Ad tech firm AppNexus, which is being acquired by AT&T for a reported $1.6 billion, announced it has seen a significant surge in advertising sales on its connected TV marketplace.
The firm said that during the second quarter of 2018 it saw connected TV ad spend grow 748 percent year-over-year and 69 percent sequentially. AppNexus also noted it’s now seeing more than 20 billion monthly connected TV impressions per month across smart TVs, set top boxes and game consoles.
“Programmatic connected TV provides the ideal environment to target audiences in their living rooms with entertaining, high-definition creatives,” said Eric Hoffert, SVP of Video Technology at AppNexus. “It’s a perfect fit for many advertisers seeking highly engaged viewers, particularly in the entertainment, news, and sports verticals. We’re thrilled to see an increasing number of clients selecting our connected TV technology platform.”
AppNexus said its Programmable Platform allows large-scale connected TV ad buying, while its Programmable Data enables buyer to use their own data sets for audience activation based on real-time signals. The company also supports client and server-side ad insertion, connected TV SDKs, and segmented audience targeting.
AppNexus said clients leveraging its connected TV marketplace include Operam, a programmatic buyer in the movie and entertainment industry, and Tubi, an ad-supported streaming TV and film service.
“Our movie studio clients come to us to deliver campaigns to promote films to millennials, cord cutters, and pay TV subscribers,” said Brian Lam, director of programmatic at Operam, in a statement. “In less than one year, we’ve ramped our connected TV budget as a percentage of total digital ad spend on AppNexus from zero to approximately 50% or more, making connected TV a critical component of our strategy.”
When AT&T in late June officially announced plans to acquire AppNexus, the telecom giant said it intends to invest and build upon AppNexus’ existing technology as it grows its own advertising platform, with a focus on advanced TV advertising.
“Ad tech unites real-time analytics and technology with our premium TV and video content,” said Brian Lesser, CEO of AT&T’s advertising and analytics unit, in a statement. “So, we went out and found the strongest player in the space. AppNexus has scale of infrastructure, advanced technology and diverse talent. The combination of AT&T advertising & analytics and AppNexus will help deliver a world-class advertising platform that provides brands and publishers a new and innovative way to reach consumers in the marketplace today.”