Comcast Spotlight, the ad sales division of Comcast Cable, and Verizon announced an agreement for Comcast Spotlight to sell local ads on FiOS TV in selected markets where both Comcast and Verizon currently provide TV service.
Under the agreement, Comcast Spotlight will represent FiOS TV in markets including Baltimore, Boston, Fort Wayne, Ind., Harrisburg, Pa., Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Portland, Ore., Richmond, Va., Seattle and Washington, D.C., selling local advertising on more than 50 ad-supported cable networks.
“We’ve been working to simplify the advertiser experience of buying media on cable networks, across all of our markets,” said Charlie Thurston, President of Comcast Spotlight. “This agreement enables both companies to best meet the needs of advertisers of all sizes. The convenience of a single media source to reach the largest possible audience is what marketers and agencies are asking for, and it’s what we’re delivering through agreements like this one.”
NCC, the nation’s largest spot cable sales organization, will manage multi-market buys on both the Comcast and FiOS TV services for national advertisers.
RBR/TVBR observation: This is pretty interesting: The two companies are currently beating the crap out of each other with dueling TV campaigns for subscribers, yet behind the scenes they’re competitors working together. Obviously, Comcast Spotlight and Charlie Thurston have such a foothold in these local markets that FiOS is having issues selling their inventory. Bottom line, though, they are joining hands to make it easier for the advertisers–and to get more of the overall share of the ad pie.
