As we’re seeing with players like Yashi, within just the past couple years, various forms of linear and digital programmatic video are coming into the local marketing mix. Now with local broadcasters entering this digital video arms race, the stakes are changing fast. At yesterday’s Local Video Summit in New York (see the Twitter feeds), Yashi threw itself a “re”launch party of sorts, including announcing a new product to sync linear television and digital ads. The event was developed and hosted by Yashi. Yashi has been around since 2007 but kicked into high gear when Nexstar acquired it earlier this year for $33 million. Nexstar’s EVP, Digital Media and CRO, Tom O’Brien will be speaking at BIA/Kelsey’s NEXT conference Dec 9-10. We’ll have a special panel on programmatic television coming to the local market. For some of the opportunities in we’re seeing in local programmatic, check out our recent report,“Defining the Local Stake in Programmatic Advertising.”

BIA/Kelsey joined the stage for a panel on, “How Technology Has Leveled the Playing Field for Local Businesses.” Our conclusion is that local programmatic video will get as big among SMBs as the “3Es” permit – Education, Effort and Experience. SMBs need to learn the value propositions for local programmatic video, make the effort to develop and execute campaigns and then have a positive ROI experience. Most SMBs using video place the ROI as 5x or better according to BIA/Kelsey’s Local Commerce Monitor survey of SMBs. So we know they like video. Programmatic add new types of data and workflow efficiencies that should accelerate use of local video inventory.

We are bullish on market for local programmatic video – both linear broadcast and cable as well as online and mobile video. We see local online video more than tripling from $600M in 2014 to $1.9B by 2019. And mobile video will almost quadruple from $300M to $1.1B from 2014-2019. Programmatic will be a growing percent of this spending.

In 2014, precious little of this local audience targeted video traded programmatically. But as firms like Yashi, Videa, Wide Orbit, ITN Network’s ProVantageX, and others introduce local linear television (broadcast and MVPD) as well as cross-platform online and mobile video to buyers targeting local audiences, the market is beginning to shift quickly.

BIA/Kelsey recently co-sponsored a “programmatic television secret society” lunch and brainstorming gathering in New York with over 40 companies participating. One of the presentations featured agency executives from USIM (Russ Zingale and Mitch Oscar) sharing a geotargeted programmatic television campaign case study with very promising early results.

Look for us to be doing more in local programmatic with upcoming forecasts, reports, conference sessions and webinars.