NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Discovery, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) and FreeWheel, A Comcast Company (Nasdaq: CMCSA), today announced a multi-year agreement under which FreeWheel will provide their unified decisioning platform to enable holistic advertising management for Discovery’s full roster of cable networks.
“As we are building the advertising solutions of the future, the industry needs to accelerate the innovation around technology, measurement and targeting. There is too much value being left on the table and Discovery is committed to supporting the next generation of innovators across the industry. FreeWheel has been a strong partner over the years, and their work to integrate the tech stacks of our expanded portfolio, while complicated, has been seamless,” said Keith Kazerman, EVP Digital Sales, Advanced Advertising and Research, Discovery, Inc. “The resulting, combined Discovery platform offers advertisers the necessary scale and intelligence to reach their customers across the array of data-enabled delivery channels that are redefining the way television is bought and sold.”
An increasingly important focus for Discovery is reaching viewers who watch programming via Discovery GO, the company’s TVE streaming platform, as well as viewers who access Discovery’s channels through a cable or satellite provider’s app. Apps allow advertisers additional addressable targeting capabilities that can be used to reach more precise audiences, or to build incremental reach among those unexposed or underexposed to a TV campaign. Discovery and FreeWheel have partnered to ensure these advertising opportunities can be realized across all of Discovery’s properties.
Given the value that addressability brings to advertisers, Discovery is also working with Comcast and FreeWheel to bring these capabilities to Discovery programming delivered via traditional linear distribution and video on demand (VOD). This was the focus of Comcast Advertising’s On Addressability initiative announcement earlier this summer.
“It’s great to work with partners who share the same focus on innovation and industry leadership,” said James Rooke, General Manager, FreeWheel Publishers. “The work that we have done together, and continue to expand upon, is truly changing video advertising for the better. We are proud to call Discovery a client and look forward to the exciting advancements on the horizon.”
About Discovery:
Discovery, Inc. (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is a global leader in real life entertainment, serving a passionate audience of superfans around the world with content that inspires, informs and entertains. Discovery delivers over 8,000 hours of original programming each year and has category leadership across deeply loved content genres around the world. Available in 220 countries and territories and nearly 50 languages, Discovery is a platform innovator, reaching viewers on all screens, including TV Everywhere products such as the GO portfolio of apps; direct-to-consumer streaming services such as Eurosport Player and MotorTrend OnDemand; digital-first and social content from Group Nine Media and a strategic alliance with PGA TOUR to create the international home of golf. Discovery’s portfolio of premium brands includes Discovery Channel, HGTV, Food Network, TLC, Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, MotorTrend, Animal Planet, and Science Channel, as well as OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network in the U.S., Discovery Kids in Latin America, and Eurosport, the leading provider of locally relevant, premium sports and Home of the Olympic Games across Europe. For more information, please visit https://corporate.discovery.com/ and follow @DiscoveryIncTV across social platforms.
About FreeWheel
FreeWheel, A Comcast Company, empowers all segments of The New TV Ecosystem. We are structured to provide the full breadth of solutions the advertising industry needs to achieve their goals. We provide the technology, data enablement, and convergent marketplaces required to ensure buyers and sellers can transact across all screens, across all data types, and all sales channels, in order to ensure the ultimate goal – results for marketers. With offices in New York, San Francisco, Chicago, London, Paris, Beijing, and across the globe, FreeWheel, A Comcast Company, stands to advocate for the entire industry through the FreeWheel Council for Premium Video. For more information, please visit www.freewheel.tv, and follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
