TV Providers Pursued AI to Shore Up Ad Pricing
Broadcasters are integrating automated creative tools to match digital-first targeting and stem audience declines.
Updated on Sept. 20, 2026 in Advertising
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Executives from Adobe, Omnicom, and NBCUniversal discussed how TV providers are adopting AI-driven creative tools to maintain audience reach and pricing models. The shift comes as television companies seek to compete with digital advertising platforms by leveraging first-party data and automated targeting.
Why it matters
Television companies face a sustained degradation in non-sports viewership, necessitating a shift toward automated, data-informed ad delivery to justify current upfront pricing. Advertisers now demand that these technological investments produce measurable, proven results to justify their budgets.
Industry participants have generated 47,000 PowerPoint slides regarding dynamic creative since the pursuit began in the late 2000s. The focus remains on addressing audience degradation, which currently impacts non-sports programming.
The players
Adobe
A global software company that provides cloud-based creative and marketing tools used for digital content generation.
Omnicom Media
A major global marketing and communications holding company that manages media strategy and ad placement for enterprise clients.
NBCUniversal
A massive media and entertainment conglomerate that owns television networks and creates content for global audiences.
The details
Television providers are integrating AI tools to generate multiple ad creative variations, a move designed to facilitate real-time dynamic targeting. By combining first-party data with specific content context, providers aim to pinpoint moments when consumers are most receptive to messaging. This strategy mirrors the shift among major advertisers who have prioritized clean rooms and internal data after the decline of third-party cookies.
Timeline
The industry began its pursuit of real-time dynamic creative in the late 2000s.
Data clean rooms generated significant industry enthusiasm between 2020 and 2021.
The panel discussion occurred at Cannes Lions on September 20, 2026.
Market Landscape
This pivot follows the industry's widespread adoption of data clean rooms, a trend that accelerated between 2020 and 2021. Broadcasters are now attempting to replicate that level of data-driven targeting to stabilize their market position against digital-native competitors.
Operators should evaluate if their current media partners offer automated creative capabilities that leverage first-party data, as these tools are becoming standard for justifying premium ad pricing. Businesses should also audit whether their internal AI projects remain siloed or can be integrated to improve real-time audience engagement.
The takeaway
The move toward automated creative reflects a necessity to prove ad ROI in an era of declining linear television viewership. Operators should review their ad-tech stack to ensure they are utilizing first-party data to reach audiences rather than relying on obsolete third-party targeting methods.
Further reading
For more on industry shifts, visit our Advertising section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Beet.TV - The Root to the Media Revolution.
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