TV set maker Vizio said that it finished its upfront negotiations with advertising commitments worth more than $100 million.
The company said that was a fourfold increase over last year and include buys from all of the major agency holding companies.
This year’s upfront was marked by a shift in ad dollars from traditional TV to streaming and connected TV platforms to reach the growing number of cord cutters and cord nevers.
Vizio has been adding programming to its Smartcast platform and expanding its WatchFree Plus offering of free ad supported linear channels.
Vizio’s ad sales efforts are bolstered by its data company Inscape, which provides viewing data from Vizio sets. The data is used to control the frequency with which viewers see commercials and also to connect ad exposure to business outcomes including sales.
“We’ve developed an advertising business model that is unique in the industry,” said Mike O’Donnell, chief revenue officer of Vizio’s Platform Business. “We’re providing agencies with access to premium CTV inventory, the ability to target and measure with precision and access to insights that can inform their investment strategies for all linear and CTV.”
