In recent years, enterprise giants like Salesforce, Oracle, IBM and Adobe monopolized M&A activity as each marketing cloud raced to buy their way into ad tech. That tide has turned. These days, strategic acquisitions are more about expanding access to content, audiences and new means of distribution. Just look to media company team-ups like Disney-21st […]
MGM Networks is expanding to OTT platforms and expects data-driven TV advertising to revitalize the studio’s library of films and TV shows. Last year, MGM Networks launched an OTT app for the Comet sci-fi channel and saw 120,000 downloads despite minimal promotional spend, said senior VP Todd Parkin. The company plans to launch OTT apps […]
Although cable operators used to be the primary keepers of TV’s distribution and data pipes, the pendulum is swinging toward programmers and smart-TV providers. Addressable inventory is increasing, driven by a surge in smart-TV OEMs licensing their data directly and local TV companies adding data and automation to their sales mixes. Sorenson Media, which is […]
After weeks of buildup, Disney has finally pulled the trigger and will acquire several major assets from 21st Century Fox in a $52.4 billion all stock deal, announced Thursday. Those assets include 20th Century Fox’s film and TV studios, cable networks like FX and National Geographic, stake in foreign networks Star India and UK-based pay […]
Smart-TV manufacturer Vizio is back in action following February’s settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over its lack of a consumer opt-out for data collection. Since then, Vizio’s data division, Inscape, has been busy courting vendor and agency clients after Vizio revised its privacy policy, said Jodie McAfee, SVP of sales and marketing for Inscape. […]
Since 2011, ecommerce startup BarkBox has been delivering boxes of toys and treats to dogs and their owners. The six-year-old subscription service has half a million subscribers, became profitable in Q1 and is projected to reach $150 million in revenue for 2017. In August, BarkBox brought on Bank of America marketing vet Jay Livingston as […]
In the words of Jon Stimmel, the chief investment officer for UM Worldwide, planning an over-the-top (OOT) ad campaign is “a Frankenstein of different methodologies mixed together.” He added, while speaking last week at the Videonuze Shift summit in New York, that buyers need more automation in the OTT planning process: “We are recreating the […]
The ad industry needs to check itself before it wrecks itself. That was the rallying cry Tuesday at NBCUniversal’s swanky State of the Industry Forum, where 150 digital and broadcast advertising luminaries gathered in midtown Manhattan for fancy eggs and frank discussion. “I’ll cut right to the chase: We have a problem,” said Linda Yaccarino, […]
Amazon wants to own a greater chunk of the video supply chain. Its cloud division, Amazon Web Services, released a suite of video tools called AWS Elemental Media Services on Monday, designed to help live and on-demand video content providers manage workflow. It is available only as a managed service for now. “We’re trying to […]
For video service Crunchyroll, finding the right mix of ads and subscriptions is critical for ensuring long-term success in the OTT space. That strategy also includes a range of alternative revenue streams, such as offline events and ecommerce. But before it could effectively monetize, Crunchyroll built a scaled audience by catering exclusively to Japanese anime […]
The US Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit against AT&T has thrown a wrench into the $108 billion planned merger between the telco and Time Warner. The complaint, filed late Monday, alleged the merger could “hinder [AT&T’s] rivals by forcing them to pay hundreds of millions of dollars more per year for Time Warner’s networks.” The filing […]
“On TV And Video” is a column exploring opportunities and challenges in advanced TV and video. Today’s column is written by Evelina Grines, vice president of media and entertainment at MPP Global. Video audiences in the US are soaring, growing 46.8% from August 2016 to 2017, per the MPA. And while that’s good news, viewership […]
Welcome to AdExchanger Talks, a podcast focused on data-driven marketing. Subscribe here. As big brands seeking younger audiences move TV budgets online, some have been put off by digital’s triple threat: brand safety, viewability and fraud. Hulu is there for them. Hulu basically offers the benefits of TV in a digital buy, according to Doug Fleming, Hulu’s […]
Although Netflix’s audience is large (and growing), it’s notoriously hard to measure. Nielsen hopes to remove some of the difficulty gauging audience viewership in ad-free environments like Netflix with its launch Wednesday of a syndicated measurement service called Nielsen Subscription Video On Demand (SVOD) Content Ratings. Eight networks and studios, including A&E, Disney-ABC, Lionsgate, NBCUniversal […]
Thanks to its smart TVs, LG Electronics controls a channel that can bring the granularity of digital advertising into the world of connected TV. But LG is a consumer electronics manufacturer, not an advertising company, and in recent years it has learned how to accommodate a new business practice. Its first foray into ad monetization […]
The two-year-old TV startup Adcuratio is rolling out a platform in Q1 2018 that lets marketers dynamically swap and insert personalized ads into linear TV streams based on CRM or other first-party data. Early beta testers will include the brands Clorox and Kohl’s, as well as agencies like Omnicom’s OMD and Publicis Groupe’s Zenith. The problem […]
Beginning Monday, Walmart’s streaming video service Vudu will monetize inventory programmatically through an exclusive deal with the video ad server SpotX. Vudu’s ad-supported offering – an on-demand video library called Vudu Movies On Us – launched a year ago. Ad sales, however, were mostly handled on a reserved basis through conventional I/Os by the video […]
Demand-side platform The Trade Desk wants a bigger slice of TV ad budgets. The company on Thursday rolled out a connected TV targeting and attribution tool designed to extend digital buying capabilities like retargeting and audience matching into the over-the-top environment. According to CEO Jeff Green, connected TV inventory available through The Trade Desk increased […]
With addressable TV predicted to grow 65.8% this year to reach $1.26 billion in ad spend, local TV providers will be among the channel’s biggest beneficiaries. For instance, Videa, Cox Media Group’s TV ad platform, expects its 190 local addressable TV station partners to more than double within the next six months. On the flip […]
Although Roku’s device sales make up 59% of its revenue, the growth of the segment is declining as Google, Amazon, Apple and other competitors push for more market share. However, its platform business, which consists of ads and subscription revenue, has expanded rapidly and now represents 41% of Roku’s total revenue. Advertising accounted for 67% […]
In its short, two-year lifespan, FuboTV, a streaming video service specializing in live sports content, has mostly monetized through paid subscriptions. But after raising a $55 million Series C round in June – and pushing to grow subscribers for its new skinny bundle, Fubo Premier – it’s turned its attention to its tech stack. FuboTV […]
Facebook Watch, the social giant’s video hub that went live for select users on Wednesday, already has a roster of digital video launch partners – like Time Inc., Hearst, Brit & Co., Tastemade, Quartz and McClatchy. But Facebook also wants to broker content deals with the likes of big TV companies like Univision, Major League […]
As NBCUniversal’s portfolio has evolved, so has its sales pitch to brand marketers. When NBCU merged its linear and digital sales teams in 2015 and combined all its content groups, its client partnerships team assumed a greater role within its sales organization. That team, led by client partnerships EVP Ali Tarrant, became the broadcaster’s conduit […]
Ad buyers decry the absence of addressability in OTT inventory, which they claim lacks the targeting and measurement capabilities to which digital buyers are accustomed. But an integration between Videology’s cross-screen video platform and Tru Optik’s CTV device graph, revealed Wednesday, aims to bring more addressability to OTT advertisers – at scale. Previously, Videology would target […]
Fox Television Stations, a network broadcast group which owns 28 local TV stations in 17 markets, revealed Wednesday it’s adding more automation to its linear TV inventory through a partnership with WideOrbit. Fox Television Stations first dipped its toes in programmatic in 2014 when it struck a private marketplace deal with Facebook’s LiveRail for cross-platform […]
OTT is a catch-22 for advertisers. While it reaches the cord cutters traditional TV advertisers want to target, that audience is still difficult to track in an OTT environment. Although the channel is capturing more attention (and dollars) from the traditional TV camp, digital buyers say connected TV needs to address the issue of identity […]
While broadcaster ProSieben owns about a 30% share of the German TV market, it’s looking to expand its influence in new channels – using its investment arm, SevenVentures, to scout startups. “We look to invest into promising startups on the B2C side of the business, which is different than the investment we make into our […]
The result of NBCUniversal’s 2017-2018 upfront: Bookings volume increased by 8% to nearly $6.5 billion, according to the company. Although total volume growth was slightly softer than last year’s 10% increase, NBCU clocked positive momentum across its portfolio. NBCU commanded high single-digit CPM increases across all inventory, including late night and sports. (Those figures don’t […]
By Sarah Sluis, Kelly Liyakasa and Alison Weissbrot Some publishers excel in programmatic in ways that make buyers take notice. The best way to stand out in programmatic is by integrating sales teams so it’s easy to buy programmatically and direct with a single conversation. Smart publishers don’t create incentives that make salespeople push direct […]
Although early video investments (and acquisitions) were focused on the desktop, a new influx of funding is pivoting to channels like over-the-top TV. In the span of three months, more than $150 million in VC funding has been injected into startups capitalizing on the demand for new video content – and addressing the challenges of […]
TTD confirmed that this CTV publisher’s errors would have made its UID2s useless for ad targeting. But TTD also said it wouldn’t have had enough information to flag anything wrong.
Criteo shares dropped by 20% Wednesday morning after the company reported shaky Q1 earnings and revised its guidance downward for the rest of the year.
On Wednesday, Josh D’Amaro led his first earnings call as the new CEO of Disney. The company closed last quarter with $25.2 billion in revenue, a 7% year-over-year increase. Disney Entertainment advertising revenue rose 5% YOY, but ESPN ad revenue was down 2% YOY, although subscription and affiliate revenue was up 6%.
People Inc. previewed plans to downsize by focusing mainly on its key properties. The strategy makes sense considering its publishing portfolio has lost about two-thirds of its Google traffic.
At POSSIBLE 2026 in Miami, the ad industry was over the hype around AI.
OpenAI announced a CAPI, along with the public launch of its self-serve ads manager, as the latest features of its rapidly evolving ads business.
