By Marketron
In this edition of Vantage Points, Marketron looks at four common myths about outsourced traffic and explains how Traffic as a Service (TaaS) helps broadcasters maintain business oversight while shifting day-to-day execution to experienced professionals.
Outsourced Traffic Services: What Changes, What Stays and Why Timing Matters
As broadcasters prepare their 2027 operating plans, some are evaluating a different way to manage traffic. One solution is Marketron’s outsourced Traffic as a Service (TaaS) which offers a long-term option, placing daily traffic execution including logs, orders, copy, reconciliation and billing workflows in the hands of experienced professionals. Station leadership retains business oversight, and an assigned traffic manager serves as a consistent point of contact.
For those hearing about the concept for the first time, these four quick myths and facts explain how the model works and what to consider.
- Myth: Outsourcing traffic means giving up control and communication.
- Fact: Outsourcing execution does not transfer responsibility for sales strategy, pricing or advertiser relationships. Station leadership continues to set business priorities and retains oversight of traffic operations. Marketron manages day-to-day traffic execution for the stations you transition. An assigned traffic manager gets to know your stations and workflows, giving your team a consistent person to contact for questions, changes and coordination.
- Myth: Every station in the group must transition.
- Fact: Broadcasters can transition one station, a market or their full group. Marketron manages all traffic functions for the stations selected, while the internal team continues managing the remaining stations. Responsibilities are defined by station, so each station’s traffic operation stays with one team rather than having individual tasks divided between internal staff and Marketron.
- Myth: An employee’s salary is the right cost comparison.
- Fact: Salary is only one part of the evaluation. Benefits, recruiting, training, overtime, management oversight and rework also contribute to the cost of internal traffic operations. Compare that full cost with the service fee and scope, while considering access to experienced professionals, continuity and the time required to hire and train replacements. The business case for TaaS includes both financial and operational value: how traffic will be managed reliably over the long term and what that means for the station’s staffing and business priorities.
- Myth: You can wait until a staffing change becomes urgent.
- Fact: Demand for Traffic as a Service has begun to create an implementation waitlist. A resignation or retirement may not coincide with an available opening, leaving stations with a traffic staffing gap while awaiting implementation or hiring a replacement. Evaluating TaaS while employees are still in place allows time to document workflows, coordinate responsibilities and prepare a planned transition.
If you’re planning for 2027, now is the time to have that conversation.
Explore what long-term traffic management could look like for your stations at Marketron.com/TaaS.
