New subscription model puts Premion connected TV platform in the spotlight

Tegna is betting more heavily on streaming ad tech: its Premion connected TV platform is expanding with a subscription-style selling model aimed at mid-market and regional advertisers that want data-driven campaigns on smart TVs without national-network budgets.

Edited by ad hoc news New Releases & Launches Desk. Reviewed before publication on 06/16/2026 at 3:03 AM ET. Details in the imprint.

Tegna's advanced advertising unit Premion is pushing deeper into connected TV with an expanded subscription-style selling model for its multiscreen advertising platform, targeting regional and mid-market brands that want data-driven streaming campaigns without committing to national TV budgets. The Premion offering bundles premium connected TV inventory, data targeting and managed campaign services, positioning itself as a one-stop shop for advertisers that are still shifting spend from traditional linear TV to streaming environments. According to the official Premion product page, the platform reaches more than 125 million households in the US across over 1,250 publisher partners.

What Premion’s connected TV platform actually offers advertisers

Premion is marketed as a premium connected TV and over-the-top advertising solution that aggregates inventory from streaming apps, smart TV environments and digital video publishers, then packages it with audience targeting and reporting tools for agencies and brands. Tegna emphasizes that Premion only sells ads on premium, brand-safe inventory, which means content from recognized networks, major streaming services and vetted publishers rather than user-generated video, an important distinction for risk-averse advertisers that want TV-like controls for their streaming spend. In practical terms, a regional auto dealer, healthcare provider or financial-services brand can use Premion to run a single campaign that appears across multiple streaming apps and devices, instead of negotiating inventory app by app or device by device.

The platform operates on what Tegna describes as a local-first approach, allowing campaigns to be executed by DMA, state or custom geography, so that local businesses can target specific metro areas while larger brands layer on broader regional or national reach. Premion also integrates data from third-party providers and first-party audience sources to build segments based on demographics, interests or purchase intent, helping advertisers move beyond simple age and gender targeting toward behavioral and outcome-based planning. That data layer is critical because connected TV inventory is typically sold on impressions rather than ratings, and advertisers increasingly demand measurable performance, including metrics such as completion rates, reach and frequency, and website or app lift attributable to streaming ads.

To lower the barrier of entry for non-national advertisers, Premion pairs its inventory and data package with managed services, meaning Tegna’s ad operations team sets up, optimizes and reports on campaigns for clients that do not want to run their own programmatic trading desks. This service element is particularly relevant for mid-sized agencies and direct local advertisers that lack in-house connected TV specialists but still want to shift budgets from linear TV or display ads into streaming. Tegna has highlighted in several industry presentations that many of Premion’s customers are local or regional businesses advertising on connected TV for the first time, using the platform to test audience-based buying while still leaning on the provider for optimization.

On the measurement side, Premion offers advertisers post-campaign reporting that includes impression delivery by app, device and geography, as well as brand study integrations with measurement partners to quantify awareness, consideration or purchase-intent lift from streaming campaigns. The platform also plugs into attribution partners to analyze downstream actions such as web visits, form fills or store locator usage following exposure to connected TV ads, a capability that helps justify CTV pricing, which often commands higher CPMs than standard online video. In the US market, where cord-cutting continues and ad-supported streaming options proliferate, these measurement tools position Premion as a bridge between traditional TV buys and digital performance marketing.

Over the past years, Tegna has steadily expanded Premion’s publisher relationships and device coverage, ensuring campaigns can run across smart TVs, streaming boxes, game consoles and mobile devices. Industry coverage notes that the platform has inked deals with major smart TV manufacturers and streaming environments to secure high-quality inventory at scale, allowing advertisers to reach viewers who no longer subscribe to cable or satellite but still consume large amounts of long-form video content. As connected TV penetration in US households climbs and more ad-supported tiers launch on leading streaming services, Tegna has framed Premion as a core growth driver within its portfolio of media and marketing solutions, complementing the company’s traditional local TV stations with a national footprint in streaming advertising.

Analysts covering Tegna have pointed out that Premion's growth helps diversify the broadcaster’s revenue base away from pure linear advertising and political ad cycles, giving the company a recurring, data-driven revenue stream with less seasonality. In its investor communications, Tegna has repeatedly highlighted Premion as a strategic asset and one of the company’s fastest-growing business lines in recent years, reflecting advertiser demand for premium CTV inventory that can be bought with local granularity. According to a recent Tegna investor presentation, digital advertising and marketing services now account for a growing share of the company’s total advertising and marketing services revenue, with Premion playing a key role in that mix.

For Tegna, Premion sits at the intersection of its legacy strength in local broadcasting and the industry-wide shift toward streaming, offering an entry point for both local businesses and national brands that want local precision with connected TV scale. While competition in the CTV ad-tech space is intense, with platforms from streaming giants, demand-side platforms and specialist aggregators all vying for budgets, Premion's positioning around premium, brand-safe inventory and managed local execution gives it a differentiated pitch in conversations with regional advertisers. Shares of Tegna (US87901J1051) traded on the NYSE at $16.42 on 06/13/2026, according to market data compiled by MarketWatch.

Premion connected TV platform in brief

• Product: Premion connected TV advertising platform
• Manufacturer: Tegna Inc.
• Category: New Release/Launch - advertising technology service
• Launch date: Initially introduced in 2016, with ongoing feature and footprint expansions
• MSRP / Price: Campaign-based pricing; CPMs vary by targeting, inventory and geography
• Availability: US market, sold via Tegna and Premion sales teams and partner agencies
• Target audience: Regional and national advertisers, agencies, and local businesses investing in connected TV and streaming video
• Key differentiator / USP: Premium, brand-safe connected TV inventory with local-market execution and managed service support

This article was a.i.-assisted and editorially reviewed. Product information without warranty; prices and availability may change at short notice. Not investment advice and not a buy or sell recommendation. Trading involves risk up to and including the total loss of invested capital.