NBCU, Sky Expand Advanced Ad Offerings

NBCUniversal and Sky today announced the expansion of AdSmart, a global offering that will unify both companies’ advanced advertising capabilities. The new joint set of solutions within AdSmart brings together NBCUniversal’s Audience Studio advanced targeting solutions alongside Sky’s addressable advertising tools.

The offering will let global brands and businesses activate targeting and optimization solutions to reach customers in key international markets and measure results across NBCU and Sky’s extensive TV and digital portfolio. This unification of capabilities marks the first joint advertising initiative following Comcast’s acquisition of Sky.

“Over the years, Sky has built a suite of advanced advertising tools, and we’re excited to share them with international marketers in the United States,” said Andrew Griffith, Sky’s group chief operating officer. “Together with NBCUniversal we’re launching a global product unlike anything the market has seen before, that combines the quality and reach of TV with best-in-class addressability.”

“The world is getting smaller, and the opportunity for international marketers to make an impact with consumers is getting bigger,” said Linda Yaccarino, NBCU’s chairman of advertising and partnerships. “The industry has demanded a global premium video offering, and now, one will finally exist. NBCUniversal and Sky are committed to setting the highest possible standards and transforming the ad experience. Bringing our advanced advertising solutions under one global structure is the first step in our journey.”

AdSmart’s suite of solutions includes the following capabilities:

• Linear optimization — “NBCU and Sky can each enable advertisers to optimize their linear spend against a rich selection of consumer segments for enhanced delivery to target audiences through the unparalleled reach of national TV, leveraging Comcast set-top box data in the U.S. and Sky set-top box data in the U.K. for a total data set of more than 50 million households.”
• Addressable television — “NBCU and Sky can each enable advertisers to target precise consumer segments through addressable video for ads delivered directly to target households through highly engaging long-form content.”
• Digital targeting — “NBCU and Sky can each enable advertisers to target precise consumer segments across digital platforms for ads delivered directly to target users through premium online content.”
• Contextual alignment — “NBCU is piloting AI-powered contextual media planning for TV, aligning brand messaging with highly relevant scenes across national programming to enhance ad effectiveness and give consumers a more organic viewing experience.”