Local TV advertising has long been built around a core concept: reach. An advertiser buys a spot against a program or daypart, then the commercial goes out to the audience watching at that moment.
In 2026, that model remains hugely valuable, but it sits alongside a digital advertising economy where buyers have grown used to defining audiences more precisely and following campaigns across different screens.
Advanced advertising is beginning to change that relationship.
In simple terms, broadcasters can make parts of their inventory addressable and automate more of the buying process, while streaming and connected TV (CTV) create room for formats beyond the familiar 30-second spot.
Better measurement naturally also gives advertisers a clearer view of who they reached and, importantly, what happened next. TV and digital ad models essentially become mixed.
Hearst Television is already putting this new model into practice. At WLWT Cincinnati, selected inventory can be replaced at the household level for eligible viewers reached through an integrated multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) partner, giving advertisers a more targeted way into a traditional local broadcast environment.
The technology has begun to move from concept to deployment; the harder work now lies in extending that reach and making the various systems behind it function as one coherent market. To make sense of advanced ads, TV Tech spoke to executives across the TV stack.
Local TV Gets Personal
For a local advertiser, the appeal of addressability is fairly simple: a business may want TVâs reach and premium environment without paying to cover every household in a market.
At WLWT, Hearst identifies specific inventory for replacement and sends the required SCTE signaling into a workflow shared with Viamedia and an MVPD distribution…