AT&T Acquiring AppNexus to Grow Addressable TV Advertising
AppNexus used to call itself "the world's leading independent advertising technology company," but soon it will call itself the newest part of the AT&T empire. AT&T announced today it will buy AppNexus for an undisclosed sum—which the Wall Street Journal pegged at $1.6 billion. AppNexus operates as both a demand-side platform (DSP) and supply-side platform (SSP), providing real-time bidding for programmatic advertising. The company is based in New York City and employs over 400 software engineers and product managers.
Following the acquisition, which AT&T expects to close in the third quarter of this year, AppNexus will become part of AT&T Advertising and Analytics. With this purchase, AT&T expects to grow its advertising platform for advanced TV sales, creating an offering that can compete with Google and Facebook.
“Ad tech unites real-time analytics and technology with our premium TV and video content, so, we went out and found the strongest player in the space," says Brian Lesser, CEO of AT&T Advertising and Analytics." AppNexus has scale of infrastructure, advanced technology, and diverse talent. The combination of AT&T Advertising and 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.”
AppNexus will be able to take advantage of AT&T's first-party data post-acquisition, gaining access to over 170 million direct-to-consumer relationships. AT&T's video portfolio includes Turner Networks, Audience Network, and Otter Media.
Today's news comes less than a month after AT&T acquired Time Warner Inc. for $85 billion.
“Think of this as buying a sofa to furnish the new house (Time Warner) they just bought,” said Moffett Nathanson analyst Craig Moffett, quoted by Reuters.
Related Articles
From the beginning of the online video revolution, personalized advertising has been one of our loftiest and hardest-to-achieve goals. Are we there yet?
11 Oct 2019
Created in partnership with over 60 data sources, Amobee's data marketplace lets advertisers deliver to over 60,000 audience segments.
15 Aug 2019
The rate that U.S. households cut the cord is higher than ever, and the trend shows no sign of ending. Media companies need to worry as vMVPDs don't pick up the slack.
29 Jul 2019
Addressable advertising will be coming to pay TV services in a big way, and Comcast Advertising is leading the charge.
19 Jun 2019
NBCU, CBS, ABC, Turner, Hearst, FreeWheel, Xandr, Vizio, and others are working on an addressable CTV ad standard that will create a global marketplace of engaged viewers.
13 Mar 2019
Following its Time Warner merger, AT&T introduces two plans that offer a free skinny bundle for unlimited data customers, but read the fine print carefully.
25 Jun 2018
In tests run by Global Wireless Solutions, AT&T delivered the most reliable video streams with the strongest video quality.
13 Feb 2018