The UK advertising landscape is set for a significant shift. Sky, Channel 4, ITV and Comcast have announced a groundbreaking partnership to launch a unified premium video advertising marketplace, scheduled to go live in 2026. This initiative aims to make TV advertising more accessible, particularly for small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs), by offering a self-serve platform, for broadcaster video-on-demand (BVOD) campaigns.
What’s changing? For the first time, advertisers will be able to run a single campaign across all three major UK broadcasters’ on-demand services via a user-friendly, self-serve platform powered by Comcast’s Universal Ads technology. Key features include:
Unified campaign management: Brands can independently plan, buy, measure, and report on campaigns spanning Sky, Channel 4 and ITV, significantly streamlining the process.
Self-serve simplicity: Designed with SMEs and digital-first advertisers in mind, the platform will offer biddable pricing and a digital-style buying experience, lowering the barrier to entry for TV advertising.
Access to premium BVOD inventory: Advertisers will be able to access high-quality, on-demand and streaming video inventory, which has traditionally been reserved for agency-led or larger campaigns.
What does this mean for brands? For most brands, the immediate impact of this new marketplace is expected to be minimal. The platform is specifically targeted at ‘new-to-TV’ advertisers — primarily SMEs who have not previously used TV as a channel. Importantly, this product will only provide access to BVOD inventory, not linear TV. Therefore, brands focused on traditional, fame-driving linear TV advertising will be unaffected.
At this stage, details on pricing are limited, referring only to ‘biddable pricing’, suggesting a model similar to digital ad auctions. As with any private marketplace, CPMs will be influenced by inventory availability and competition. Brands that benefit from direct or programmatic guaranteed (PG) buys will retain access to the highest premium inventory. The new self-serve platform is likely to offer inventory that remains after agency and direct bookings, meaning our clients’ access to top-tier placements is unlikely to be impacted.
Looking ahead
Should this first-of-its-kind partnership between the UK’s biggest commercial operators ultimately widen access to broadcast content, it could prove beneficial to an array of smaller brands. However, the immediate impact on existing advertisers is minimal, with the most premium inventory likely to be preserved. We will continue to monitor developments as more details emerge and stay informed of any changes that may affect upcoming campaigns.
Clients with any questions about how this new platform might fit into your media strategy are encouraged to reach out to the7stars’ AV team on AViary@the7stars.co.uk
