AT&T, DISH Network and WPP have announced plans to acquire INVIDI Technologies, a leader in providing addressable advertising platforms. AT&T will hold a controlling interest in the venture. The company, along with DISH, is already an INVIDI customer, while WWP was an existing investor. INVIDI will continue to operate independently under the three companies’ collective ownership and each company will name representatives to INVIDI’s board of directors. Employees will remain in their current locations. Subject to regulator approvals, the deal should close in Q1 2017.
“We were the first strategic investor back in 2007 and are retaining our position so that we can influence the addressable ecosystem for the benefit of our clients,” says Irwin Gotlieb, Chairman, GroupM Global, WPP’s wholly owned media investment management company. Rick Welday, President of AT&T AdWorks, says: “INVIDI gives us a great opportunity to expand our addressable advertising capabilities. We have significantly increased revenue with targeted advertising across multiple platforms. This deal will help us accelerate growth in our addressable advertising business and explore innovation and expansion into new platforms.”
AT&T AdWorks is a leader in addressable TV advertising, managing ad inventory across national ad-supported cable networks serving live, linear addressable advertising to more than 14 million households in the U.S. and managing data from more than 35 million set top boxes. AT&T’s annualized advertising revenues were $1.5 billion and growing in the double digits as of the third quarter of 2016.
DISH Media Sales, meanwhile, introduced addressable advertising in 2012 and has seen substantial interest from advertisers due to the power of addressability. The company serves targeted advertising on approximately 100 networks to more than 8 million households across America through both the DISH and Sling TV platforms.
According to Warren Schlichting, Executive Vice President of Marketing, Programming and Media Sales at DISH, “This is an opportunity to push innovation through the platform and expand the reach of addressable TV advertising, moving the advertising industry forward for brands and consumers.”
While INVIDI has been highly successful in North America, it is also actively deploying its technology and negotiating distribution agreements in Europe, South America and Asia. The company will receive a Technical Emmy Award for targeted advertising at the 68th Annual Technical Emmy Awards in January.
“AT&T, DISH and WPP will work together, and with other existing INVIDI customers, to continue to expand INVIDI’s addressable capabilities and product offerings to other video delivery platforms and providers to drive the increased deployment of addressable advertising industry-wide,” the three prospective owners said in a statement. Dave Downey, CEO at INVIDI, comments: “Maintaining our independence and deepening our existing relationships with AT&T, DISH and WPP is a big move for our company and our people.”
Maybe hear a little more about this deal?
Irwin Gotlieb, Chairman of GroupM Global, Mike Welch, VP, Head of Strategy Products & BD at AT&T AdWorks and Fred Di Blasio, Chief Marketing Officer at INVIDI, are among the speakers at Future TV Advertising Forum in London next week. Check out the conference here.
