The last year has seen an evolution in how publishers and broadcasters view the so-called “programmatic” sale of online ad inventory.

“Just 12 months ago, a lot of publishers were just viewing programmatic as a remnant solution,” says Mark Trefgarne, CEO of video ad tech platform LiveRail. “The transition we’ve seen is a view towards programmatic being more than that – an opportunity to sell inventory to strategic buyers on an upfront basis.”

Trefgarne says the assumption that broadcasters are “dumb” on programmatic is “completely wrong”: “They know it inside-out. It’s not a challenge of not being capable. They have hundreds of millions of dollars in digital revenue today – they want to make sure they can navigate the transition effectively without disrupting their business.”

Growth in the space means growth for Trefgarne’s company. LiveRail was the number-four seller of online video ads after SpotXchange, AOl and Google in January 2014, according to comScore Video Metrix.

Trefgarne was interviewed by Furious Minds CEO Ashley J. Swartz at Beet.TV’s annual executive retreat in Vieques, Puerto Rico.