Videa announces spot television industry’s first open data exchange APIs

Publicly available API specifications built by Videa, in compliance with the TV Interface Practices Initiative (TIP) Interface Framework, provide the TV industry with standards for integrations that enhance efficiencies in buying and selling local television advertising

NEW YORK — Videa, an online buying and selling marketplace for automated television advertising, announced the availability of free, transparent, TIP-based API specifications helping to pave the way for programmatic transactions and software integrations as choice and flexibility become increasingly important for today’s buyers and sellers.

“Videa strongly believes in a platform agnostic future and is proud to help lead the industry by delivering an open source option for other solution providers that will ultimately make it easier for dollars to flow through to local TV,” said Shereta Williams, president of Videa. “We worked with Sinclair Broadcast Group and innovator Imagine Communications on the first proof of concept that will ultimately help deliver operational efficiencies and transparency that accelerate the broader industry to move forward at a far quicker pace.”

The creation of consistent technical standards that enable innovation and interoperability results in a stronger community overall. Videa’s published APIs include specifications for inventory, RFPs (avail requests), proposals (avail responses), orders, makegoods and pre and post logs. The inventory API automates the flow of inventory, rates and ratings between systems and provides agencies instant access to broadcast inventory without duplication of work. Videa’s API specification license allows for commercial or private use as well as modification or distribution.

“Providing efficiencies for buyers and sellers in their workflows is becoming increasingly important and is why we became one of the first to join TIP,” said Rob Weisbord, Chief Revenue Officer, Sinclair Broadcast Group. “It’s exciting to see a technology provider like our partner Videa driving the industry forward and to work with them to ultimately drive open standards-based solutions for more efficient automated buying and selling of local broadcast inventory.”

“Imagine offers industry-leading advanced workflow solutions that are enhanced by our active engagement with partners on building OpenAPI communications customers use to create new efficiencies and transitional models that help grow revenue,” said Dave Villano, COO, Imagine Communications. “Our integration with Videa is an important step toward interoperability between systems and transactional innovations, and we look forward to continuing our support of this important initiative.”