A boost for time-shifted and on-demand ad buying: BlackArrow, a worldwide provider of advanced ad solutions for new television platforms, has closed $20 million in Series C financing. The round was led by strategic investor NDS Group — provider of technology solutions for digital pay-TV, and included existing investors Cisco Systems, Comcast Interactive Capital, Intel Capital, Mayfield Fund and Polaris Venture Partners.
This financing provides new capital to expand product development and accelerate the deployment of the BlackArrow Advanced Advertising System to programming networks and on-demand television content providers across North American and international markets.
BlackArrow and NDS also formed a strategic alliance to offer an integrated suite of advanced ad solutions and services. As part of its strategic investment, NDS will have a seat on the BlackArrow board.
“We have aligned ourselves with partners and investors that not only share BlackArrow’s vision but also stand behind us by providing a firm financial platform that ensures our ongoing success,” said Dean Denhart, CEO of BlackArrow. “This investment further solidifies our long-term ability to help operators and programmers monetize on-demand content globally by leveraging the international expertise, footprint and complementary technologies of NDS, while assuring continued traction and execution in the marketplace.”
NDS technologies enable leading pay-TV operators and content providers to generate revenues from digital. NDS’ interactive apps are deployed on over 100 million devices worldwide – on set-top boxes, PCs and other media devices. BlackArrow’s multiplatform campaign management and ad decisioning services align with “NDS Dynamic,” which provides solutions to identify, measure and engage audiences — created the framework for the alliance.
The BlackArrow Sales Suite enables national and local ad sales organizations at media companies and cable operators to define, manage and fulfill multiplatform, multioperator campaigns. As a result, they can now reach audiences who increasingly embrace time-shifted media on their televisions, computers and mobile phones.
