Attention, Broadcasters: OTT, STB VOD Get Marketers’ Aide

0

A Comcast-owned company has officially launched what it is billing as “a suite of advanced advertising solutions” designed to help marketers reach consumers across emerging forms of TV, including over-the-top (OTT), set-top box Video on Demand (STB VOD) and digital video, using advanced data and measurement capabilities.


Introducing DRIVE from FreeWheel. It gives buyers access to aggregated video inventory—often within the same content available on linear TV—at scale, across a national footprint.

As Comcast sees it, DRIVE has the potential to bring “unprecedented scale” to marketers by aggregating premium video inventory from clients who leverage FreeWheel’s marketplace capabilities.

“Advertisers need to reach consumers across the new TV viewing options, but they have been thwarted by both operational and technical hurdles,” said David Clark, EVP/General Manager of FreeWheel. “We recognized that FreeWheel, powering nearly every major publisher’s and MVPD’s digital video advertising, was in a unique position to solve these challenges for the industry. That is the goal of FreeWheel’s DRIVE. We listened, and we created a solution for TV’s future.”

FreeWheel’s DRIVE initiative builds upon its work with Nielsen announced in June, to expand measurement to OTT inventory and connected TV video on demand.

DRIVE will offer the ability to measure audiences using Nielsen Digital Ad Ratings, which provides a comprehensive view of digital audiences in a way comparable to linear TV.

By removing the barriers holding back advertisers from fully embracing new forms of inventory, the value of that inventory will increase for buyers and sellers alike,” said endorser Noah Levine, SVP of Advertising Data and Technology Solutions for Fox Networks Group. “DRIVE is a great example of using technology to create opportunities that will complement existing advertising streams and raise the bar for the industry.”