditional and automated transactions, both linear and digital, for both broadcasters and buyers.
Contact us to learn more about how WideOrbit automations can save you time and money.
For press inquiries, contact media@wideorbit.com.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
12/06/2026
Meet The Grumpy Onion Ireland's newest online sensation, all he wants is to ...
12/06/2026
RT stays Up All Night with brand new daily 2026 FIFA World Cup Vodcast
Adding to the fun around 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, RT has launched a brand new d...
12/06/2026
A fentanyl countermeasure that adapts to combat future black-market drugs Scripps Research scientists developed a vaccine that teaches the immune system to rapi...
11/06/2026
The immense size of the tourney and its Atlantic-spanning operation also disting...
11/06/2026
Nielsen has released a new soccer fandom consumer research report, The Fans Behind The Game: FIFA World Cup 2026 Edition, examining the soccer audience in the...
For what feels like forever, broadcast TV industry buzz has centered around impression-based selling and automated transactions. But while those things are indeed important, 95% of local spot TV transactions are still completed using more traditional, and highly manual, workflows.
