How Universal Ads Is Unlocking a Whole New Ecosystem of TV Ad Buying Solutions

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For years, search and social platforms have helped small and mid-sized businesses reach audiences with ease, offering simple planning, buying, and measurement tools. But while streaming TV delivers unmatched brand impact, it’s long been out of reach for advertisers without big budgets.

Comcast’s Universal Ads was created to change that—bringing the simplicity of search and social media buying to TV advertising, making it accessible for advertisers of all sizes.

Powering Scalable Innovation in TV Advertising

In June, Universal Ads announced the Business Partners Program, created to make TV advertising faster, easier, and more effective for brands of all sizes. The program connects advertisers directly to a curated ecosystem of trusted partners that today specialize in creative development and performance measurement, helping brands overcome common barriers to launching, optimizing, and scaling their TV campaigns.

These partners and many more will be able to harness the Universal Ads Marketing API to build powerful, scalable TV ad solutions that give advertisers more control than ever before. In just a few months, partners have created their own custom platforms that unlock premium, hyper-local streaming TV inventory across major publishers—without the need for complex infrastructure. By connecting TV performance with other ad channels, these integrations have the ability to give brands a unified view of their entire media mix, enabling smarter optimization, faster decisions, and stronger results depending on the integration.

Real-World Impact

And this innovation is already driving real results for partners and their clients. Through Universal Ads, SearchKings launched its own TV ad solution, SearchKings TV (SKTV), in just a few months. By integrating with the Universal Ads Marketing APIs, SearchKings’ new platform enables their 5,000+ home service-based clients to access hyper-local, premium TV inventory from 15+ major publishers—helping them reach new customers, generate quality leads, and grow revenue.  

Even more powerful, with the Universal Ads Marketing APIs, these clients who are already running search ads can bring the two channels together within SKTV for a holistic view of all their advertising so they can easily optimize to ensure their advertising is driving performance.

This innovation levels the playing field for local businesses, giving them affordable access to the biggest screen in the house. With SKTV, SearchKings is helping its clients to easily advertise on TV to reach new audiences and realize untapped business results.

Since the launch of SKTV, Hi-Tech Plumbing & Air, a regional plumbing company, has already seen major impact, with 45% lower cost per lead, 47% more leads, and a 100% increase in organic calls year-over-year—proving that TV advertising is an essential tool for delivering measurable outcomes.