Latest news with #UniversalAds
ITV News
6 days ago
- Business
- ITV News
Sky, Channel 4 and ITV announce joint intent to launch groundbreaking premium video advertising marketplace
• For the first time, small to medium sized businesses will be able to run a single campaign across Sky, Channel 4 and ITV • New self-service TV ad buying marketplace aims to encourage new brands to TV • Powered by industry-leading ad technology from Comcast Advertising, and its Universal Ads platform, which launched earlier this year in the US London UK – 17 June: Channel 4, ITV and Sky, in collaboration with Comcast Advertising, have today announced their intent to launch a groundbreaking advertising marketplace, that will allow easy access to a premium on demand and streaming inventory through a single campaign for the very first time. This landmark move, designed to super charge the breadth of brands advertising on TV, will bring together addressable inventory from all three sales houses into a single marketplace. This will enable new-to-TV advertisers a direct, simple way to access premium video content. For the first time, small to medium sized businesses will be empowered to access and purchase addressable inventory to run a single campaign across the three broadcaster sales houses - with biddable pricing and more tools – leveraging the scale and quality of programming and audiences across Channel 4 Sales, ITV Media and Sky Media. Providing simplified access across the three portfolios will make addressable TV inventory accessible for businesses that are used to buying their own media in social and digital environments. Building on the rich heritage of collaboration between the broadcasters, the marketplace, which is set to launch in 2026, will be powered by Comcast's Universal Ads platform and FreeWheel's technology. To drive continued innovation for all categories of advertisers and buyers, the broadcasters are also in discussions to simplify the purchase of addressable inventory for media agencies. This includes exploring the potential of a joint agency-facing solution, based on ITV's Planet V technology. Priya Dogra, Chief Advertising, Group Data and New Revenue Officer, Sky, said: 'In today's fast-evolving media landscape, we strongly believe success will require collaboration, simplification, and innovation. In partnership with ITV and Channel 4, and following the successful US launch of Comcast's Universal Ads platform, we are excited to bring this to the UK and with it, the opportunity to open up TV advertising to new brands. Building on this innovation, we also want to simplify TV trading for established brands and agencies and look forward to exploring potential opportunities with ITV and Channel 4 to use Planet V.' Kelly Williams, Managing Director, Commercial, ITV said: 'As a TV industry, it is important that we collaborate to make television easy to plan, buy and measure for our established customers as well as the huge potential of new to TV brands. Both of these initiatives, this new marketplace for SME's and Planet V for agencies, represent a very exciting future.' Rak Patel, Chief Commercial Officer, Channel 4, said: 'This marketplace underlines what sets TV apart from all other media: its ability to collaborate at scale. By uniting the power of Channel 4, ITV and Sky through a single marketplace, we're creating a new home for premium video while accelerating our Fast Forward strategy to become the first public service streamer.' Thomas Bremond, Managing Director, Comcast Advertising, International, commented: 'We are excited to work with the UK's premier broadcasters to offer advertisers a simplified way to access premium video, powered by Comcast's Universal Ads platform. The collaborations across ITV, Channel 4 and Sky showcases the industry's commitment to bringing together tech, media and data to offer greater efficiency and effectiveness to TV advertising.' The collaboration between ITV, Channel 4 and Sky represents a major development in television advertising, offering SMEs a self-serve, powerful tool to enhance their marketing efforts. Key features will include: • One campaign, multiple broadcasters: For the first time advertisers can buy, measure, and report a single campaign across all the sales houses. • TV unlocked: A user-friendly interface made specifically for SMEs and digital- native advertisers that makes buying addressable advertising straightforward and efficient, meaning the for the first time, new-to-TV brands can access the scale, trust, and creative power of TV. • Focus on Outcomes: Tools and analytics to help brands measure and optimise their advertising performance. • Transparency and Quality: Commitment to high standards of TV advertising, providing clear metrics and reliable results.
Business Wire
11-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
FreeWheel Expands Premium CTV Marketplace Through Enhanced Partnerships
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today FreeWheel, a global technology platform for the television advertising industry, announced new and expanded CTV partnerships with leading streaming and platform partners including Fubo, LG Ads, Philo, Plex, TCL Ads, Telly, Wurl and more. These partnerships mark a major expansion of FreeWheel's premium video marketplace and commitment to unifying the programmatic advertising ecosystem for advertisers, agencies and publishers. As buyers navigate continually blurry lines between platforms and devices, FreeWheel is committed to simplifying the premium CTV ecosystem to help advertisers of all sizes reach their audiences in high-impact environments. This ranges from enterprise-level buying platforms for agencies through FreeWheel's Advertiser Suite to small, new-to-video advertisers via Universal Ads, the new, cross-industry TV advertising platform powered by FreeWheel technology. With these expanded partnerships and capabilities, FreeWheel is ensuring that FreeWheel supply-side platform clients gain unique access to a premium CTV marketplace, while also providing publishers with a streamlined access point to a wide range of demand. 'FreeWheel is opening the door for even more brands to activate against Fubo's live CTV sports, news and entertainment content,' said Jennifer Hess, Vice President, Global Ad Operations, Fubo. 'We are proud to support this broader initiative that creates synergies across programmatic advertising and taps into forward-thinking solutions like Universal Ads. Together we can connect the buy and sell side in new and valuable ways.' 'Philo has always focused on helping brands reach their relevant audiences simply and flexibly across our premium, brand-safe CTV inventory and highly engaged viewership,' said Aulden Kaye Yi, Head of Advertising Partnerships, Philo. 'Our partnership with FreeWheel is furthering this mission, creating the opportunity for new advertisers to harness the power of the biggest screen in the house in a streamlined and scalable way.' 'Partnering with FreeWheel is a great way to help elevate Plex's premium FAST & AVOD inventory for buyers,' says Zach Chapman, CRO at Plex. 'By upgrading our technology to include self-service capabilities and greater efficiencies, we're unlocking access to top-tier on-platform demand from partners like Comcast, Locality, and Universal Ads. This is a major step forward in making it easier for buyers to transact and invest more confidently in the streaming TV ecosystem.' "FreeWheel is a highly valued strategic partner that amplifies TCL Ad's strategic execution capabilities. This integration enables streamlined delivery of highly targeted advertising within premium CTV environments through generative AI-powered content for our free streaming services,' says Rebecca Wan, Head of Business Development at TCL Ads. 'FreeWheel's marketplace serves as a driving force in maximizing audience monetization potential and accelerating growth for our ad-supported business." 'Our partnership with FreeWheel unlocks a new era of opportunity for brands—bringing together precision targeting, creative freedom beyond the 30-second spot, and real performance at the moment viewers are most engaged,' said Seho Lee, President of Advertising for Telly. "By combining FreeWheel's premium demand and technology with Telly's dual-screen TV design and always on smart screen, we're enabling advertisers to connect more meaningfully with audiences during the moments that matter most.' 'As the technology behind publisher ad insertion, Wurl enables smarter ad delivery with better data, custom formats, and scene-level targeting. Our collaboration with FreeWheel has significantly enhanced our ability to make contextually relevant moments biddable for streaming advertisers, at scale,' says Ria Madrid, Vice President of Advertising Partnerships for Wurl. 'By leveraging FreeWheel's unified platform, we're able to connect with top-tier demand partners and deliver their campaigns alongside content that resonates and drives outcomes.' 'Buyers are increasingly looking to premium streaming inventory as the best way to reach diverse and fragmented audiences,' says Greg Bel, Vice President of Supply at FreeWheel. 'By bringing together these premium streaming partners, FreeWheel is paving the way for smarter, scalable ways for buyers to find audiences in the current and future state of media buying.' In addition to increasing the scale and diversity of supply, the enhanced marketplace also provides media buyers with advanced customization, standardized data signals, and optimized bidding to make it seamless for advertisers to reach their intended audiences, at scale. As the industry continues to evolve, FreeWheel is building a more connected and efficient media ecosystem that sets a new standard for TV advertising. About FreeWheel FreeWheel empowers all segments of The New TV Ecosystem. We are structured to provide the full breadth of solutions the advertising industry needs to achieve their goals. We provide the technology, data enablement and convergent marketplaces required to ensure buyers and sellers can transact across all screens, across all data types, and all sales channels, in order to ensure the ultimate goal – results for marketers. With offices in New York, Chicago, London, Paris, Beijing, and across the globe, FreeWheel, A Comcast Company, stands to advocate for the entire industry through the FreeWheel Council for Premium Video. For more information, please visit and follow us on X and LinkedIn.
Business Wire
10-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Universal Ads Launches TV's First API Partner Program to Revolutionize TV Advertising with Curated Creative and Measurement Solutions
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today Universal Ads, which enables brands of any size to create, buy, and measure ads across premium video, introduced a first-of-its-kind TV Business Partner Program that presents advertisers with cutting-edge, hand-picked creative and measurement solutions to strengthen their media buys across inventory available via Universal Ads. This is TV's first program that will allow brands, especially those new to the TV ecosystem, to access tools to build, test, and launch TV commercials while linking their campaigns to measurable business outcomes. The program launch partners include Canva, Fairing, Haus, INCRMNTAL, Measured, Prescient AI, Spaceback, Triple Whale, Waymark and WorkMagic with more to come. As Universal Ads builds its role as a single access point to a wide range of premium TV publishers, the Business Partners Program gives brands access to high-impact creative and measurement partners. The program is designed to give third-party developers, and future platform partners the ability to work with Universal Ads advertisers on solutions that are tailored to drive success across premium video. This program will allow advertisers of all skills and sizes to move as quickly as they can with social media advertising, while also reaching audiences at scale, on TV — the biggest screen in the room. For instance, if a brand is ready to start their TV advertising journey but creating a commercial is stalling them, they will be able to leverage the creative capabilities from partners like Canva and Waymark and others to easily and swiftly build and test TV-ready commercials or modify existing creative to reach new audiences. 'Canva's creative capabilities will make it easier for Universal Ads advertisers to produce on-brand content that captivates audiences and scales effortlessly across channels,' says Anwar Haneef, GM and Head of Ecosystem at Canva. 'Our shared goal is to help brands break through on TV and beyond with seamless, high-impact creative. We're excited to help brands show up with confidence — across the TV landscape and every platform where their audiences are.' Then, once a company has their creative running across the premium video inventory available on Universal Ads, they can access measurement solutions to prove the significant business outcomes their campaigns are driving. With insights into brand lift, incrementality, conversions, and sales available through trusted partners like Haus or INCRMNTAL, Universal Ads is demonstrating how TV ads can impact a business's bottom line. "Haus was founded with a clear mission: to democratize access to world-class causal inference tools," says Olivia Kory, Haus Chief Strategy Officer. "Our partnership with Universal Ads reflects that mission — they're making TV advertising more accessible than ever, and together, we're demonstrating how experimentation can power better decisions across premium video. With incrementality testing, advertisers can get a clear sense of exactly what's driving the business on view-based channels and beyond." 'We've repeatedly said Universal Ads is about making TV advertising as easy as social media advertising,' said Greg Lieber, Head of Product Partnerships at Universal Ads. 'In order to do so, we are giving brands, including those that are emerging and/or new to TV, access to what they need to succeed across the Universal Ads platform. From premium content at scale to now an ecosystem of best-in-class, curated solutions, advertisers can easily build and execute the most informed and impactful ad campaigns.' At launch, the Universal Ads Business Partners Program includes creative and measurement partners, and it will expand to include more categories. Currently, Universal Ads includes programming from more than 15 major publishers including A+E, AMC Networks, DIRECTV, Estrella MediaCo, Fox Corporation, Fuse Media, LG Ad Solutions, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Roku, Scripps, Spectrum Reach, TelevisaUnivision, Vizio, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Xumo, with more to come. In addition to the Business Partners Program, Universal Ads has rolled out a variety of initiatives and partnerships to support its mission of making TV advertising as easy as social media advertising. In May, Universal Ads launched the $5 million-dollar Incrementality Fund to help online merchants grow their businesses through TV advertising. Universal Ads also partnered with Ramp, a financial operations platform designed to save businesses time and money, to offer TV advertising access to Ramp's 30,000+ customers through the Universal Ads platform. To learn more about the Universal Ads Business Partners Program please go to About Universal Ads Universal Ads enables any brand, of any size, to seamlessly make and buy commercials across premium video reaching new qualified audiences at scale. Universal Ads combines premium and brand-safe video content directly from the most influential media companies with the ease and familiarity of social ad buying. It is your one-stop shop for high-quality video ads delivering unmatched scale. Universal Ads is a part of the Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company that connects people to moments and experiences that matter.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Comcast (NasdaqGS:CMCSA) Unveils US$5 Million Fund For E-Commerce TV Advertising
Comcast launched a new Incrementality Fund through its subsidiary Universal Ads, offering ad credits to Shopify Plus merchants, as part of its support for e-commerce businesses. This development follows the company's Q1 earnings report showing a slight decline in revenue and net income compared to the previous year. Additionally, Comcast's ongoing share repurchase program and network expansions signal commitment to growth. The market's upward trajectory, including the Dow and S&P 500, likely supported the company's 1.2% price increase over the past month, while the broader industry trends and product innovations might have added weight to this performance. Every company has risks, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Comcast (of which 1 is potentially serious!) you should know about. We've found 15 US stocks that are forecast to pay a dividend yield of over 6% next year. See the full list for free. The launch of Comcast's Incrementality Fund through Universal Ads could boost its e-commerce partnerships, potentially aiding revenue growth. This move may offset some profitability concerns, particularly in its competitive broadband and wireless segments. However, market competition and pricing strategies might still present challenges. The new initiative might not immediately influence revenue forecasts significantly, given the Q1 earnings report's slight declines. Still, over time, it could improve the outlook if it manages to drive meaningful engagement with e-commerce merchants. Over the longer term, Comcast's total return, combining share price and dividends, was 0.57% over a five-year period, reflecting modest growth. Relative to the broader market over the past year, Comcast's shares underperformed, with the US market achieving a return of 10.6%. This contrast highlights challenges the company faces in maintaining competitive returns amidst industry and economic pressures. Comcast's current share price of US$34.49 shows a discount to the average analyst price target of US$40.17, suggesting potential upside if projected earnings materialize. Despite current pressures on profit margins, the analyst consensus indicates expectations for longer-term stabilization and modest improvement. However, with a bearish price target of US$30.0 considered feasible by some analysts, there's an acknowledgment of potential downside risks and market skepticism regarding future performance. The company's ongoing share repurchase program may help to provide some support to its share price in the interim. According our valuation report, there's an indication that Comcast's share price might be on the cheaper side. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Companies discussed in this article include NasdaqGS:CMCSA. This article was originally published by Simply Wall St. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@ Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Business Wire
14-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Comcast's Universal Ads Launches $5 Million Fund to Help E-Commerce Merchants Grow Their Businesses with TV Advertising
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today Universal Ads, which enables brands of any size to seamlessly create, buy, and measure ads across premium video, announced the Incrementality Fund— a new $5 million fund that provides resources to help e-commerce businesses drive incremental sales through TV advertising. For qualified merchants, the fund may provide up to $50,000 in ad credits and services, including help with ad creative production and incrementality measurement solutions. At launch, the Incrementality Fund is only available to Shopify Plus merchants but will expand to other businesses over time. 'We know that TV advertising not only offers brands the scale they're used to with social ads, but it can drive tangible results,' said James Borow, Vice President of Product and Engineering at Universal Ads. 'With Universal Ads' new Incrementality Fund, we want to show brands new to this space that TV ads work—and that the last dollar spent on social performs better when it's supported by the first dollar spent on TV.' Launched in January, Universal Ads is a self-service premium video advertising platform built to be as simple and performant as social media advertising. By breaking down barriers to TV advertising, including creative and cost, Universal Ads is opening up this valuable medium to digitally native, direct-to-consumer, and growth-stage brands who previously had no easy point of entry. 'Shopify Plus merchants are some of the most sophisticated marketers on the planet, but advertising on TV has always been overwhelming to most of them,' said Maurice Rahmey, CEO of Disruptive Digital. 'With the Incrementality Fund, Universal Ads is making getting started with TV advertising as easy as social and helping to demonstrate the sales lift that TV can bring to them.' With Universal Ads, brands can reach qualified audiences alongside premium content from more than 15 major publishers including A+E, AMC Networks, DIRECTV, Estrella MediaCo, Fox Corporation, Fuse Media, LG Ad Solutions, NBCUniversal, Paramount, Roku, Scripps, Spectrum Reach, TelevisaUnivision, Vizio, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Xumo, with more to come. The Incrementality Fund is the latest initiative from Universal Ads. Earlier this year, Universal Ads partnered with Ramp, a financial operations platform designed to save businesses time and money, to offer TV advertising access to Ramp's 30,000+ customers through the Universal Ads platform. In addition, to demonstrate the ability of TV to deliver on a variety of business goals, Universal Ads has partnered with Measured, a pioneer and leader in incrementality-based measurement and optimization. And, more strategic partnerships are on the horizon as Universal Ads works to open premium video advertising to more advertisers and opportunities. For more information on the Incrementality Fund, please visit About Universal Ads Universal Ads enables any brand, of any size, to seamlessly make and buy commercials across premium video reaching new qualified audiences at scale. Universal Ads combines premium and brand-safe video content directly from the most influential media companies with the ease and familiarity of social ad buying. It is your one-stop shop for high-quality video ads delivering unmatched scale. Universal Ads is a part of the Comcast Corporation, a global media and technology company that connects people to moments and experiences that matter.
