Munich's Crossvertise Opens Addressable TV to SMEs With a Self-Service Planner
Updated: 6 days ago
TL;DR: Munich adtech firm Crossvertise has launched a self-service HbbTV-based planner that lets small and mid-sized advertisers plan, optimise and book regional addressable TV campaigns themselves.
Addressable TV without the agency
Crossvertise launched its self-service planner on 1 October 2026. It lets small and mid-sized advertisers plan, optimise and book regional addressable TV campaigns themselves — with no agency intermediary required.
The product runs on HbbTV and uses the "SwitchIn XXL," an L-shaped banner shown for about three seconds after a viewer changes channel. Because it's an overlay, advertisers don't need to produce a TV spot at all.
How the self-service tool works
Advertisers enter a region, budget, duration and target audience, and the tool returns recommendations with projected impressions and CPMs. Co-CEO Maximilian Balbach stresses that it suggests viable alternatives rather than simply "spit out numbers."
Entry is deliberately low: budgets run from €5,000 to €15,000, with a €5,000 minimum — aimed squarely at local retailers, service businesses and restaurants.
Opening TV to a new tier of advertisers
The reach is already there. By the end of 2024, around 25.4 million German households had addressable HbbTV-capable devices — roughly 60% of TV households. The constraint was never inventory; it was access.
Marketing Minute's read: removing spot production and the agency layer attacks the two biggest barriers that kept local advertisers off television. A €5,000 entry point with no creative shoot turns TV from a brand-budget luxury into something a local shop can actually try.
What it means for planners and broadcasters
The strategic shift is that addressable TV starts to behave like a performance channel — planned, priced and booked much the way a local business already buys search or social. For planners, the action is concrete: test it as a lower-funnel regional channel and measure it against search and social on cost per outcome.
Broadcasters and sales houses should watch the margin implications. Democratising access grows the total pool of TV advertisers from the bottom up, but self-service pricing and overlay formats can pressure the premium economics of traditional spots.
The mini-framework: when a channel loses its production cost and its gatekeeper, its buyer base widens and its pricing logic shifts from scarcity to performance.
Quick FAQ
What did Crossvertise launch?
A self-service planner, launched 1 October 2026, that lets SMEs plan, optimise and book regional addressable TV campaigns on HbbTV without producing a spot.
How much does it cost to start?
Budgets run from €5,000 to €15,000, with a €5,000 minimum, aimed at local retailers, services and restaurants.
How many German households can addressable TV reach?
About 25.4 million had addressable HbbTV-capable devices by the end of 2024, roughly 60% of TV households.
Two things kept local advertisers off television: making a spot, and dealing with an agency to buy it. Crossvertise just removed both. Addressable TV becomes a performance channel a local shop can buy like search — enter a region and a budget, and you're on screen without a film crew. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing
If you've written TV off as national brand spend, test self-service addressable TV as a regional performance channel measured on cost per outcome.
If a local shop can now buy TV like search, what's your excuse for treating television as out of reach?
If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk
Sources: BroadbandTV News, meedia.
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Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute
