NEW YORK—NBCUniversal has announced a notable expansion of its global One Platform technology and content offering with new partnerships that allow marketers for the first time to manage multi-market campaigns across addressable linear TV, CTV, and premium digital video ad inventory around the world in a single buy.
NBCU reported that partnerships with Comcast’s FreeWheel and international broadcasters will allow marketers access to ad inventory in the best global-to-local content from over 190 countries spanning Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Americas.
Launch partners for the expanded capabilities include ATRESMEDIA, Bell Media, Seven West Media, Sky Media, Talpa Network, TF1 Group, Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) and Omnicom Media Group.
“Today there is huge friction when trying to execute from a single access point, a multi market, multi publisher premium CTV campaign," explained Johan Boserup, Global CEO, Investment, Omnicom Media Group, which is one of the launch partners. "Add the need for mass reach and scale, standardization of measurement and reporting, and that friction is currently a barrier to entry. One Platform marks a significant step forward in solving these challenges, and one that aligns with OMG’s commitment to delivering first-mover solutions that enable competitive advantage for our clients in a changing marketplace.”
The effort, NBCU said, is part of a larger initiative to improve the premium video ecosystem and build the foundation for greater industry advancement and collaboration at an international level, across data and identity, activation and automation, ad innovation, and measurement.
Using FreeWheel’s technology, the improvements will provide marketers with the flexibility to transact via direct buys as well as programmatic buys across a diverse network of over 100 premium broadcasters, 1,000 digital publishers, and more than 50 demand-side platforms in one singular seamless transaction, NBCU reported.
One Platform’s expanded global offering will be fully operational and ready to transact starting October 2023.
“Across the world, we see the power of premium content to engage audiences and drive impact for businesses,” explained Krishan Bhatia, president and chief business officer, NBCUniversal “And yet, the complexity of transacting across multiple markets at scale has so far kept marketers from accessing an increasingly global consumer base. By uniting Comcast’s position in premium content, global marketer relationships and technology expertise in NBCUniversal and FreeWheel, we’re scaling our platform and capabilities to deliver monetization at scale. Through cross-industry partnerships with leading programmers, we hope to build a more scalable TV advertising ecosystem for the benefit of all participants.”
“We’re on a journey to connect the premium video industry in a way that brings scale and simplicity to TV ad buying,” added James Rooke, president, Comcast Advertising. “Our partnership with NBCUniversal and the other international broadcasters is a perfect example of this. FreeWheel’s technology provides the key underpinning that enables multi-screen audiences to be transacted across geographies in a more simplified way, giving buyers and sellers the streamlined access to supply and demand they need to thrive in an increasingly global marketplace.”
