Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Power Player Can Amazon get any bigger? Per CNBC, the planned acquisition of MGM Studios for $8.45 billion marks the company’s boldest move yet into the entertainment industry and is expected to turbocharge its streaming ambitions. The deal gives Amazon access to MGM’s huge […]
Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Tim Talks Move over Epic, it’s Tim’s turn. The Apple CEO had his say in federal court on Friday as part of a lawsuit Epic filed after its hugely popular game Fortnite was removed from the App Store last year for flouting Apple’s requirement […]
With the massive shift to streaming throughout the past year, connected TV (CTV) represents the next wave of growth in programmatic buying. In 2021, $9.5 billion of television advertising is going to be traded through programmatic auctions powered by DSPs and ad exchanges. The open internet, by contrast, will be a $56 billion category this […]
The upfronts kicked off this week with news of a megamerger between WarnerMedia and Discovery Communications. But Xandr isn’t coming along for the ride. AT&T’s ad tech acquisition remains with the telco. We can only speculate why, but one reason might be that AT&T is planning a second spinoff in light of the currently frothy […]
WarnerMedia and Discovery held separate Upfront presentations this week, just days after AT&T announced it would combine the media assets of the two companies in a deal worth $43 billion. The move, which shocked the industry – and even the topmost executives at WarnerMedia – could position the new company as a major force in the […]
AT&T dropped a bombshell on Sunday when it announced it would combine the media assets of WarnerMedia with Discovery Inc. to create a new publicly traded company, unwinding the telco’s big bet on its acquisition of Time Warner in 2018. The deal, however, does not include the sale of Xandr, the ad tech division formerly […]
Just before launching its Discovery+ streaming service in January, Discovery recruited a new sales leader to evangelize its advanced TV ads. Jim Keller joined Discovery in December as EVP of digital ad sales and advanced advertising after spending time at NBCUniversal, MTV and – most recently – Hulu. “Anything delivered over an IP address, whether […]
Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Another Grilling Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai and Jack Dorsey are heading back to the hot seat. House lawmakers are set to question the top execs at Facebook, Google and Twitter at a high-profile congressional hearing scheduled for March 25. Democrats and Republicans on the […]
Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Stepping Back So … 2021 is off to a great start. After pro-Trump mobs stormed the US Capitol on Wednesday, advertisers are pulling their paid social advertising and reevaluating their overall ad spend, Digiday reports. Some advertisers paused their paid social just as DC’s […]
Facebook is changing the way users discover businesses and engage with bots on the platform. In the coming months, Facebook will phase out the Discover tab, one of the portals within Messenger where people can browse Messenger bots, businesses to message and games to play. Released in 2017, the tab was originally posiitoned as one […]
Advertisers and consumers both love a good binge watch during the holidays, and Discovery Inc. and SpotX have teamed up to better manage their inventory just before winter break. Discovery will run automated programmatic guaranteed campaigns through SpotX, the SSP said Tuesday. This development complements Discovery’s direct sales efforts and private marketplace offerings, said Bill […]
Instagram is shopping for its share of holiday dollars. On Thursday, Facebook’s much-cooler sibling added three new features designed to help people browse, discover and save items more easily. A lot must happen before someone buys, and while shopping can be a by-product of spending time on Instagram, people aren’t there to fill their cart […]
Discovery has reorganized its ad sales teams into three new selling bundles, the company said Thursday. In March, the 35-year-old company acquired longtime competitor Scripps Networks Interactive for $14.6 billion. With HGTV, Food Network, Investigation Discovery and 14 other channels under its umbrella, Discovery Inc. wanted to create larger teams with fewer salespeople, according to […]
Here’s today’s AdExchanger.com news round-up… Want it by email? Sign up here. Justifying $22B The Wall Street Journal does a post-mortem on strife at Facebook that led to the resignation of WhatsApp’s founders. Facebook paid $22 billion to acquire WhatsApp in 2014, and as the years ticked by, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg […]
OTT audiences are prevalent and engaged. But while advertisers are buying, they’re not exactly beating down the doors. Watch any premium long-form show on an internet connection and you’ll see the same irrelevant message played so frequently it’ll haunt your dreams. What gives? The main issue is buyer confusion about how to transact on OTT […]
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 […]
After bidding against Viacom for Scripps Networks Interactive, Discovery Communications has emerged victorious in acquiring the lifestyle cable network for $14.6 billion in stock and cash, the company revealed Monday. [Read the release.] Viacom backed out of a bidding war late last week with the rival network after making an all-cash offer that reportedly fell […]
Six months ago, Discovery Communications invested $100 million into Group Nine Media – a media rollup including Thrillist, NowThis, The Dodo and Discovery’s science and tech pub, Seeker. And it’s finally all starting to cohere. “We’ve stayed super heads-down and our NewFront was a really good excuse to give ourselves a deadline,” said Ben Lerer, […]
Discovery Communications wants to prove out the value of its digital properties – both the ones they own and the ones where they’ve invested. “How do we create [intellectual property] on every device, not just linear?” said Discovery CEO and president David Zaslav during the media company’s Tuesday upfront. “As a cable channel, it’s all […]
Earlier this month, streaming video distributor Ooyala raised its fifth funding round — $35 million from Telstra Applications and Ventures Group, the investment arm of Australia’s telecom giant, Telstra. In addition to giving Ooyala a big opening in Telstra’s home country, the move also signaled a new level of importance for Ooyala to try to […]
Discovery Communications has explored web video here and there over the past few years as a promotional vehicle for its various cable TV networks, which include its flagship, TLC and Animal Planet. Online advertising has tended to be a secondary focus, with TV naturally being front and center. Online video programming producer Revision3 CEO Jim […]
