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That's a wrap, not a RIP. As the football season ends, I'm officially closing out the 2025–2026 season. Regardless of your favorite team, this season was a WIN, not a RIP.

  • Writer: Robert Eckelman
    Robert Eckelman
  • 5 days ago
  • 2 min read


We all know how this goes.

  • Great ideas + poor execution, straight to the media graveyard.

  • Flawless execution + bad ideas, one tombstone over.


This note is for my clients, my DSP partners, my SSP partners, and my vendors and it’s a simple one:


Thank you all.


Several of my largest clients had an outstanding experience running in Monday Night Football all season long, plus every ESPN NCAA Bowl Gazme and even NFL Playoff Games. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve your CTV ads in:


  • 12/31/25 – Cotton Bowl

  • 1/1/26 – Orange Bowl

  • 1/1/26 – Rose Bowl

  • 1/1/26 – Sugar Bowl

  • 1/8/26 – Fiesta Bowl

  • 1/9/26 – Peach Bowl

  • 1/19/26 – National Championship

  • 1/12/26 – Texans vs. Steelers (Wild Card)

  • 1/18/26 – Texans vs. Patriots (Divisional Playoff)

To my clients, thank you for your trust.

Thank you for the freedom to make real-time decisions.

Thank you for the constant 'What if...' conversations.


That co-creation is a gift, and I do my best to return it with smart, successful schedules.

To my DSP, SSP, and data partners, thank you for tackling challenges, delivering quality inventory, and supporting it with strong reporting.

In traditional media, relationships often stopped at buyer/client, and seller.

In CTV, relationships run deeper, and they have to. They start with the client and their customers, their goals, and their needs and they extend across the entire ecosystem: DSPs, SSPs, and data partners alike.

The result? Delivery that exceeded even my wildest expectations.

I could’ve overpromised. I didn’t.


I could’ve locked this in as a direct IO at outrageous rates. I didn’t.

Instead, my clients and I agreed on a test and an optimization strategy. We’ll watch it every weekend. We’ll stay flexible.”


We planned, discussed, stayed flexible, and moved forward and WON together.

That’s how real partnerships work.

Because if you stay stiff, rigid, and inflexible in a CTV world that changes weekly…


Well, that's another plot in the media graveyard.

And nobody wants that.

 
 
 

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