COLOGNE – So-called “programmatic” methods of targeting or trading advertising may be typically associated with online media platforms – but that doesn’t mean something of the techniques can’t also be applied to linear TV.

Indeed, programmatic looks like playing a part in the next TV upfront season beginning next spring, when networks will tout their upcoming shows to advertisers in the hope of selling ad inventory, according to one ad-tech exec.

“This is really starting to become part of the 2017 upfront,” Clypd product VP Jason Burke tells Beet.TV in this video interview. “It’s still a fraction of upfront sales but we’re starting to see this become real – happening with multi-billion businesses.”

What is programmatic for in a linear world? Burke says: “(It is) making decisions using data, optimizing a schedule on behalf of a media owner that is delivered in the future.” It’s a technique his company is already using on behalf of clients like Fox, Discovery and ESPN.

Boston-based Clypd’s solutions include private and open marketplaces that aim to make buying and selling inventory easier.

Now Clypd is preparing for European expansion. “There’s a lot of opportunities in Europe,” Burke adds. “We’re having those conversations, starting to understand the landscape – the appetite of media agencies, brands and media owners – so we can determine which markets to go after first.

“What you’ll see from us in the next month is some initial news about our partnership with a media owner in Europe. We hope to see, in 2017, more news about that.”

Of course, European expansion has become low-hanging fruit for Clyp. In 2015, it received an investment from German and pan-European broadcast group RTL, which also owns a stake in SpotX. In September, Henry Rivero was drafted in from RTL to be Clypd’s Europe GM to spearhead the expansion.