The Drum Awards for Marketing - Extended Deadline

-d -h -min -sec

RTL Spotxchange

RTL Group targets video advertising expansion with $144m SpotXchange purchase

Author

By John Glenday, Reporter

July 31, 2014 | 2 min read

Media and entertainment firm RTL Group has announced its acquisition of a 65 per cent stake in SpotXchange, the US-based programmatic video advertising platform, for $144m.

The purchase is geared toward scaling up RTL’s global presence in the online video advertising market with the addition of new technologies and data management techniques to its skills roster.

It comes amidst projections of a 24 per cent annual growth in the global digital advertising market between 2014 and 2018, driven by programmatic video advertising which is expected to increase from $2.7bn in 2013 to $15.4bn in 2018.

In a joint statement Anke Schäferkordt and Guillaume de Posch, co-CEOs of RTL Group, said: “Following our investments in non-linear TV services and in multi-channel networks on Youtube, RTL Group has already become the leading European media company in terms of online video views. The logical next step in our strategy is a structural move into the area of digital monetisation – improving our skills by adding innovative data- and technology-based competencies.”

Spotexhange chief executive Michael Shehan and Steve Swoboda chief operating and financial officer - both co-founders of SpotXchange - added: “The companies comprising RTL Group operate in a decentralised fashion which will allow SpotXchange to thrive and grow as the last independent digital video ad monetisation platform while providing significant opportunities through partnership with RTL Group’s leading European broadcast companies and top tier global content producers.”

The deal remains subject to US competition approval, expected by August.

RTL Spotxchange

More from RTL

View all

Trending

Industry insights

View all
Add your own content +