Gray, Hearst, Graham, CoxReps Invest In Matrix Solutions’ Media Sales Gateway

Matrix Solutions, a provider of global media revenue management technology, today rolled out the next-phase development of its Media Sales Gateway with investment and expertise from partnerships with Gray Television, CoxReps, Graham Media, and Hearst Television.

Cox Enterprises’ Videa software will serve as the initial back-end technology for traditional linear spot and all future development will be built on Azure with an open architecture. The Media Sales Gateway, named Admiral, will be a sell-side tool that provides both the infrastructure and workflows to automate converged advertising sales, from demand through order fulfillment, including digital and OTT inventory, traditional spot, and impression-based/dynamic ad insertion for live linear.

Accommodating multichannel, omni-platform selling, Admiral will provide a viable path for media companies to transition to converged, impression-based workflows, without needing to change the underlying traffic system. Its dynamic interoperability will ensure that orders are routed automatically to the appropriate inventory, regardless of a company’s current execution system.

“Emerging revenue platforms have introduced significant opportunities for us, but only if we can effectively optimize them,” said Pat LaPlatney, Gray co-CEO and president. “Matrix has proven to be a trustworthy partner with in-depth media sales expertise and a shared goal of advancing our industry through collaboration.  We look forward to exploring how Admiral will enhance our operational workflow.”

Admiral’s five primary platforms will include:

• Buy-Side Aggregation:A portal for agencies to transmit requests for proposals.
• Inventory Management:Provides visibility to all available inventory assets across digital (OTT, CTV) and linear platforms.
• Proposal/Negotiation:Originates and builds converged proposals to electronically negotiate with the agency/buyer.
• Order Management:Converts accepted proposals into orders and automatically propagates the required information to the underlying execution systems.
• Make-Goods and Campaign Management: Once the initial orders are sent, make goods and campaigns will be managed through the system until the final order requirements are completed.

Admiral will be developed and released in several phases. The first phase will include the Buy-Side Aggregation platform and a primary workflow for traditional linear ad sales, with a target for completion in early fourth quarter of 2022. The second phase will include a fully converged experience for traditional linear, digital, and OTT workflows, with a completion target of second quarter 2023. Development will continue to include impressions-based linear with dynamic ad insertion workflows, including a push to ATSC 3.0 execution systems, as well as advanced reporting and analytics.

Mark Gorman, Matrix CEO, said: “I am a huge believer in the potential that can be achieved when media and technology companies partner. It leverages shared knowledge and expertise in a transparent way and produces expedited outcomes and solutions that are both economical and effective while generating maximum results.

“We are grateful and honored by the partnerships of Gray Television, CoxReps, Graham Media, Hearst Television, and Cox Enterprises as we come together to develop this leading-edge solution that will support local, network, and more, around the globe. It will allow our industry to collectively sell more efficiently while also increasing the revenue to empower each media company to better create, inspire, inform, and entertain.”