UK television networks team up for one-stop ad shop
The UK’s three biggest commercial television networks have joined forces on a premium video advertising marketplace that will allow businesses to book a single campaign across Sky, Channel 4 and ITV.
The new self-service TV ad buying marketplace is aimed at small to medium businesses that haven’t previously advertised on television.
It will bring addressable on-demand and streaming inventory from all three networks into a single marketplace, allowing rookie TV advertisers “a direct, simple way to access premium video content.”
The platform will launch in 2026, and will be powered by Comcast’s Universal Ads platform and FreeWheel’s technology. It will include biddable pricing and provide simplified access across the three portfolios.
This platform is designed to “super charge the breadth of brands advertising on TV”, according to a media release. However, the three broadcasters are also in discussions to simplify the purchase of addressable inventory for media agencies – suggesting this is step one of a larger advertising integration between the three networks.
“This includes exploring the potential of a joint agency-facing solution,” the release reads.
Rak Patel, chief commercial officer at Channel 4, said the new marketplace “underlines what sets TV apart from all other media: its ability to collaborate at scale.”
“By uniting the power of Channel 4, ITV and Sky through a single marketplace, we’re creating a new home for premium video while accelerating our Fast Forward strategy to become the first public service streamer.”
This messaging sounds like that of Think TV, the Australian body launched in 2016 by the unlikely cabal of Foxtel, Seven, Nine, and Ten. It’s aim was to promote the benefits of advertising on Australian television.
This February, Think TV CEO Kim Portrate resigned with no replacement named. The same week, Ten announced its intention to drop out of the collective in the end of June, a deadline fast approaching.
Foxtel had already dropped out in 2023, leaving just Seven and Nine holding the torch.
During Seven West Media’s half-yearly earnings call in February, boss Jeff Howard hinted at something similar to the UK initiative when he called for “improved industry collaboration”.
“One of the things that I’ve been doing with Matt [Stanton] and Bev [McGarvey] is just sitting down and talking about where we are doing things duplicate, or triplicate in some cases, and where we might be able to partner more effectively.
“We’re looking at the industry bodies as well, we want to make sure we’re getting the best value out of the industry bodies that represent [us]. So, a lot to do on that front.”
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Nathan Jolly is the Features Editor at Mumbrella. He joined the team in July, 2023.
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