NBCUniversal expands one platform digital ad system

NBCUniversal is to expand its One Platform advertising, technology, data and measurement system further into global markets through an alliance with international broadcast and tech partners.

The move was announced on Tuesday at the Cannes Lions advertising convention in Cannes, France, where MD and executive VP of global advertising and partnerships Maggy Chan spoke to Variety.

International partners include Atresmedia from Spain, Bell Media from Canada, Channel 4 from the U.K., Mediaset from Italy, Seven West Media from Australia, Sky Media from the U.K., Italy and Germany, and Talpa from the Netherlands, TF1 Pub of France, Japan’s Tokyo Broadcasting Systems and Omnicom Media Group.
“By bringing together leading local broadcasters and publishers across the world, NBCUniversal seeks to enhance the premium video ecosystem and build the foundation for greater industry advancement and collaboration at an international level, across data and identity, activation and automation, ad innovation, and measurement,” NBCUniversal explained in a statement.

One Platform Global also includes Comcast subsidiary FreeWheel, which positions itself as one of the industry’s most complete ad management solutions. It enables clients to manage and monetize their premium video inventory in a brand-safe manner. One Platform Global will be operational from October.

In 2022, NBCUniversal reported that advanced advertising campaigns — which use data and digital capabilities to increase the precision of ads —made up more than one-third of its overall streaming and digital sales.

“Across the world, we see the power of premium content to engage audiences and drive impact for businesses. And yet, the complexity of transacting across multiple markets at scale has so far kept marketers from accessing an increasingly global consumer base. By uniting Comcast’s position in premium content, global marketer relationships and technology expertise in NBCUniversal and FreeWheel, we’re scaling our platform and capabilities to deliver monetization at scale,” said Krishan Bhatia, president & chief business officer, NBCUniversal.

“Through cross-industry partnerships with leading programmers, we hope to build a more scalable TV advertising ecosystem for the benefit of all participants.”

Joining One Platform Global appears not to preclude other ad-tech alliances. Japan’s TBS previously partnered with Europe’s RTL AdAlliance (formerly RTL AdConnect) in October 2020.
“[The One Platform Global initiative] will allow marketers to use the One Platform to advertise their products and services in a more personalized way and centrally manage campaigns across Asia (including Japan), North America, Europe, and Australia with a single purchase,” said TBS board director Ryuho Masamine. Variety