UK broadcasters plan unified self-service TV advertising marketplace

Three major UK broadcasters announced plans on June 17, 2025, to create a groundbreaking self-service television advertising marketplace that will enable small and medium-sized businesses to purchase premium video inventory across multiple platforms through a single campaign. The initiative represents the first collaboration of its kind in the UK market.

According to the joint announcement, Sky, Channel 4 and ITV will launch the marketplace in 2026, powered by Comcast Advertising's Universal Ads platform and FreeWheel's technology. The collaboration aims to address the longstanding barrier that has prevented smaller advertisers from accessing television advertising due to complexity and minimum spending requirements.

For the first time, small to medium-sized businesses will be empowered to access and purchase addressable inventory to run campaigns across Channel 4 Sales, ITV Media and Sky Media with biddable pricing structures. The marketplace will provide simplified access across the three broadcaster portfolios, making addressable TV inventory accessible for businesses accustomed to buying media in social and digital environments.

Summary

Who: Sky, Channel 4 and ITV in collaboration with Comcast Advertising, targeting small and medium-sized businesses as primary users while also exploring solutions for media agencies.

What: A groundbreaking self-service television advertising marketplace that enables SMEs to purchase premium video inventory across multiple broadcaster sales houses through a single campaign, powered by Comcast's Universal Ads platform and FreeWheel's technology.

When: Announced on June 17, 2025, with marketplace launch planned for 2026 following development and testing phases.

Where: United Kingdom market, specifically covering inventory from Channel 4 Sales, ITV Media and Sky Media, with potential implications for broader European television advertising initiatives.

Why: To democratize television advertising access for small businesses, address market fragmentation challenges, and create simplified buying processes for advertisers accustomed to social and digital media environments while maintaining the scale, trust and creative power of premium television content.

"In today's fast-evolving media landscape, we strongly believe success will require collaboration, simplification, and innovation," said Priya Dogra, Chief Advertising, Group Data and New Revenue Officer at Sky. The executive emphasized that the partnership follows the successful US launch of Comcast's Universal Ads platform and represents an opportunity to open television advertising to new brands.

The timing proves significant within the broader Connected TV advertising landscape. Recent industry data shows programmatic advertising investment plans increased to 72% of marketers in 2025, up from 62% in 2024, while Connected TV's share of media budgets is projected to double from 14% in 2023 to 28% in 2025.

Kelly Williams, Managing Director, Commercial at ITV, characterized the initiative as essential for industry collaboration. "As a TV industry, it is important that we collaborate to make television easy to plan, buy and measure for our established customers as well as the huge potential of new to TV brands," Williams stated.

The marketplace will feature several key technical capabilities designed specifically for SME advertisers. One campaign will enable purchasing, measuring and reporting across all three sales houses simultaneously. A user-friendly interface designed for SMEs and digital-native advertisers will make buying addressable advertising straightforward and efficient, allowing new-to-TV brands to access television's scale, trust and creative power for the first time.

Channel 4's Chief Commercial Officer Rak Patel emphasized the collaborative nature of the initiative. "This marketplace underlines what sets TV apart from all other media: its ability to collaborate at scale," Patel said. "By uniting the power of Channel 4, ITV and Sky through a single marketplace, we're creating a new home for premium video while accelerating our Fast Forward strategy to become the first public service streamer."

The development occurs amid significant transformation in television advertising technology. FreeWheel recently expanded its premium CTV marketplace partnerships with eight streaming platforms, while Amazon launched its Complete TV system in March 2025 to help advertisers manage streaming ad purchases more efficiently.

Thomas Bremond, Managing Director of Comcast Advertising International, highlighted the technical foundation supporting the marketplace. "We are excited to work with the UK's premier broadcasters to offer advertisers a simplified way to access premium video, powered by Comcast's Universal Ads platform," Bremond stated. The collaboration showcases the industry's commitment to bringing together technology, media and data to offer greater efficiency and effectiveness to television advertising.

The broadcasters are simultaneously exploring solutions for established advertisers and media agencies. Discussions include simplifying addressable inventory purchases for media agencies through a potential joint agency-facing solution based on ITV's Planet V technology. This dual approach addresses both emerging and established advertiser segments within the same collaborative framework.

The marketplace will incorporate outcome-focused tools and analytics to help brands measure and optimize advertising performance. Transparency and quality commitments will provide high standards of television advertising with clear metrics and reliable results. The platform promises to deliver these capabilities while maintaining the creative power and trust associated with premium television content.

Industry context suggests the timing aligns with broader European television advertising initiatives. The European Programmatic TV Initiative presented findings in March 2025 about advancing television advertising technology across Europe, noting that CTV advertising spend in Europe represented only 10% of linear TV advertising in 2024, compared to 38% in the US market.

The collaboration between ITV, Channel 4 and Sky represents a major development in television advertising infrastructure. Unlike previous approaches that required navigating multiple proprietary platforms, this marketplace creates a unified entry point for SME advertisers who previously faced barriers to television advertising access.

The announcement comes as global TV advertising revenue is projected to reach $169.1 billion in 2025, with streaming TV advertising expected to surge by 19.3% while linear TV faces a 3.4% decline. Industry analysts note that approximately three-quarters of all Connected TV transactions were conducted programmatically in 2024, indicating the growing sophistication of streaming advertising marketplaces.

The partnership leverages FreeWheel's established position in television advertising technology. FreeWheel recently unified its CTV product ecosystem with new suite names and enhanced capabilities, organizing offerings into Publisher Suite and Advertiser Suite configurations designed to streamline connections between buyers and sellers.

For digital marketing professionals, the marketplace represents a significant shift in television advertising accessibility. Small businesses that previously relied exclusively on social media and search advertising will gain access to premium television inventory with the targeting capabilities and measurement tools they expect from digital platforms.

The 2026 launch timeline provides development and testing phases to ensure platform functionality meets advertiser expectations. The collaboration builds on existing relationships between the broadcasters while introducing new technological capabilities through Comcast's proven Universal Ads platform architecture.

Market implications extend beyond the UK television landscape. The success of this collaborative marketplace could influence similar initiatives in other European markets, potentially accelerating the fragmentation challenges that have limited programmatic television adoption across the continent.

The initiative also demonstrates how traditional broadcasters are adapting to compete with digital-native advertising platforms. By creating self-service capabilities and democratizing access, the marketplace addresses the operational preferences of performance marketing professionals who prioritize campaign control and real-time optimization.

Timeline

• June 17, 2024: Initiative to tackle programmatic TV fragmentation in Europe formally announced
• March 4, 2025: Amazon launches Complete TV buying system for advertisers
• March 26, 2025: European Programmatic TV Initiative Summit held in London
• April 29, 2025: FreeWheel unifies CTV product ecosystem with new suite names
• June 11, 2025: FreeWheel expands premium CTV marketplace partnerships
• June 17, 2025: Sky, Channel 4 and ITV announce joint intent to launch premium video advertising marketplace
• 2026: Planned launch of the unified self-service TV advertising marketplace