The broadcast certificate

A broadcast certificate is the document a broadcaster issues to confirm that advertising actually aired: which spot, on which channel, on which day, at what time and for how long. It is the basis for closing documents and for payment.

What it contains

• The channel and the period the certificate covers
• A list of airings: date, exact time, duration, advertising break
• The name of the spot and of the advertiser
• Notes on any moves or replacements

Who needs it, and what for

The advertiser and the agency — to accept the work and book the cost: without confirmed airings there is nothing to justify the spend against. The broadcaster — to invoice and close the period. Both sides — as the source of truth for post-buy: the certificate is what answers whether what was planned actually ran.

On markets where the regulator requires advertising reporting, the certificate also becomes the basis for that reporting — which makes accuracy in it a compliance question rather than a bookkeeping formality.

Why they are assembled by hand, and why that is expensive

The classic routine is an export from the playout system, a manual copy into a spreadsheet, a check against the media plan, and formatting. Days of work per period, and every manual copy is an opportunity for a mistake that surfaces during reconciliation with the agency.

In OpenMediaLogic, certificates and placement logs are generated automatically from actual airings, and the financial documents are assembled from the same source and exported to your accounting system through the API.