Everything that could be pulled into the next round of AWM enhancement work, organized by capability area. This is the pool we plan from together. Items marked ★ are critical to what we are building next. Everything else has flexibility in where it falls. Sizes are rough first estimates: S is days, M is weeks, L is a couple of months, XL is a quarter or more. Open an area to see what is in it; open an item for the detail and where it came from.
One engine does the work of the goal, cross and placement optimizers in one place, and lets them do more.
One portfolio-wide engine makes every placement decision at the break level, across the whole quarter and every network at once. There is no optimize button: when something changes, the plan re-solves. It is the Goal Optimizer WBD already uses, grown to cover the portfolio, and it is already running in AWM behind the quarter-scale delivery targets released in August 2026.
When a goal, a constraint, a creative or an as-run changes, the affected plan re-solves and everything else stays put. No optimize button, no waiting on a run.
Reach and frequency goals become real optimizer inputs. Today they are converted to GRP goals and pushed down, which was always a stopgap.
Try anything for a plan across the whole portfolio, keep the variants, see the full impact without the clicks. If you like it, do it.
When the optimizer does something unexpected, planners see why in plain terms and what to change, instead of guessing whether it was insight or a mistake.
The traffic plan rebuilt around one optimizer: unequivalized GRPs native, pacing in place, and edits the engine responds to without a full re-run.
The biggest part shipped in December 2025, in the Inventory Analyzer and the traffic plan metric report, on purpose: prove it where it mattered first. The rest arrives with the new traffic plan rather than as a screen-by-screen retrofit.
Today it is a re-run you trigger. With continuous optimization every mid-week change re-plans on its own, with live data, all week long.
Investigated in 2026 across goal, cross and placement. With one engine there is nothing to reconcile: one set of numbers, everywhere.
A lot of work has already gone into speed and feasibility on the current engines. The new engine is built for both from the start, so it stops being a recurring fix.
Solved by the new workflow and the break-level engine. No separate enhancement needed.
There is nothing to hand off between when one engine does all of it.
The rule and constraint types WBD's teams asked for, built once on the new engine so they apply everywhere.
Across the secondary events and rotator releases we built the big pieces and set the smaller rule types aside without losing track of them. Some are use cases that needed adjustment after feedback; some needed changes bigger than a maintenance cycle allows. This is that list.
Builds on One optimizer.
Constrain graphics by avail type so IPMs stop landing on open inventory that should stay open.
Source: Secondary Events feedback review, held for future consideration (WBD testers Alex, Hannah, Jordan, Brian)
Keep graphics from landing back-to-back within one program segment, not only within a time window.
Source: Secondary Events feedback review, held for future consideration (WBD testers Alex, Hannah, Jordan, Brian), raised twice
One constraint governs both promo and graphic placements for a campaign.
Source: Service desk request AWM-719
Force a rotator creative into a specific pod position, such as first in pod, rather than only excluding positions.
Source: Rotator use cases (WBD): Rotating by Pod Position
Express rotator rules as a share of allocation by day and daypart, combining creative and daypart in one rule.
Source: Rotator use cases (WBD): Rotating by Day + Daypart; four of five use cases hit this gap
Percentage distributions enforce across the broadcast week today; daily-level sharpens control.
Source: Follow-on to the NBA TV rotator use case (share of avails by day); CNNi feedback (Steavens)
Set an exact number, not only a minimum or maximum.
Source: Rotator use cases (WBD): max, min and fixed counts; 'equal to' wording from tester feedback
When a rotator asks for more spots than inventory allows, place what fits instead of failing.
Source: Service desk request AWM-827
Constrain placement by program genre, first for CNNi and CNNe.
Source: CNNi/CNNe constraints use cases (WBD): excluding promotion from certain shows by show type
Prefer a :30 for a :30 avail when one is available, and other placement choices that match how a planner would fill the break.
Source: CNNi feedback (filling the log); service desk AWM-725 and AWM-1025
Where every campaign stands, ahead or behind and why, without pulling as-runs by hand.
Planners see how a campaign is pacing across its whole flight, not just this week, and act on it in place.
Builds on One optimizer. Once optimization is portfolio-wide, pacing matters more than ever: planners will see things they could not see before.
Secondary campaigns appear in the Inventory Analyzer pacing view alongside primary, so graphics pacing stops being tracked by hand.
Source: Secondary Events feedback review, held for future consideration
Pace a campaign against its full flight, not only the current week.
Source: Goal Optimizer use cases (WBD): Campaign Pacing; held for future consideration
See planned, placed, and available GRPs side by side per network, so as-runs don't have to be pulled by hand.
Source: Goal Optimizer use cases (WBD): Network Pacing 1
Change capacity mid-week and see the effect immediately.
Source: Goal Optimizer use cases (WBD): Network Pacing 3; also Mid-Week Reoptimization use case 1
Both views on one screen in the Inventory Analyzer instead of flipping between them.
Source: Unequivalized use cases (WBD), need 4
Today's traffic and pacing tools reworked so they keep working once optimization spans the whole portfolio.
One campaign-centric view: configuration, live pacing, series history, past-season results, and competing shows by slot.
Fewer repetitive process steps, and the underlying capabilities that human and agent users both need.
Things done by hand today that AWM can carry, and the record-keeping that makes the rest possible.
Independent of the engine. Can run alongside any other area.
One creative group serves every network in a campaign instead of one per network.
Source: Secondary Events feedback review, held for future consideration (WBD testers); service desk AWM-719
Fewer setup steps for graphics templates, with audience targets and the index heatmap in the flow.
Source: Follow-on to Secondary Event Optimization use case 1 (optimize graphics to an audience target); target and heatmap feedback
Push template edits through the bulk editor; removes manual trickle-down verification.
Source: CNNi rotator feedback; service desk AWM-669
When real creatives arrive, AWM offers the swap for default placeholders instead of the team remembering to run Replace.
Source: Creative Dependency feedback review, held as a follow-on (AWM-791)
Re-run for a date range without disturbing default placeholders.
Source: Creative Dependency feedback, held as a follow-on (AWM-791)
Who changed what, and when. AWM does not store this today; once it does, it can be reviewed from any surface.
Source: On the team's enhancement list; service desk AWM-284
The quarterly lookback refresh runs on its own instead of as a manual maintenance task.
Source: On the team's enhancement list
Linear outcomes join streaming and theatrical, and AWM exposes outcome results.
Continues the attribution work released in 2026: the live data feed, linear outcomes, and making outcome influence visible in optimization.
Streaming and theatrical attribution shipped as a first pass. Next: the live data feed, linear outcomes, and making outcome influence visible in optimization.
Source: Attribution use case (WBD): incorporating outcome-based performance signals into the optimizer
Streaming, theatrical, and linear outcomes each feed optimizer scoring as the data lands.
Source: Attribution use case (WBD), A4: support for campaigns with different KPI frameworks
AWM gains the capability to expose outcome results, as a report or through its interface, so results can feed the next plan.
Source: Use case review with the team (items A3 and A7)
Content-level streaming ratings as a measurement source alongside linear.
Source: On the team's enhancement list
The remaining packaging use cases, and secondary optimization beyond GRPs.
Rule-driven packaging elements for the use cases still open, and secondary optimization to the metrics beyond GRPs.
Impressions, share of graphic inventory, and hit counts as optimization targets. Held back intentionally when secondary optimization launched: measurement beyond GRPs was still being defined on both sides, so GRPs went first.
Source: Secondary Event Optimization use case (WBD): goals based on impressions, GRPs, share of graphic inventory, or number of placements; GRPs went first by agreement
Brand and creative-type restrictions exist today; show-specific rules do not. Release notes Q&A says 'planned'.
Source: Noted by AdP at secondary optimization launch as a later addition
Rule-driven stunt wraps and hosted interstitials, and program ratings and advisory elements placed automatically before program start.
Source: Packaging use cases (WBD Owned Media): use cases 4 and 5, held by priority behind the others