Also see:
Forecasting webinar recording.
Office Hours Q&A TAP Reporting/Forecasting
Revenue School: Forecasting: how to get the most reliable estimates
Knowledge base: How to Add Podcast Categories to Measurement and Forecasting Reports
The Inventory Availability Report (also referred to as simply the "Forecasting report") shows you how much inventory is available to sell. You can filter the report along many useful dimensions and display the report using a number of different Dimensions (splits). This can help you manage your inventory and get a sense of potential revenue.
The Forecasting report calculates and displays forecasted impressions for your flights, as well as contending flights that could be affected if the flight is booked.
Forecasting in TAP involves a dynamic set of processes with many variables at work in any given query. It uses algorithms that are based in part on estimates, such as the estimated number of breaks in the forecasting period and the depth of those breaks. It is normal to see small fluctuations in reported avails, even when you run the same query twice.
The forecasting algorithm looks at the past 28 days of activity across your network, or across specific stations/podcasts (depending on your query). Specifically, it looks at all impressions delivered (regular, filler and programmatic) as well as missed opportunities (when an ad request came in but was not fulfilled for various reasons).
For the contending, we look at everything booked within the specified date range and estimate the contending impressions for each flight considering all their targeting parameters. We then deduct the sum of the contending impressions by the total to get what is estimated to be available for your query.
The response for a forecasting query is cached for one minute. In cases where the exact same query is submitted within that minute, the same result will be returned for each query. New flights or modified flights will not be taken into account until the cache expires.
Creating a Forecasting Report
Important! The Inventory Availability report is managed on the https://forecasting.tritondigital.com domain. Be sure to allow that domain if your web browser uses an ad blocker.
The Query Builder includes Filters and Dimensions that are used to focus your query to exactly what you want. Filters narrow the reported data to only those items you select, and Dimensions determine how the reported data is separated and displayed.
To build and run an Inventory Availability forecasting Report:
To begin, select Forecasting in the Applications menu:
The Inventory Availability report generator opens in a new tab. Make sure "TAP Impressions" or "TAP Spots" is selected:
You can run a forecasting report for impressions or for spots. The procedure for creating a forecasting report is similar for both options. The descriptions below are for creating an impressions forecasting report. Where the procedure is different for spots, it is noted.
Next:
Select the Publisher (if you have access to more than one).
Select a Date Range. (You can choose from one of the presets or you can enter a custom date range.)
Select one or more Positions. (Does not apply to spots.)
Choose whether to include or exclude Bulk/Filler flights (default is exclude). (Does not apply to spots.)
Select a Station. (Station selection is mandatory for spots but optional for impressions.)
Select additional filters. (Optional)
Select the Dimensions you want to show in this report. (For spots, "Station" is the only dimension.)
When you have made all your selections, click Submit.
The report is generated, showing the avails for the selected date range, position, station(s) and splits. You have the option of exporting the report as a .xlsx file.
Before you run a query, the report area says "No report." Once you run the query, the report information appears.
If "No listeners" appears in the avails section, it means there is no data for the selected query.
