Google is slowly revealing the fruits of its cross-screen TV efforts.
“We’re introducing new ways for broadcasters to forecast in DoubleClick for Publishers by enabling them to forecast available Internet TV inventory with greater precision, insights and impact from patterns in commercial breaks,” wrote Rany Ng, director of product management for video, in a blog post.
The development follows Google’s integration of mDialog, a smallish video ad platform it acquired last summer, into DoubleClick, which lets Google video and display inventory buyers add inventory from over-the-top (OTT) devices like Amazon Fire, Chromecast, Apple TV and Roku.
Ng wrote that device fragmentation and inconsistent consumer viewing patterns make it difficult to plan cross-device campaign.
In adding planning insights around commercial breaks, Google hopes to help broadcasters more effectively forecast and manage their cross-screen inventory, said a Google spokesperson.
Google’s challenge will be cutting through an increasingly crowded TV supply-side space. For instance, TV SSPs like Cox-backed Videa and Clypd are either releasing or planning to release tools designed to offer new opportunities for broadcasters to sell their inventory.
Google’s forecasting tool will focus initially on connected TV, OTT and other IP-streaming sources. The company continues its push into the TV world, gradually working its way to linear. It recently revealed early stage trials for addressable TV targeting through set-top boxes in conjunction with its broadband service Google Fiber.
