Unsurprisingly, The Trade Desk got its wish when it welcomed a little debate after releasing a list of top premium publishers last week.
Publisher critiques range from the demand-side platform favoring connected TV streamers and subscription-funded publishers—perpetuating inequalities in programmatic—to whether a tech firm should be the arbiter of media quality, five sources told ADWEEK.
“When stuff like this comes out, it doesn’t feel good,” said Jason Tate, senior director of programmatic and partnership development at MediaNews Group & Tribune Publishing, which represents 68 daily and over 300 weekly local publications across the U.S.
While The Trade Desk is typically a good partner, Tate said, the list leaves out local news publishers like MediaNews Group (although one title, Chicago Tribune, was included).
“It’s almost a slap in the face,” he added.
The list was part of a marketing pivot away from a purveyor of the open internet to a place to buy the “premium internet,” but others question whether The Trade Desk should be ranking publishers at all.
While the top 100 list is not intended for traders to buy on, all 100 publishers are part of SP500+, a group of more than 500 publishers that the Trade Desk will release later as a buying tool.
SP500+ includes local news and diverse publishers, a Trade Desk spokesperson said, declining to comment further.
“Fundamentally, they are a tech company,” said Wayne Blodwell, CEO of Impact Media, a media buying firm that prioritizes attention metrics. “They are not the arbiter of media quality.”
Not representational
A cursory look at the list shows that the top spots are predominantly taken by CTV publishers. Given that buyers already know the leading TV companies, a list is somewhat obsolete, said Paul Ripart, deputy director of digital and data at French publishing group Prisma Media.
“If you are based in New York and you have to buy inventory in France, it’s very complicated to know the good websites and the good inclusion lists,” Ripart said. “It’s really easy to know the good broadcasters per country.”
Separating lists into CTV and display inventory would have been more helpful.