European Programmatic TV Initiative launches Stage Two to help programmatic TV scale across Europe’s largest advertising markets
roadcasters, streamers, agencies and ad tech companies including Google Ad Manager, Equativ, Adform, LiveRamp, The Trade Desk, FreeWheel and Cape io begin work on practical solutions to reduce complexity and speed up adoption
London, 11 February 2026 – The European Programmatic TV Initiative (EPTVI) today announced the launch of Stage Two of its industry-led collaboration, moving from industry discussion and alignment into action as the industry works to make programmatic TV easier to use at scale across Europe.
Europe’s TV advertising market is at a critical moment. As broadcasters and streamers expand programmatic access to premium inventory, demand is no longer the key constraint. Buyers and sellers have to navigate different definitions, measurement approaches and workflows, often relying on market- and platform-specific setups that increase cost, limit confidence and slow adoption.
Stage Two is overseen by a Joint Industry Steering Committee (JISC) which sets strategic direction and oversees delivery. This includes leading technology companies that play a critical role in enabling programmatic TV, including Google Ad Manager, Equativ, Adform, LiveRamp, The Trade Desk, FreeWheel and Cape.io, alongside major broadcasters, streamers, agency groups and trade bodies.* Additional partners are welcome to join.
This phase focuses on turning earlier alignment into practical action, producing clear, shared guidance on how programmatic TV should work day to day and helping businesses apply it consistently rather than rebuilding approaches across multiple markets and platforms.
Stage Two Focus and Deliverables
Structured around a federated model that balances European-level alignment with local market flexibility. The work programme is focused on three core deliverables:
North Star Principles – common reference points for how programmatic TV should operate across European markets, covering interoperability, measurement, transparency, workflow and local adaptation.
Reusable Core Components – shared guidance and documentation, including metadata templates, measurement and reporting conventions, workflow and interoperability guides.
The Premium Programmatic Partner (3Ps) Programme – an industry framework to support clearer and more accountable trading of premium programmatic TV inventory.
Together, these deliverables are intended to support a programmatic TV marketplace that scales more effectively while preserving the value, quality and integrity of premium TV inventory.
The work will be delivered through three cross-industry Working Groups, focused on Definitions and Measurement; Technical and Operational Foundations and The 3Ps Programme.
The Initiative will also host a series of virtual industry Town Halls from 25 February 2026 to share progress and invite broader industry input. To attend the first Town Hall, please register at eptvi.com or email EPTVI@projectxinitiative.com.
Industry perspectives
“Programmatic TV can best scale in Europe through co-ordinated action and shared innovation,” said Oliver Friedrich, Head of Sellside Video, DACH at Google. “The challenges we face, around interoperability, measurement, transparency and workflows, are systemic and cross-border by nature. Stage Two reflects a shared recognition that progress depends on sustained, pan-industry collaboration, grounded in practical deliverables that work across markets while respecting national differences.”
“Premium TV is opening up to programmatic demand faster than traditional trading models are transitioning. This initiative is critical in shaping a scalable, broadcaster-led European approach and aligns closely with Equativ’s focus on enabling and delivering direct access to premium inventory,” said James Grant, VP Advanced TV & Video at Equativ.
Will Jones, Global Head of Advanced TV at Adform, commented: “Buyers today are navigating different rules, formats, signals and metrics across broadcasters and streamers. This initiative is critical in bringing more coherence to programmatic TV, and maps directly to how Adform helps advertisers plan, compare and optimise TV investment across sellers and trading models.”
Luke Fenney, SVP, Publishers & Platforms International at LiveRamp, commented: “Programmatic TV will only scale efficiently if identity and measurement work consistently, rather than being rebuilt market by market or platform by platform. This initiative brings clarity to that challenge and speaks directly to LiveRamp’s role in delivering data collaboration, including interoperable identity and measurement infrastructure across the TV ecosystem.”
“Advertisers are ready to accelerate their investment in premium TV through programmatic, however fragmented market structures continue to hinder scale,” said Sven Hagemeier, GM Inventory Development EMEA, The Trade Desk. “We're delighted to partner with the European Programmatic TV Initiative which will be critical in unlocking the confidence needed to drive sustained, scalable investment.”
“Broadcasters are modernising how TV advertising is delivered, but are doing so carefully, with a strong focus on preserving value and how television trades,” said Nicolas Mignot, VP & Head of Publisher Sales and Strategy at FreeWheel. “We see this initiative as an important forum for driving alignment across stakeholders, markets and platforms in a way that respects established TV trading models.”
“Cape.io is proud to join the Project X Initiative. Working with advertisers, agencies, broadcasters and publishers throughout Europe, we’ve seen firsthand how operational gaps between media and creative cause friction. Streamlining these workflows will remove barriers to scale and generate value across the industry”, added Joe Hollywood, Head of Product, Cape io.
Participation in the Initiative is voluntary and non-binding, does not imply endorsement of any outputs and confers no preferential status or commercial advantage. All discussions operate under strict competition law compliance.
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Ian.Maude@projectxinitiative.com.
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Participants in the Joint Industry Steering Committee
*As of February 2026, participants in the Joint Industry Steering Committee include:
Adform, Canal+, Cape.io, Comcast Advertising, DAZN, Dentsu, Mediaset, Equativ, FreeWheel, Google Ad Manager, IAB Europe, IAB UK, iProspect, LiveRamp, PMX, Publicis, Rakuten TV, RTL AdAlliance, Seven.One Media, Sky, SkyShowtime, The Trade Desk, The7stars, VEVO and WPP Media.
About The Project X Initiative
The Project X Initiative is a thought leadership and advisory collective focused on the media, advertising, entertainment, technology and sports industries. We provide an expert-led approach through our unique team, who offer decades of senior management and board-level experience, and combine the professionalism and rigour of the best consultancy firms with a flexible engagement model adapted to each project’s or client’s needs. See www.projectxinitiative.com.
About the Commercial Partners
Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Through products and platforms like Search, Maps, Gmail, Android, Google Play, Google Cloud, Chrome and YouTube, Google plays a meaningful role in the daily lives of billions of people and has become one of the most widely-known companies in the world. Google is a subsidiary of Alphabet Inc. For more information, visit google.com.
Equativ is a global, end-to-end media platform empowering advertisers and publishers to achieve real outcomes by uniting premium inventory, dynamic creative formats, and engaged audiences with advanced curation and AI-powered ad tech across all channels. Purpose-built for the attention economy, Equativ delivers quality, engagement, and performance while prioritizing respectful, user-centric ad experiences. With a team of over 750 professionals across 19 countries, Equativ combines global scale with deep local expertise. Learn more at Equativ.com.
Adform is the most powerful and safe media buying platform in the world. With a 20+ year history of delivering service excellence and forward-looking technology, Adform enables major brands, agencies, and publishers to create, buy, and sell digital advertising globally. Having pushed the boundaries through augmented intelligence and an industry-leading identity solution, Adform has consistently changed the game for digital advertisers. For more information, visit adform.com.
LiveRamp is shaping the future of responsible data collaboration between the world’s leading brands, retailers, financial services providers, and healthcare innovators. As consumers embrace new AI-driven experiences, the LiveRamp data collaboration network exponentially expands the breadth and accuracy of the data on which marketing AI capabilities operate, powering deeper customer insight and measurable performance on a global scale. For more information, visit liveramp.com.
The Trade Desk™ (NASDAQ: TTD) is a technology company that empowers buyers of advertising. Through its self-service, cloud-based platform, ad buyers can create, manage, and optimize digital advertising campaigns across ad formats and devices. Integrations with major data, inventory, and publisher partners ensure maximum reach and decisioning capabilities, and enterprise APIs enable custom development on top of the platform. Headquartered in Ventura, California, The Trade Desk has offices across North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. To learn more, visit thetradedesk.com or follow us on Facebook, X, LinkedIn and YouTube.
FreeWheel empowers all segments of the streaming advertising ecosystem. We are structured to provide the full breadth of solutions the advertising industry needs to achieve their goals. We provide the technology, data enablement and convergent marketplaces required to ensure buyers and sellers can transact across all screens, across all data types, and all sales channels, in order to ensure the ultimate goal – results for marketers. With offices in New York, Chicago, London, Paris, and across the globe, FreeWheel, A Comcast Company, stands to advocate for the entire industry through the FreeWheel Council for Premium Video. For more information, please visit freewheel.com, and follow us on X and LinkedIn.
Cape.io is the world's first Intelligent Campaign Automation platform, designed for global brands, agencies, and broadcasters. The platform unifies the entire campaign lifecycle, connecting creative production, compliance, and media distribution across all channels. By bringing together teams, processes, and data, Cape.io enables organizations to plan, create, validate, and activate campaigns with unparalleled speed, control, and intelligence.