After originally being considered a last resort, so-called “programmatic” methods of trading online ad inventory are moving up publishers’ pecking order, according to one platform exec.

“The traditional model is ‘let’s sell everything we can up-front through a direct sales model and then whatever’s left let’s push in to our SSP platform or exchange environments’,” SpotXchange platform SVP Sean Buckley tells Beet.TV.

“Now we’re hearing the strategy putting programmatic first from major broadcasters and premium publishers. As recently as three years ago, it was an afterthought, if it was even a thought at all.”

He was interviewed at Beet.TV’s annual executive retreat by Nielsen Digital MD Andrew Feigenson.

The Beet Retreat ’15 was sponsored by AOL and VideologyPlease find additional videos from the event here.