Disney has become the latest entertainment giant to put ad inventory on offer through Amazon DSP, the tech giant’s demand-side platform that connects advertisers to channels for programmatic as well as premium ad purchasing and analytics. The integration, to be implemented in the coming months, links the Disney Real-Time Ad Exchange (DRAX) with Amazon DSP, providing direct access to inventory across platforms including Disney+, ESPN and Hulu along with data insights from both companies. The deal is one of many such alliances announced in proximity to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where Roku, Netflix and Yahoo also signed up with Amazon DSP. Continue reading Disney Integrates Real-Time Ad Exchange with Amazon DSP

For the first time, advertisers have invested more in digital ads than they did in traditional television spots. Magna, the research arm of IPG Mediabrands, reports that 2017 digital ad spending ($209 billion) represents 41 percent of the global market, while spending for TV ($178 billion) represents 35 percent. Magna predicts digital ads will reach 50 percent by 2020. According to Recode, “big TV advertisers have yet to move much of their budget over to digital, even though Facebook and Google are working hard to make that happen.” Magna expects digital spending to increase 13 percent next year, “while TV ads will grow 2.5 percent… thanks in part to one-off events like the Olympics and the U.S. mid-term elections.” Continue reading Worldwide Ad Spending for Digital Beats TV for the First Time

More Americans are watching TV on-demand and over-the-top. Although some services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime are ad-free, the number of OTT ads is growing. Pivotal Research reports that smart TV viewing skyrocketed 65 percent over the last year, accounting now for 8.1 percent of TV viewing for the 18-to-49 demographic. In line with that finding, Innovid, which serves ads to TV apps and web video outlets, says the share of ads now placed on connected TVs has quadrupled in the same time frame. Continue reading As Viewing on Smart TVs Increases, Advertisers Gain Interest