OpenX and News Australia Expand Programmatic Access to Tubi’s Premium CTV Inventory — the two firms announced a partnership that brings Fox Corporation’s free‑streaming service into the hands of Australian programmatic buyers via OpenX’s biddable CTV platform.
The deal in detail
OpenX Technologies, a global omnichannel supply‑side platform (SSP), is teaming with News Australia, the country’s leading media‑sales house, to sell Tubi’s connected‑TV (CTV) ad slots on a programmatic basis. The arrangement leverages OpenX’s real‑time bidding (RTB) engine, which promises transparent pricing, brand‑safety controls and flexible buying options, while tapping the viewer‑driven signals that Tubi uses to curate content and keep ad load low.
Both parties stress that the collaboration is not a simple resale of inventory. Instead, it merges Tubi’s data intelligence—derived from viewing habits, device type and engagement metrics—with OpenX’s compliance framework, including third‑party verification and fraud detection. The result is a supply path that programmatic demand‑side platforms (DSPs) can trust, according to OpenX Vice President Mitchell Greenway.
Why programmatic CTV matters
Australia’s ad‑supported streaming market is on a steep upward trajectory. Statista projects CTV ad spend to exceed AUD $2 billion by 2029, nearly doubling the 2025 level. Gartner’s 2024 forecast predicts that programmatic CTV will account for 35 % of total CTV spend worldwide within three years, driven by the need for granular audience targeting and measurable ROI.
For agencies and brands, the shift means moving away from traditional linear TV buys—often locked into bulk contracts and limited reporting—toward a model where each impression can be auctioned, optimized, and attributed. OpenX’s platform supports dynamic creative optimization (DCO) and cross‑device attribution, allowing marketers to serve personalized video ads that adapt to user context in real time.
Competitive context
The partnership pits OpenX and News Australia against established SSPs such as Magnite, SpotX (now part of Magnite) and The Trade Desk’s supply side. Those players already offer programmatic CTV inventory, but many rely on legacy linear pipelines or aggregate inventory from multiple OTT services without deep integration of first‑party signals.
OpenX differentiates itself by embedding Tubi’s proprietary recommendation engine into the bidding workflow, a capability that rivals typically lack. This could narrow the gap between premium, brand‑safe inventory and the “open‑exchange” inventory that has historically suffered from viewability and fraud concerns.
Implications for enterprise marketers
Enterprise marketing teams stand to gain immediate access to a high‑quality audience that is both brand‑safe and highly engaged. The partnership’s transparent supply chain aligns with the growing demand for GDPR‑compliant, privacy‑first data usage, especially after Australia’s recent amendments to the Privacy Act.
Marketers can now programmatically reach households that prefer ad‑supported streaming over subscription‑only services, a segment that accounts for roughly 40 % of Australian TV viewers, according to a 2023 Nielsen report. The ability to layer first‑party data from CRM or CDP systems onto Tubi’s viewer signals opens pathways for addressable TV campaigns that rival the precision of digital display.
Future outlook
If the collaboration scales, it may encourage other OTT players in the region—such as Stan and Amazon Prime Video—to expose programmatic APIs, further fragmenting the supply side but also enriching the ecosystem. OpenX’s move also signals a broader industry trend: SSPs are evolving from pure inventory aggregators to data‑driven marketplaces that blend content relevance with brand‑safety guarantees.
Market Landscape
The Australian CTV market is still nascent compared to the United States, yet its growth rate is outpacing traditional broadcast. IDC estimates that CTV penetration will reach 68 % of households by 2027, up from 45 % in 2023. This expansion fuels demand for programmatic solutions that can handle high‑frequency, high‑value video impressions without sacrificing compliance.
Globally, the programmatic CTV segment has attracted $7.2 billion in venture capital since 2020, highlighting investor confidence in technology that bridges content and commerce. In the competitive arena, The Trade Desk’s “Unified ID 2.0” and Google’s “Ad Manager” continue to dominate, but OpenX’s focus on transparent, brand‑safe inventory could carve a niche among premium advertisers wary of opaque supply chains.
Top Insights
- OpenX’s integration of Tubi’s viewer‑driven signals creates a transparent, brand‑safe programmatic CTV supply path rarely seen in the Australian market.
- Forecasts from Statista and Gartner suggest Australian CTV ad spend will surpass AUD $2 billion by 2029, making programmatic access a critical growth lever for advertisers.
- By marrying first‑party data with Tubi’s audience insights, enterprise marketing teams can execute addressable TV campaigns with measurement parity to digital display.
- The partnership pressures incumbent SSPs to deepen data integration and compliance, potentially accelerating industry‑wide adoption of privacy‑first programmatic standards.
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