For small and mid-sized businesses, TV advertising has always felt like a club with a locked door. The expenses involved are enormous, the production of a commercial is a complicated process, and the targeting of the right audience often turns out to be a mission impossible. On the other hand, digital ads were the only feasible option, but they are becoming crowded, expensive, and even more difficult to distinguish one’s self in.
According to a Google study, 80% of small businesses think digital ads allow them to compete with larger brands, however, the increasing costs and saturation of platforms are pushing them to search for new methods of growth. TV, once a playground only for national players, is now becoming a real option.
Comcast’s Universal Ads API is leading that shift. It brings premium TV advertising within reach, letting businesses target the right audience efficiently. SearchKings’ SKTV makes it even simpler, offering a user-friendly platform where local businesses can run hyper-local, targeted TV campaigns alongside their digital marketing.
Decoding Comcast’s Universal Ads API
For years, TV advertising looked like a closed club. Big brands played while small businesses just watched. Comcast decided to blow that model open. Universal Ads is its self-service, cross-publisher platform that makes premium video buying feel as simple as running a social media campaign.
At its core, the API is what makes that simplicity real. It is the tech bridge that lets partners like SearchKings plug directly into Comcast’s ecosystem and build their own local solutions. That is how SKTV exists, powered by the same backbone but tailored for small and mid-sized businesses who do not have media teams or million-dollar budgets.
The real value lies in the inventory. Through Universal Ads, advertisers get access to top-tier, brand-safe content across major media partners like NBCUniversal, AMC Networks, Paramount, and Roku. NBCUniversal’s 2025 Upfront showed what that means in scale, with record-high ad sales and a monthly reach of 286 million viewers. That is not noise, that is visibility with credibility.
Behind it all is FreeWheel’s ad tech, managing campaigns seamlessly across linear TV, connected TV, and streaming. According to Comcast Advertising’s 2025 press launch, Universal Ads now let’s advertisers of all sizes buy premium video as easily as digital platforms, and that is the real shift.
How SearchKings’ SKTV Opens the Door for SMBs
SearchKings has earned its place as a go-to digital marketing partner for over 5,000 service-based businesses across North America. They know what small and mid-sized businesses need and how to make complex marketing channels actually work for them.
SKTV, or SearchKings TV, puts that know-how into action. It uses Comcast’s Universal Ads API to create a simple dashboard that links TV advertising with a business’s existing digital and search campaigns. This means small business owners can manage their campaigns without hiring a full media team or learning complicated systems.
The platform directly tackles the pain points SMBs face. Media buying, which used to feel like a maze, is now straightforward and familiar. Time-strapped, tech-wary owners can finally get TV ads running without headaches. SKTV also handles creative and production, cutting the high costs and stress that come with making professional commercials.
Strategically, SKTV levels the playing field. It closes the gap between purely digital campaigns and national TV buys, giving small businesses access to premium, brand-safe content. That means local brands can compete with bigger players and show up in front of audiences they never could before.
When SearchKings launched SKTV in 2025, built on Comcast’s Universal Ads API, it opened a new door for over 5,000 local service businesses. TV advertising that once felt out of reach is now within grasp, giving smaller brands the chance to get noticed on the same stage as national competitors.
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5 Core Benefits of SKTV for Local SMBs (350 Words)
Small and mid-sized businesses are finally getting a shot at TV advertising, and SKTV is the tool that makes it real. Here’s how it helps local brands punch above their weight.
Hyper-Local, Audience-First Targeting
SKTV allows businesses to reach the right people in the right places. Ads can target viewers down to the zip code level and combine that with interest-based insights. Local service businesses can show up exactly where potential customers are watching, instead of spending on audiences that won’t convert.
Cost-Effective Entry Point
TV advertising used to mean huge upfront costs. With SKTV, businesses can run high-quality spots on a budget. Programmatic efficiencies powered by Comcast’s Universal Ads help make this possible. The World Federation of Advertisers reports that global media inflation stabilized near 4% in 2025, which means smaller advertisers can now get predictable access to premium content without breaking the bank.
Unified Multi-Channel Measurement
Tracking ad performance has always been tricky for SMBs. SKTV combines TV results with digital campaign metrics in one platform. Search campaigns, social ads, and TV spots can all be measured together. Business owners get a clear view of what’s driving calls, clicks, and leads, making it easier to make smart decisions.
Brand Trust and Authority
Appearing on premium, brand-safe content immediately lifts a local brand’s credibility. Whether it’s live sports, news, or top entertainment, local businesses are now seen alongside national competitors. That perception matters when customers are deciding whom to trust.
Amplified Digital Performance
TV does more than deliver a message; it drives awareness that strengthens online campaigns. Businesses often see more search activity, higher organic calls, and better engagement across digital channels. With Comcast’s Universal Ads powering SKTV, TV becomes a tool that amplifies everything else a business is doing online.
Together, these five benefits make SKTV a real game-changer. It brings precision, affordability, measurability, credibility, and amplification into one platform, turning TV advertising from an expensive dream into a practical reality for SMBs.
Real-World Impact of SKTV on Local SMBs
SKTV, powered by Comcast’s Universal Ads, is giving small and mid-sized businesses a shot at TV advertising that used to be out of reach. The platform lets SMBs access premium, brand-safe inventory while managing campaigns alongside their existing digital efforts.
For local service businesses, this is a game-changer. They can now target the right audience in the right locations without needing a big media team. SearchKings’ 2025 launch announcement shows that over 5,000 clients in home services and other local industries are already using SKTV to make TV advertising simpler and more effective.
Business owners say it feels like a door that was closed for years has finally opened. One executive put it this way: they can now advertise in ‘high-value markets alongside national brands without the national price tag.’ Across multiple SMB clients, the common feedback is stronger visibility, better leads, and smoother integration with search and social campaigns.
Even without exact numbers, the pattern is clear. SKTV is helping small businesses play on the same field as larger competitors. It gives them a real, practical path into TV advertising and shows how Comcast’s Universal Ads is making premium video accessible to businesses that never had this kind of opportunity before.
The Future of Local TV Advertising
TV advertising is changing fast. Comcast’s Universal Ads API is opening the door for small and mid-sized businesses to reach audiences in a way that used to be possible only for big brands. The platform makes TV buying simpler and more programmatic, like how digital ads work.
This change is giving local businesses real power. Instead of just buying time slots, they can focus on reaching the right people in the right place. Targeting by location and audience interests means small businesses can compete with national brands without huge budgets.
It is also pushing the whole industry to change. Other media partners will have to make their processes simpler and more accessible. For local businesses, this means more opportunities to advertise on premium, brand-safe channels. TV is no longer a distant, expensive dream. It is now something small businesses can use to grow, get noticed, and reach the right audience.
A New Era for Local Business
Comcast’s Universal Ads API, with partners like SearchKings and SKTV, has changed the game for local businesses. The obstacles that limited small and mid-sized companies to TV advertising have been eliminated. Today, SMBs can target the desired audience in high-quality, safe for brands, and low-cost channels with no difficulty at all. This translates into them obtaining the scale, trust, and accuracy associated with big brands, however, they are still able to enjoy the simplicity and the measurability of digital marketing. Local businesses that act now can integrate TV into their existing strategy and finally compete on a level playing field.
