RTL Group Buying Video Tech Company Yospace

RTL Group has signed an agreement to acquire control of the U.K.-based video technology company Yospace. The transaction is expected to close on Feb. 1.

Yospace has developed advanced technology for Server-Side Dynamic Ad Insertion (SSDAI) that allows the replacement of existing commercials from a broadcast stream with more targeted, personalized advertising.

The Yospace technology currently serves major media owners throughout Europe, the United States and Asia. Customers include BT Sport, TV4, ITV and Seven West Media.

RTL Group will pay up to $33 million before cash and debt adjustments in connection with the full acquisition of Yospace, including upfront and performance related components.

Under the terms of the transaction, RTL Group will appoint three of five members to the board of Yospace. Yospace CEO Tim Sewell and Chief Technology Officer David Springall will continue to manage the day-to-day operations of the company, reporting to its board.

Yospace focuses on the premium streaming segment which is also the fastest growing and most significant market for RTL Group’s global ad-tech company SpotX. This market segment includes video on demand (VOD) and live video that is streamed to any internet-connected device. As a result, the acquisition of Yospace complements RTL Group’s ad-tech stack for its premium media clients, including RTL Group’s broadcasters and streaming services.

Bert Habets, CEO of RTL Group, said: “The acquisition of Yospace is an important step in building out our Total Video portfolio and will help drive two strategic goals at the same time. First, we gain a competitive, fully integrated and profitable solution which is key to further grow our ad-tech business. Our goal is to continue expanding SpotX into a leading, independent monetisation platform for broadcasters, video on demand services and publishers.

“Secondly, this acquisition will also help build local streaming champions in the markets where we have strong families of channels. The Yospace technology makes advertising on streaming services more personal, which means a better consumer experience for superior monetization of our premium advertising inventory.”

Tim Sewell, CEO of  Yospace, said: “Our clients make significant investments in their video offerings and content licenses. Yospace has proven that it can provide an unmatched quality of service even with millions of concurrent users. This new relationship with RTL Group will not only allow us to extend our customer base to all entities of the biggest European broadcast and video network, but RTL Group is also fully committed to support the further roll out of our services to bring more innovative products to media owners around the world.”