Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here.
Podcast Pie
Entercom Communications is throwing its hat into the booming podcast space that is expected to generate more than a $1 billion in advertising revenue this year. The company is set to acquire podcast ad network Podcorn in a deal aimed at helping the second-largest US radio broadcaster expand its advertising business, the Wall Street Journal reports. The deal values Podcorn at $22.5 million, with Entercom paying $14.6 million upfront in cash and a performance-based earnout over the next three years. The deal is the latest in a spate of consolidation in the podcast realm, as large media and tech companies build out podcast advertising capabilities to attract more ad dollars to the rapidly growing medium. Entercom sees Podcorn as key to helping its advertisers reach the audiences for thousands of influential up-and-coming podcasters. Entercom has officially entered a race among major media and tech players for a share of the podcast pie, including Spotify, iHeartMedia, Amazon and Sirius XM.
Tremors Of Delight
Tremor International, a global leader in video advertising technologies, is overcoming the hit it took from the COVID-19 pandemic last year. The company saw record performance in H2 and Q4 2020, with programmatic net revenue increasing by 30% to $161.6 million and total net revenue jumping 12% to $184.3 million, with 88% of net revenues generated from programmatic activities compared to 76% in 2019, and 91% in Q4. Read the release. The programmatic increase was mainly attributed to revenue growth in connected TV, its self-serve offering as well as its private marketplaces. “The record performance that Tremor achieved during the second half of 2020 and the strong start of 2021 is a clear endorsement of our strategy, the company’s platform and our ability to generate sustainable organic growth,” CEO Ofer Druker said. “Whilst, as previously flagged, Tremor was impacted in the first half of 2020, as Covid-19 reduced demand across the advertising sector, overall, 2020 was a significant year in the company’s development.”
Curated Experience
WarnerMedia’s Xandr has been touting its previously-unheralded Curate platform. It’s a little difficult to explain because different entities use it differently, but we’ll give it the old college try. Curate is designed to simplify complex transactions in the programmatic ecosystem. For instance, agency ad buyers can use it to prioritize more efficient supply paths, and publisher consortiums can use it to sell their combined inventory as a single entity. Companies that create rich media ads – which are hard to place, since not every publisher takes them – can use Curate to bundle publishers that do take rich media units, which lets them sell their ads more efficiently. Data owners can use Curate to layer their data onto inventory in Xandr’s SSP. To that last point, search data provider Captify is adding its search-powered audiences to Curate so that advertisers can apply them when buying video and CTV inventory in a Xandr private marketplace. Got it? Read more on ExchangeWire.
But Wait, There’s More!
Banished by Netflix, advertising is making a comeback on new streaming services. [The Information]
Discovery has created a unified marketing solution from sports to entertainment. [BroadbandTV News]
As the digital ad landscape becomes crowded and the pandemic still looms, DTC storage brand MakeSpace is looking to in-person experiential marketing. [Digiday]
Silverbullet’s Context Outcome Engine, 4D, integrates with IRIS.TV to help marketers scale brand safe messaging in a cookieless environment. [ExchangeWire]
Though Snap was almost left for dead, 22 insiders talk about how it staged a comeback and got advertisers to fall in love with it. [Business Insider]
Amid the rapidly evolving privacy landscape, DataGrail has raised $30 million led by Felicis Ventures to advance brand trust and transparency. [release]
You’re Hired!
Comcast Advertising appoints Pooja Midha as chief growth officer. [release]
Mano Pillai has joined LiveIntent as chief product officer. [blog]
