NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FreeWheel announced today that Discovery Communications is entering FourFronts Programmatic pilot, an extension of FreeWheel’s private marketplace that in May introduced integrations with selected DSPs designed to enable advertisers to negotiate the purchase of premium digital inventory with publishers using proprietary data.
“Discovery is thrilled to work with FreeWheel participating in their FourFronts programmatic pilot program,” said Suzanne McDonnell, Senior Vice President, Discovery Communications Digital Media. “This pilot is helping to set a precedent for the TV industry on how premium digital advertising should be transacted through programmatic channels.”
FreeWheel’s ‘FourFronts Programmatic’ solution makes it possible for both the buy-side and sell-side to plan and reserve in advance, a critical need when dealing with scarce, premium inventory. Enabling publishers to maintain control of their inventory acts as a safeguard against commoditization, and protects against exposure to arbitrage.
Increasingly, advertisers want to use their proprietary data on premium video inventory without publishers having access to their data, which results in waste. The FourFronts Programmatic capability addresses this challenge by allowing advertisers to upload their data into a secure ‘data escrow’ enabled by FreeWheel’s integrations into selected, compliant DSPs. Publishers can forecast against this ‘blinded’ data while advertisers are able to maintain the confidentiality of their data. Publishers can then sell their inventory to brands and agencies with confidence that it meets advertisers’ requirements.
“The combination of automation, data and compliance ensures publishers are maximizing the value of their inventory while at the same time helping advertisers better reach their target audiences, said Jon Heller, Co-Founder and Co-CEO, FreeWheel. “Technological advances such as RTB have served the display market well, but they don’t address the needs of premium video. FreeWheel is making it possible to execute premium video programmatic transactions safely, at scale.”
About FreeWheel
FreeWheel, an independent subsidiary of Comcast, helps the largest players in the television industry generate revenue from their ad-supported content through a robust technology platform for ad management and monetization, a private marketplace for premium television inventory, and advisory services. FreeWheel's solutions are used by companies like ABC, AOL, Inc., BSkyB, DIRECTV, Discovery, ESPN, NBCUniversal, Turner Broadcasting System, and Viacom, Inc. to profitably monetize their professional content on desktop, mobile, OTT, and traditional STB devices.
About Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world’s #1 pay-TV programmer reaching 2.7 billion cumulative subscribers in more than 220 countries and territories. Discovery is dedicated to satisfying curiosity, engaging and entertaining viewers with high-quality content on worldwide television networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery and Science, as well as U.S. joint venture network OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network. Discovery also controls Eurosport International, a premier sports entertainment group, including six pay-TV network brands across Europe and Asia. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools, including an award-winning series of K-12 digital textbooks, through Discovery Education, and a digital leader with a diversified online portfolio, including Discovery Digital Networks. For more information, please visit www.discoverycommunications.com.
