In the latest episode of Next in Media, host Mike Shields heard nearly every executive at a recent TV industry conference touting 50–70% programmatic deal flow. He brings that claim to Tatari CEO Philip Inghelbrecht, who challenges the premise. Inghelbrecht argues that true open-market programmatic TV is a tiny fraction of the market, and that much of what the industry calls “programmatic” is really just direct deals wrapped in ad tech. He breaks down the $30 billion CTV market and introduces Upstream, which aims to automate direct TV buying without the middlemen. It’s a candid reality check on the gap between industry hype and how TV advertising actually works.
Here’s just a sample of what you’ll discover when you listen.
The Most Exciting TV Inventory Doesn’t Live in Programmatic
CTV has been built on digital pipes that don’t fit the structure of television. Unlike display, CTV is not a long-tail ecosystem of millions of publishers. It’s highly concentrated, with 90% of streaming impressions coming from the same top 10 publishers. In other words: The part of CTV that gets the most headlines (open exchanges, biddable pipes, optimization tools) is not where the majority of premium TV lives.
TV Is More Accessible — But It’s Not for Everyone
Are millions of small businesses about to flood into TV? Inghelbrecht doesn’t see that happening. While it’s true it’s more accessible than it was five or ten years ago, it’s not built for the Mom and Pop pizza shop around the corner – no matter how tasty their pizza may be. Instead, he sees opportunity somewhere in the middle; for brands with meaningful budgets that previously couldn’t access premium placements because of manual processes and direct-only sales structures.
Automation Without the Programmatic Trade-Offs
One of the more strategic parts of the interview focuses on a central question: “Can you keep the benefits of direct buying — premium inventory, brand safety, fewer intermediaries — while adding automation?”
Philip discusses how Upstream built direct integrations with major publishers like Disney, NBCU, Warner Bros. Discovery, Tubi, and Paramount to make direct transactions fully automated — from small tests to multi-million dollar buys. More importantly, he shares how they did it.
AI in TV Advertising: Less Hype, More Utility
In a market saturated with AI claims, Philip is skeptical that AI will instantly generate thousands of broadcast-ready TV spots from a single prompt. Instead, he highlights the practical applications of AI and machine learning in prediction and optimization.
This is just a small tease of what you’ll hear in the episode. For marketers, agencies, and advertisers looking to understand where CTV is really headed, this conversation is well worth your 28 minutes.
